The Avalanche still needs help on the blueline ahead of NHL Trade Deadline
The Colorado Avalanche made the blockbuster trade on Friday sending Stanley Cup champion Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes for Martin Necas and Jack Drury. Now the question remains, what’s next for the Avalanche?
Today on Daily Faceoff Live, Jesse Montano from Guerilla Sports joins the show to discuss general manager Chris MacFarland’s next plans and how the Avs still need help on the blueline.
Frank Seravalli: It’s interesting to hear Chris McFarland give some thoughts about how this team is now trying to get deeper and a little bit cheaper as well. But when you look at the the flexibility that they have moving forward if you had one area that you were going to circle, that you believe the Avs will make a move to fix or fill between now and March 7th what would it be?
Jesse Montano: It’s a top-four defenseman, they need to get better on defense. I agree with Chris MacFarland’s assessment that this team isn’t deep enough, right? Nathan McKinnon commented to us a couple of years ago after they won the Cup, and he said,’Look, every year you want to convince yourself, you want to think you’ve got a team. But after you go through it and after you win it, it’s easy to assess when you do and when you don’t.’ I agree with the assessment they weren’t deep enough to win a Stanley Cup this year in that circle. So I understand that thought process.
Jesse Montano: So I think this move, you know, adding Jack Drury helps when you get down the two-string back. Yeah, maybe you could make the argument technically up front you’re a little bit deeper. But they need to use some of this extra cap flexibility to bolster that top-four defense that they’ve got. Josh Manson has really struggled this year. He injured his hand earlier in the season, and to me it looks like it’s still really hampering him. And they’ve just got a rotating cast on that bottom pair.
Jesse Montano: They aren’t able to keep pucks out of their net the way they’d like, or at least they’re not able to limit chances the way they’d like. Mackenzie Blackwood coming in has probably had to stand on his head a few too many times for his liking or for Jared Fednar’s liking since he got here. I think they need another impactful defenseman there on the back end. And then with the flexibility, if they can find a way to sneak in another top-nine forward, I know they’d really like that. But for my money right now, I think I will bolster the top half of this decoy.