The Colorado Avalanche defense corps, touted as the best in the NHL before the season, has found its collective form.
Bo Byram has two points in each of the past three games, and looks more like the player who wowed during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs and less like one who’s scuffled for large parts of this season. Jared Bednar credited a meeting between Byram and assistant coach Nolan Pratt for helping to spark the turnaround.
“We just talked about what I’m doing when I’m at my best and what I’m doing on the ice,” Bryam said after practice Monday. “Watched some video of games where we both thought I played well and kind of talked about my year to date. I was trying to turn the page on that, and obviously it’s gone well so far.”
When Byram is playing well, to call him the best No. 5 defenseman in the NHL is a discredit to him and unfair to others in the same position. Cale Makar and Devon Toews deservedly get plenty of plaudits as one of the best pairings in the league, but the other four guys have shown why this is the best one through six in the sport.
Sam Girard has 11 points in 20 games since returning from the NHL/NHLPA Players’ Assistance Program. His partner, Josh Manson, has arguably been the club’s most consistent guy at the position all season and needs two more goals to set a career high. Jack Johnson is on his way to his best offensive season since 2016-17, when he was playing seven more minutes per game.
The Avs haven’t had their top-six defensemen available very often this year because of injuries and Girard’s leave of absence, but the depth and difference-making ability have been impressive even when the team struggled with losses in five of the past seven contests.
“They all bring different strengths to the team, but there’s a lot of similarities for that group as well,” Bednar said. “The ability to move the puck and help us create offense throughout our D-corps I think has been really good. When they are committed to playing hard and physical and using their skating to defend like they were (Sunday) night and at certain parts of this year, that is a tough D-corps to play against.”
While Bednar said it’s a little early to be thinking about the March 8 trade deadline, he acknowledged on Monday there could be some nervous energy leading into it. Having Byram and Girard playing so well just before the deadline highlights a huge dilemma for the Avalanche, both in the coming weeks and beyond this season.
The Avs do not have any cap space to improve their team before the deadline. They have minimal long-term salary relief, but that works a little differently than regular space.
For Colorado to fill a hole in the lineup, like say another impact forward, the Avs will almost certainly need to move someone off the current roster to free up enough salary space. The two young players who would be the most attractive on the trade market are Byram and Girard.
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Jack Johnson (3) and defenseman Samuel Girard (49) hold off Vegas Golden Knights center Chandler Stephenson (20) in front of Colorado Avalanche goaltender Alexandar Georgiev (40) in the second period at Ball Arena in Denver on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Girard is under contract at $5 million for the next three seasons after this one. Given the way he’s played over the past 20 games, that remains very much a team-friendly contract. Byram has one more year at $3.85 million, then will likely command a raise from … someone.
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Given that Gabe Landeskog’s contract will go back on the ledger next season, and Toews is getting a $3.15 million bump as well, it may be nearly impossible to keep Girard and Byram in the future. But would moving one of them to fill another hole now actually improve the Avs’ chances of winning the Stanley Cup this season?
While Sam Malinski and Caleb Jones have both played well in limited action, moving one of Byram or Girard would make it much tougher to make the argument that Colorado has the best one through six in the NHL.
“Other teams may have different strengths in certain places, but that D-corps has to be part of the reason why we win on a nightly basis,” Bednar said. “It’s an advantage for us.”
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