REPORT: Avalanche Were ‘Finalist’ For Tanev; What Could They Have Offered?

We had kind of known for a while that the Colorado Avalanche were sniffing around Chris Tanev, but it sounds like things got pretty serious.

TSN and The Athletic’s Pierre Lebrun indicates that the Avalanche were one of five finalists for defenseman Chris Tanev‘s services. On Wednesday, Tanev was dealt to a division rival, the Dallas Stars. In return, the Calgary Flames received a second round pick, a prospect, and a conditional third rounder. That third rounder only becomes a part of the trade if the Stars make it to the Stanley Cup Final this year.

It’s interesting to hear because Colorado’s defense, on paper, is pretty strong. With Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Sam Girard, Josh Manson, and Bowen Byram, they’re set, but adding a player like Tanev would have made it easily the deepest in the league. It also would have given them the perfect combination of three left shots, and three right shots. Depth on defense is a big reason why the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022, among other things.

What would Colorado have even offered for Tanev?

Calgary was hunting for a first round pick in return, but ultimately didn’t end up getting one. Lebrun says at least one team did offer a first round pick, but there was a caveat – the Flames would have had to take a contract back. While he said he didn’t know for sure which teams offered a first, he thinks the Avalanche would have been one, but speculates they likely would have asked the Flames to take back Ryan Johansen‘s contract. Johansen has one more year left on his deal for $4 million.

Obviously, Calgary didn’t bite, and went a different direction. The Avalanche don’t have a second or third round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, so it makes it a little tougher to close deals this time of year.

What I take out of all this is that Colorado doesn’t appear to be sitting on their hands, and that Chris MacFarland is trying to get a deal done. Edmonton, Toronto, and Vancouver were the other three finalists for Tanev’s services.

There’s a little over one week until the NHL Trade Deadline, so still time for MacFarland and company to get something done.