None of these options were very appealing though. Yes we need to take advantage of our window but...
If the 2023 draft is as good as people say that 1st is a high price to pay to get rid of EJ's cap. Although one could argue that the way they draft they might have as well done it.
Signing Kadri for 7-8 years at 32 yr old was very dangerous as well. Obviously Kadri didn't want to sign a shorter term deal. He could have regressed on his first year of his deal. Some could argue he already did looking at his 5v5 production.
We are also forgetting that we have no idea what Sakic/CMac short and long term plans are for the team. Call me crazy but I'll trust the FO and the team's pro scouts that brought a SC last year. What looks like a lack of urgency to you could just be patience from them. Heck they might already have a handshake agreement with another team but are just waiting for the right time to make it official. Nobody knows.
Kadri wasn't going to replicate last year... players almost never do, especially if it happens past 30. More or less, the Avs simply didn't feel the 2C spot was enough of an issue to solve.
Call me crazy, but I think the Avs could have had a Cup prior to last year if they were more aggressive. Teams rarely push hard enough, early enough in windows. I think the patience from years prior hurt the chances of winning multiple cups in the window. That said, winning even one is a huge win and makes the whole window a success.
Again though, my worry is the Avs simply don't value center enough and they combine that with being poor evaluators at what skill sets work at center. Newhook is not the only or last smaller, average to above average skating center the Avs have tried to fit into the 2C role. I think the pro scouts tend to be very good and can solve issues... but those issues are simply like taking a 2nd or 3rd mortgage out on a house. You can do it and it solves the bills of today... but those bills come due. Plus when you end up in a situation where assets have declining value, it hurts the ability to solve issues with said assets.
When we look at what assets the Avs have to solve the 2C issue, you have 23 1st, 24 1st, Newhook, OO, and Behrens. Unless you package them all together and bet the whole farm, you're unlikely to get more than a rental. The other piece is really Byram and he could singlehandedly solve the issue if he get a clean bill of health. Now I already hear the calls of G here... but by the day, his ability to solve the 2C spot is dwindling. Takes a team that doesn't care about size and is willing this shake off injury concerns, playoff performance concerns, and regression concerns... that's a small pool for a 2C sort of deal. For a 2nd line winger, you could very easily find a deal for G.
I think that Avs management probably have a different outlook than most fans. I would hope that they could certainly see that there is a difference between :
Lekhonen-MacKinnon-Rantanen
Galchenyuk-Newhook-Kaut/Foudy
and
Lekhonen-MacKinnon-Rantanen
Landeskog-Newhook-Nichushkin
...when making an evaluation on the potential of whether a kid like Newhook can or cannot produce as a #2C.
This team has had a RIDICULOUS amount of injuries to key players and are STILL comfortably in a playoff spot while the same cannot be said about a few of the teams we beat on the way to the Stanley Cup finals. I think it's safe to say that the front office likely would like to improve the team if they can and if it makes sense but probably don't feel the same urgency right now that most fans seem to.
Avs should be looking at the skill set of Newhook and how it just doesn't work as a 2C. Center is too difficult of position to just cover up and win without. It has happened, but it is rare.
