Colorado Avalanche acquires Shawn Matthias from Toronto

Instead of waiting for the NHL trade deadline to start making upgrades to their roster, the Colorado Avalanche pounced a week early as they announced a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs that sees them acquire forward Shawn Matthias in exchange for prospect Colin Smith and a fourth round pick in 2016.

Matthias, 28, has put up 17 points (6 goals, 11 assists) in his 51 games for the Maple Leafs in his first season with the club after signing a one-year deal over the summer. He was considered one of the summer’s better low-risk signings because of his strong two-way play and ability to score goals in limited ice time. He had a career-high 18 goals for the Vancouver Canucks last season.

For the Avalanche, they get another NHL-caliber center that can play responsible minutes in their bottom six, an area that had been of growing concern in recent weeks. The team is reportedly shopping John Mitchell around the league so this could be an easy first step in moving on from Mitchell sometime in the next week. If not, it only enhances the strength of the team down the middle as Matthias will come in as a clear-cut upgrade over a number of the players who have seen regular ice time for the Avalanche this season.

Nothing in life is free, however, as the Avalanche had to give up a fourth round pick in 2016 and Colin Smith in order to bring Matthias to Denver. Smith was a seventh round selection in the 2012 NHL Draft and appeared in one NHL game last season. While he wasn’t considered a top prospect for the Avalanche, he was ranked by the BSN Avalanche staff as the 20th Avalanche player under the age of 25 last spring. A diminutive player who was a holdover from the previous regime, it was expected the Avalanche would try to move Smith at some point this season.

Matthias is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, making him a potential “rental” for the Avalanche but one that certainly didn’t cost much. For those curious about his “fancy stats”, here is the HERO chart for Matthias:

This is a good deal for both teams as the Maple Leafs will likely continue trading their plethora of players on one-year deals for packages similar to this one. For the Avs, they get a legitimate upgrade to the NHL roster at a position of need at the cost of a prospect who had stagnated in their system and a draft pick outside of the top 90. Given each team’s goals, it’s hard not to feel like this could be one of the deadlines more balanced deals when all is said and done.