We are one day away from the trade deadline, and the Colorado Avalanche have been busy. Yesterday they added Casey Mittelstadt and Sean Walker for the price of Bowen Byram, Ryan Johansen and a draft pick. Today, the Avalanche have been rushing through moves, making multiple trades all within a matter of minutes.
Earlier in the day, Colorado announced they had signed their 2023 sixth round pick Jeremy Hanzel to an entry-level contract. He was a standout at the prospect camp and training camp for the Avalanche.
Trade one
Moments after Colorado signed the budding prospect of Jeremy Hanzel, they announced a trade. Rapid fire seems to be the order of the day for General Manager Chris MacFarland of the Avalanche. Colorado sent their 2026 third-round pick to the Minnesota Wild for forward Brandon Duhaime. The veteran has been part of the Wild for the past three years, where he established himself as a valuable asset on the penalty killing team. He will also bring a physical force back to Colorado after the trade of Kurtis MacDermid to New Jersey on Friday. Fans can expect him to play on the third and fourth lines. Duhaime will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, so consider this his tryout for Colorado.
Courtesy of JFresh Hockey
Trade two
Less than two hours after Hanzel joined the Colorado Avalanche, they traded him away to the Nashville Predators. Colorado would send their 2025 third-round pick and Hanzel to Nashville for forward Yakov Trenin and the signing rights of defenseman Graham Sward. Trenin has spent a lot of time at wing and is an excellent penalty killer. He may chip in a little offensively but will spend most of the time on the fourth line. Sward has great positioning and can use the stretch pass effectively. Trenin will also be an unrestricted free agent this summer. If the Avalanche can sign Sward, he will probably go to the AHL Colorado Eagles to start.
Courtesy of JFresh Hockey
🚨Trade
To #GoAvsGo
Yakov Trenin – $1.7M-UFA
Graham Sward, unsigned, '22 5thTo #Smashville
'25 3rd
Jeremy Hanzel, signed ELC today, '23 6thhttps://t.co/8jordTok6I— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) March 7, 2024
Conclusion
The Avalanche are gearing up for a heavy playoff run. They added size and hopefully some depth with Sword. The cost has been high with future draft picks out of the system now, but there is the price of a Stanley Cup. Colorado has shown they can utilize the undrafted college free agent market with Sam Malinski, Jason Polin and Ondej Pavel. They will have to do it some more in the future. But the Avalanche have become a deep and heavy team ready for a playoff run, with room to add more later today or tomorrow.