Aarif Deen
Samuel Girard is a Stanley Cup champion. And at 21 years old, he signed a long-term extension worth a life-changing amount of money. He’s not one to usually look too far ahead, but with a humbled smile on his face, Girard, reflecting on his NHL career to this point, shared the one moment he truly believes tops both of those experiences:
Being traded to the Avalanche on Nov. 5, 2017.
“That was the best thing to happen in my life,” Girard told me on the eve of the seventh anniversary of the trade.
The defenseman was one of many pieces Colorado acquired in a three-team blockbuster deal that sent Matt Duchene to the Ottawa Senators. Along with the now 26-year-old, the Avs also received Vladislav Kamenev and a second-round draft pick from Nashville, and Andrew Hammond, Shane Bowers, a first, and a third from the Ottawa Senators. The Predators acquired Kyle Turris in the deal.
It was a masterful trade by then-general manager Joe Sakic and one that set Colorado up for the 2022 Stanley Cup championship run and beyond. It’s well documented that Bowen Byram was also part of that trade. After winning the Cup, the defenseman was dealt for Casey Mittelstadt last March — Colorado’s new No. 2 center. And goalie Justus Annunen is also connected to the deal. But of all the many pieces that were involved, nobody has been as impactful in their new home as Girard.
Looking back, many of the Avs had no idea what to expect when they got him. But Girard quickly made an impression.
“His skating instantly stuck out to me,” Nathan MacKinnon said. “He’s been a staple back there for us for seven years now. He’s a great teammate, works really hard, and we’re lucky to have him.”
The day the trade unfolded was about as chaotic as it could get. Girard was in Los Angeles with the Nashville Predators preparing to play his sixth career NHL game. The Avs had been in talks with multiple teams for several months about Duchene — the prized possession at the time. And Girard was aware that his name had started to surface in rumors.
But amid the speculation, he was focusing his energy on sticking in the NHL. Through five games, Girard had a goal and two assists and was creeping up on the nine-game deadline before either sticking with the Preds or getting sent back to his junior club in the QMJHL. When the trade happened, it quickly shifted his plans.
The flight from L.A. to Denver is just over two hours. But Girard wasn’t going there. At least not yet. He was about to embark on a 5,000-mile trip to meet his new teammates in Sweden. The Avs were preparing for a two-game series against Duchene and the Senators.
“I had to take a flight. I think it was LA to London, London to Helsinki, and Helsinki to Sweden,” Girard said.
When he arrived, around 4 am local time, he had just five hours to prepare for his first practice. He didn’t know any of his new teammates before the deal. But he shared an agent with one of the Avs’ veterans and received a text from them hours after the trade was announced.
“I remember Erik Johnson texted me,” he said. “I didn’t know him before the trade. The first text he sent me, that’s when I met him. Everything started there. And we became good friends right away.
“To be honest the connection I had with all the guys was amazing. Everybody was so nice to me even if my English was not that good during that time. But EJ was the first one to welcome me.”
Girard had an assist in his Avalanche debut and went on to play most of the season on the top pair with Johnson.
Whenever the Avs are interested in acquiring a player, head coach Jared Bednar is tasked with reviewing the game tape to see if they’ll be a fit. It’s part of the job you sign up for as head coach. But this trade was different. Because of the timing and how young Girard was in his NHL career, Bednar didn’t quite get a chance to do that.
“When it comes to pro guys that have played in the league for a while, Chris [MacFarland] and Joe [Sakic] tell me to watch some of their games, spread them out over the course of a season, and see what I think about them,” Bednar said. “What are they doing for some of the other teams? What do I like about them? Where do I think they can fit in? If we’re going to acquire a guy who’s supposed to jump into our lineup, you want to be sure of how we feel we can use him. And for G, the course of that trade took a long time, so I didn’t watch G at the time. That was a young player coming in with not a big sample size in the NHL.”
Like with his teammates, Girard had to rely on a strong first impression to gain his coach’s trust. After all, there were no guarantees that Colorado would keep Girard past the nine-game mark either, albeit it was a more feasible option with the Avs than it was with the Predators. Thankfully, the 5’9 defenseman impressed his coach.
Even Bednar was quick to realize he had something special.
“When you first get a guy and you watch him practice, then you put him in the games, and you kind of see what they can do. The clearer you become on that picture of what you have, the better you can allocate minutes with confidence in what they’re able to do,” Bednar told me, reflecting on that first week as Girard’s coach. “G came in and played well for us right out of the gate.”
Added Girard: “I was very grateful that they liked me, and liked the way I played. The way they were using me, a lot of minutes. On the second power play, the PK as well. I appreciated all of it.”
Now seven years in, Girard, who is still young and under contract for multiple years, is nearing 500 games with the Avs. By the end of the season, he’ll trail only Adam Foote and Johnson in games played among defensemen for Colorado.
For many, assessing his tenure in Colorado might be difficult because of the inconsistencies he’s pushed through over the years. But for Bednar, he didn’t hesitate to share his thoughts. Girard has passed the test as a valuable asset with flying colors — averaging more than 20 minutes per game for 482 games with Bednar behind the behind.
“His defending for his stature is excellent. The weaknesses he sometimes has when it comes to defending because of his stature, he makes it up with his intelligence, his quickness, and his stick. He’s got a great stick,” Bednar said. “I think G’s a really consistent player. He plays to the best of his ability, plays hard, and I would say that, to me, anytime you get a guy that plays in your top four for seven years. It’s a pretty good pickup.”
It’s impossible to predict if Girard is going to play the rest of his career with the Avalanche. But just as he did at the start of our exclusive interview, Girard made sure to remind me that looking ahead to the future isn’t his thing. He sometimes enjoys reflecting on the past, but he mostly prefers to live in the present
“Time flies. It’s crazy how fast it goes,” he said. “We’ve gotta enjoy every moment of it.”