DALLAS — Chris MacFarland didn’t completely empty the cupboard, but it’s looking pretty bare right about now.

That’s the cost of doing business as a contender in the NHL.

“We’re going to leave no stone unturned,” MacFarland said earlier in the week.

Every stone was sufficiently turned over ahead of Friday’s NHL trade deadline.

As of this moment, the Avalanche will pick just once in the first two rounds of the NHL Draft over the next three years. That pick is a 2027 second-rounder, an asset that may have survived simply because MacFarland ran out of time to craft another deal.

That’s okay, though. The time to win is now, and MacFarland understood the assignment this week.

He got things started with an appetizer, bringing in Nick Blankenburg for depth on the blue line. Then came the main course, when he dealt away first- and fifth-round draft picks for Stanley Cup-winning center Nic Roy, who will add size and some nastiness to the bottom six.

For most of Friday’s deadline day, it looked like Avalanche fans would get no dessert. Then, an hour after the official deadline had passed, the news started to trickle in. Naz is coming back.

Who doesn’t love a good dessert?

“I’ve really grown fond of the city of Calgary, but I think my head almost hit the ceiling I was so excited,” Kadri said.

I’m guessing more than a few fans in Denver did the same.

It looked like the deal might have been dead after the Avalanche had acquired Roy. Reports started coming out that Calgary’s ownership had nixed any Kadri deal because they were unwilling to retain any salary on the final three years of the deal.

MacFarland wasn’t about to give the full details of how the deal eventually went down, but it doesn’t sound like it was going to happen without Calgary retaining some money.

“Retention was an important part of the equation for us for a variety of reasons,” MacFarland said. “It goes beyond what we’re trying to do this year, but I just think with the number of years left on the term of the deal, that we were able to get it to a place that made sense for the return Calgary got, which was a very good one for them and what they’re trying to do. And the math for us was a comfortable number for what we’re looking at over the next few years.”

For the second straight deadline, MacFarland has loaded up for a run at Lord Stanley. Last year, it was Brock Nelson, Charlie Coyle, a new set of goaltenders, and the Mikko Rantanen blockbuster. This year, it’s Kadri, Roy, and Brett Kulak, who has not been on the ice for an even-strength goal against through his first five games with the Avalanche.

Last season, there was no path to the top seed for Colorado. This year, they’ve got the inside track as they’ve been sitting in first place for the better part of the year.

They’re the favorites, but MacFarland doesn’t appear to be a fan of the term “Cup or bust.”

“There’s a lot of good hockey teams in the National Hockey League and only one team is going to be happy at the end of it,” he said. “Last year, we sat here and did a very similar call and I still think we had an excellent hockey team that could have done serious damage. We understand that has to happen on the ice. You can talk about it, the deadline, who wins this? Who wins that? None of that matters. It’s what happens on the ice over the next month and into the playoffs.”

It does all have to happen on the ice, but by bringing Kadri back to Denver, MacFarland brought some swagger back to that locker room.

Swagger isn’t a bad thing.

“I’ve always tried to be the guy that, if there’s a play needed, I want to at least give myself the best opportunity in order to be that hero and make that play,” Kadri said. “I’m a pretty easygoing personality. I like to live in the moment, in the present, and always take advantage of those opportunities, because that’s how I see them. I see them as great opportunities.”

A great opportunity to go far in the postseason is what MacFarland has given this Avalanche team.

That’s really all you can ask for. His players certainly appreciate it.

“Pumped to have Naz back on our team,” Nathan MacKinnon said after a 5-4 win in Dallas. “It’s exciting for the fans, this organization, all of us in this room. We needed a little bit, I think, a little bit more game-breaking scoring punch we might have missed last year in the playoffs. … Once again, our management is going all-in. Obviously, it’s Cup or bust for us, but we definitely really appreciate (Sakic), (MacFarland), Cogliano, (and) Kevin (McDonald) putting us in a good spot.”