With 90 hours and counting until the 2023 NHL trade deadline, Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland outlined that Colorado is not dead-set on adding any particular asset or position this week.
But, he added, “if it makes sense, we’ll strike.”
“I don’t think we’re focused in on any one positional silo,” MacFarland told local reporters Monday night. “If there’s something that makes sense, whether it’s at forward or D, we’ll look at it.”
The salary cap is an especially critical component as Colorado (33-19-5) navigates its trade options before the 1 p.m. MST cutoff Friday. Forward Gabriel Landeskog (knee) and defenseman Erik Johnson (ankle) are both injured without an imminent return timeline, and whether they are able to return during the regular season will impact what the Avs can or can’t do at the deadline.
“That’s a good question,” MacFarland said when asked about his confidence that Landeskog can return before the playoffs. “That’s something that we’re still — our medical staff, the doctors and Gabe himself will obviously control. He’s a really important piece. We’ve missed him all year, but I think there’s more info to glean as we move along here.”
If he is deemed out until at least the playoffs, the Avalanche can keep him on long-term injury reserve, freeing up cap space for a potential trade. Landeskog’s cap hit is $7 million; Johnson’s is $6 million.
MacFarland anticipates that the team will be able to reach those necessary conclusions by Friday.
“We’ll have those discussions (this week), and we’ll be able to gauge whether one or both of them are in that situation,” he said.
Those uncertainties loom over the week with massive implications, so it makes sense that MacFarland portrayed the organization’s overall trade philosophy as fluid. He said the current competitive imbalance between the Eastern and Western conferences has no effect on how he will approach the deadline.
The Avs, who have made four in-season trades including two last weekend for goalie Keith Kincaid and defenseman Jack Johnson, also need to consider what they’re willing to spend. Their second-, third- and fourth-round 2023 draft picks have already been traded away. Their 2024 second-, third- and fifth-round picks have also been dealt.
MacFarland didn’t rule out trading this year’s first-rounder, however.
“We’ve spent a lot of draft capital and prospects over the last few years. Fortunately last year that paid off. … There are a lot of teams that are good hockey teams this year and pushing chips to the middle, and only one team’s going to be successful,” he said. “So I think we’ve got to be mindful of that with the capital we’ve spent in past years. But again, if it makes sense, we’ll strike.”
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