Expect the Colorado Avalanche and the Minnesota Wild to Add at the Deadline
Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period joined Steve Kouleas and Anthony Stewart on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio on Wednesday and was asked about the arms race in the Central Division. What could teams like the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche do at the trade deadline?
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
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Anthony Stewart: “So with it now being a bit of an arms race, in that Central Division, for every action, there is a reaction. So what do you see the Minnesota Wild doing? And what are you hearing around them?”
Dave Pagnotta: “Well, they’re another team, Stewie, they’re another one that continues to look, it looks like at the center position is a focal point. We know this before Quinn Hughes was traded, they were looking at a top-six guy. They move out Marco Rossi. They’re still looking for a top-six guy, but they’ve got a hole up the middle, and I could certainly see them being part of the mix.
It wouldn’t surprise me if this is another team that pokes around on (Nazem) Kadri as those conversations pick up, for the Flames. They are looking, Minnesota is, at the dot, and if they can improve themselves there, I certainly think that’s something they’d like to do. They still have cap space. They’ve got flexibility.
Vinnie Trocheck is on their radar out with the New York Rangers as well. I’ve got to imagine they’ve poked around on guys like Ryan O’Reilly and Brayden Schenn in the same division, but I think the writing’s on the wall for where their seasons are going to go in St. Louis and Nashville. So I could certainly see them looking at other alternative options as well.
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But that race and Colorado, too, guys, Colorado is also exploring. They’ve got some wiggle room in the cap, a little bit of flexibility. This is another team that they may not be able to bring in a bigger fish with a bigger price tag, but they’re going to be looking around to see what type of fit they can add to their group. And if this is another complimentary piece, like when they won the Stanley Cup. They brought in Artturi Lehkonen from the Canadiens, he was a big part of their run.
You could certainly see them bringing an intangible type of player like that, ahead of the deadline. They may wait until closer to the deadline to accrue more cap space, but I think all three of these teams in the Central are going to be active between now and March 6.”
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