Could an O'Reilly trade land the Avalanche a left-handed defenseman?

Brad Stuart, Jan Hejda, Nick Holden.

Those were the only three left-handed Colorado Avalanche defensemen this year who played more than 10 games in the regular season.

Does any of them scream top-pairing defenseman?

Probably not.

That's the hole the Avalanche are looking to fill this year, a top of the line, left-handed defenseman that can play alongside either Tyson Barrie or Erik Johnson.

So, how could they possibly land that kind of defenseman in a relatively weak free agency class?

Via trade.

And the guy on the block may in fact be Ryan O'Reilly.

Avalanche GM Joe Sakic has said he would like to get O'Reilly to sign an extension, as he's entering the final year of his contract, which will see him make $6 million this upcoming season. But The Denver Post's Terry Frei suggests that if Colorado wants to get that left-handed defenseman, maybe they have to part with O'Reilly.

"A trade of Ryan O'Reilly also could land a defenseman. It's universally recognized that he's a terrific two-way player. The question continues to be whether that is sufficiently coveted - especially given his salary benchmarks and his camp's past negotiating militancy in a hard-cap league - for him to be the major element in a deal that brings a difference-making defenseman to Colorado."

If the Avalanche choose to keep O'Reilly, their free agent options for a left-handed defenseman are limited primarily to Christian Ehrhoff and Paul Martin, two Pittsburgh Penguins defensemen who will more than likely hit free agency. But if the Avalanche fail to secure either players, their remaining free agent options would be inadequate. And should contract extension talks with O'Reilly begin to grow sour, he may be a key part in the Avalanche's solution to the blue line problem.

(h/t The Score)

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