Analysis: Why The Avs Did Nothing On Final Deadline Day
The numbers never quite added up
Jack Johnson, Keith Kincaid, Lars Eller and (close enough anyway) Matt Nieto. That was your 2023 trade deadline for the Colorado Avalanche. While other teams made some (mostly, less-than-groundbreaking) deals on the final day of the NHL deadline, the Avs stood pat with their depth acquisitions. No big, new shiny top-6 forward. Despite the loss of Erik Johnson and, now, Josh Manson again, no new pickups on D.
If the Avs are to successfully defend their Stanley Cup, Chris MacFarland and Jared Bednar have to hope their banged-up team can stay healthy through the playoffs, with not much else in the way of new, star-quality additions.
Judging by my inboxes, many of you aren’t happy about this.
But, as I wrote a few days days ago, this was always going to be a tougher year to make big moves at the deadline because:
