Though it was already the third trade of the season for the Colorado Avalanche, it was easily most newsworthy. On November 30th they pulled off a rather uncommon 1-for-1 trade involving two key NHL pieces with the Washington Capitals in a trade that makes complete sense for both teams; Colorado received forward Tomas Fleischmann in exchange for defenseman Scott Hannan. Fleischmann has underperformed this year, likely due to being on the trade block since the summer. He?s a talented two-way player that can play center or wing, and was buried on the third-line on a very deep Washington offence. Even though he only played 16 minutes per game last season, Fleischmann popped in 23 goals and 51 points (both career-highs) in 69 games. This year he is playing 14 minutes a night, and has contributed just four goals and ten points in 23 games. The Avs provide the perfect situation for Fleischmann to establish himself as a top-six force in the NHL, and head coach Joe Sacco already mentioned using him on one of the top lines with Paul Stastny and Milan Hejduk. Tomas should also be motivated by the fact that he is set to reach unrestricted free agency after this season, and if he shows he can be a 25-goal forward with versatility on a winning team, he could earn a raise on his current salary of $2.6M. It should be noted that Colorado has money to spend on next season?s roster, with under $28M in committed salaries, so this could be a lengthy audition for Fleischmann and he can make a great impression toward a long term commitment. While losing Hannan?s experience may seem hurtful for a young team, they still have Adam Foote to provide leadership, and their two other recent trades have brought in a couple of younger defensemen to eat up the minutes that will be vacated by Hannan. Grade for Colorado: A+ In Scott Hannan, the Capitals are getting exactly the kind of player they need; heck they needed him last year, but better late than never. Hannan is a grizzled veteran is in his 11th full season and his 31-years-old. He was never an offensive performer (his career-high in points is 24), but always regarded as one of the better defensive zone players. He makes smart, quick decisions, makes good positional reads with his body and stick, and more often than not puts his opponents out of their comfort zones. He will be given top-four minutes and play in all penalty killing and likely late-game scenarios, and block a bunch of shots. These are the ingredients that last year?s Capitals team lacked when they were upset in the playoffs. Everyone knew they needed to be better defensively, that they couldn?t win solely behind their offence, but they almost seemed to stubbornly prove everyone wrong. But they were wrong. It can?t be understated that Hannan went past the first round of the playoffs five times in a six year span with the San Jose Sharks either, so he knows what it takes to succeed when the games matter most. Like Fleischmann, Hannan is an unrestricted free agent at season?s end, so this doesn?t equate to a long-term obligation if Hannan doesn?t provide what the Capitals are looking for. If this marriage does work out, the cost of retaining him would be below his current $4.5M salary, and could also be below Fleischmann?s salary, so it?s a win-win financially too. Grade for Washington: A Nick is RealGM?s NHL Feature Writer. You can reach him by email nick.obergan@realgm.com or on twitter @NickObergan