The Avalanche and Devils have made a trade.
The Colorado Avalanche are sending defenseman Ryan Graves over to the New Jersey Devils for Mikhail Maltsev and a 2021 second rounder.
Colorado wasn’t going to just let a player like Ryan Graves fly to Seattle for nothing. So with time winding down on the clock, they sent Gravey over to New Jersey in return they got Maltsev. Maltsev, a 23-year-old center, just finished his first NHL season. He played in 33 games with 9 points (6G 3A), an average ice time of 11:27, and a Corsi For of 51.1%. He’s a big guy, 6’3″, 198 lbs and he registered 26 hits and 8 blocked shots. The Avs get some of that size they lost with Graves but it’s coming at a much lower cap it.
The Avs are going to have to pinch pennies in this off season to make things work and freeing up $2.36 mill in cap space is definitely gonna help. The Devils are getting a great defender in Ryan Graves. The guy has worked his bag off to become a consistent NHL defender. Last year with the Avs, he played in 54 games with 15 points (2G 13A), averaged 19:03 per game, and had a 57.4% Corsi For. He blocked 91 shots ad laid out 77 hits. In the playoffs, he played 10 games and had 6 points (1G 5A) with 27 blocked shots and 14 hits while averaging 18:31 per game. He’s a solid player and a great pick up for the Devils.
The Expansion Draft throws such a monkey wrench in trades because I have no idea if teams can/will protect players or if they even have to. Disregarding that, great trade for both sides, IMO. The Avs get some cap clearance to focus on their RFAs and UFAs (*cough* Landy *cough*) and the Devils get a solid, brick house of a defenseman on their roster. I loved Ryan in Colorado but if the Avs have to sacrifice a bit to save their big boys, then I can come to peace with that. The Devils just need a darker alt jersey for the Vampire Prince of the NHL.
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