We are roughly three weeks from the NHL Trade Deadline or as I like to call it, "the most wonderful time of the year."

This season is a little more exciting because the Colorado Avalanche are in full win-now mode and that could make for a very tense and entertaining deadline day.

But do the 'Avs have enough available assets to land that big deadline day fish?

The 'Avs are already a well-rounded club, but depth is the ultimate secret weapon in the playoffs and you can never have enough of it. Claude Giroux has long been linked to Colorado and a key target for the playoff run and he is by far and away this deadlines BIG FISH.

The lifelong Philadelphia Flyer is quickly approaching 900 career points and 1,000 NHL games. The veteran forward has 39 points (17g 22a) in 49 games for the Flyers. He can play center or wing and is great in the faceoff circle. He would instantly upgrade a rare weakness for the 'Avs and deepen an already deep roster.

Giroux, a soon-to-be UFA, has complete control of where he goes, as he has a full no-move clause. At 34-years-od this will be his last and final chance to win a ring. Colorado can give Giroux that one thing he's missing from his resume - a Stanley Cup Championship. The Avalanche can give him that Ray Bourque sendoff.

No doubt he will have many suitors that believe they can win the whole thing. It's really going to come down to who has enough pieces to entice Philly to pull the trigger. Will Colorado have enough to make it happen?

Frank Seravalli believes the Tyler Toffoli deal set the price for the market and a player of Giroux's caliber should return a handsome bounty including a first-round pick along with a prospect - just to start.

It's believed the 'Avs have no interest in trading Alex Newhook. It's also believed they have no interest in including anybody else from the regular roster.

The one name that keeps coming up is 2020 first-round pick, Justin Barron. The 20-year-old defenseman played two games with the 'Avs this season and has no points and is a minus-1. He has four goals and 13 assists in 36 games with the Colorado Eagles of the AHL. He's not exactly prime trade bait and Colorado already traded its 2022 first-round pick for Darcy Kuemper. Will the 2023 first-rounder be enough?

I don't see how it could be, but perhaps Joe Sakic has more cards up his sleeve. And what about that mysterious third team that was talked about weeks ago when these rumors first began? Could that be a difference-maker?

The next three weeks will go a long way in determining the direction not only the 'Avs go but several other contenders. Will a team like the Florida Panthers go all in and put an offer out there that trumps anything the 'Avs can put together? What about the New York Rangers? There is talk that both Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafrenière are available for the right price.

Could that force Sakic's hand into including a player like Newhook in a deal? Would it even be worth it?

I'm not so sure. I believe Colorado already has enough to win the Cup if they stand pat, but mortgaging the future for this run is not how Sakic does business and I can't see him going that far.

But what do I know?

What do you want the 'Avs to do? Is Newhook a player you'd be willing to part ways with to land a big fish like Giroux? Is Giroux the final piece of this Stanley Cup puzzle?

Let me hear it!

Thanks for reading,
Steve

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