Trade Target: If Available, Reunion With Evan Rodrigues Makes Sense For Avalanche

Evan Rodrigues is reportedly available for trade after a two-year stint with the Florida Panthers. The former Avs winger never wanted to leave Colorado following his one-year stint with the team in 2023, but it ended up being the best decision of his career.

The Panthers are back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, and Rodrigues, who signed a four-year deal with them two summers ago, was a key piece of their top six both times.

Now that Florida is up against the cap and pushing to bring back at least two of their big three free agents, the Avs should try to pry Rodrigues out of Florida to fill in as a depth forward. The now 31-year-old has chemistry with the core, has versatility to play on any line, and can provide an added veteran presence for a team itching to make another Stanley Cup run.

Nick Kypreos: Panthers' Evan Rodrigues is "one to watch as a potential cap casualty" – Sportsnet

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The Avs have a mostly complete forward group already, but the third line could use some help. Assuming Charlie Coyle sticks around, it’s looking more like one or both of his wingers from the postseason will be gone. The line ultimately wasn’t all that effective.

Both Jonathan Drouin and Joel Kiviranta are pending unrestricted free agents.

Ross Colton is currently slotted in as the third-line right-winger on the depth chart — a position he held before suffering an injury in Game 1 against Dallas. The left wing spot is Miles Wood, who only played one game in the playoffs. At least one, if not both, of those spots are up for grabs and Rodrigues for two more years at $3 million per would be a great add.

Wood should, and probably will, be shipped out in a cap dump deal of some sort. Once that’s taken care of, the team should still trade Colton and his $4 million salary and replace him with Rodrigues and another cheaper forward, perhaps even Kiviranta.

Colton is a luxury the team can’t afford anymore. In order for the Avs to remake their defense, they’ll need extra cap space. If you can find a way to trade Colton and Wood and replace them with Rodrigues for a million less than Colton and someone else, you’ll have the space you need to shuffle the blueline.

I’ve spent most of the offseason wondering if the team would bring back Drouin. He’s not the best fit on the third line, but he would give the team much-needed top-six security. However, I wrote yesterday about the issue with this logic. Drouin is a great fit on the top line when he’s healthy. He has great chemistry with Nathan MacKinnon. We know this.

But his playoff performance in a depth role left a lot to be desired.

Read More: Report: Jonathan Drouin ‘Very Unlikely’ To Return To Colorado

You can’t re-sign him for top-six security if he’s not going to get the job done in his more permanent third-line role.

Rodrigues would be a much better fit. We know versatility is one of his strengths, and we’ve seen him produce with MacKinnon before.

When he spent a year in Colorado, he had 39 points in 69 games and played a career-high 17:51 per game. In the playoffs, Rodrigues had five points in seven games, playing mostly with MacKinnon and the now departed Mikko Rantanen. But more importantly, he’d be an excellent third liner that can both provide energy and produce offensively.

That’s the type of top-six security the Avs need.

I’m not sure what it would take to get him out of Florida but given the deals we’ve seen for Mason Marchment and Evander Kane, I wouldn’t expect it to be much. The biggest hurdle for the Avs would be clearing space for him. Whether it’s Wood, Colton, or both, those would be the guys to trade to make this happen.

Rodrigues had 15 points in 21 games in this most recent Cup run, after recording 15 in 24 in 2024.

I remember speaking to Rodrigues in the dressing room after the Game 7 loss to Seattle. He was very open and honest about wanting to stay in Colorado. But the Avs decided to look elsewhere, and revamped their forward group with the likes of Colton, Wood, Drouin, and Ryan Johansen, among others.

That same night, I tried to ask J.T. Compher about his pending unrestricted free agent status, but he avoided the question.

Rodrigues liked it here, and I don’t have any reason to believe he wouldn’t want to come back. If you’re the Panthers and you have to move him to clear space, sending him to the Western Conference should be your priority.