The Avalanche’s dream, a nightmare scenario for the 2026 NHL trade deadline

The The Colorado Avalanche is the best team in the NHL at this time. They have the most points in the league, and are five points ahead of the nearest team. Colorado is one of five teams with at least 80 points. And they are the only team in the NHL with more than 85 points.

Suffice to say, the Avalanche are once again a contender. The season is entering its long streak, and Colorado looks like it will win the President’s Trophy in the postseason. For now, however, much focus is on what’s ahead NHL Trade Deadline.

The Avalanche have already made a tradesending Samuel Girard to the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, this could be a precursor to more moves in the next few days. Colorado released $2.25 million in agreement with the Penguins.

Colorado will have to get creative despite the new cap space. That gives them some flexibility, no doubt. Still, Colorado doesn’t have the picks or prospects that some other clubs have to work with. This makes general manager Chris MacFarland’s job difficult, but certainly not impossible.

However, the Lavinas are running out of time to make their moves. With that in mind, here are the dream and nightmare scenarios for the Avalanche at the 2026 NHL trade deadline.

The Avalanche must land a third-line center before the trade deadline

The Avalanche don’t have many needs to fill on their roster. Colorado has some general areas of improvement statistically. But the actual composition of his roster is more than good. Having said this, Colorado could stand to add a third-line center.

As of now, Jack Drury has largely filled the role. Drury came in the first Mikko Rantanen trade last year. And for the most part, he played a solid game. He is especially strong on the defensive end of the ice. However, his offense leaves something to be desired.

One area of ​​improvement is in Colorado’s scoring depth. The Avalanche have three players with more than 20 goals. Two of them — Brock Nelson and Nathan MacKinnon — have already surpassed the 30-goal mark. These two, along with Martin Necas, account for 44% of Colorado’s goals this season.

The Avalanche have a pretty tough offense. This has hurt them in previous seasons. To avoid this happening again, they need to add someone who can improve the depth behind their top three scorers.

In this dream scenario, the Avalanche bring in a scoring center on the third line. In fact, a reunion with Charlie Coyle might make sense. He scored 15 goals for the Columbus Blue Jackets this year. He could be an important player to rely on in the postseason. And it probably wouldn’t take him long to transition, since he spent the second half of last season in Denver.

Starting up just to build it could be expensive

The Avalanche are in an interesting position. Yes, they could improve their scoring depth. But at the same time, it is already a little better than last season. Colorado has five players with at least 15 goals and four players with 50 or more points.

Further strengthening this depth is a dream scenario for the Avalanche. However, it’s not something McFarland should do. If any team can afford to hang around this season, Colorado is near the top of the list. They just don’t have many needs.

Colorado has been linked to some players such as Tyler Myers, Simon Benoit and Evander Kane. Myers could soon be traded to the Detroit Red Wingsand is a solid player. However, these players feel like extras to do something. Especially Myers and Benoit, given that Colorado recently acquired Brett Kulak from the Penguins.

Colorado doesn’t have much wiggle room, so any deal has to be right for them. If they can’t find that deal, they should hold their cards and trust the players they currently have for a long run.