Rumor: 2022-2023 Trade Rumors and Free Agency (Mod Warning in OP)

[Iceberg]

So, what you are saying is: we have no choice. Not the best position to negotiate.

MacKinnon will be an UFA, so he is in a great position to negotiate. The Avs, not so much.

 

[Balthazar]

It's management's job to figure out how to build around him, not his.

Considering that no team with a 10M+ player has ever won a cup in the cap era, I'd say the chances to win a cup with a 13M player and two 9M players on the same team are pretty damn low regardless of management.

 

[Iceberg]

Yepp, we did win that thing. Let's keep that memory tight. Because it's likely the only one for the next 15-20 years. But, hey, MOOOOONEEEEEEEY!

And you should be glad and grateful, because there are many fan bases that have never seen their team win one, and won't for the next 15-20 years either.

 

[Raucherhusten]

So many people making judgments on MacKinnon when every one of us would be doing the same thing in his position.

Go get paid, bro. It's management's job to figure out how to build around him, not his.

Speak for yourself please.

So far every management failed to build around a 10+ million player because it's so damn hard to do in a hard and flat-ish cap world. Just for your information.

 

[Bender]

Further to the post above I was just playing around with CapFriendly based on MacKinnon getting $12.6m.

I used a placeholder 2C earning $5m, acquired using a combination of Toews, Newhook, Olausson, and 2023 1st. That could be one trade or multiple trades at the TDL plus next off-season.

Byram ~$5m x3 bridge
Meyers ~$2m X 2 bridge
Then a few ~$1m depth pieces, either with ELC's or cheap UFA's/RFA's.

That leaves a 22 man roster fitting snugly under the cap (which I projected as $83.5m, another $1m increase).

The depth would take a serious hit, but it's possible that trading Newhook/Toews/etc would bring back some decent pieces to fill out the roster in addition to a 2C.

MacKinnon as highest paid player in the league - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Create your own team. Trade, sign, recall, reassign, and buyout players as though you were your favourite teams general manager.

www.capfriendly.com

I don't think he's getting that much on a bridge. Byram was great in the playoffs but Dobson just put up 51 points and got a 3 year - $4M bridge.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Maybe not the same, but similar, yes. Mate, i get it. Money makes the world go 'round.

Yepp, we did win that thing. Let's keep that memory tight. Because it's likely the only one for the next 15-20 years. But, hey, MOOOOONEEEEEEEY!


So, what you are saying is: we have no choice. Not the best position to negotiate.

I mean what’s your solution here? We all want the team to be good forever but in a cap world it’s not possible. If Mack is making to much money than what’s the solution?

 

[Raucherhusten]

I mean what’s your solution here? We all want the team to be good forever but in a cap world it’s not possible. If Mack is making to much money than what’s the solution?

There is no "good" answer to that question. Either you pay the man what he wants and demolish your teams depth for years or you say "f*ck you", trade his ass and lose your franchise center. Either way the Avs are f*cked.

And because of what? Because of MOOOOOONEEEEEEY!

 

[Balthazar]

I mean what’s your solution here? We all want the team to be good forever but in a cap world it’s not possible. If Mack is making to much money than what’s the solution?

Trade Rantanen and replace him with a 5M-6M winger

If someone is eating a huge piece of the pie, someone else has to pay for it.

 

[Richard88]

Trade Rantanen and replace him with a 5M-6M winger Burakovsky.

If someone is eating a huge piece of the pie, someone else has to pay for it.

FTFY


(Let's not do that)

I don't think he's getting that much on a bridge. Byram was great in the playoffs but Dobson just put up 51 points and got a 3 year - $4M bridge.

Maybe, maybe not. It's just a ballpark figure. I guess if you shave off $1m you can afford a $2m bridge for Newhook, or spreading that money around with a few more $250k overpayments

 

[Metallo]

So many people making judgments on MacKinnon when every one of us would be doing the same thing in his position.

Go get paid, bro. It's management's job to figure out how to build around him, not his.

Avs just need to find a way to cheat the cap. Others have done it, let's do it also.

 

[The Pwnerer]

Not a fan of us having to set the new bar when it comes to contracts. Matthews will be the next one but I honestly thought Mack would give us a little of a discount. Guess we'll see...

 

[redacted]

12.9 million over 8 years seems likely.

This is my expectation.

 

[Hasbro]

Yes. This is my wallpaper. Those cold dead eyes.

View attachment 579216

POV of every stripper in Glendale at least once.

 

[Pokecheque]

Speak for yourself please.

So far every management failed to build around a 10+ million player because it's so damn hard to do in a hard and flat-ish cap world. Just for your information.

Just for YOUR information, that's still not the player's fault. This cap was instituted for "cost certainty." The league sacrificed an entire season (and parts of others) to get it. And then they went out of their way to try and find ways to circumvent it. Every CBA is nothing more than an exercise in teams saving themselves from their own dumb decisions.

Top-end players effectively saw their earnings capped. Peter Forsberg was making around $11 million in 2002 IIRC. It's the middle-tier guys who saw their earnings skyrocket. And only NOW are teams (and the union) finally admitting that if you want star player salaries to go up, then that means those other salaries have to level off or go down.

If you and some others on here are just gonna waste time getting on Nathan MacKinnon's case because he's finally asking to get paid market value, go right ahead. I ain't with you. It's up to Avs management to figure it out, not him. They've done some really great things building a Cup winner, they've also made some gigantic mistakes in drafting and development that IMO they still have not properly addressed. I don't see why MacKinnon or anyone else has to leave money on the table because of that.

And BTW if you say you would take a "discount" if you were in his shoes, I'm calling bullshit on you and everyone else who says that. You're still just looking at it from the perspective of a fan, not him.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Also for the last 2 years we’ve all been expecting a 6mil raise based of EJ’s contract expiring. And now that it’s a little more everyone’s losing their minds?

It's because some folks convinced themselves that Mack was taking a sweetheart contract.

People here genuinely thought Mack would take a $10M deal and then the EJ $6M would not only easily cover Mack's $3.7M raise, but then would also leave a lot if money leftover to go towards Byrams raise. People also simply forgot that EJ is still taking up a roster spot on this team, so it's not as simple ss having $6M in cap space freed up when he leaves. You still have to replace his spot on the roster... At minimum that's 800k for the worst #6D in the league essentially. So really you only have ~5M in space freed up when EJs contract expires.

The reality of the situation is we are going to lose both a core member of this team next year, AND we are still going to see our depth get depleted even further.

 

[Pokecheque]

Avs just need to find a way to cheat the cap. Others have done it, let's do it also.

They were one of the teams that didn't vote for closing those cap loopholes, so if the opportunity presents itself they'll likely do so as well.

 

[Raucherhusten]

zip

And BTW if you say you would take a "discount" if you were in his shoes, I'm calling bullshit on you and everyone else who says that. You're still just looking at it from the perspective of a fan, not him.

So, you are one of those ppl. Got it. The ME ME ME ME ME kind of human.

Listen, we had this exact discussion just a couple of weeks ago so it doesn't make sense to do it all over a again. But yeah, if i were in his shoes i would without a shadow of a doubt leave "some" money on the table. Just because it would make "winning" easier.

For ME, it wouldn't make a difference if i'd make 10 or 12 million. If Mac thinks differently so be it.

 

[LOFIN]

Considering that no team with a 10M+ player has ever won a cup in the cap era

I hate this reference. Crosby and Malkin got a pretty big chunk of the cap percentage when they won. That's the comparable. It can be done.

 

[The Abusement Park]

I hate this reference. Crosby and Malkin got a pretty big chunk of the cap percentage when they won. That's the comparable. It can be done.

Yup Crosby was making 15% during their first cup. Which would be the equivalent of basically McDavids contract.

The only reason it hasn’t been done yet is because we’ve just gotten to the point where a 10mil contact is more common. It’ll likely happen next year.

 

[Pokecheque]

So, you are one of those ppl. Got it. The ME ME ME ME ME kind of human.

Listen, we had this exact discussion just a couple of weeks ago so it doesn't make sense to do it all over a again. But yeah, if i were in his shoes i would without a shadow of a doubt leave "some" money on the table. Just because it would make "winning" easier.

For ME, it wouldn't make a difference if i'd make 10 or 12 million. If Mac thinks differently so be it.

Hahahahahaha you know nothing about me, bro. You're likely one "those ppl" too, you just won't admit it.

None of us have ever dedicated ourselves to anything like many of these players have to make the NHL and excel in it. I remember absolutely HATING getting up at 4am just to go to practice when I was a kid, that was nothing compared to what someone like MacKinnon likely did when he was the same age. The constant training, workouts, bus rides, hockey camps, and insanely strict diets from a young age all the way until now, they've had to make hockey their entire lives. I've never done that, and I'm betting you haven't either. So...you go through all that and you're gonna say, when it's likely your last chance to cash in big, "Naw, bro, I'll take less." Bullshit.

Am I sitting here telling you that Nathan MacKinnon leads a tough life? Of course not, but you have no idea what a pro player has gone through to get to the pinnacle of his sport, and neither do I. But I'm at least willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, which you won't. This isn't about greed, it's about a guy who wants to be paid fair market value. He's earned the right to ask for that. If you want to villify him for that, fine. I won't.

 

[hughdreamz]

No more out of left field speculative Girard trade rumors

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Just for YOUR information, that's still not the player's fault. This cap was instituted for "cost certainty." The league sacrificed an entire season (and parts of others) to get it. And then they went out of their way to try and find ways to circumvent it. Every CBA is nothing more than an exercise in teams saving themselves from their own dumb decisions.

Top-end players effectively saw their earnings capped. Peter Forsberg was making around $11 million in 2002 IIRC. It's the middle-tier guys who saw their earnings skyrocket. And only NOW are teams (and the union) finally admitting that if you want star player salaries to go up, then that means those other salaries have to level off or go down.

If you and some others on here are just gonna waste time getting on Nathan MacKinnon's case because he's finally asking to get paid market value, go right ahead. I ain't with you. It's up to Avs management to figure it out, not him. They've done some really great things building a Cup winner, they've also made some gigantic mistakes in drafting and development that IMO they still have not properly addressed. I don't see why MacKinnon or anyone else has to leave money on the table because of that.

And BTW if you say you would take a "discount" if you were in his shoes, I'm calling bullshit on you and everyone else who says that. You're still just looking at it from the perspective of a fan, not him.

It's not bullshit though. I have at multiple times in my life declined employment offers of more money because I was perfectly happy with where I was and the uncertainty of shifting to a new job culture (locker room) for a little more coin just wasn't worth it to me. I imagine there are some players like that. I imagine there are some players absolutely not like that as well.

I'm not sure what camp MacKinnon falls under, but my camp says he isn't worth 13M for 8 years. As I don't think his speed will last into his 30s, I think we'll be paying him for past accomplishments for the last 2 or 3 years and with the flat cap the first few years are going to be extremely tough to maintain contender status through with such little cap space left to round out the roster. If his IQ was higher, yes 13M probably works for me. But he can still really be kind of a hockey dummy at times.

 

[Raucherhusten]

Hahahahahaha you know nothing about me, bro. You're likely one "those ppl" too, you just won't admit it.

None of us have ever dedicated ourselves to anything like many of these players have to make the NHL and excel in it. I remember absolutely HATING getting up at 4am just to go to practice when I was a kid, that was nothing compared to what someone like MacKinnon likely did when he was the same age. The constant training, workouts, bus rides, hockey camps, and insanely strict diets from a young age all the way until now, they've had to make hockey their entire lives. I've never done that, and I'm betting you haven't either. So...you go through all that and you're gonna say, when it's likely your last chance to cash in big, "Naw, bro, I'll take less." Bullshit.

Am I sitting here telling you that Nathan MacKinnon leads a tough life? Of course not, but you have no idea what a pro player has gone through to get to the pinnacle of his sport, and neither do I. But I'm at least willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, which you won't. This isn't about greed, it's about a guy who wants to be paid fair market value. He's earned the right to ask for that. If you want to villify him for that, fine. I won't.

In a much smaller way i probably am one of those ppl. It's always easier to prented otherwise, but if shit hits the fan, then sure, me myself and i are the most important ppl in the world.

But i'm just an average Joe. I probably make less money in a life time than Mac did in one year. So i struggle hard to see the difference for his well being now and in the future between him taking a team friendly deal to help stay competitive or going for the maximum amount of cash. I mean, if your name is not Evander Kane you should be set for life either way, right?

Pretty sure we'll see fairly soon if his number one goal is still winning or not. Interesting times, for sure!

 

[CharlesPuck]

No more out of left field speculative Girard trade rumors

oh no, where will we get coverage now?!

 

[Pokecheque]

It's not bullshit though. I have at multiple times in my life declined employment offers of more money because I was perfectly happy with where I was and the uncertainty of shifting to a new job culture (locker room) for a little more coin just wasn't worth it to me. I imagine there are some players like that. I imagine there are some players absolutely not like that as well.

I'm not sure what camp MacKinnon falls under, but my camp says he isn't worth 13M for 8 years. As I don't think his speed will last into his 30s, I think we'll be paying him for past accomplishments for the last 2 or 3 years and with the flat cap the first few years are going to be extremely tough to maintain contender status through with such little cap space left to round out the roster. If his IQ was higher, yes 13M probably works for me. But he can still really be kind of a hockey dummy at times.

The regular working joe world is nothing like the NHL or any other professional sport. That's where the comparison fails. This ain't just a "job" to them. I'm glad you turned down more money but that still ain't the same as someone like MacKinnon asking for as much as he can ask for.

FTR we have no idea where negotiations are going right now, I feel like a LOT of this talk is premature.