The Colorado Avalanche cleared cap space last week by trading Tomas Tatar, leading to speculation about whether a more significant move is in store.

With the NHL's annual roster freeze from Dec. 20 to Dec. 27 drawing near, the Colorado Avalanche shipped winger Tomas Tatar Friday to the Seattle Kraken last Friday for a 2024 fifth-round pick.

It seemed to be a straightforward move by the Avalanche, moving out a winger on a one-year, $1.5-million contract who wasn't working out as a scoring forward. According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, however, the Avs could also be preparing for a larger move.

Friedman claimed there are “a bunch of teams” that are “paranoid” the Avalanche are looking to add to their roster. He doesn't know if they can do it right now cap-wise, but there's a suspicion they will at some point.

The Avalanche have three players – Gabriel Landeskog, Pavel Francouz and Artturi Lehkonen – on long-term injury reserve with cap hits totalling $13.5 million. With Tatar off their books, they have $4.825 million in cap space, but that doesn't accrue throughout the season. While Landeskog and Francouz are out for the season, Lehkonen ($4.5-million average annual value) is expected to return to action in six to eight weeks.

Friedman elaborated on the Avs' potential trade plans during Monday's 32 Thoughts podcast. He said he believes they'll have to wait until their salary cap and roster issues are sorted out, but they could be looking at someone such as Calgary Flames center Elias Lindholm.

The Avalanche need a reliable second-line center. Lindholm is slated to become a free agent in July and carries a cap hit this season of $4.85 million. He could become available if he and the Flames fail to reach an agreement on a contract extension before the March 8 trade deadline. Whether the Avs can afford to acquire him remains to be seen.