If you were surprised about the trade that sent Craig Anderson to Ottawa in exchange for Brian Elliott, wait until you hear this. When the clock struck midnight on Saturday morning, news filtered through that quickly sent a shockwave across the Front Range. For those that were still awake, this trade surely ruined any chance of sleeping quietly through the night.

The Colorado Avalanche had announced in the dead of the night that they acquired defenseman Erik Johnson, forward Jay McClement and a first-round pick in either the 2011 or 2012 NHL Entry Draft from the St. Louis Blues. In return, they shipped out rookie stud Kevin Shattenkirk, power forward Chris Stewart and a second-round selection in either 2011 or 2012.

“We are excited to be adding a top young defenseman in this league, a player who will have an impact on our blue line for several years to come,” said Avalanche General Manager/Executive Vice President Greg Sherman in the team’s official press release.

The 22-year-old Johnson was the first overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and has five goals and 14 assists in 55 games for the Blues this season. With an intimidating presence at 6-foot-4 and 232-pounds, Johnson brings some of that physical edge back to the Avalanche blueline. He has 20 goals and 71 assists in 203 career NHL games.

The 27-year-old McClement has six goals and 10 assists in all 56 games for the Blues this season. He has spent his entire career with the Blues (six seasons) and has 52 goals and 104 assists in 449 games. The durable forward is a penalty-killing specialist and has played all 82 games in each of the past two seasons.

One major component of the deal is the first-round draft pick for the Avalanche and the second-round pick for the Blues. The pick headed to Colorado is conditional, and therefore protected by St. Louis as a top-10 selection. This means that the draft picks would be used in the 2011 Entry Draft, unless the Blues have a top-10 selection, in which case they can opt to transfer its 2012 first-rounder instead. If that happens, the Avs will send their second-round pick to St. Louis in 2012 instead of 2011.

Considering where the Avalanche sits in regards to the standings, and depending on how the Blues fare to finish this season, Colorado could have two high draft picks in the first round of this summer’s Entry Draft. Click below to check out more analysis on the trade and check back here for more analysis on the trade over the weekend.

NHL.COM ARTICLE

What do you think? Is this a good deal for the Avs?

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