Rumoured trade in the works to replace Nazem Kadri

The Colorado Avalanche did everything it could to keep Nazem Kadri, but the team was short on cash and the top forward signed a seven-year, $49-million contract with the Calgary Flames last week.

The void left by Kadri on the Avs’ roster cannot be filled on the free agency market, which prompted Toutsurlehockey, a hockey blog from Montreal, to speculate that GM Joe Sakic may be playing to trade for help upfront. According to Cap Friendly, the GM currently has $3.91M available on his payroll, which wasn’t enough to keep Kadri or to get a top centre to replace him.

While Toutsurlehockey believes the Avalanche could trust J.T Compher and Alex Newhook that will step up their games, it will be hard for them to fill Kadri’s shoes.

Toutsurlehockey wonders if the Avalanche could use its depth on the back end to pull a trade to get a boost upfront. The blue line looks pretty good with Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Samuel Girard and Josh Manson - and add to that Erik Johnson and Bowen Byram. They also have Kurtis MacDermid and some wonder if Colorado could look to trade a piece of the back end. Toutsurlehockey points out that Montreal Canadiens’ Christian Dvorak is an option on the trade market and would be a safer option than Compher or Newhook. Montreal Hockey Now does speculate that a third-round pick might be enough to get Dvorak. But no one could blame Habs GM Kent Hughes from attempting to get Quebecois defenseman Girard in a deal…

There is also the option of going after Vancouver Canucks’ J.T. Miller, as Toutsurlehockey points out. He would sure fit into the Avalanche’s lineup, but how much would the team be willing to offer to the Canucks, who remain patient with the Miller trade chatter.

If Sakic and the Avalanche want to repeat this season, it looks like they will need to upgrade their offense and a trade might be the way to get it.