The Colorado Avalanche have acquired Yakov Trenin and Graham Sward’s singing rights from the Nashville Predators in exchange for defenceman Jeremy Hanzel and a 2025 third-round pick.
The Avalanche continues to load up ahead of the trade deadline and have added another depth forward to their mix. Earlier, they added Brandon Duhaime; and now they’ve Trenin to fill out their bottom six, with Nashville recouping a solid prospect and additional pick to work with.
Avalanche Loading Up The Forwards
The Avalanche has been busy these past few days and it seems like they will continue to be for a while. Trenin is in the last year of his contract, which comes with a cap hit of $1.7 million, and is a unrestricted free agent (UFA) this summer. At 27 years old, six-foot-2, with 10 goals and four assists on the season, Trenin is a physical forward who has an excellent shot and is able to play on the penalty kill. He was third on the Predators in hits with 171 while playing on the second line with Colton Sissons and Cody Glass. He has been cold recently, with only one goal in the past five games but a plus-four during Nashville’s hot streak. He will pair well with the recent addition Duhaime to boost the bottom six in offensive and defensive production.
Graham Sward is a 20-year-old, 6-foot-3 defenceman drafted in the fifth round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. He is currently unsigned and playing with the Wenatchee Wild in the Western Hockey League. He previously played with Winnipeg Ice and Spokane Chiefs. With 15 goals and 58 assists for 73 points, Sward is tied for 23rd in scoring among all players but second among defensemen in the WHL.
Predators Aquire More Assets for the Future
The Predators have been rolling recently, winning their last eight of nine games and racing back into a playoff spot. With many rumors of who they might sell off, the winning streak cooled down a lot of noise regarding players who could be on the market. They acquired a 2025 third-round pick (unprotected), their second third-round pick that year. As Trenin was a UFA, they probably knew whether they intended to re-sign him, and opted to swap him for additional draft capital and a new defensive prospect.
Jeremy Hanzel is a 21-year-old defenceman who recently signed his entry-level contract and is playing in the WHL with the Seattle Thunderbirds. With 13 goals and 37 assists on the season, Hanzel leads the Thunderbirds in assists and points. The six-foot-one blueliner ranks ninth in assists and is tied for 10th in points by a defenceman in the WHL and will join Tanner Molendyk and Ryan Ufko as key pieces of the Predators’ defensive prospect pool.
