Avalanche acquire forward Brandon Duhaime in trade with Wild
The Avalanche are coming off a busy Wednesday of trade-related action where they grabbed forward Casey Mittelstadt from Buffalo and defenseman Sean Walker from Philadelphia.
Duhaime is another solid bottom-six depth player for Colorado as they look to maintain pace as one of the Western Conference’s leading contenders. The 26-year-old winger has four goals and eight points in 63 games this season, is a useful penalty killer, and at 6-foot and 200 pounds can pack a physical punch as well. While Duhaime may not have the highest ceiling offensively, he is versatile and durable — Duhaime is one of five Wild skaters to appear in every game this year — and can provide the Avalanche with options upfront down the stretch.
The pending unrestricted free agent also comes on a team-friendly $1.1 million deal. In another twist, Duhaime could possibly make his Colorado debut against the Wild on Friday night.
It’s unlikely Minnesota expected they’d be the ones selling assets like Duhaime ahead of the NHL’s trade deadline on Friday instead of keeping them in place for a playoff run. But the Wild got off to a slow start, and a coaching change from Dean Evanson to John Hynes hasn’t ignited the Wild the way general manager Bill Guerin had hoped. Minnesota sits nine points back of a wild-card berth in the West. The Wild have been getting healthier too, making Duhaime all the more expendable before Friday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.
Colorado has had success doing business with the Wild before. Minnesota sent Nico Sturm to the Avalanche for Tyson Jost in 2022, and Sturm went on to win a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche that spring.
The Wild could still be in the market to make moves, with pending unrestricted free agents like Pat Maroon a possible target for playoff-bound clubs looking to add experience.