Last week, two big trades united brothers. Jordan Staal was traded to his brother, Eric’s team. (Jared Staal is also in the Carolina Hurricanes system.) Luke Schenn was traded to Philadelphia, where his brother Brayden plays.

In the spirit of these trades, I thought I would look at what brotherly pairs the Avalanche could bring together.

Yan (L) and Paul Stastny.

Paul& Yan Stastny: Paul Stastny’s older brother, Yan, is another member of the family’s storied hockey tradition. Yan has played 91 games in the NHL, scoring six goals and 16 points overall. In 2010-2011 he played in the KHL, and last season he played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The DEL is the premier hockey league in Germany, and is the league with the most Canadian and American players outside of the NHL.

Ryan& Cal O’Reilly: Ryan O’Reilly’s older brother is a center, currently playing in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. Cal has played 113 NHL games with the Nashville Predators, the Phoenix Coyotes, and the Pittsburgh Penguins, scoring 13 goals and 41 points.

Jamie, Tye& Brock McGinn: Jamie McGinn has two younger brothers. Tye is 21 years old, and a prospect in the Philadelphia Flyers organization. Brock was just drafted this year, in the second round, by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Matt& Shawn Hunwick: Matt Hunwick’s younger brother, Shawn is a goaltender. He has played in one NHL game, for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He only played a few minutes at the end, and thus was not credited with either a W or a L. However, his goals against average was 0.00.

Mark& Darin Olver: Mark Olver has played 42 games for the Colorado Avalanche over the past two seasons. His brother, Darin plays in Germany, in the DEL.

Cameron& Brendan Gaunce: Cameron Gaunce played 11 games for the Colorado Avalanche in the 2010-2011 season. He didn’t receive a call-up last season; however he remains one of the most promising defensemen in the Avalanche system. His brother, Brendan Gaunce, was taken 26th overall by the Vancouver Canucks last week.

In actual news, Dean Chynoweth was announced as the head coach of the Lake Erie Monsters yesterday. He will be the third head coach in Monsters history (current Avalanche head coach Joe Sacco and assistant coach David Quinn were the previous ones). Chynoweth spent the past three years as an assistant coach for the New York Islanders. He has also served as a head coach in both the CHL and the IHL.