Failed trade including Sam Girard places defenseman back on market

It was true after all: the Colorado Avalanche were into the mix to try to land forward Jack Eichel from the Buffalo Sabres, who ended being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights. Rumours now emerge that defenseman Samuel Girard was part of the package to acquire Eichel, and Mike Chambers of the Denver Post believes it means that Girard could still be traded out of Colorado.

“I believe Sam Girard was the big piece in the efforts to get Jack Eichel here and I still think Girard is going to get traded, I think the Avs want a forward for him and they want to lose his $5M long term cap hit”.

The Avalanche is looking to make room on its cap space and Girard appears to be a contender to make that happen. There is no doubt that rival clubs would ring in to see what it would take to pry the blue liner out of Denver.

While Girard showed promise, it is believed that the Avs are more pleased with Bowen Byram’s play and has affected the team’s view of Girard, who struggled during the postseason.

In nine games in 2021-22, Girard has posted five assists and and +2 rating. He tallied 32-plus points in each of the last two seasons while logging over 21 minutes of ice time per game.Cap Friendly shows him carrying an annual salary-cap hit of $5 million through 2026-27, lacking no-trade protection until 2024-25.

Trade chatter will surely increases as we get closer to the deadline.