The Colorado Avalanche returned to the playoffs for a seventh straight yr, but it surely was a disappointing finish to the season, falling within the first spherical to the Dallas Stars. Now, the Avalanche look to re-tool their roster, however with cap constraints, they might want to maneuver gamers. A type of may very well be Samuel Girard, and there are a number of spots that may be excellent for his providers.
The Avs opened up their offseason by spending some main cash. They re-signed Brock Nelson to a $22.5 million deal, taking on $7.5 million in cap area per yr. The Avalanche additionally signed blue liner Brent Burns to a contract this summer time. Nonetheless, they wanted to clear cap area, and so they began to do this with the commerce of Charlie Coyle to the Columbus Blue Jackets. With a necessity to start contract negotiations with Martin Necas and Jack Drury, Colorado could also be seeking to filter much more cap area. They’ve simply $7.3 million in area remaining. One transfer may very well be to commerce Girard.
The Canadian defender was the forty seventh total decide within the 2016 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators. He would break into the NHL for the primary time within the 2017-18 season, taking part in 5 video games for the Predators. He would then be traded to the Avs, taking part in 68 video games that yr for them. The blue liner has remained with the franchise since. Final season was a stable yr for the previous second-round decide. He would rating three objectives whereas including 21 assists. Additional, he had a plus-seven score, whereas additionally seeing 20:50 of ice time per recreation. He shall be paid $5 million this yr and is at present with the second defensive rotation, which might make him a gorgeous choice to commerce for Colorado.
Might the Senators swing a commerce for Samuel Girard?
The Ottawa Senators have already made one commerce so as to add to their blueline, buying and selling with the Los Angeles Kings for Jordan Spence. This doesn’t preclude them from making one other transfer, and this may very well be a stable play for Ottawa. By including Spence, the Senators bought a 24-year-old within the final yr of his contract. Spence had 4 objectives with 24 assists whereas additionally blocking 77 pictures. Including Girard could be an identical addition. Girard had 24 factors final yr, however has been a 30-point scorer for a lot of his profession. He did have 111 pictures blocked and 24 takeaways, each numbers higher than Spence.
The Senators would wish to make different strikes to make this deal occur. They’ve underneath $2 million in cap area at present, so bringing within the $5 million of Girard is just not at present attainable. Nonetheless, if the Senators are in search of a second defender just like the one they only acquired, they might transfer on from Nick Jensen. At the moment, Jensen is projected on the second rotation. Transferring Jensen would enable the Senators to seize Girard and substitute him with a youthful and higher offensive participant.
That is the least seemingly of commerce locations for Girard, contemplating the transfer for Spence, however it’s clear that Ottawa wishes any such participant, as proven by their long-term commitments to Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot. A deal right here would enable them to accumulate one other stable defender on the blue line who also can assist out on offense.
The Devils may benefit from a commerce
The Devils may benefit closely from buying and selling for the Canadian-born blueliner in the event that they select to maneuver on from a special defender. Rumors have circulated that the Devils could also be fascinated about buying and selling away Dougie Hamilton. The Avs might tackle Hamilton’s contract in the event that they ship Girard to the Devils, however with the truth that they’re making an attempt to create extra cap area, it appears unlikely a direct swap would occur. For the Devils, they would wish to maneuver Hamilton first. The previous first-round decide of the Boston Bruins is at present making $9 million per yr and nonetheless has three years on his contract. The Devils have to create cap area to carry again restricted free agent Luke Hughes.
Buying and selling away Hamilton and bringing within the Avalanche defender would save the crew $4 million, sufficient to work with their present cap and produce again Hughes. Offensively, this might be a downgrade for the Devils on the blue line. Hamilton scored 74 factors for the crew in 2022-23 and had 40 factors final season regardless of accidents. Nonetheless, from a shot blocking and takeaway perspective, this might be a slight improve for the Devils. This transfer would enable the Devils to proceed to have a top-quality defender on their high two rotations, whereas additionally saving sufficient cash to maintain their star blue liner.
The Geese add a brand new dimension to their blueline
The Anaheim Geese didn’t have a ton of offensive manufacturing from the blueline final yr. Their high point-producing defender was Jackson LaCombe, who had 43 factors. Second was Olen Zellweger, who had simply 20 factors. The Geese do have two veteran defenders at present on the roster, with Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas. Nonetheless, each are over the age of 30, within the final yr of their contracts, and play on the right-hand facet.
A transfer for Girard would give the Geese a veteran on the left facet who also can present offensive ability for the 2 youthful defenders in LaCombe and Zellweger. The rearguard can be underneath contract for 2 extra seasons and will stick round with this younger core of defenders longer. He’s additionally simply 27, so whereas he could be a veteran with the Geese, bringing loads of playoff expertise, he’s nonetheless comparatively younger. The Geese have greater than sufficient cap area to herald the $5 million contract, and the signing of Mikael Granlund reveals they’re keen to spend that cap area.
General, buying and selling Girard may very well be troublesome along with his $5 million cap hit. Nonetheless, he has proven to be a top quality defender within the NHL, and lots of groups would profit from having his providers. He does personal a modified no-trade clause, but when the Avs can discover the correct state of affairs, he may very well be transferring on this summer time.