It wasn't all that long ago that the Colorado Avalanche looked dead in the water.
While it remains unlikely that they'll be able to finish strong enough to overcome the likes of the Canucks, Flames or Jets - not to mention the resurgent Wild, currently a point back - there's still enough time in the season for just about anything to happen.
A recent 5-2-3 record combined with an important 11-round shootout win over the Dallas Stars has fans of the Avs thinking playoffs and GM Joe Sakic eyeing a possible switch from trade deadline seller to trade deadline buyer.
The latest rumor, from Elliotte Friedman of TSN, has Sakic and head coach Patrick Roy as a secret suitor for Arizona Coyotes center, Antoine Vermette.
"There are a couple teams who suspect Colorado, which has fought its way into the race, is a stealth Vermette candidate. (Since we now know the government listens to everything we do, I'd love a transcript of recent Maloney/Sakic/Roy conversations. Some creative possibilities there.) Vermette could replace what the Avalanche lost in Paul Stastny, at least in the short term," writes Friedman.
Stasnty, now a member of the St. Louis Blues, spent the first eight season of his NHL career as a member of the Avs. He's playing major minutes in a second-line role for the Blues and currently has nine goals and 19 assists, despite missing time this season with a variety of injuries.
Without him this year, the Avs have struggled to score consistently both in 5-on-5 situations and on the power play - they're currently 23rd in goals per game and 29th in power play conversion percentage.
Part of the Avs issues has been a lack of offensive output from the blueline, but first-line center Ryan O'Reilly - a player the team is rumored to be shopping - has struggled and while Matt Duchene has performed well, Stastny's departure has been felt.
The potential addition of Vermette - a big center who wins a high percentage of faceoffs and plays the full length of the ice - who has been on the trade block for some time, would add strength, size and depth and certainly help mitigate the loss of Stastny.
