The Colorado Avalanche reunited with an old friend on Friday when they acquired defender, Patrik Nemeth, from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a 2022 4th round pick.
Detroit retained 50% of Nemeth’s cap hit in the deal as Avs General Manager, Joe Sakic, bolstered his blue line depth ahead of Monday’s trade deadline.
Colorado already has a tremendous roster on paper, but likely could use a solid backup goaltender and whatever added depth they can find for the stretch run in the event of injury.
The Avalanche are in “win now” mode as 2021 Stanley Cup contenders, especially as free agency looms for key components of their roster.
Meanwhile, the Red Wings are looking to move expendable pieces as the team is bound to miss the postseason for the fifth consecutive year.
Nemeth, 29, enters his second stint with Colorado, having recently played with the Avalanche from 2017-19, after the Avs claimed him off waivers ahead of the 2017-18 season from the Dallas Stars.
The 6-foot-3, 228-pound native of Stockholm, Sweden was originally drafted by the Stars in the 2nd round (41st overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft and had 2-6–8 totals in 39 games with the Red Wings this season.
He has 7-49–56 totals in 353 career NHL games with the Stars, Avalanche and Red Wings, as well as one assist in 18 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Nemeth most recently contributed a plus-4 rating from Colorado’s blue line in seven games in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
With Detroit retaining 50% of his cap hit, Nemeth carries a $1.500 million cap hit through season’s end and is a pending-unrestricted free agent.
Red Wings General Manager, Steve Yzerman, kicked off his approach to the 2021 trade deadline by shipping Nemeth to the Avalanche for a 2022 4th round pick on Friday.
Detroit also announced on Friday that forward, Bobby Ryan, would miss the rest of the season with an upper body injury, likely taking the 34-year-old winger off the trade market as a potential depth addition for any playoff contender.
Yzerman has all the incentive in the world to make whatever trade he sees fit to improve his team as an overwhelming majority of Red Wings players are pending free agents at season’s end– 15 players to be exact, at least on the active roster according to CapFriendly.
Colorado and Detroit might not be done as potential trading partners before Monday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline, as former Avs goaltender turned current Red Wing, Jonathan Bernier, would be an excellent solution to the backup role behind Philipp Grubauer in the Avalanche’s quest for the Cup.
Down the Frozen River 
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