Avalanche need toughness on the blueline

Adrian Dater of The Denver Post suggests that the Colorado Avalanche are looking to acquire a big, tough blueliner to complement their smallish defense corpse.

Finding the right fit may be easier said than done, though, since a number of teams are looking to upgrade their defense and very few are willing to concede the season and give up on higher-paid players.

Of course, as the February 26 trade deadline approaches, it’s likely that there will be a lot more teams looking to dump players.

The Los Angeles Kings may be one of those teams, and perhaps choose to shop former Avalanche defenseman Rob Blake among others. However, Dater doesn’t believe that Blake would have any interest in uprooting his family again to move to Colorado. Still, it’s a possibility.

Other options might include Brian Pothier of the Washington Capitals and Bryan Allen of the Florida Panthers.

Expectations are that Avalanche GM Francois Giguere will not be giving up “two or three high draft picks” or any of the franchise’s top prospects in any deal. Giguere is intent on “building from within,” and is also mindful of his payroll.

So, if injuries don’t strike the Avalanche or if Giguere doesn’t get an offer he can’t refuse, all signs are pointing towards “a fairly quiet deadline period” for the Avalanche.