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

[kitsel]

I'm surprised I haven't seen this suggested more, but at what point do you just let Frankie start next year and grab a capable backup in case he gets injured? I know that it's not ideal, especially with Frankie's injury history, but the FA goalie market kind of sucks this year and they've shown that they can succeed with just average goaltending. And while I don't think he's a top quality starting goalie, I don't think there's that much of a dropoff from Kuemper. He's held down the fort just fine when called upon.

Given how good our defense is, I think I'd rather have Francouz starting and get to keep someone like Nuke than sign Campbell or trade for Gibson and be millions shorter on cap space with no guarantee that either of them are a huge improvement considering both have proven to be a little bit inconsistent.

 

[Freedom Elz]

Kadri's not likely signing for $6M. He's 31, has one more big contract left to sign in the NHL, and he just came off a career year. Someone is going to offer quite a bit more than that, and I bet he takes it.

Damn near every contending team in the league has a weakness at some position on the ice. I think the Avs have to decide what that position is going to be for them. If they decide it's center, then sign Nichushkin, Lehkonen, and a goalie, and move forward with a weakness at center.

If they decide it's wing as the weakness, then let Nichushkin go, and try to resign Kadri with that money (or some other 2C with that money), and fill in the 2nd/3rd line wings with a couple of older veteran FAs on 1 year contracts.

I'm having difficulty envisioning a scenario in which they sign both Kadri and Nichushkin.

Hey Abasin, I hope you are enjoying the cup win!

I'm not sure who the big players for Kadri will be, maybe the Pens if Malkin walks or the Canes. But the rest of the teams out there either don't have the cap room to give him big money or they are bottom feeders that he may not want to play for but can afford to overpay for him on salary and term.

I'd put priority on signing Nichuskin.

After hearing various comments about how MacKinnon takes advice from Sid and knowing how much he looks up to him, I'm starting to wonder if he takes a lot less than people think on his next deal.

Even with a discount you have to figure he's going to want 10 million at a minimum....and he deserves it.

 

[Freedom Elz]

Necas is as much of a center at this point as Newhook is. Promising player who could be a buy low play but not sure he is the tonic for the second line for a team with designs on repeating as champs.

I’m not on the “let’s ditch Newhook because he wasn’t important in the playoffs” bandwagon. I think he had a pretty solid rookie year. He’s got things to work on but he’s still an important and cheap asset moving forward. I agree that he has not shown yet he can be a 2C on a contender but I do think with some natural development he can slot in for Bura this upcoming season and then we will see where things go from there. If he doesn’t show improvement his sophomore season I’ll start to be worried but not sure why people are so ready to declare him a disappointment after his rookie season.

Agreed. Getting rid of Newhook at this point would be a mistake, he's young, talented and cheap. After the experience/confidence he just gained during the cup run he'll be ready for a line up promotion.

 

[John Mandalorian]

Hey Abasin, I hope you are enjoying the cup win!

I'm not sure who the big players for Kadri will be, maybe the Pens if Malkin walks or the Canes. But the rest of the teams out there either don't have the cap room to give him big money or they are bottom feeders that he may not want to play for but can afford to overpay for him on salary and term.

I'd put priority on signing Nichuskin.


Even with a discount you have to figure he's going to want 10 million at a minimum....and he deserves it.

I would have thought that but I recently heard a stat (haven't verified it so I'm not 100% sure it's true) that no team has ever won the title with a player making 10 million dollars. Plus Sid makes 8.7.

 

[niwotsblessing]

I would have thought that but I recently heard a stat (haven't verified it so I'm not 100% sure it's true) that no team has ever won the title with a player making 10 million dollars. Plus Sid makes 8.7.

Ask the oilers how t's working out for them.

 

[Steerpike]

Selling Girard or Newhook right now would obviously be selling low.

With a mediocre playoffs, it might be possible to get Kuemper back pretty cheaply. Not that he's a worldbeater, but he got the job done for us despite a nasty injury in the middle of the postseason.

For everyone looking to escape the Compher/EJ money... That money covers the MacKinnon raise as they expire.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Selling Girard or Newhook right now would obviously be selling low.

With a mediocre playoffs, it might be possible to get Kuemper back pretty cheaply. Not that he's a worldbeater, but he got the job done for us despite a nasty injury in the middle of the postseason.

For everyone looking to escape the Compher/EJ money... That money covers the MacKinnon raise as they expire.

I dont think it would be selling low on Newhook at all tbh.


He still had a decent rookie season from a production standpoint in his rookie year as a former 1st round pick.


He would carry lots of value still.

 

[John Mandalorian]

Selling Girard or Newhook right now would obviously be selling low.

With a mediocre playoffs, it might be possible to get Kuemper back pretty cheaply. Not that he's a worldbeater, but he got the job done for us despite a nasty injury in the middle of the postseason.

For everyone looking to escape the Compher/EJ money... That money covers the MacKinnon raise as they expire.

Perhaps. But the Avs have to ask themselves which means more, the piece of land or the structure occupying that land.

 

[Chiarelli]

He played as a 21 year old in the cup final and held his own he had some nice moments too.
Newhook definitely has value. I doubt Zegras or Caufield or Cozens would have been able to do much more in that role.

 

[Steerpike]

I dont think it would be selling low on Newhook at all tbh.


He still had a decent rookie season from a production standpoint in his rookie year as a former 1st round pick.


He would carry lots of value still.

Fair, I would just count him among the players who will still have tons of fire moving forward. You need guys like Newhook around making less money than the value they are worth. Keeping players for what they will do for us rather than what they have done. I don't want to accelerate our transformation into the San-Jose Sharks.

 

[dahrougem2]

I'll have to check out the newest podcast from Kypreos and Bourne. Kyper absolutely destroys the Leafs for that trade in the clip I listened to earlier today.

Time will tell, but it's clear now that the Leafs ultimately deciding that Nazem Kadri wasn't good enough to be a 2C on a contending team was a huge, huge mistake.



Oh yes, absolutely I would do that.

Was it really the Leafs deciding Kadri wasn't good enough? Or was it John Tavares basically forcing their hand by signing there and the Leafs having to plug other holes?

Kadri was the one guy they thought was expendable because their top two centres were taken care of. Obviously a mistake by them in hindsight even signing Tavares because Kadri + Hyman or Kadri + defensmen would be so much more useful than Tavares right now, but I don't think it was ever the Leafs not believing in Kadri. Hell, he had just finished a 32 goal season.

 

[Freedom Elz]

I would have thought that but I recently heard a stat (haven't verified it so I'm not 100% sure it's true) that no team has ever won the title with a player making 10 million dollars. Plus Sid makes 8.7.

You're right and we know how much Mac values Syd as a player and person. But Mac has been on a 'cheap' contract for what he's delivered for a number of years now, I can't see him taking a huge discount. He deserves to be paid.

 

[letsgoavs1921]

I'm surprised I haven't seen this suggested more, but at what point do you just let Frankie start next year and grab a capable backup in case he gets injured? I know that it's not ideal, especially with Frankie's injury history, but the FA goalie market kind of sucks this year and they've shown that they can succeed with just average goaltending. And while I don't think he's a top quality starting goalie, I don't think there's that much of a dropoff from Kuemper. He's held down the fort just fine when called upon.

Given how good our defense is, I think I'd rather have Francouz starting and get to keep someone like Nuke than sign Campbell or trade for Gibson and be millions shorter on cap space with no guarantee that either of them are a huge improvement considering both have proven to be a little bit inconsistent.

I was thinking that. If we knew we would get the Keumper from games 4 and 6 consistently keep him. But if you don't know that you can count on that roll with Frank and you probably have enough money to keep Kadri and Val

 

[hockeyfish]

Can someone with more knowledge chime in. Is there anything left with Samsonov. He was very hyped up not long ago but seems to not have established himself. I seem to remember a few rumors he was possibly on the move.

 

[Hasbro]

I can see why they don’t want to transition just yet from Sakic to McFarland with it being a short off-season. We might hear some thing in season.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Can someone with more knowledge chime in. Is there anything left with Samsonov. He was very hyped up not long ago but seems to not have established himself. I seem to remember a few rumors he was possibly on the move.

I think there's some commitment and focus issues there. @Gigantor The Goalie would probably be able to give a better write up on him, but he clearly has the physical tools to thrive in the NHL but is held back by some other stuff.

 

[Avs_19]

I've always thought Kadri would go to the Sens or Habs. Maybe the Habs are unlikely now since they have a couple of solid young centers, have Wright coming in, and made that foolish Dvorak trade last year but the Sens could still use him. It'll allow him to go very close to home, likely make a ton of money, and they could be pretty decent soon with some of the pieces they have.

A team like the Pens could be in the mix if Malkin walks and they still want to compete with Crosby on the team. I don't think the Burke factor can be ignored there.

 

[John Mandalorian]

I can see why they don’t want to transition just yet from Sakic to McFarland with it being a short off-season. We might hear some thing in season.

What's the hurry? If each upgrades titles, what exactly has to change?

I've always thought Kadri would go to the Sens or Habs. Maybe the Habs are unlikely now since they have a couple of solid young centers, have Wright coming in, and made that foolish Dvorak trade last year but the Sens could still use him. It'll allow him to go very close to home, likely make a ton of money, and they could be pretty decent soon with some of the pieces they have.

A team like the Pens could be in the mix if Malkin walks and they still want to compete with Crosby on the team. I don't think the Burke factor can be ignored there.

I can see Seattle or Philadelphia being big suitors for Kadri.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

I've always thought Kadri would go to the Sens or Habs. Maybe the Habs are unlikely now since they have a couple of solid young centers, have Wright coming in, and made that foolish Dvorak trade last year but the Sens could still use him. It'll allow him to go very close to home, likely make a ton of money, and they could be pretty decent soon with some of the pieces they have.

A team like the Pens could be in the mix if Malkin walks and they still want to compete with Crosby on the team. I don't think the Burke factor can be ignored there.

Buffalo.

 

[Foppberg]

Buffalo would be cool if he's not coming back here.

 

[ANewHope]

After hearing various comments about how MacKinnon takes advice from Sid and knowing how much he looks up to him, I'm starting to wonder if he takes a lot less than people think on his next deal.

Only so much of a discount he can take realistically due to factors beyond himself. He couldn't sign for like 8.5 mill or anything. I think he signs anywhere from 10-10.5 tho instead of pushing for 11+ mill.

 

[ANewHope]

Selling Girard or Newhook right now would obviously be selling low.

With a mediocre playoffs, it might be possible to get Kuemper back pretty cheaply. Not that he's a worldbeater, but he got the job done for us despite a nasty injury in the middle of the postseason.

For everyone looking to escape the Compher/EJ money... That money covers the MacKinnon raise as they expire.

I'm actually worried if we don't move Girard this offseason his value will actually drop. It's a possibility he gets removed off the PP(9 points last year, 7 this year) and his minutes go down abit. Last years offense is still fresh in people's minds and he was actually solid in this years playoffs before getting hurt.

Just guess work but with how much Bednar trusted Byram in game 6 .. it's completely possible he rides Toews/Byram/Makar pretty hard next year. We saw how much he leaned on Makar/Toews in the regular season. What if Girard's offense dries up with no PP time, less TOI, and he's still making 5 mill a year? IMO he's not a great partner for Makar/Toews/Byram either.

 

[John Mandalorian]

I'm actually worried if we don't move Girard this offseason his value will actually drop. It's a possibility he gets removed off the PP(9 points last year, 7 this year) and his minutes go down abit. Last years offense is still fresh in people's minds and he was actually solid in this years playoffs before getting hurt.

Just guess work but with how much Bednar trusted Byram in game 6 .. it's completely possible he rides Toews/Byram/Makar pretty hard next year. We saw how much he leaned on Makar/Toews in the regular season. What if Girard's offense dries up with no PP time, less TOI, and he's still making 5 mill a year? IMO he's not a great partner for Makar/Toews/Byram either.

OK. But what do you do with Toews in 2 years in this scenario?

 

[Balthazar]

Seravalli says Manson more than likely going back to Anaheim (his wife is from there and they like it there and it was the plan from the start). So that sucks.

He thinks that we re-up Kadri and let Kuemper walk. Also says Nuke priced himself out of Colorado so he's not coming back either.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

Man, losing Naz, or Val is really going to sting. Two huge pieces for this team.

As for Compher being moved…. I think the chance of that happening is extremely low. JB’s son delivered in the playoffs and had a good regular season. He’s fairly paid and is a useful utility player. I think he’s going to open up next season on Ben Meyers right wing on the 3rd line.

Sam Girard is the guy to watch and I’m not really sure which way that goes. I can understand the reasoning on keeping him, or moving him.

If you keep him, you double down on being the best puck moving defence in the NHL and it makes your defence a deeper group.

Trade him and you open up more opportunity for Bowen Byram. You also get to add a quality forward to the team.