Colorado Avalanche
A mighty former Stanley Cup Champion has had an enormous hole on the second line open up since its championship season. Nazem Kadri filled that gap for the Colorado Avalanche once upon a time, but things have since changed in the Mile High city. They know that their window is wide open for their core, and they have to try and make the most of it before it slams shut, like we've seen with many teams in this league.
A second line center has to be the major recruitment point for the Avalanche. They tried to address it in the summer when they picked up Ryan Johansen, but he has not been the answer that Chris MacFarland and the Avs management core would have wanted. Hertl would have to walk into this team and show that he can be a different maker and allow centers other than Nathan MacKinnon to drive the offense, which he's more than capable of doing.
Where this gets more complicated is trying to make the money work. Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog hasn't played a game since they won the Stanley Cup back in 2022, as he's been dealing with injury. He's still trying to work his way back, but the Avalanche have to have space available to activate the captain if he becomes available. It means money may have to go both ways in a deal like this.
Colorado have the assets to make a deal work here. With a first round pick this year, and players like Alex Beaucage, Jean-Luc Foudy, and Calum Ritchie, there could be prospects that interest the Sharks for Hertl. It would give the Czech forward a chance to go and chase the Stanley Cup Championship his resume is missing, and the Sharks would get more future assets to aid them in their rebuild.