Strike 2: There are trades that end up being one-sided, like the Colorado Rockies acquiring future batting champ D.J. LeMahieu from the Chicago Cubs for Casey Weathers and Ian Stewart back in 2011, or the Seattle Seahawks sending Russell Wilson to the Broncos for Drew Lock, Shelby Harris, Noah Fant and a couple of first round draft picks in 2022. Ouch.
There are trades that end up not really helping either team, like the Nolan Arenado-to-the-St. Louis Cardinals trade just over three years ago now. With the Cardinals desperately trying to find a trade partner to offload Arenado, that one has turned out poorly for both sides.
But there have actually been a good number of trades involving the locals that have worked out well for both sides – win-win deals that make everyone happy. For example, Denver Nuggets fans who loved Gary Harris are still happy they got Aaron Gordon back from Orlando in return, right? And the Magic still employ Harris. To this day, fans in the 303 remain very happy with the Champ Bailey-for-Clinton Portis swap back in 2004. Rockies fans are fine with All-Star Matt Holiday being sent to Oakland for future All-Star Carlos Gonzales and Huston Street back in 2009. The Carmelo Anthony trade actually did turn out well for Denver and New York, and going back even further, the then-Baltimore Colts were pleased to get future All-Pro offensive lineman Chris Hinton from the Denver Broncos back in 1983, and Broncos Country remains thrilled that John Elway came to Denver in return.
The Colorado Avalanche have made their fare share of important swaps over the years, starting with the deal that brought Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy to the Mile High back in 1996. Roy was the missing piece in a Stanley Cup winning lineup. In future years, the Avs brought guys like Rob Blake and Ray Bourque to Denver to build another Cup winner in 2001. Getting Eric Johnson from St. Louis in 2011 proved to be very fruitful a decade later.
Current linchpins like Ross Colton, Casey Middlestadt, Andrew Cogliano and Josh Manson – not to mention the goaltender tandem of Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood, were all brought here via the trade market in order to help make another Cup run.
So it seems like Avs front office knows what they’re doing when it comes to making team shaping deals.
Now, could Martin Necas and Jack Drury end up joining that favored list?
Time will tell of course. But keep in mind that along the way, Colorado has had to be willing to part with standout players like Claude Lemieux, Alex Tanguay, Matt Duchene and Ryan O’ Reilly just to name a few. You’ve got to give up something to get something important back in return.
So it’s obvious that Joe Sakic and Chris McFarland didn’t just trade future Hall of Fame winger and free-agent-to-be Mikko Rantanen on a whim. Knowing the difficult salary cap situation they were in, the Avs brain trust made a decision that could help the team get better for the near term and the future. Getting Necas and Drury back in the deal has already proven to be, at the very least, a positive step in balancing out what the experts were calling a “top-heavy” offense. Rantanen – one of the best scorers in the NHL playing alongside MVP Nathan MacKinnon – was lethal, but when the top line wasn’t on the ice, things could run dry, scoring-wise.
And the economics of the deal still leave Colorado with room to make another move before the upcoming trade deadline, now that Rantanen’s contract is off the books.
Had they not done something in the trade market, the Avs would have run the risk of having another Dikembe Mutombo, or Jon Gray or Trevor Story situation on their hands, with a prized free agent leaving town and the team getting nothing in return. It remains to be seen if the Rantanen-to-Carolina trade helps both the Avs and the Hurricanes, who now have the burden of finding north of $13 million per season in order to re-sign their own free agent to be.
Early returns make it seem like this one could end up being a win-win. Avs fans are certainly hoping so. Their Stanley Cup hopes are riding on it.
