Rabu, 06 Maret 2024

Colorado Avalanche make massive moves involving Byram, Johansen - Mile High Hockey

The trade deadline madness has begun.

The Colorado Avalanche announced the trade of Ryan Johansen and a first-round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman Sean Walker. Following the move, the Avs announced a trade with the Buffalo Sabres, sending Bowen Byram for Casey Mittelstadt one-for-one.

Wow. Right? Read that again. You are not dreaming

First up, Johansen for Walker. Johansen never really got the chance to get going in the Mile High City, coming off of surgery and leaving the Nashville Predators. The Avs ate up $4M of his $8M contract, with the Preds eating half of the deal.

Now, RyJo goes to the Flyers and has immediately been placed on waivers. Plus, the Avs are not eating any of his contract when he goes to Philly. Meanwhile, Walker gives Colorado more defensive options and more importantly, three right-handed and left-handed defensemen.

With Walker joining the Avs, the defense was pretty stacked and heavy. With lots of options and less available room, Colorado moved Byram for Mittelstadt straight-up. This all but solves the 2C problem for the Avalanche.

Byram kind of got squeezed out by the Avs with the defensive depth Colorado has at the moment. Bo was always a fan favorite in Colorado and now goes to Buffalo and joins another fan-favorite who he played with on the blue line with the Avs, Erik Johnson.

Now, to the two newest members of the Avalanche.

Walker comes into Colorado from the Flyers as a 29-year-old defenseman who plays on the right. His season hasn’t been all too great, scoring six goals and 16 assists in 63 games. His highest point total is 24 in his second year with the Los Angeles Kings in the shortened 2019-2020 season.

He is a silky, smooth skating player who can easily move the puck. Therefore, he will fit in nicely with the Avalanche defense. He has been similarly compared to Devon Toews’ style of play and only makes the Avs better on the blue line.

Walker is in the final year of a four-year deal with a cap hit of $2.65M. He is a pending UFA at the season’s end and could be extended based on his performance into the playoffs and beyond.

Meanwhile, Mittelstadt is the big move Colorado Avalanche fans wanted to make. It’s safe to say their dream has come true. He will come in and be the 2C fans have been clamoring for ever since the departure of Nazem Kadri to the Calgary Flames.

Mittelstatdt is 25 years old, having played his entire career in Buffalo. With a stacked forward group out there, Mittelstadt is forced out in this move, similar to Byram going the other way being forced out.

The American forward has 14 goals and 33 assists in 62 games this season playing as Buffalo’s 2C this season. At such a young age, the future is bright for him and he is a long-term solution for Colorado’s center depth.

He is at the end of a contract himself, a three-year deal with a $2.5M cap hit. However, differing from Walker, Mittelstadt is a pending RFA and is arbitration-eligible. He is due for a bigger contract than he has now, likely with both sides wanting the player to re-sign.

Now, perhaps the biggest winner in all of this chaos? The Avalanche won not only on the ice but off the ice as well. They don’t eat up any of Johansen or Byram’s contracts and got Mittelstadt and Walker at cheaper prices than those two. Hence, there is more cap space available for them to utilize before the trade deadline at 1:00 p.m. MT on Friday.

As of the publishing of this article, the Avs have $4.9 million in cap space, particularly thanks to the use of Gabriel Landeskog and Pavel Francouz on LTIR. Hence, they could pull a Vegas Golden Knights special and utilize this space to make one or two more depth moves to create a lineup capable of a deep playoff run.

All of these moves today symbolize such - and provide for the future as well. It’s going to be a wild ride Avalanche fans, strap in and hang on. What are your reactions to these moves? Let us know in the comments below!

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2024-03-06 19:46:15Z
CBMikAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5taWxlaGlnaGhvY2tleS5jb20vMjAyNC8zLzYvMjQwOTI1MzMvY29sb3JhZG8tYXZhbGFuY2hlLW1ha2UtbW92ZXMtaW52b2x2aW5nLWJvd2VuLWJ5cmFtLXJ5YW4tam9oYW5zZW4tc2Vhbi13YWxrZXItY2FzZXktbWl0dGVsc3RhZHTSAQA
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