TRADE: Avalanche Acquire Forward Fredrik Olofsson From Dallas

Yes, the Colorado Avalanche went out and made a trade on Thursday afternoon. No, it was not for a second line center. Not even close, actually.

But they did pick up a depth player for essentially nothing, acquiring forward Fredrik Olofsson from the Dallas Stars in exchange for future considerations. After the trade, Olofsson immediately signed a one-year deal with the Avalanche, locking him in for the 2023/24 campaign. Here are the details of his contract. His agent is former Avalanche forward Claude Lemieux.

Fredrik Olofsson #GoAvsGo
$775k 1 year, two-way extension

Breakdown:
$775k / $300k ($350k guaranteed)

Rep'd by Claude Lemieux of 4Sports Hockeyhttps://t.co/a4uBv1QHeh

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) June 15, 2023

The 27 year old winger is no stranger to Colorado. He played for the Colorado Thunderbirds as a teenager from 2010-2013, before moving on to the USHL. Last season was his first full year as a professional in North America, and he spent most of his time in the AHL.

At the AHL level, he picked up 14 points in 37 games, and in the NHL, he picked up 4 points in 28 games. Dallas did dress him for two of their playoff games, playing him over 10 minutes in both of those games against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Digging deeper, his underlying numbers with the Stars are quite strong, as Dallas controlled 54.85% of the shot attempts with him on the ice. It’s a smaller sample size, but that is third best among all the forwards they dressed last year. It wasn’t like he was sheltered either, as he started the majority of his shifts in the defensive zone. He also brings size (6’2″) and some physicality to the organization, as he averaged 6.71 hits-per-60 last season.

While this is far from a big move, Olofsson is a safe bet to play games for the Avalanche next season. All one would have to do is look at how many forwards the team cycled through last year. With how the majority of the bottom six struggled all year long, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Avalanche are looking to insert some fresh faces into the mix.

With Sampo Ranta leaving for Sweden, and players like Alex Galchenyuk, Charles Hudon, and Mikhail Maltsev staring down unrestricted free agency, they’ll need to rebuild the depth of the organization up front. This is just one step in that process.

Stay tuned to CHN, as the next few weeks are sure to be very busy.