Colorado Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic has dumped roughly $2.5 million in cap space this afternoon. In a trade with the Minnesota Wild, the Avalanche swap defenders by trading Ian Cole for Greg Pateryn. Cole is in a contract season on a deal that carries a $4.25 million hit. Patyrn will also be a free agent this summer and is on a deal that carries a $2.2 million hit.
Avalanche Make Ian Cole Trade with Wild
Cole is a Notre Dame Fighting Irish product and has been in the league for quite some time. He has won two Stanley Cups in his career, both with the Pittsburgh Penguins during their back-to-back cup winning seasons. This year he has appeared in two of Colorado’s games and has no points to show. Last season in 65 games with the team he put up a career season with four goals and 22 assists for 26 total points. He was originally drafted 18th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Since then he has established himself as a great shut down depth option for every team he has been on.
Pateryn played the past three seasons for the Wild. In this time he has played 103 games with the team and put up 12 total points. A University of Michigan product, he too has established himself as a quality depth piece on any team’s blue line. He was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 5th round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Despite this, he didn’t make his NHL debut with the club, instead playing his first season with the Montreal Canadiens during the 2012-13 seasons. He has also played with the Dallas Stars organization as well.
What This Means for the Future
Getting rid of Ian Cole from the Avalanche blue line does a few things for the team. First, it gives them more cap room to pursue another player in a trade or a free agent who has yet to be signed. This likely won’t be any big name players, but likely a depth piece that will only bolster the overall team. This also leads potential room for young defenceman Bowen Byram to crack the team’s main roster this season. The 2019 4th overall pick has yet to make his NHL debut, and will be a welcomed addition to ana already deep defence group.
