Pucks and Pitchforks
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3 Trades To Make Colorado Avalanche And New Jersey Devils Better

By Nick Villano

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JANUARY 04: Andre Burakovsky #95 of the Colorado Avalanche prepares to play against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on January 04, 2020 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JANUARY 04: Andre Burakovsky #95 of the Colorado Avalanche prepares to play against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on January 04, 2020 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Andre Burakovsky #95 of the Colorado Avalanche. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Things are going to get a little uncomfortable for everyone right off the bat. The Colorado Avalanche are currently using Andre Burakovsky as a third-line center. When he first came to the Avalanche from the Washington Capitals, it seemed like a given he was going to find a spot in the top six for his entire tenure in the Rocky Mountains.

The Avalanche kept adding, and the team kept getting better. Signing Brandon Saad solidified the top line, and Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon are taking the top-two center spots. So, Burakovaky is now on the third line playing a scoring role in the bottom six. That doesn’t mean the Avs think he’s easily replaceable, but with the Seattle Expansion Draft on the horizon, the Avs have to make some very hard decisions.

They almost have to go with the eight skaters option for the expansion draft. They have to protect Cale Makar, Samuel Girard, Erik Johnson (he has a no-move clause), and Devon Toews at a minimum. They probably want to protect Ryan Graves, too. Now they only have three forward protection slots. One is going to MacKinnon and another goes to Mikko Rantanen.

Everyone knows where this is going. Anyway, the Avalanche would want pieces that don’t need to be protected. The Devils aren’t going to give them centerpieces in this trade. However, Tyce Thompson is actually a really good prospect. He didn’t look great in the NHL last season, but he just came off his final season at Providence and it was an odd situation where he scored a point per game. Nikita Okhotyuk is a decent upside play on the back end, but he’s a lot like Kevin Bahl, who’s ahead of him on the prospect chart in New Jersey. The Devils might not have to give up the 4th rounder, but they wouldn’t mind losing the pick. Burakovsky would be a perfect replacement as a scoring center on the third line. He would replace Travis Zajac’s offensive production, but he wouldn’t bring his defensive production. So the Devils would have to find other means for that.

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