Rumor: 2022-2023 Trade Rumors and Free Agency: Let’s Run it Back!

[Tommy Shelby]

Looking at the available D, if the Avs opt to let Manson walk, they should look into Colin Miller as a replacement if we can grab him for like 3x4m or so. Rutta and Kulak would be the same, as long as they would cost less than Manson, both cap hit and term. Would still like to have him back though.

A couple of late bloomers for the bottom-pair:

Colton White, he has the potential to be a real steal in our system once Pratt gets his hands on him. He skates well and plays a solid defensive and PK game while having a nice outlet pass. There's concerns about his offense but on this team he would be a bottom pairing guy with EJ and we wouldn't need him to score. NJ always wanted him to be more than he is, but I feel on this team he would be a fantastic steal that plays within his role, and would come cheap as well.

Sebastian Aho (the Dman) would also be a nice sneaky pickup for the bottom pair, size is a concern but he would fit the system well.

As for forwards, my wishlist includes:

Mikheyev, Jarnkrok, Motte, Aston-Reese, Rodrigues, Tierney, Janmark, Cousins, Blackwell, Larsson and Sanford.

Jarnkrok would be my top choice since he's very versatile and can play anywhere in the middle 6 from 2C to 3W depending where Newhook develops, how Meyers does and if JTC is still around.

Mikheyev would be my second choice, to replace the scoring we lose with Burakovsky.

Aston-Reese is #3 for me since he would fit perfectly in the bottom-6, he plays similar to LOC/Cogs/Helm so if they let the 2 old vets walk, they absolutely should bring in ZAR.

 

[flyfysher]

I'd say 5-5.5.

I’d pass on Giroux cuz he’ll be a fossil and he wasn’t a warrior in the POs. Remember the lesson of Stuart, Tanguay and Beauchemin.

 

[John Mandalorian]

I’d pass on Giroux cuz he’ll be a fossil and he wasn’t a warrior in the POs. Remember the lesson of Stuart, Tanguay and Beauchemin.

I don’t hate what you’re saying. I’m tepid myself.

 

[Tommy Shelby]

I’d pass on Giroux cuz he’ll be a fossil and he wasn’t a warrior in the POs. Remember the lesson of Stuart, Tanguay and Beauchemin.

Agree, Giroux isn't the answer unless we go something hilarious like 1x5-6m

 

[nammerus]

I thought Kuemper looked great between December and March for us. Confident, minimal motion, tracked puck very well. The stats bore this out too, only behind Shesterkin in goals saved above expected in that period.

He was definitely shaky in the playoffs, but you would think it will be easier next time with the experience and pressure behind him and hopefully a healthy eye.

Fleury has lost the net in the almost all of most recent playoffs: to Murray twice in Pittsburgh, to Lehner in Vegas, to Talbot in Minnesota. I'm not sure how closely folks watched the Blues-Wild matchup, but Fleury was constantly overplaying pucks and losing his net.

From my eye test, I would definitely choose Kuemper over Fleury based on performance in 2022 playoffs. Maybe even Francouz as well.

Hilarious that people have such short memories. Kuemper had the worst performance as playoff goalie to win a cup in the last 30-40 years, by both SV% and GSAx. He just happened to have a absolute tank of a team to bail him out regularly.

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

Friedman's latest. First time I have heard about Tampa delaying the hand shake, although given their complaints about seemingly every Colorado goal and call on the ice during the series, perhaps I should not be surprised.



23. Tampa Bay: The Lightning have the 31st pick, and none in the second or third rounds. It’s not foreign to them to trade down for multiple seconds, to try and increase their draft bounty. They’ve re-signed Nick Paul, and are trying with Ondrej Palat and Jan Rutta. They’re working with McDonagh to find a trade fit, while Alex Killorn is another possibility (he has some control over his situation). It was a wild scene on the ice as the Lightning waited for the handshakes after losing in the Cup Final. Victor Hedman, as competitive as ever, was making it very clear he did not like the non-icing with about 15 seconds to go. Some of the Colorado players mentioned it, they were so taken aback by what happened. What that says: the Lightning are not satisfied and will do everything in their power to make another run. “The series wasn’t over for 20 minutes before (Julien) BriseBois was doing business,” one source said.

32. Colorado: The Avalanche return to work after a hilarious week of Stanley Cup-damaging debauchery — at least the front office does. (Nicolas Aube-Kubel’s girlfriend did a great TikTok of his on-ice Cup drop). They’re going to work hard on a Nathan MacKinnon extension, which would go into effect in 2023-24. That number will determine a lot of things. It’s going to be hard for them to keep Kadri, even though I think he’d like to stay. He’d be leaving a lot on the table. They’ve shown they have a limit to what they’ll spend on a goalie, so Kuemper will have to decide what he’s comfortable with. Nichushkin is another matter. The Avalanche are determined to take a real shot at it, and it’s not impossible. He knows how good he has it, and if it’s anywhere close, the odds are good for Colorado. (Fun story from the week: Nichushkin apparently lost the flip-flop he was wearing on his injured foot. I can understand how you’d lose the other one, but not that one). Jack Johnson, who had the biggest smile of anyone on the ice, was asked if he’s going to retire. He replied, “I’m not stopping now,” which was excellent. Erik Johnson’s been through a lot, too. This made it all worth it, for sure, but you wonder what he’s thinking after 15 years. They’re still going to be a force. Cale Makar will win a Hart Trophy, perhaps as soon as next year. Bowen Byram showed he’s a stud. Another change might be at the top. Assistant GM Chris MacFarland wasn’t allowed to interview in Anaheim or San Jose. That means he’s getting promoted at some point. Does Joe Sakic move up, while at the pinnacle of his sport once again?

This was also in there...

CAP OVERAGES

Websites like CapFriendly and PuckPedia do a lot of this legwork, but teams were officially informed of all overages this week. The cap is $82.5 million, but for some clubs it will be less than that due to performance bonuses.

Here are those 14 teams, and how much they are affected:

Vancouver: $1.25 million

Montreal: $1,132,500

St. Louis: $1.1 million

Edmonton: $896,000

Dallas: $675,000

Florida and Los Angeles: $637,500

Philadelphia: $295,000

Islanders: $245,795

Chicago: $237,500

Toronto: $212,500

Carolina: $112,500

Washington: $100,000

Colorado: $25,000

 

[Hasbro]

Giroux would probably mean trading JTC. So win-win

 

[SirLoinOfCloth]

Hilarious that people have such short memories. Kuemper had the worst performance as playoff goalie to win a cup in the last 30-40 years, by both SV% and GSAx. He just happened to have a absolute tank of a team to bail him out regularly.

If anything, looking only at the playoffs stats is having a short memory. He was fantastic for months during the regular season.

 

[nammerus]

If anything, looking only at the playoffs stats is having a short memory. He was fantastic for months during the regular season.

He was also the worst starting goalie in the league, outside of Grubs, (by a fairly large margin) from Oct-Dec during the RS. But most Kuemper stans conveniently leave that out too.

 

[Bender]

Yeah that's a risk but it's a risk worth taking assuming that Giroux wants to sign here with a reasonable number. Newhook didn't seem like he'd be even close to ready to handle 2C duties, if he ever will be. 3LW is a good place for him to start the season.

If Soda could play C in Bednars system I trust Giroux or Malkin could handle it as well.

Could he though? Could...he?

 

[flyfysher]

He was also the worst starting goalie in the league, outside of Grubs, (by a fairly large margin) from Oct-Dec during the RS. But most Kuemper stans conveniently leave that out too.

Yeah, the team was really a cluster as far as injuries and a stable line up for the first 2 months. Then there was Covid and the Olympics. So give us a break with he sucked. Context matters.

Could he though? Could...he?

Early season is the time to try Newhook out there and give him some looks.

 

[BobRossColton]

Think and type Necas into existence.

 

[RockLobster]

Kuemper did have a stellar run from December 10th-ish until about April 10th-ish. From 4/10 onward he was a very below average goaltender.

And no doubt he was good during that 4 month time, but the team was also humming along very nicely too.

The Avs may not have much choice than to go with him, but his play to end the season and through the playoffs left a lot to be desired

 

[flyfysher]

Kuemper did have a stellar run from December 10th-ish until about April 10th-ish. From 4/10 onward he was a very below average goaltender.

And no doubt he was good during that 4 month time, but the team was also humming along very nicely too.

The Avs may not have much choice than to go with him, but his play to end the season and through the playoffs left a lot to be desired

Did you see what JB was doing with the line ups the last couple of weeks of the season? Geez!

 

[JH21]

Dumb question....

Can we extend Mackinnon this summer? If so our priorities should be:

1- Mack extension
2- Nichushkin contract
3- 2C (Kadri, FA or G trade)
4- Goalie situation (Keumper, MAF, Gibson with term)
5- Lehkonen long term
6- Manson contract or roll with Makar, Byram, Toews and G as the top 4?
7- Bottom 6 and D depth. Cogs, Helm, JJ?

 

[Richard88]

This was also in there...

The $25k is from adding Meyers late in the season.

 

[RockLobster]

Did you see what JB was doing with the line ups the last couple of weeks of the season? Geez!

And?

Just a cursory look at his game logs show that he started being ungood at that time. I’m not saying they shouldn’t bring him back; rather I’m pointing to the info we have at hand.

He had some stinkers sprinkled in during his strong run of the season, but it was the game against LA on 4/13 where you can go back and see from then on he was struggling. You add in the knowledge that he was still struggling with vision during the playoffs, and as a fan you become a little nervous.

There’s little else out there. Maybe they go after MAF if they can get him a bit cheaper than DK, but I think you only go that route if you have THE chance to bring back both of Naz & Nuke.

 

[Richard88]

Looking at the available D, if the Avs opt to let Manson walk, they should look into Colin Miller as a replacement if we can grab him for like 3x4m or so. Rutta and Kulak would be the same, as long as they would cost less than Manson, both cap hit and term. Would still like to have him back though.

A couple of late bloomers for the bottom-pair:

Colton White, he has the potential to be a real steal in our system once Pratt gets his hands on him. He skates well and plays a solid defensive and PK game while having a nice outlet pass. There's concerns about his offense but on this team he would be a bottom pairing guy with EJ and we wouldn't need him to score. NJ always wanted him to be more than he is, but I feel on this team he would be a fantastic steal that plays within his role, and would come cheap as well.

Sebastian Aho (the Dman) would also be a nice sneaky pickup for the bottom pair, size is a concern but he would fit the system well.

As for forwards, my wishlist includes:

Mikheyev, Jarnkrok, Motte, Aston-Reese, Rodrigues, Tierney, Janmark, Cousins, Blackwell, Larsson and Sanford.

Jarnkrok would be my top choice since he's very versatile and can play anywhere in the middle 6 from 2C to 3W depending where Newhook develops, how Meyers does and if JTC is still around.

Mikheyev would be my second choice, to replace the scoring we lose with Burakovsky.

Aston-Reese is #3 for me since he would fit perfectly in the bottom-6, he plays similar to LOC/Cogs/Helm so if they let the 2 old vets walk, they absolutely should bring in ZAR.

I think it's quite likely that Jarnkrok re-signs in Calgary. They paid a significant price for him at the deadline so they have incentive to pay him, and he also has a few of his Swedish friends on that team.

Speaking of friends, isn't Johan Larsson buddies with Landeskog? Maybe I'm making that up, I can't recall. Either way he'd be a nice replacement for Sturm as 4C if he doesn't cost too much.

And?

Just a cursory look at his game logs show that he started being ungood at that time. I’m not saying they shouldn’t bring him back; rather I’m pointing to the info we have at hand.

He had some stinkers sprinkled in during his strong run of the season, but it was the game against LA on 4/13 where you can go back and see from then on he was struggling. You add in the knowledge that he was still struggling with vision during the playoffs, and as a fan you become a little nervous.

There’s little else out there. Maybe they go after MAF if they can get him a bit cheaper than DK, but I think you only go that route if you have THE chance to bring back both of Naz & Nuke.

You got a 'like' from me for using the word "ungood" to describe our undead one-eyed zombie netminder

 

[SirLoinOfCloth]

I don't think there are any posters here who think DK was great all season, or who see DK deserving a long-term contract. But, when you look at the other options out there, we already parted with good assets to land DK, what is the point in parting with more good assets to end up with another goalie who may or may not be any better. On average over the season and playoffs DK was good to pretty-good, but his play in the playoffs did leave a lot to be desired. He was also out with injuries twice during the playoffs, and wasn't playing great just before that either. This is a tricky offseason for us in goal. I don't think Gibson, MAF or Varly give us anything more than we already have in DK. Remember when Varly left the narrative was he was made of glass and would cost us eventually. And Gibson and MAF are in the twilight of their careers and are unlikely to upgrade us significantly enough in net to warrant yet more assets going the other way.

I personally say stick with DK for another year or two, at a reasonable contract if he'll sign one. He was clearly good enough to help backstop us to a cup, whether or not that was in spite of him, he helped get us there in the first place and he played well enough despite coughing up weak goals.

 

[nammerus]

Yeah, the team was really a cluster as far as injuries and a stable line up for the first 2 months. Then there was Covid and the Olympics. So give us a break with he sucked. Context matters.


Early season is the time to try Newhook out there and give him some looks.

There is no context required. The Avs were a top 2-3 defensive team throughout the year including the time with injuries. The Avs had the second worst goaltending during that time based in GSAx (Oct-DEC). I’ll put that in plain English for you so you understand. The Avs played incredible defensive hockey, but had a shit goalie during that time. To be fair, he was great between Jan-Mar, but pissed that all away with whatever the hell we saw in the playoffs.

Kuemper being garbage, whether it be the first two months of the year or the last two months (PO’s included) is all on him. The only reason it didn’t matter was because the team in front of him was one of the most dominant teams we’ve seen in the last 2 decades.

 

[flyfysher]

And?

Just a cursory look at his game logs show that he started being ungood at that time. I’m not saying they shouldn’t bring him back; rather I’m pointing to the info we have at hand.

He had some stinkers sprinkled in during his strong run of the season, but it was the game against LA on 4/13 where you can go back and see from then on he was struggling. You add in the knowledge that he was still struggling with vision during the playoffs, and as a fan you become a little nervous.

There’s little else out there. Maybe they go after MAF if they can get him a bit cheaper than DK, but I think you only go that route if you have THE chance to bring back both of Naz & Nuke.

JB was blending the lines like crazy the last couple of weeks of the RS. The Avs were in the hunt for the President's Trophy and he just started trying all kinds of insane line ups. JB didn't give a shit about winning. He was trying different line combos and my gut at the time was that he was trying to lose (not really). So I don't hold those games against Kuemper.

FTR, I'm not for trading or keeping Kuemper just like Girard. I would prefer not to pay Kuemper more than $5.5M.

I always thought the people in this forum were too hard on DK but he's an average goalie. Nothing spectacular but...I'd take him over Grubauer. Fans can say DK sucks but he genuinely helped the team win the SC. Something Grubauer didn't.

Honestly, I don't know how the Avs should go forward on the G position. However, at this point Sakic and company have earned the right to say trust us. I do so I'm just along for the ride at this point.

 

[Cypher]

I rather Trochek over Giroux at 2C

 

[hockeyfish]

Dumb question....

Can we extend Mackinnon this summer? If so our priorities should be:

1- Mack extension
2- Nichushkin contract
3- 2C (Kadri, FA or G trade)
4- Goalie situation (Keumper, MAF, Gibson with term)
5- Lehkonen long term
6- Manson contract or roll with Makar, Byram, Toews and G as the top 4?
7- Bottom 6 and D depth. Cogs, Helm, JJ?

Yes, Mack can sign an extension this off-season.

 

[Richard88]

I don't think there are any posters here who think DK was great all season, or who see DK deserving a long-term contract. But, when you look at the other options out there, we already parted with good assets to land DK, what is the point in parting with more good assets to end up with another goalie who may or may not be any better. On average over the season and playoffs DK was good to pretty-good, but his play in the playoffs did leave a lot to be desired. He was also out with injuries twice during the playoffs, and wasn't playing great just before that either. This is a tricky offseason for us in goal. I don't think Gibson, MAF or Varly give us anything more than we already have in DK. Remember when Varly left the narrative was he was made of glass and would cost us eventually. And Gibson and MAF are in the twilight of their careers and are unlikely to upgrade us significantly enough in net to warrant yet more assets going the other way.

I personally say stick with DK for another year or two, at a reasonable contract if he'll sign one. He was clearly good enough to help backstop us to a cup, whether or not that was in spite of him, he helped get us there in the first place and he played well enough despite coughing up weak goals.

Gibson isn't in the twilight of his career. He's still only 28, 3 years younger than Kuemper.

 

[Avs_19]

Giroux to the Sens seems to be one of the worst kept secrets out there. It has been lowkey mentioned for like two years now. Adding the Leafs into the mix makes it a bit more interesting and maybe playing for a team ready to win while still being close to home will be enticing but I still say Ottawa.

I was really hoping for a bit more info from that Friedman article. Give me some reckless speculation, man. Not the obvious "they have to sign MacKinnon" or "they'd like to keep Nichushkin" or "Kadri might be unlikely" stuff.