The Colorado Avalanche found an overlooked gem in Sam Malinski. Malinski went undrafted out of the NCAA, signing with the club in 2023.
Initially, his lack of size and physicality made him somewhat of a long shot for a full-time NHL role. Yet, the Avalanche saw something in Malinski. They gave him a shot, allowing him to gradually make his way up the Colorado depth chart.
Now, as a piece in The Athletic noted, Malinski could make an incumbent blueliner redundant. In the piece, Harman Dayal lauded Malinski’s play, stepping up during Devon Toews’ recent injury.
“With Devon Toews sidelined with injury lately, Malinski has capably played his off side next to Cale Makar on the top pair. The 27-year-old pending UFA has performed so well that there’s a compelling argument for Colorado to extend Malinski in the summer and then trade Sam Girard, who is a bit redundant as an undersized puck-mover on a sizable $5 million cap hit, ahead of next season.”
Dayal is right. The Avalanche have two relatively undersized defensemen in Malinski and Girard. The difference here may lie in their cap hits. Girard is on the books for one more season after this one at $5 million.
Meanwhile, Malinski will need a new contract. He signed a one-year deal worth $1.4 million this past summer. That’s a pittance for someone currently playing alongside Cale Makar. That situation means that Malinski is due for a raise.
In that case, the Avalanche would be wise to lock up Malinski long-term. A five or even six-year deal could come in under Girard’s current cap hit.
The two blueliners, otherwise, are pretty much the same. They are both 27 years old and offer the same offensive upside. It may be a tough decision at this year’s trade deadline for Chris MacFarland, particularly with the market still very much devoid of viable options for other clubs.
Avalanche may trade a defenseman for a center
The talk has been that the Avalanche are looking for a center. Meanwhile, other clubs out there are looking for defensive help. Could that situation translate into one of Malinski or Girard being moved?
The most immediate option would be moving Girard. The sense is that the Avalanche would rather move Girard than Malinski.
Then again, Malinski’s current cap hit would look to just about every team in the league. The caution, nevertheless, would be for the Avalanche to avoid trading Malinski. Despite Malinski and Girard being the same age, Malinski seems to have a higher upside.
So, that situation could open the door for the Avalanche to move Girard for a center. As for who that center might be, that’s debatable. Not too many teams have centers to offer at the moment. If anything, such a deal would have to be a hockey trade.
Perhaps the best course of action is re-signing Malinski this summer and holding onto Girard in his final contract season. However, Avalanche fans should keep an eye on this situation.