The Colorado Avalanche made their first move leading up to the NHL trade deadline by reducing their current roster, but this transaction could pave the way for significant acquisitions in the near future.

On Friday, Colorado traded enforcer Kurtis MacDermid to the New Jersey Devils. Initially, they received a 2024 seventh-round pick and Zakhar Bardakov, a seventh-round selection for New Jersey in 2021, in return.

One of the most valuable outcomes of this trade is the additional financial flexibility it provides. MacDermid is in the final season of a two-year contract with a cap hit of $987,500.

Throughout the year, the Avs have exceeded the NHL salary cap, utilizing long-term injury relief exemptions due to Gabe Landeskog and Pavel Francouz being unavailable for regular-season play. By moving MacDermid, the Avalanche now have $2,229,257 in available cap space with 21 players on their roster.

This opens up the opportunity for Colorado to be creative and potentially acquire more expensive players. They could pursue players whose salaries are double the available cap space if the other team retains half of the cap hit. Moreover, they could aim for players whose salaries are four times the available space if they involve a third team retaining an additional 25% of the cap hit.

Earlier in the week, the Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs executed similar transactions. For instance, Dallas acquired defenseman Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames, who has a cap hit of $4.5 million.

In a three-way trade, the Calgary Flames retained half of Chris Tanev’s salary ($2.25 million), while New Jersey also agreed to retain half of what remained ($1.125 million). As part of the deal, the Devils received a fourth-round pick from Dallas for assuming this cap space, and the Stars now have Tanev on their books at $1.125 million. A similar move was made by Toronto to acquire defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin from Anaheim.

If the Avalanche engaged in a double-retention trade, they could potentially bring in a player or players with a combined cap hit of up to $8,917,028 by the March 8 deadline, although this figure might be affected by the impending arrival of prospect Nikolai Kovalenko after his KHL season concludes.

Kurtis MacDermid recorded two goals and engaged in one fight in 29 games this season for the Avalanche. His ice time averages 5:05 per game, the lowest among NHL players with 20 or more games played this season.

Meanwhile, Zakhar Bardakov, aged 23, has tallied six goals and 12 points in 51 games for SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL. Interestingly, SKA St. Petersburg is currently competing against Nikolai Kovalenko’s team in the first round of the KHL playoffs.