Compared to Friday, when the Avalanche made a huge splash by signing center Carl Soderberg, dealing Ryan O'Reilly and Jamie McGinn to Buffalo in a five-player/one draft pick trade, and selecting power forward Mikko Rantanen in the first round, Saturday was pretty low key.

But size continued to be a significant factor in the Avalanche's thinking.

"Size is not the only factor, but we weren't the biggest team in the league and it is going to help us," general manager Joe Sakic said. "Let's face it, in the Western Conference we have to go head-to-head with some big teams, so that's going to help. But what we like about all of them is they're good, smart hockey players. That's the key for us."

Soderberg is 6-feet-3, 216 pounds; Rantanen 6-4, 211; center Mikhail Grigorenko 6-3, 200; and defenseman Nikita Zadorov 6-5, 235. J.T. Compher, who will be team captain at Michigan this year, is 5-11, 193 but plays a gritty, two-way game.

The Avalanche made another trade Saturday, sending the 31st pick in the NHL draft they acquired from the Sabres on Friday to San Jose for the 39th pick, a second-round pick in 2016 and a sixth-rounder in 2017. The Avalanche previously traded the two future selections to the Sharks when they acquired defenseman Brad Stuart last summer.

I thought the Avalanche might have kept the higher pick and used it on 6-5 defenseman Brandon Carlo, who's from Colorado Springs. Maybe they were still interested in Carlo, but Boston took him with the 37th selection.

The Avalanche chose 6-3, 205-pound left wing A.J. Greer, 18, two spots later. He's 18 and from Joliette, Quebec. He had three goals, four assists and 18 penalty minutes in 37 games as a true freshman at Boston University.

(San Jose used the 31st pick on Sherbrooke defenseman Jeremy Roy, who in some quarters was projected as a first-rounder.)

The Avalanche also used their next two picks on players from Quebec, defenseman Nicolas Meloche (second round, No. 40) and center Jean-Christophe Beaudin (third round, No. 71).

Meloche, 17, who is from Rosemere, Quebec, is 6-2 and 204 pounds. He had 10 goals, 24 assists and 99 penalty minutes in 44 games in his second season with Baie-Comeau Drakkar in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Beaudin, 18, is from St. Bruno-de-Montarv, Quebec, and is 6-1, 181. He had 14 goals, 39 assists and 29 penalty minutes in 68 games with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the QMJHL.

The Avalanche tabbed another defenseman, 6-2, 194-pound Andrei Mironov, in the fourth round (No. 101). Mironov, 20, is from Moscow and completed his third season with Dynamo Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League. He had five goals, three assists and 20 penalty minutes in 52 games.

The Avalanche used their final two picks on Russian defenseman Sergei Boikov (sixth round, No. 161) and massive Swedish forward Gustav Olhaver (seventh round, No. 191).

Boikov, 19, who is from Khabarovsk, Russia, is 6-1, 195. He had three goals, 18 assists and 64 penalty minutes in 64 games with the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the QMJHL.

Olhaver, who turns 18 next week, is 6-6 and 213 pounds. He's from Angelholm, Sweden. He had six goals, six assists and 10 penalty minutes with Rogle Jr. in 41 games. He also played in 18 games for Rogle U18 and had 14 goals, 11 assists and eight penalty minutes.

*****

Next up for the Avalanche: the first day of free agency Wednesday.

"We have (salary-cap) room, but we also have to make sure we're responsible because we do have some guys coming up next year," Sakic said.

Defensemen Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie are entering the final year of their contracts, as is forward Nathan MacKinnon. Johnson would be eligible for unrestricted free agency after the season, while Barrie and MacKinnon would be restricted free agents.

O'Reilly will make $6.2 million this season with the Sabres, Jamie McGinn $3 million; both will be eligible for unrestricted free agency after the season.

The Denver Post reported that O'Reilly's representatives were seeking $8 million per year from the Avalanche on a multi-year contract extension. Enough said.

"(Friday's trade) definitely frees up some stuff and gives us flexibility going into free agency," Sakic said. "We'd like to get one more defenseman, and we'll see how that goes. We want to be responsible and hopefully there's a fit for us July 1. If it doesn't work out, we know we have flexibility to do something via trade, whether it's in the summer or September."



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