The NHL’s Trade Deadline is officially behind us, and it was the most active deadline day that I can remember in recent years.

It was a buyer’s market, with more teams in willing to sell than we normally see. The Eastern conference playoff picture has been most set since January, and the math has really begun to shake out who the real playoff contenders are out West in recent weeks.

It really seemed like a lot of GMs were waiting to see if prices would come down the closer we got to the actual deadline, and from what we saw on Monday, I don’t think prices budged at all.

The Colorado Avalanche made two moves on deadline day, acquiring forwards Arturri Lehkonen (from MTL) and Andrew Cogliano (from SJ).

“I like his motor” Jared Bednar said of Arturri Lehkonen, “I think he’s a hard working guy, fit guy, competes hard, really good checking details, and can chip offensively. I think he fits in perfectly in our middle six.”.

The price for Lehkonen was high, as the Avs sent standout defensive prospect Justin Barron, along with a 2nd round pick back to Montreal. Joe Sakic said that the only reason they were comfortable moving Barron was due to the fact that Lehkonen is an RFA at the end of the season, all but assuring he’ll be back in burgundy and blue for the start of the 2022-2023 season.

The Avs’ head coach also said that the team wanted Joe Sakic to bring in players that are “going to work for this as hard as they’ve been working for it”, and I think that went a long way in who the front office targeted.

“Cogliano is another one too” Bednar said, “I hear this guy is an unbelievable guy in the room, he’ll be a good voice for our bottom-six, a lot of experience, I like the personalities we’ve added.”.

You can find the full details on all the deals the Avalanche made are here.