NHL Rumors: A Mock Jake Guentzel Trade to the Colorado Avalanche
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Daily Faceoff: Frank Seravalli on his mock trade involving the Colorado Avalanche and Pittsburgh Penguins.

  • Colorado acquires forward Jake Guentzel and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic.
  • Penguins acquire a 2024 first-round, a 2025 first-round, and a 2025 third-round pick.

** NHLRumors.com transcription

Seravalli: “You look at this Avs forward group and it kind of gets thin and a hurry right now. And some people might be afraid or scared off by this price, two first-round picks. The last player that had to first-round picks traded for him was Brandon Hagel, going from Chicago to Tampa.

Do you think Nathan MacKinnon cares about two first-round picks? I don’t. He’s having an all-world beastmode season your defense corps is locked and loaded. You do need a little help on the goalie front, which is why through in Alex Nedeljkovic, who not only has good numbers, but also has two rounds of Stanley Cup playoff experience under his belt as well.

To me, I think this is something that you shoot for if you’re Colorado. And more than that, I think this is a player that you potentially, given some of the other question marks about those guys. We don’t know what happens with Landeskog. Maybe there’s an opportunity somewhere here for you to re-sign Guentzel and keep him so your team stays loaded.

Not a sure thing. And frankly, since we’re playing this game, not a sure thing that Guentzell moves, as Pittsburgh is still very much in the race.”