Avalanche Trade Erik Brannstrom; Slick Deal Nets Free Pick

The Avalanche’s defense carousel continued. Following the waiver wire pickup of John Ludvig, the team made a trade on Sunday, sending defenseman Erik Brannstrom to the Vancouver Canucks for Tucker Poolman and a 2025 fourth-round draft pick.

Poolman, 31, is injured and will not play in 2024-25. The defenseman missed the 2023-24 season and dressed in only three games in 2022-23. His career is likely over. The Ludvig addition meant general manager Chris MacFarland would likely offload one of Brannstrom or Oliver Kylington. The team didn’t see enough from either of them during training camp to inspire confidence. And as a result, Brannstrom’s time in Colorado has come to an end before it even started.

It’s a no-brainer move for the Canucks. By retaining 20% of Poolman’s salary, they no longer need to use LTIR and could instead accrue cap space leading up to the trade deadline. The addition of Brannstrom ($900,000) plus the retention ($500,000) both fit under their $88 million cap. Brannstrom was also placed on waivers by the Canucks following the trade. If he clears, his salary will be wiped off their cap upon getting sent to the AHL. Vancouver accomplished all of this for the price of a fourth-rounder.

But why did Colorado make the move? Why didn’t the Avalanche simply waive Brannstrom, free up his cap space, and stay within the salary cap for now? Did they feel this was all worth it for a fourth-round pick? Or is trying to get maximum use out of LTIR their plan?

Honestly, I’m not entirely sure. But I’ll do my best to dig into this.

For the Avs, Poolman will carry a $2 million cap hit before his contract expires next June. Here’s what the Avs’ roster looks like a day before the final rosters to open the season are due. (All cap numbers are from Puck Pedia).

14 Forwards – $59,566,250

Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Valeri Nichushkin, Casey Mittelstadt, Artturi Lehkonen, Ross Colton, Jonathan Drouin, Miles Wood, Logan O’Connor, Calum Ritchie, Nikolai Kovalenko, Ivan Ivan, Parker Kelly, Joel Kiviranta

9 Defensemen – $31,225,000

Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Samuel Girard, Josh Manson, Tucker Poolman, Oliver Kylington, Sam Malinski, John Ludvig, Calvin de Haan

2 Goaltenders – $4,237,500

This puts the Avalanche at a maximum 23-man roster (plus Lehkonen and Nichushkin) without a 13th forward at a total of $95,028,750. The cap ceiling is $88 million. So when you eliminate Nichushkin’s $6.125 million (his cap hit won’t count until he’s reinstated), the Avs are at $88,903,750 and 22 players, which is still slightly above the cap by nearly $1 million.

This likely means the team is going to place Poolman on LTIR to make the numbers work. That $2 million is right around what it would cost to get under the cap ceiling and add another forward via waivers. They would be able to go over the cap by up to $2 million and would want to be as close to that number as possible before rosters are due to get maximum use out of that LTIR space. Then, the roster shuffling can continue.

On one hand, the Poolman addition means they can’t accrue cap space until Nichushkin is reinstated, which at the earliest is November 13. But on the other hand, they probably felt that they would dip into LTIR eventually. So why bother accruing when you can create up to $2 million in flexibility instead? Basically, given the fact that Landeskog’s potential return might still put them in a cap mess, I don’t think accruing cap space for a month was going to accomplish much relief.

So, that says to me that a fourth-round pick, which goes a long way at the trade deadline, was worth it for MacFarland to start the season on LTIR.

It’s also worth mentioning that Colorado might not be done making moves. I find it hard to believe they’re happy with Kylington’s $1.05 million sitting on the bench. They can use the time between now and Nichushkin’s reinstatement to see if they have something there. But his cap hit is entirely buriable if they decide to send him to the AHL later (assuming he clears waivers).

I also wrote yesterday about the need for a 13th forward, which, as stated, likely will come in the form of a waiver claim. There are plenty of options out there. Regardless of who they pick up, if that’s the route they go, I envision the 12 forwards currently on the roster are the ones who will dress in Vegas on Wednesday.

Full list:
Brown, Bussi, Patera, Sweezey, Viel (BOS)
Clague, Reimer, Rousek (BUF)
Cooley, Pelletier, Schwindt (CAL)
Josian Slavin, Smith, Suzuki (CAR)
Phillips (CHI)
Dries, Holl, Lagesson, Rafferty, Snively (DET)
Brown, Caggiula, Lavoie, Rodrigue (EDM)
Copley, Fagemo, Studnicka…

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 6, 2024

Navigating the cap isn’t easy and it doesn’t always entirely make sense from a reporter’s view. The team might see something we’re not seeing, Or, simply, they have another move up their sleeve. Whatever the case may be, the cap was going to be tough to navigate before Poolman was added and will be tough to navigate after he was added. I don’t think this trade changes much from that end.

But, the Avalanche added a fourth-round pick and it could all simply just come down to that.