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Fixing the Avs’ defense through trades will prove tough

Los Angeles Kings v Colorado Avalanche

DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 20: Captain Gabriel Landeskog #92 and Matt Duchene #9 of the Colorado Avalanche warm up prior to facing the Los Angeles Kings during their preseason game at the Pepsi Center on September 20, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche defeated the Kings 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

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The Colorado Avalanche are desperate to upgrade their defense.

They aren’t alone.

And that right there is why Joe Sakic’s got such a tough job ahead of him. Yes, he’s got some big chips to play in Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog, but the price of top-4 defensemen has perhaps never been higher. And the price of young top-4 defensemen is even higher.

Case in point, the price Edmonton paid to get Adam Larsson out of New Jersey. The Oilers don’t regret giving up Taylor Hall, what with being on pace to make the playoffs for the first time in a decade. But let’s be honest here: it’s not like they added a Norris Trophy candidate. Larsson provides next to no offense. He’s averaging 20:08 of ice time. He’s been, in a word... fine.

Another young defenseman that was traded in the last little while was Seth Jones. The Blue Jackets got him from Nashville for Ryan Johansen. That deal solved a problem for both teams. The Jackets needed to upgrade their back end; the Preds desperately needed a legitimate first-line center, and they had a relative surplus of d-men to go shopping with.

There are not many teams today with a surplus of quality defensemen. The Minnesota Wild and Anaheim Ducks come to mind, and with the expansion draft looming, they would certainly be worth calling on. So would the Vancouver Canucks, after their GM admitted that “if we look to make a move, we’d have to use some of our depth on the blue line to add a forward.” And we’ll throw in the Flyers and Bruins, each of whom has built up a nice stable of young d-men. That being said, the Avs can pretty much forget about landing Ivan Provorov or Charlie McAvoy. Those two are the future in Philly and Boston, respectively.

Read more: Is Anaheim getting close to trading a d-man?

The problem for Sakic is the same problem that Peter Chiarelli ran into last summer. Teams know the value of defensemen. It’s high, and it’s high for a reason. In today’s NHL, if you can’t move the puck, you’re not going to win. If you can’t stop the cycle, you’re not going to win. And with all the shot-blocking that goes on, defensemen get hurt all the time. So teams always need extras.

As of right now, there are multiple teams in search of blue-line help. The Maple Leafs need help. The Red Wings need help. The Sabres need help. The Rangers could use a good, young d-man. Heck, the Oilers still need a d-man to run the power play.

Let’s assume for now that the Avalanche aren’t going to trade Tyson Barrie or Erik Johnson, arguably their best defensemen. Those two both play the right side, so it’s lefties the Avs need most. It would be great if Nikita Zadorov pans out one day, but the jury’s still out on him. One thing’s for sure is that Francois Beauchemin, 36, and Fedor Tyutin, 33, aren’t long-term answers. As for prospects, there just aren’t any blue-chippers. Why? Because the last time the Avs drafted a defenseman in the first round was 2011.

And at the end of the day, the best way to build a defense is through the draft. Just ask the Blackhawks, who got Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson that way. Trades can certainly enhance a group, but if Sakic wants to reboot the Avs the right way, and for the long run, he should be accumulating picks and scouting the likes of Miro Heiskanen, Nicolas Hague, Timothy Liljegren and Juuso Valimaki. Those are the d-men of the future. And it’s well past time for the Avs to start filling the pipeline with more than blue-chip forwards.