I do not think the Avs WANT to trade Mikko. I don't think most HP posters WANT to trade Mikko. That said, the salary cap is a real thing. It is absolutely true - as many in this thread submit - that there will be teams out there which will offer Mikko $13M. That simply does not fit under the Avs cap functionally. Georgie, Byram and LOC have contracts due at the same time. With Mikko at #13M, there is not room to give each of those guys merely another $1M per year. Either Manson or Girard - and possibly both if Landy is also on the roster - will need to be jettisoned.
There is also the RSN implosion to consider. There is no guarantee that the cap will see huge increases as a significant source of league income could be off the table.
Finally, the one thing that everyone in the Avs nation does not WANT to see is Mikko leave as a free agent as some team gives him $13M or more, with the Avs getting nothing in return. Mikko's value lies in the fact that some bottom dweller thinks he is outperforming his current contract (He currently has the 29th highest salary BEFORE any raise.) If humanly possible, the Avs should find a trade partner(s) by this trade deadline. Is it possible that the return is not as productive as Mikko? Pf course! But a worse scenario is getting to this point, next year, when no partner is going to offer much for about a half season of Mikko.