As an Avs fan, I would love this trade and I think it would work for both teams.

not against the pageau trade but his production really isn't what it needs to be over the past 2 years. not sure if that's because of trotz or he's just not good enough anymore. seems more like a plan-c type trade. girard should command a lot of interest.

I disagree tbh. I like Pageau, he's a really good player who can play in all situations, but he's a 29 year old who carries the same cap hit as Girard. I think you could get more for Girard than Pagueau, and for a team whose defense is a large part of what makes them great, I don't think this 1-for-1 trade is fair value for the Avs here. Girard had a bad season, and it sounds like he played most of the regular season with a back injury of some kind, so I'm willing to say he'll have a bounceback season. Additionally, if we're moving a 24 year old dman, I would imagine the goal would be to relieve some cap space, and trading for a guy with the same cap hit who's 5 years older 1-for-1 just doesn't make sense to me.

Fair points. Sammy also looked really good in the playoffs before breaking his sternum, so it's not like I'm down on him at all. I just think the Avs are going to struggle to find a good solution at 2C with Naz likely gone. Maybe you ask the isles to retain some salary or throw in some picks/prospects. I think Pageau would fit in really well on a line with nuke and lehky, that would be a pretty unbeatable shutdown line. The avs have also shown they get career high production of a lot of guys they bring in (nuke, kadri, burky, etc.) so I think we'd see his production go up but again I think we want him because of the defensive aspects.

I’m sure S Holmstrom is a fine prospect, but I doubt that’s who the Wild Target in any return. The last thing we need is another left shot winger. We need a top 6 Center, preferably a right shot one.

Avs decline, Pageau has never produced To the level of his contract and he is 6 years older than Girard. Easy pass.

Why? JGP 29 career .44ppg. Girard 24 career .42ppg. You’d be ok giving up a dman that plays both sides eats 20 minutes a game for an older same production forward? You do realize a top pairing capable dman is worth significantly more than a middle 6 forward, that you aren’t even getting any salary cap relief. Imo this is an awful trade.

If Girard gets traded, I would imagine it doesn't become a question until next summer barring any major desire to keep most of this years UFA's around. I think there is a world where Erik Johnson retires this offseason which would help a lot, but I could see the Avs going with Newhook at 2C as well next year. Two shutdown guys like Lehky and Nuke could really help him develop his 200ft game