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What should have been a franchise-changing draft class in 2009 for the Colorado Avalanche ended today in the third trade of a proven player. After Ryan O’Reilly and Matt Duchene had already seen their Colorado tenure end, the Avalanche traded Tyson Barrie today to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The deal sees Barrie (with 50% of his salary retained) go to Toronto along with Alexander Kerfoot and a 2020 sixth-round pick in exchange for Nazem Kadri, Calle Rosen, and a 2020 third-round pick. That’s a lot of moving parts but we’ll start with Barrie.
With one year remaining on Barrie’s contract, the Avalanche felt the time was right to move Barrie as he was facing unrestricted free agency next summer and Colorado wasn’t too keen on paying him with a blueline loaded with talented young puck movers.
The addition of Bowen Byram with the fourth pick of this year’s draft seemed to put the final nail in Barrie’s coffin as Cale Makar and Sam Girard had ascended to the NHL roster. Coming off a career-high 59-point season, the Avs felt the time was right for a player they were going to have trouble fitting into a long-term cap sheet.
Going with Barrie is Kerfoot, who was a restricted free agent after posting back-to-back 40-point seasons for the Avalanche. He signed with them two summers ago as a college free agent after completing his four-year career at Harvard and choosing not to sign with the New Jersey Devils, who owned his draft rights.
Barrie and Kerfoot join Carl Soderberg as outgoing players for the Avs who made up a significant portion of their scoring beyond their vaunted top line last season. In fact, the three combined for exactly 150 points, leaving the Avalanche with an obvious need to make up ground in their search for secondary scoring.
Insert Kadri, 28, who will immediately slot in as the unquestioned second line center. Kadri’s numbers were down last year as he posted 44 points (16g, 28a) in 73 games played but was relegated to the third line center job after Toronto signed John Tavares last summer to pair with Auston Matthews.
Prior to the arrival of Tavares, Kadri had posted back-to-back 30-goal seasons in 61 and 55-point campaigns. Kadri is an excellent play driver who also excels in the defensive zone and faceoff circle. That was a theme for the Avs today after signing Pierre-Edouard Bellemare in free agency to be their fourth line center and who excels in the same areas, albeit without any of the offense.
Another key to acquiring Kadri is his extremely team-friendly contract. He’s due to make just $4.5M per year for the next three years, making him one of the best bargains in the league should he return to the 50-point range he was in before the arrival of Tavares.
Kadri’s arrival as the second line center is a major step forward for the Avs after a day of mostly middle of the road moves that left many fans scratching their head. Given what Colorado gave up in this deal, that’s likely to continue happening.
The real wild card in this deal is the presence of Rosen. A 25-year-old swift-skating defenseman from Sweden, Rosen was undrafted and came to North America two years ago after playing in the SHL for a number of years. Rosen just finished off a season with Toronto’s AHL club, the Marlies, in which he recorded 46 points (7g, 39a) in 54 games played.
Rosen re-signed with Toronto this summer for two years at $750K per year on a one-way deal before the trade. He now joins an Avalanche organization where it’s unclear where he fits. He regularly took on top competition in the AHL last season and produced offense at a very high level.
With Barrie now out of the lineup and Ian Cole injured until at least December and Erik Johnson potentially not ready for the start of the season, it may present an opportunity for Rosen to outplay Kevin Connauton, Mark Barberio, and Ryan Graves for a roster spot. The presence of Byram also looms as a potential roadblock for Rosen but he represents an intriguing player with meaningful upside if the team can find opportunity for him.
After the deal, Colorado’s forward lines are projected to look something like:
Landeskog – MacKinnon – Rantanen
Jost – Kadri – Burakovsky
Wilson – Compher – Donskoi
Nieto – Bellemare – Calvert
Kadri’s fancy stats below indicate a hell of a player is on his way to Colorado, regardless of how you feel about the value:
0 Comments (19 conversations)
KDimmitt
I wish Barrie and Kerfoot well, and I am happy getting Kadri but jeeeez that seems like a lot to give up and that’s frustrating. A week ago this would have been more palatable thinking we could make big plays for top free agents but after today it just seems off. Any chance of getting Ferland or Dzingel? That seems like it might help… maybe?
NoMoreRats
I was hoping they would trade Barrie for Nylander while retaining salary and maybe throwing in Kerfoot. We actually need Kadri more if he can go right back to his pre-Tavares scoring levels. His toughness will be useful as well if he can keep his shit together.
AJ – did anyone ask Joe in either call where these moves leave Kamanev in the immediate future and Kaut in the very near term? Kamanev has no need of AHL time and Kaut sure in hell looked ready to play in the NHL last week.
If Sakic didn’t say, what’s your guess as how those two guys fit in?
mladen
My question is, Why have a farm system?. Why draft anyone? we’ll just sign sign a bunch of retreads in free agency or trade for them expecting them to be ten times better than they have ever been. I was hoping our second line would be Jost, Kaut and either Kamanev or Bower. Developing these players is what brings championships.
MatthewB
Well only one of those players has any real NHL experience, and also hasn’t proven himself as a top 6 forward (Jost). Kaut had a mediocre first pro year in the AHL, Kamenev another unproven young player that I doubt ever sees a full time role as a top six forward. Bowers is fresh out of college and has played less than 10 pro games (also more of a bottom six center down the road). In what conceivable way did you see 2 or 3 of those players rounding out a second line in the NHL for this season? Especially one that’s trying to remain competitive.
mladen
See if you can understand this concept. Young players get better. The only way they show that is to be given the opportunity. All of these kids that I mentioned were first round draft choices therefore elite talents with far higher upsides than the players we got. And they’re our players. we know them. You can’t say that about some other teams trash.
MatthewB
I understand the concept of young players progressing. Being a first round pick doesn’t guarantee an upside of a top six forward. If we want to debate your first round pick argument, Kadri and Burakovsky are both first round picks. Kadri is a proven commodity. Last year I feel was a fall off due to a reduced role. Burakovsky is only a year older than Kamenev (2nd round pick), who also has Stanley Cup to his name. Bold to say they are trash, when they haven’t even played a game in an Avs uniform.
HolidayHippie
Nylander is overrated, and O’Reilly 2.0.
Audioveins
Is it just me or is Sakic overpaying everywhere this off season?
Nels
It’s not just you
HolidayHippie
Everyone said the same thing about Cole and Calvert. Calvert missing a couple games in the playoffs was a big problem, and Cole is a huge part of our D-corps now.
I don’t think he overpaid.
KCRybek
Ian Cole will be back in October. Somebody bet me
ThatPetrolRelation
All the trades have confused me. I suppose Kadri fills a role, if he can avoid going postal. But the rest of there trades have me thinking meh. Hopefully the advanced stats guys know something.
Nels
Seriously? Lets be nice and say Kerfoot has NO value. But they still traded a younger Dman with 59 points FROM THE BLUE LINE for an older forward with 44. AND RETAINED SALARY TO DO IT. We ta did. Sofa king, we ta did
ljb4
Barrie’s value was set by Trouba. Mid-first rounder plus a 3rd pair defenseman. If you look at that plus Kerfoot and a 6th round pick for Kadri for three years at a fair price and a #7 defender plus a low 3rd round pick, it is about fair. The Avalanche are betting Girard and Makar can replace the offense with better defense. Hopefully Johnson and Cole are healthy early in the season.
tal
Makes me super sad to see TB4 go. But had to happen. I hope there’s a way for him to come back even though I doubt it.
ColoradoCartography
Yes
We overpaid
I do think kadri is way better than Kerfoot
Intangibles…beast mode…wears an A
Makar cancels out Barrie $950k v $8m
I guess Barrie for kadri is ok…
Throwing in Kerfoot for another Dman is odd
Retaining salary…blows
Shanny got the beatdown on Sakic
It’s reality though
We’re better and tougher today than last game.
Landy & Kadri on a line is nasty
Kadri at 4.5 is good…he’ll go off 25g 35a
This trade isn’t equal but…as a team today we are meaner, have more depth, 2 lines that can score…
As a whole…I’m in.
Aside from the trade. Does anyone think this is a worse team than LY? I don’t
Jcpitts74
The unknown in all of this is what Kerfoot was asking for. If his camp though he deserved $4.5M or more then we just transferred the rights to someone we were never going to sign. If that’s the case, this deal looks very different than if he was willing to sign for a team friendly rate. Unfortunately, I doubt we’ll ever know. And, in that case I’ll trust Joe’s judgement.
Sunfunbun
Great day, we became true contenders for the Cup!
Before FA, we needed stronger forward depth, especially at scoring top six and fourth line. We got Donskoi, Wilson and Bellemare, then traded away what I believe was a repetitive type player in Kerfoot(Jost, Compher, Buro…all skill guys, with not enough sandpaper and asshole in their games) and Barrie, for Kadri, a legit 30 goal scoring, 200 ft. fiery, pain in the ass.
Man look at that forward lineup thru 4 lines. We can give Vegas a run for good quality up and down those lines, with now, a legit scorer in Kadri
to give major help to the 3 all stars. Stoked!!
We’ve improved through subtraction and addition, while not screwing the future with overblown, longterm contracts. I love what Joe Sakic did, this off season. He gets an A!
Pucklehead
Technically kadri was class of 09 also
bhintze
Surprised people are complaining about the retained salary. That’s money for this year only, and the Avs were never going to spend it anyway. They aren’t going to be a team that is maxed out this year. Granted, this gives Toronto extra cap room this year because they’re not paying Barrie’s full worth, but that’s fairly meaningless to a Western Conference team.
Now, a few years down the line, the Avs likely won’t be able to afford doing something similar when Mackinnon (and others like Makar and Bowen) are getting paid a whole lot better than they are this year.
In the end, I’m not sure I like the trade because I don’t trust Kadri to stay on the ice when the playoffs roll around. That was just an idiotic play against Boston this year. Hopefully he figures it out.
World of Suck
The Avs walked into the 2009 draft with four picks in the top three rounds. Today, those picks have turned into:
(No 33) ROR: Zadorov, Compher, Greer, Morrison
(No 3) Duchene: Girard, Byram, Kamanev, Bowers, Grubauer (kind of), Stienberg
(3rd round) Barrie: Kadri
It took 10 years, but the 2009 draft class have brought the Avs back to being a contender. Just not the way anyone thought it might happen.
Troutzky
Awesome – I was thinking about this earlier but it’s great to see in writing, thanks for posting
NoMoreRats
Do people realize that Barrie is a rental on an expiring contract? Joe got 3 years of Naz Kadri, a legit 2C for a year of Tyson Barrie and had to throw in one of his better depth forwards. And Kadri’s contract syncs almost perfectly with Newhook’s development. Think about what Nashville had to give up for Johansen, Turris and now Duchene – all basically 2C’s. I doubt anyone will be thinking Joe lost this trade a year from now. Rosen is a nice third pairing prospect throw-in who can skate. This trade saved the off season for Sakic. He gave up something he had a surplus of for something teams almost never trade.
NoMoreRats
You do realize before he was pushed to 3rd line minutes by Tavares’ arrival that Kadri had 2 consecutive 32 goal seasons playing 2C, right?
Troutzky
Hey Charlie
dudleyconrad
This is a good trade folks. Use a surplus to fill a need. The team is trying to win now. You can either do that by hoping the kids pan out and make huge jumps (how did that work out last year?) or trade for and/or sign proven quantities.
I understand a lot of folks on this site have a fascination with our prospects, but they still present and unknown. The 12 guys we have today are an upgrade over last year, period.
As for Kaut and Kamenev, you use them as injury call-ups and season them in the AHL, or in Vlad’s case you keep him on as a 13F and rotate him out with a guy like Nieto. It’s good to have depth and have guys that are competing for jobs rather than just hoping the kids work out this year. You’ve got Nieto and Wilson on one-year deals anyway; Vlad and Kaut can replace those guys next year after another year of seasoning.
Also the retained salary is utterly meaningless. It’s $2.5 mil for one year; we can afford it. And Rosen is a solid pickup given the injury questions we have, as AJ alluded to.
Joe did good yesterday. If it were me I put Vlad in at 4C instead of overpaying for an old Bellemare, but again, Joe is going for the proven quantity here. You can’t fault him for formulating a pland and sticking with it.
Raz
So… I’ve had a night to think about this. I’m on board. My only hang up with Kadri, was his seeming inability to control himself in the playoffs. Doesn’t do us a dang bit of good if our new 2C is sitting in the playoffs.
I DID get a chance to hear Joe on Altitude Radio this morning though. If he doesn’t see it as an issue, I guess neither do I. He’s actually talked to the guy, I have not.
I also don’t agree that Joe overpaid. Retaining 50% for 1 season, moving our 6th to a 3rd, and making room for the needed changes up front to get that much coveted secondary scoring are all plusses. At WORST, this was an even trade given that TB4 was going to go for nothing at the end of the season and Toronto really needed him. If Kadri pans out though, I would call this a win for us.
Helluva time to be an Avs fan and I’m so excited to see this squad on the ice in October.
Pucklehead
Also on board. Joe S made the deal he had to make after Panarin went for glamor over substance. Gotta add Barrie didn’t cut and run like somebody else when times were tough, he always played hard and was funny as heck. I will be standing and clapping when he returns. I hammered him over his defense for years but he is a class act and will miss him.
HolidayHippie
I really think this was much more of a trade of Kadri for Kerfoot and a year of Barrie, with the Avs keeping 50% salary to make it more balanced. After this year, this becomes a trade of Kadri for Kerfoot, which is an overwhelming win for the Avs. The Leafs are descending into salary cap hell, and they won’t be able to pay Barrie unless they unload one of their big guys like Nylander or Marner. Trading Kerfoot and a 6th for Kadri and a 3rd is a great trade.
dudleyconrad
If you read Dubas’ comments, he’s definitely banking on Kerfoot becoming their 3C for a while. He still sees upside and expects him to improve.
Some Leafs fans seem to think they might be able to sign Barrie depending on what the cap ceiling is next year.
HolidayHippie
I think those fans are whistling up a rope. The cap isn’t going to go up enough for them to be able to sign Barrie. They’ll have to move some people to be able to do that, or try to sign some of their own guys at discounts (i.e. Marner).
ColoradoCartography
Anyone remember a player named…
Claude Lemieux
Kadri’s a great pickup
HolidayHippie
I may be crazy, but I see some Forsberg in Kadri’s game. Snarl, intensity, the ability to keep the puck on his stick and find the net. Obviously doesn’t have the passing ability (as nearly no one in NHL history had Peter’s ability), but he may have a better shot. Sometimes he goes over a line, just like Foppa did. Can hit a fool like Foppa. Obviously I’m not saying that Kadri is as good as Forsberg, as that would make me a crazy person. I think he brings the same thing to the game that Forsberg did, albeit at a significantly lower level. Those kinds of players are difficult to find, and can be incredibly important to a team’s success or failure.