Rumor: 2022-2022 Trade Rumors and Free Agency Part 14: Sakic goes back to bed

[The Abusement Park]

Naw, not Puliujarvi. Don't the Avs have enough players without hockey sense? They gotta add more?

Gurianov is a big heavy shot and little else. I'd take a flier on him before most of the other guys but I don't think he's all that great.

Idk Pulju has definitely a bit of a Nuke like resurgence this year. Don’t think he’ll ever be the most productive guy, but I think you could get a pretty damn good player for our 3rd line in him.

 

[Pokecheque]

Idk Pulju has definitely a bit of a Nuke like resurgence this year. Don’t think he’ll ever be the most productive guy, but I think you could get a pretty damn good player for our 3rd line in him.

I don't think he's a terrible player but I also don't buy the Nuke comparisons. He strikes me as a poor-man's Burakovsky, and the actual Burakovsky gives me enough headaches.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Just go get Nick Paul if we want more middle 6 guys that play like Nuke.


Imagine being able to throw a Lehky - Paul - Nuke line at teams

 

[shadow1]

Let's play hypothetical here and assume the Avalanche continue going on a run with Francouz as "the guy" into the SCF and actually win it. Thinking too far ahead here I know but IF it happens:

Do the Avs seriously consider running with Frankie as the guy next season and look for a 1B goalie in UFA to complement him?

It's not my preference, but Francouz playing well here and the Avs continuing to win might make it a discussion for Joe and company.

If Colorado wins the cup with Francouz in net, he'll definitely be the opening night starter.

But he's made out of glass; missed all of last year and injured multiple times this year. In this scenario, Sakic would probably bring in someone good enough to be the starter but not good enough that being a 1B is beneath them (Fleury or Varlamov).

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

Miles Wood would be the guy I target out of New Jersey. Gurianov is another guy if Dallas let's him go.

Miles Wood (if healthy) would fit the bottom-6 like a glove.

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

If the Avs want a legit 2C, and keep Kuemps, Lehk, Nuke, and Manson they're gonna have to rid themselves of of one of EJ or G, and maybe JTC to free up the salary needed.

IMO, just resign those 4, move Mikko to 2C, and promote Hook to 2RW. Don't bother going after another high-priced player.

Landy/Mack/Nuke
Lehk/Mikko/Hook
NAK/Meyers/JTC
???*/Malt/LOC

Toews/Makar
G/Manson
Bo/EJ
Dermid

DK
Frank

*They could always resign Cogs and Helmo too, and/or promote Foudy, Kaut, or Ranta.

Miles Wood (if healthy) would fit the bottom-6 like a glove.

I question him going forward after that injury/surgery. He missed the whole season.

 

[Nihiliste]

Of the names I'm seeing bandied about (I haven't heard the podcast yet), the one name that sticks out to me is Ethan Bear. Frankly I thought it was a tad foolish for the Canes to scratch him for the playoffs, I don't care if he scored a big goal or not, Bear is easily a better defenseman than Ian Cole, who was atrocious against the Rangers. He's also only 24, there's upside there for sure.

I haven’t been paying attention but I vaguely recall a main board thread recently about this situation. He was injured apparently?

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Another nice thing about Paul, he potentially could be a 2C solution. He has shown more offensive upside in Tampa then he did in Ottawa.


IMO you get a great 3C option to where you can run Newhook as the 2C this year and if he struggles in that spot, I think Paul could step up in that role while Newhook shifts to the 3rd line winger spot, so you have a Top 9 that looks like:



Nuke - Mack - Landy
Lehky - Newhook - Rantanen
JTC - Paul - NAK*
LOC - Meyers - Helm


In theory they should have some cap space to upgrade on NAK in that spot as well if they wanted to. Grab a guy like Wood or Gurianov if they hit UFA.

 

[ANewHope]

I'm curious to see what Sakic does after this year. He has his faults but the pro scouting for the Avs has been pretty crazy. Toews, Nuke, Lehkonen, Manson, Helm, Cogs etc. so many of those guys exceeded expectations like crazy. Everyone shit on the Nuke signing. Helm was supposed to be washed up. Nobody saw Toews becoming basically a 1D. Honestly even Kadri .. I remember before this season some were questioning if he was a 2C. We were supposed to be worse this year and there was alot of talk how we benefitted from a weak division last year.

I really like Girard but with how Byram's playing right now .. I just don't know how you keep him. Makes no sense as a 3rd pairing guy who gets no PP time. I doubt he can return a legit 2C but it'd be interesting to see if Sakic has his eyes on someone who isn't there yet but thinks can be on this team.

Bura being a complete no show down the stretch certainly helps with the cap crunch.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

I'm curious to see what Sakic does after this year. He has his faults but the pro scouting for the Avs has been pretty crazy. Toews, Nuke, Lehkonen, Manson, Helm, Cogs etc. so many of those guys exceeded expectations like crazy. Everyone shit on the Nuke signing. Helm was supposed to be washed up. Nobody saw Toews becoming basically a 1D. Honestly even Kadri .. I remember before this season some were questioning if he was a 2C. We were supposed to be worse this year and there was alot of talk how we benefitted from a weak division last year.

I really like Girard but with how Byram's playing right now .. I just don't know how you keep him. Makes no sense as a 3rd pairing guy who gets no PP time. I doubt he can return a legit 2C but it'd be interesting to see if Sakic has his eyes on someone who isn't there yet but thinks can be on this team.

Bura being a complete no show down the stretch certainly helps with the cap crunch.

Girard absolutely should bring back a legit 2C and if he can't, you don't trade him.

 

[ANewHope]

Girard absolutely should bring back a legit 2C and if he can't, you don't trade him.

I certainly could be wrong but I just don't think he has that kind of value. What 2C would Girard return? Even Barrie who I always thought was wildly overrated by us put up great point totals. Girard is elite in transition. As good as anybody. I just don't think he's shown the tools overall offensively that somebody would pay what some Avs fans want.

I agree he likely won't be traded because of how Sakic operates. Personally tho think it's a no brainer to part with 1 of Byram/Toews/Girard .. and Girard is the easy answer. Byram is looking like he can be a future 1D and moving Toews right now would be silly given where we are. Byram should be getting the 3rd most minutes next season and taking over the 2nd PP spot from Girard.

 

[MarkT]

If the Avs want a legit 2C, and keep Kuemps, Lehk, Nuke, and Manson they're gonna have to rid themselves of of one of EJ or G, and maybe JTC to free up the salary needed.

IMO, just resign those 4, move Mikko to 2C, and promote Hook to 2RW. Don't bother going after another high-priced player.

Landy/Mack/Nuke
Lehk/Mikko/Hook
NAK/Meyers/JTC
???*/Malt/LOC

Toews/Makar
G/Manson
Bo/EJ
Dermid

DK
Frank

*They could always resign Cogs and Helmo too, and/or promote Foudy, Kaut, or Ranta.


I question him going forward after that injury/surgery. He missed the whole season.

I don't know about the rest of the moves, but Mikko being the new 2C is something I see as a very realistic option. He already played a bunch this season as the 1C, and performed well. Also, they finally separated him from MacKinnon in this series, and he appears to be thriving.

We've known for ages that MacKinnon doesn't need elite wingers to be great - heck, I loved him with Calvert and Donskoi. If we need to cut costs, I think going cheap on wingers might be the answer.

 

[PAZ]

I love that Compher is playing great this playoffs, but he's absolutely the first guy you cut ties with this offseason. He's a luxury considering a guy like Paul should only cost ~500-1 mil more than him. No idea why people are penciling him into next season's lineup.

 

[Hasbro]

I love that Compher is playing great this playoffs, but he's absolutely the first guy you cut ties with this offseason. He's a luxury considering a guy like Paul should only cost ~500-1 mil more than him. No idea why people are penciling him into next season's lineup.

Preparing ourselves for disapointment.

 

[SoftMittsHardSticks]

Let's play hypothetical here and assume the Avalanche continue going on a run with Francouz as "the guy" into the SCF and actually win it. Thinking too far ahead here I know but IF it happens:

Do the Avs seriously consider running with Frankie as the guy next season and look for a 1B goalie in UFA to complement him?

It's not my preference, but Francouz playing well here and the Avs continuing to win might make it a discussion for Joe and company.

I love this hypothetical, and I'm fairly certain the Avs do too. I think that its a major reason why they signed him to that somewhat anomalous contract mid-season.

Seriously, Sakic signing an (allegedly) "injury-prone" backup goalie to a multi-year extension in the middle of the season isn't his usual MO.

It's safe to say that Francouz's play and attitude has at least earned the Avs management's trust enough for them to gamble/invest in him.

Plus, right-catching goalies are the ultimate wildcard

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

Let's play hypothetical here and assume the Avalanche continue going on a run with Francouz as "the guy" into the SCF and actually win it. Thinking too far ahead here I know but IF it happens:

Do the Avs seriously consider running with Frankie as the guy next season and look for a 1B goalie in UFA to complement him?

It's not my preference, but Francouz playing well here and the Avs continuing to win might make it a discussion for Joe and company.

Yes. Risk it. You did it once, why not twice? Like you said, we would definitely need good backup though..

This year and the next two years are probably the deepest teams that the Avs will be able to ice. MacKinnon and Toews are both underpaid by at least 3 million. Byram, Newhook, perhaps Meyers are already or should be able to contribute significantly on ELCs and hopefully bridge deals later on. Avs should be going all in to win these next few years before these bigger contracts kick in and then really tough choices need to be made. I actually think bringing Kadri back is a no-brainer assuming that he is willing to come back on a reasonable deal e.g. 7.5 million per for 5 years for two reasons: 1) a strong 2C is absolutely essential to compete for the Cup right now; 2) rather than letting him walk for nothing, it would be much better to trade other players (i.e. Girard) so that the Avs can recoup assets.

If the Avs can win the Cup this year, it essentially demonstrates that Girard should be the one to go - winning the last 3 rounds of the playoffs without him, having Byram ready to take on a bigger role, and our best prospect being a smallish LD makes him the most expendable of our core players.

Ideally, we try to bring back the fast, ageing, ultra-cheap 4th line to save money since they have dominated their matchups throughout the playoffs. Trade Compher for draft picks or keep him depending on what you get for Girard. As other posters have mentioned, if Francouz goes on a run, that raises a lot of other possibilities if we don't have to pay big bucks for Kuemper.

Landeskog (7) Mackinnon (6.3) Nichushkin (5.5)
Lehkonen (3.75) Kadri (7.5) Rantanen (9.25)
Newhook (908 K) Meyers (912 K) Forward X
Cogliano (1) Helm (1) O'Connor (1.05)

Toews (4.1) Makar (9)
Byram (894 K) Johnson (6)
Defence Y Manson (3.5)
MacDermid as utility forward/defense (987 K)

Francouz (2)
Goalie Z

This roster with 3 holes to fill still has 11.8 million in cap space available. Should be plenty to round out the holes, particularly as Girard will be traded for cheap young talent or draft picks.

If Kuemper is resigned for 5.5, you would still have 6.3 to find a 3rd line winger and depth defenceman - Could be Nick Paul (or Compher) for 3.5 million, with the remaining going to Edler/Braun/Jack Johnson for 2 million or less. Otherwise, Girard could be used instead to acquire Crouse or another good, young cheap forward to solidify the third line and restock draft picks.

If Frankie steals the show and we don't need Kuemper, I would try trade Girard for a young goalie on an affordable contract that has potential to be a star. Assuming Oettinger, Shesterkin, Sorokin, and Demko are unavailable, Avs should figure out which of the other young goalies has the most potential for a breakout i.e. Hart, Blackwood, Samsonov, Knight, Merzlikins/Tarasov, etc.

Girard for Merzlikins plus picks or for Gavrikov and Tarasov
Girard for Blackwood, Wood/Zacha/draft picks
Girard for Samsonov, Hathaway, Ioforio/draft picks
Girard for Knight plus picks/prospects
Girard for Hart plus picks

I approve this post. Let's do it.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

I keep coming back to Husso as an option next season. He would be cheaper than Kuemp and IMO not a downgrade.

One thing I would like Sakic to take advantage of this offseason is trading Kadri's right to salvage something from him walking to UFA. OTT was rumored to be strongly interested in Kadri. I'm sure there would be others.

Could a Girard/Lundell be the basis of a trade this summer? FLA needs to upgrade at LD and we need a 2C. FLA also needs to get better at moving the puck from the back end. Girard would help them accomplish that at a very good cap hit as well. They might need to make room cap wise though to make this happen.

 

[The Abusement Park]

I keep coming back to Husso as an option next season. He would be cheaper than Kuemp and IMO not a downgrade.

One thing I would like Sakic to take advantage of this offseason is trading Kadri's right to salvage something from him walking to UFA. OTT was rumored to be strongly interested in Kadri. I'm sure there would be others.

Could a Girard/Lundell be the basis of a trade this summer? FLA needs to upgrade at LD and we need a 2C. FLA also needs to get better at moving the puck from the back end. Girard would help them accomplish that at a very good cap hit as well. They might need to make room cap wise though to make this happen.

Lundel will cost Byram.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

Lundel will cost Byram.

Yeah you are probably right and if you are I wouldn't do it.

 

[John Mandalorian]

I keep coming back to Husso as an option next season. He would be cheaper than Kuemp and IMO not a downgrade.

One thing I would like Sakic to take advantage of this offseason is trading Kadri's right to salvage something from him walking to UFA. OTT was rumored to be strongly interested in Kadri. I'm sure there would be others.

Could a Girard/Lundell be the basis of a trade this summer? FLA needs to upgrade at LD and we need a 2C. FLA also needs to get better at moving the puck from the back end. Girard would help them accomplish that at a very good cap hit as well. They might need to make room cap wise though to make this happen.

Not a chance.

 

[Bone Breaker]

IMO you get a great 3C option to where you can run Newhook as the 2C this year and if he struggles in that spot, I think Paul could step up in that role while Newhook shifts to the 3rd line winger spot, so you have a Top 9 that looks like:

Ive been pumping the tires on the idea of having Newhook play where he was supposed to, when drafted, for a while but got trashed for it. imo he has shown signs that he can live up to it, although obviously if you can afford a more secure option to put up there (given we are in contention mode), you do it.

If Colorado wins the cup with Francouz in net, he'll definitely be the opening night starter.

But he's made out of glass; missed all of last year and injured multiple times this year. In this scenario, Sakic would probably bring in someone good enough to be the starter but not good enough that being a 1B is beneath them (Fleury or Varlamov).

Ive posted it up before, half joking, but in this specific scenario I think that Vanecek would actually be a quite good addition (to be a cheap 1B somewhat reliable).


oh and count me in on the group that approves a Kadri prolonged stay if he accepts a new deal around 7M. he has shown he cleared his antics and can actually play when the games matter more, unlike some others in this squad... heck, Id rather pay Kadri 9M and move Rants than have the later play C on Kadris place.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Ive been pumping the tires on the idea of having Newhook play where he was supposed to, when drafted, for a while but got trashed for it. imo he has shown signs that he can live up to it, although obviously if you can afford a more secure option to put up there (given we are in contention mode), you do it.



Ive posted it up before, half joking, but in this specific scenario I think that Vanecek would actually be a quite good addition (to be a cheap 1B somewhat reliable).


oh and count me in on the group that approves a Kadri prolonged stay if he accepts a new deal around 7M. he has shown he cleared his antics and can actually play when the games matter more, unlike some others in this squad... heck, Id rather pay Kadri 9M and move Rants than have the later play C on Kadris place.

Don't get me wrong I don't think Newhook is a Center either at this point. He hasn't looked nearly as effective at Center.


Nut getting Paul as the 3C would at least give you a really good 3C option to where youncan give Newhook a nit more time at Center to see if he figures it out. He likely won't, in which case then you can move Paul to 2C, Meyers or JTC to 3C, and shift Newhook back to the Wing.

 

[PAZ]

I keep coming back to Husso as an option next season. He would be cheaper than Kuemp and IMO not a downgrade.

One thing I would like Sakic to take advantage of this offseason is trading Kadri's right to salvage something from him walking to UFA. OTT was rumored to be strongly interested in Kadri. I'm sure there would be others.

Could a Girard/Lundell be the basis of a trade this summer? FLA needs to upgrade at LD and we need a 2C. FLA also needs to get better at moving the puck from the back end. Girard would help them accomplish that at a very good cap hit as well. They might need to make room cap wise though to make this happen.

I don't think Husso is going to be cheaper. He's 27 which increases his amount of suitors. If teams think he's the real deal, I really wouldn't be surprised if New Jersey, Buffalo, etc. overpays for him. If it's an option Fleury on a cheap 1 year deal would be my preference.

Also, G isn't close to Lundell's value. We'd be looking at Byram going the other way.

 

[ANewHope]

Who do people think Girard could realistically bring back in a trade? Maybe like a Bo Horvat but would the Canucks want another smaller defensemen?

I didn't think so at the time but I'd straight up swap G's salary for the contract Danualt got. He was incredible this year.

 

[JWK]

Francouz/Husso tandem would be hilarious just because of this