The Central-Division leading Avalanche have given up some offense in forward Steve Downie in order to get more postseason experience in Flyers forward Max Talbot. Downie is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and has seven points in 11 games, while Talbot has a goal and an assist in 11 games for the Flyers.
Downie did have injury issues in 2012-13, but has managed 22 goals in a season. He is an aggressive player who can score 20-plus goals and has accumulated more than 100 penalty minutes.
Talbot is not as aggressive or an offensive player than Downie is, but he scores an average of 12-15 goals per season. He also helped the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 2009. The Avalanche got him because of his experience in the playoffs. Plus, his presence will help the collection of talented players that the Avalanche have and he will be expected to mentor them.
In terms of offense, I don't think Talbot really brings much to the already high-powered Avalanche and losing Downie might hurt their offensive production. However, the Avalanche desperately wants some playoff experience and they think Talbot fits the bill. He's a good, average player in my opinion, but I would've preferred if the Avalanche picked up a player that was a good offensive player and one that has playoff experience. They solved half of what they need to accomplish. I'm just a little worried about how well they'll play now that Downie's gone, as well as Varlamov probably being out for a certain period of time. Talbot can help mentor and be a playoff presence but in terms of offensive production, I don't really know. I don't even know if the Avs are going to be able to stay hot because of this trade and the issues with Varlamov.
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