It’s not very often that you see an NHL team trade away their best defender but that’s exactly what the Colorado Avalanche did this summer. On July 1st when most teams were focused on signing free agents, Joe Sakic was busy finishing off a blockbuster trade that saw Tyson Barrie traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s rare when a team trades away a player the caliber of Barrie. What’s even more rare is when they have a prospect as good as Cale Makar to fill the hole. Makar is going to be asked to step into some big shoes and while there are going to be growing pains, he gave enough evidence in last year’s playoffs that he’s ready for the job.
Projecting the defense pairs for the 2019-20 Colorado Avalanche
