The Colorado Avalanche have added some more forward depth, as they try to go on another long playoff run. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that they have acquired Lars Eller from the Washington Capitals. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic adds that the Capitals will receive a 2025 second-round pick in return, and retain 31% of Eller’s contract.
Like they did last season, Colorado is focused on experienced, versatile forwards to help lengthen their lineup, and Eller fits that bill perfectly. The 33-year-old center was a key factor in Washington’s 2018 Stanley Cup run, leading the playoffs with three game-winning goals that spring, and collecting 18 points in 24 games.
That’s more than he has this entire season, though, as Eller’s best days are clearly behind him. With just seven goals and 16 points through 60 appearances in 2022-23, he comes to Colorado as a bottom-six option that shouldn’t be relied on for much offensive production.
Still, he is a very capable defensive center, who still logs significant time on the penalty kill and is good (if inconsistent) in the faceoff dot. That doesn’t really answer Colorado’s second-line center question mark but does give the group some more stability down the middle.
Eller is in the last season of a five-year, $17.5M contract extension he signed just before that Stanley Cup run and carries a cap hit of $3.5M. That means he’ll cost the Avalanche a pro-rated $2.415M through the end of the season.
For Washington, landing a second-round pick seems like a big win, given the lack of real impact Eller would have on any future contending club. The Capitals are focused on surrounding Alex Ovechkin with another winner next season, and trying to pull off a “rebuild-on-the-fly” by selling off veterans in a season that obviously isn’t headed toward the Stanley Cup.
They showed their intentions yesterday by flipping the pick they received for Dmitry Orlov, landing Rasmus Sandin from the Toronto Maple Leafs. This second-round selection could suffer the same fate, traded before the Capitals ever actually take the podium to make a pick.
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