The NHL roster freeze has finally begun: teams can no longer make trades, place players on waivers, or loan players, but they can make emergency calls and place players on IR and LTIR. This takes effect until Dec. 27, and given the Avalanche's hot start, I wanted to know whether they would make any last-minute moves before the freeze.

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We saw two trades execute just in time before the freeze. Mason Marchment (Stars) was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the one I was particularly interested in, Phillip Danault (Kings), was traded back to the Montreal Canadiens. Despite the hot start and the Central going to be a war zone in the playoffs, after seeing the prices each team paid to acquire them, it was smart for the Avalanche to wait closer to the trade deadline to make any acquisitions.

Last-Minute Prices Cost The Most

Marchment was somebody I don’t think myself or any Avalanche fan were interested in, not just about how his game would fit into the lineup, but the positional need as a winger. This team has tremendous wing depth, and that's still without Logan O’Connor in the lineup. However, the price for a winger with four goals and nine assists for 13 points cost the Blue Jackets a second round and fourth round pick, which in my eyes are pretty steep, especially if you add on the $4.5 million cap hit this season.

The biggest takeaway was the Danault trade and the Canadiens' decision to spend a second-round pick on him. Granted, they have a surplus of picks to pay and can afford the straight-up $5.5 million cap hit this season and next. He's a reliable bottom-six center, where only five points in 30 games is eye-watering for that production with his level of cap hit. Still, he is familiar with the Canadiens, having played there before. They have been riddled with injuries, so getting a healthy, reliable body is what they need right now in a division that is wide open to anyone making the playoffs. 

He’s efficient on the penalty kill, and for a team that currently has a 77.3% on the unit, it needs all the help it can get. Which was another reason I wanted the Avalanche to try to make a deal, but the price worried me, and how much they would have to give up compared to the easy pick the Canadiens handed off.

Paying For Want or Need?

The Avalanche are off to a red-hot start to the 2025-26 season, currently first in the NHL with a 25-2-7 record with 57 points. Aside from the lack of power-play production, which currently sits at a staggering 15.3%, 28th in the NHL, there isn’t much to criticize about this team. Their star players are leading the way in scoring; they're getting reliable defensive and offensive production from their bottom six, and both goaltenders are playing at an elite level. So that begs the question: did they need to make a move before the roster freeze, or could they wait until the trade deadline to pick up a piece or two?

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Which brings it back to what Danault could have brought to the team if they had acquired him and made his cap hit work. He brings everything the Avalanche already has and elevates it. You're not acquiring him to slot into the power-play and help this team score more goals; he's going to move Jack Drury down to the fourth line and fill in for that third-line center spot. He's going to help the penalty kill, which currently ranks third in the NHL at 84.5% and make it even stronger as they wait for the return of O’Connor to give it another layer of depth.

The issue is the price; the Avalanche can afford to pay a second-round pick, they have two in 2027 and one in 2028. The problem is the cap hit. Currently, they have $2.5 million, and if they did acquire him, they would have sent Zahkar Bardakov down to the AHL, leaving roughly $3 million to work with. So either you're paying another pick or a prospect or a lineup player to make the cap work, or paying that same price, if not more, for the Kings to retain at least half of his cap hit for two seasons.

This question now arises as we head into the new year, the Olympic break, and the final days leading up to the trade deadline. This Avalanche team is special, and there is no doubt that the Dallas Stars will try to make a move, given the Minnesota Wild's trade to acquire Quinn Hughes. So it all begs the question: are you going to make a trade because you have to, or because you want to, like everyone else? 

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If in the new year something comes up, such as an injury, or players start not performing well, then ok, see who is available on the market and try to fix that hole, but right now? It's going to be interesting to see how this team views itself heading into the trade deadline, what is available, and what's worth paying the price to make this team even deadlier heading into the playoffs.

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