The Colorado Avalanche are wrapping up their New York road trip with a matchup against the New York Islanders on Jan. 28, a game where the two teams made plenty of headlines off the ice. The Islanders signed Anthony DeAngelo and acquired Scott Perunovich to add depth to the defense and that is small potatoes compared to what the Avalanche did.
Related: Avalanche’s Necas Making Good Impression After Rantanen Trade
They traded Mikko Rantanen in a blockbuster trade with the Carolina Hurricanes, a move that sent shockwaves around the NHL. The Avalanche made this trade well before the trade deadline and the Islanders could be the next team to move an elite talent, with all eyes on their general manager (GM) Lou Lamoriello.
Both teams are coming to the same realization that they can’t win with the cores they assembled and a pivot is needed as a result. It’s a problem that the Avalanche and Islanders are solving in real-time and not waiting until the offseason. Both teams are looking to compete but must change to do so.
Avalanche Were Too Top-Heavy
It’s hard to win the Stanley Cup when three players take up most of the team’s salary cap. That’s what happened with the Avalanche. They won the Cup in 2022 with a complete roster and once they started to pay Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, the depth fell apart. They still made the playoffs with their star players leading the way but wouldn’t go much further.
The Avalanche knew they wouldn’t have the money to keep Rantanen, who is sure to be in the $14 million average annual value (AAV) range. It’s why they made the best pivot possible and traded him. Not only did the trade open up some cap space but it also gave the Avalanche Martin Necas and Jack Drury in return, two forwards who will add star power and depth to the lineup.
This team might take a step back in the short term. It’s possible they will struggle this season and won’t make a playoff run. However, in the long run, the Avalanche will be better off. They still have MacKinnon and Makar, two top-five players in the NHL, to build around, and for the first time since the 2021-22 season, they have some depth.
Islanders’ Core Isn’t Good Enough
The Islanders have a handful of players they can build around, but as the past few seasons have proved, it can only do so much. Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat, and Brock Nelson are on the forward unit with Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov on the defense, and Ilya Sorokin can get this team to the playoffs if everything goes right. However, they won’t lead them much further than that.
It’s why the Islanders eventually will need to pivot. They don’t need a new core but they must have new and better depth to help out their star players. When the Islanders made their deep playoff runs in 2020 and 2021, they did it on the backs of a deep roster. Now, they have the opposite with a top-heavy group and aging veterans as the depth players.
The Islanders, like the Avalanche, are realizing that a team without depth is in trouble. It’s why they must address it at the trade deadline and in the offseason. They can move on from a lot of veterans from Nelson to Kyle Palmieri to Anders Lee by the end of the 2025-26 season, which will help them pivot without doing a teardown.
Is the Rantanen Deal a Preview For Nelson?
The comparison between Rantanen and Nelson isn’t close. Rantanen is a top 20 player in the NHL and his return in the trade reflected that. He allowed the Avalanche to land an elite talent in Necas and three other pieces in the deal. Typically, a star brings back three pieces, so it speaks volumes to the one who was just traded.
Nelson won’t provide that return for the Islanders but he’ll still give them a decent haul in a trade. He checks all the boxes for what contending teams want at the trade deadline. He’s a center, scorer, and contributes to the offense consistently. If the Islanders want to trade him, they can get at least two if not three pieces in the deal.
This is all based on the assumption that the Islanders trade him which is no guarantee considering Lamoriello’s history and how the team has played recently. They are riding a four-game winning streak and are within striking distance of a wild card spot. As long as there’s a path to sneaking into the playoffs, the Islanders will talk themselves into it and Nelson will remain a key part of the roster.
