Colorado Avalanche trade Tyson Jost to Minnesota Wild for Nico Sturm

The Colorado Avalanche continue to be busy.

Days after the club acquired defenceman Josh Manson bolstering their backend, the club has freed up $1.2 million by trading Tyson Jost to the Minnesota Wild. In return, the Avs acquired forward Nico Sturm.

Sturm, 26, is on a deal paying him an AAV of $725,000 and is set to be a UFA after this season. In 53 games with the Wild this year, Sturm has scored nine goals and 17 points — a total tying his career high set the previous year.

His underlying numbers have been decent this year. With him on the ice at 5×5, the Wild controlled 49.25% of the shot attempts, 40.91% of the goals scored and 49.72% of the expected goal share. His PDO, however, sits at just 96.4, suggesting there is some room for improvement in his numbers.

Jost, meanwhile, was a 10th overall pick by the Avs in 2016. He hasn’t quite hit the offensive ceiling that was expected, but he’s been a solid depth player for the club. In 59 games this year, he’s scored six goals and 14 points.

He signed a two-year deal ahead of this season with an AAV of $2 million. His underlying numbers have been nothing to write home about this year. At 5×5, the Avs controlled 48.01% of the shot attempts, 46.34% of the goals scored and 47.18% of expected goals. His PDO is near league average at 99.6.