WIth the injury to Peter Mueller last week, the Avalanche find themselves in position to make a major move. They are a forward short and still under the salary floor with only 10 days remaining until the regular season begins. These two factors have forced GM Greg Sherman’s hand. In order to field a competitive team, he needs to make a trade.
As Adrian Dater suggests, the New Jersey Devils may be the likely trade target. Their offseason signing of top free agent Ilya Kovalchuk has left them several million over the cap they need to remove before the start of the season.
The Devils and GM Lou Lamoriello are a notoriously difficult team to make trades with, however, and no doubt Lou wants as much value as he can get for a solid veteran like Langenbrunner. The Devils obviously can only take a draft pick or prospect in any deal right now, so the question becomes which of the Avs’ prospects does he want?
With the rumors heating up, expect a deal to happen shortly. If not Langenbrunner, then another veteran forward will be added to the roster before October 7th.
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