Rumor: 2023-2024 Trade Rumors and Free Agency: Off-season is in full swing

[Redredbird]

it seems that he may never play again

I wonder about this. Lots of articles about how no one’s sure he’s even coming back. Can someone not… ask? People were all over the rumors about him last year and now it’s crickets from anyone who might know something.

 

[UncleRisto]

I wonder about this. Lots of articles about how no one’s sure he’s even coming back. Can someone not… ask? People were all over the rumors about him last year and now it’s crickets from anyone who might know something.

I think it's pretty clear that he will be looking for the "Can he pass a medical?" PTO.

Might as well come and fail it here so we can blame losses on him later.

 

[Metallo]

And while you're trying to make fun of my selections, by demeaning my opinion, I left the XXXXX like that because of the number of potential options available (i.e. Olofsson, Ranta, Macdermid at a stretch, Meyers, Kovalenko eventually).

Sorry buddy, didn't aim this joke at you. When I saw XXXXX it just made me think of an alien, hence my stupid joke.

Still, first and foremost, I don't see how Wagner is our 4C because he's a winger.

Also, I don't see how the Avs would think that a guy that spent the last two season in the AHL, and he's not an up and comer, could be an everyday player for us. At this point he's an AHL vet, and quite low on the depth chart.

If he makes the team out of camp it would be an organizational failure.

Come on man, we all love this team, and we deserve better, way better.

 

[Tommy Shelby]

That maybe true, but they still have to give it a try. No one thought Nichushkin could turn into the player he did with the Avs.

The thing with Nuke was that even though we never expected a top-6 winger, he was very useful in a bottom-6 role regardless. Drouin sucks in a top-6 role and can't be a bottom-6er. The only hope we have with him is that Nate can somehow trick him into thinking it's 2013 again.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

The thing with Nuke was that even though we never expected a top-6 winger, he was very useful in a bottom-6 role regardless. Drouin sucks in a top-6 role and can't be a bottom-6er. The only hope we have with him is that Nate can somehow trick him into thinking it's 2013 again.

That certainly isn't true. He was a healthy scratch and basically on his way out of the league when he joined the Avs.

 

[AvsMakar08]

That certainly isn't true. He was a healthy scratch and basically on his way out of the league when he joined the Avs.

Yeah but when Nuke joined Avs he had to prove himself just like ROR. It is not like Nuke was playing on our 1st line or 2nd line from the very beginning. He had to start playing from bottom 6 to prove himself.

 

[GoNordiquesGo]

Yep, a very select few of us have been preaching this for quite a while.


This summer is nothing compared to what the next few years will look like. That along with the aging core are the reasons why we should have been all in last year, and we should be all in this year.

The window is closing quickly as the cap gets tighter and tighter and regression starts to really ramp up at some point in the next 2-3 years.

Indeed. The narrative "quite a while back" was that a select few was saying the window was going to close with Mac's new contract. While another group was disagreeing and saying the window was going to be longer, maybe 4-5 years instead. Half of that timeframe has gone by now, with a Cup in our back pocket. Now we are back to arguing whether or not we have 2-3 more years of potential contention, before it starts looking like the Pittsburgh Pens...

 

[SirLoinOfCloth]

There's not many things more unreliable than this boards assessment of its own team. Our "best" chance to win the cup was 20/21, and we'd never be able to ice a better team. And then we completely destroyed the entire league. Wanting to fire Bednar 3 games into the 21/22 season. And then we completely destroyed the entire league.

Absolutely classic shit.

 

[UncleRisto]

There's not many things more unreliable than this boards assessment of its own team. Our "best" chance to win the cup was 20/21, and we'd never be able to ice a better team. And then we completely destroyed the entire league. Wanting to fire Bednar 3 games into the 21/22 season. And then we completely destroyed the entire league.

Absolutely classic shit.

We're done, dude. It's over.

 

[SirLoinOfCloth]

We're done, dude. It's over.

Let's be honest with ourselves. We don't even have a window. It's a porthole, or maybe a cat flap at best.

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

Let's be honest with ourselves. We don't even have a window. It's a porthole, or maybe a cat flap at best.

It’s a windowless room in an asylum. Trade everyone and rebuild.

 

[UncleRisto]

It’s a windowless room in an asylum.

Yours is, too? So is mine!

 

[JH21]

I'm skeptical on Drouin but let's not underestimate what playing with Mackinnon does to players. He goes 100% every shift. If players see him doing that, they will as well. Or at least they better because Mack will sure as hell let them know.

His impact on this team cannot be under-stated.

It didn't hurt that we had the best captain in the game too. The vikings presence in the locker room was missed last year a bit I think. Someone needs to elevate as a leader. I think it might be Byram. He has future captain written all over him.

Mackinnon, Makar, Rantanen and Toews lead by example. Byram seems like he'd be a vocal leader like Landeskog was.

 

[AvalancheSpeedsters]

I'm skeptical on Drouin but let's not underestimate what playing with Mackinnon does to players. He goes 100% every shift. If players see him doing that, they will as well. Or at least they better because Mack will sure as hell let them know.

His impact on this team cannot be under-stated.

It didn't hurt that we had the best captain in the game too. The vikings presence in the locker room was missed last year a bit I think. Someone needs to elevate as a leader. I think it might be Byram. He has future captain written all over him.

Mackinnon, Makar, Rantanen and Toews lead by example. Byram seems like he'd be a vocal leader like Landeskog was.

Not just playing with Mack but with a team with a real shot at winning. How can he not lkay as hard as possible , otherwise his career is done

 

[Redredbird]

I think it's pretty clear that he will be looking for the "Can he pass a medical?" PTO.

Might as well come and fail it here so we can blame losses on him later.

That makes sense, actually. Though I think his agent would probably make some more noise about him being possibly healthy if he was? Bad look to have all these articles write “who even knows what this guy’s planning” — though obviously stuff could be happening behind the scenes, what do I know. If he is planning to go the PTO route I think with us could be a good place for him.

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the plan is to go after Kane once he feels like he’s ready to return.

 

[CobraAcesS]

What worries me is MacFarland's presser saying it is time for the kids to step up and citing guys like Meyers and Olausson.

If he genuinely believes that, he is in for a major letdown and his job should be in question next season.

I'm as hard on him as anyone, but seeing if you can get contributions from your ELCs in the bottom six is just due diligence, and not expensive to fix.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Indeed. The narrative "quite a while back" was that a select few was saying the window was going to close with Mac's new contract. While another group was disagreeing and saying the window was going to be longer, maybe 4-5 years instead. Half of that timeframe has gone by now, with a Cup in our back pocket. Now we are back to arguing whether or not we have 2-3 more years of potential contention, before it starts looking like the Pittsburgh Pens...

Well, which is it?

Because Mack's new contract starts this year... And you could certainly make an argument based on the results of last year and the current risks associated with this year's roster that indeed, the window closed when some of us said it would.

 

[CobraAcesS]

The defense needs to be addressed first.

Currently we have:

Jack Johnson at #6. As much as I like him JJ will turn 37 in January. At that age the wheels can fall off any day. One year they are ok, the following year they can't play anymore.

MacDermid at #7: Shouldnt play one more shift at defense in the NHL.

and we have 3 injury prone dmen in Byram, Makar and Manson (I'm not even counting Girard).

MacDermid and Hunt will be playing defense by the 3rd week of the regular season. That doesn't work.

We need to add at least one more right handed NHL caliber defenseman. That's a more pressing issue than replacing LOC on the 3rd line.

See, this is what I think needs to be addressed even if it's a trade. I'm down on Small dude getting a shot, but if we have to fix Manson's role and Drouins in season it's going be difficult to downright not happening.

I've got more confidence in Drouin if I'm being honest. He just has to try a little harder and thread passes to be effective there.

Manson can't do shit if he can't get to the area's of the ice he needs to in order to be effective. The dude may very well be a 6 or 7 D level player from the hop. Meaning Girard will have to move up to the right side, potentially by the end of the preseason games if Manson looks like he did coming in during the playoffs.

So boom, JJ isn't the #7 old guy who you can manage his minutes to keep effective. We end up rotating two barely effective vets and a rookie while Girard has another rough year playing his off side in the top 4.

That scenario doesn't even take an injury to the top three either. God I hope Manson comes back like himself and not the ghost of himself. He's either a game changer or a death blow to our defensive depth. Roll the dice..

 

[Balthazar]

Last summer we had Mack at 6.3M + EJ at 6M

This summer we have Mack at 12.6M + JJ at 775k

Mack's new contract isn't closing the window this year.

 

[CobraAcesS]

That maybe true, but they still have to give it a try. No one thought Nichushkin could turn into the player he did with the Avs.

Hi

I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the plan is to go after Kane once he feels like he’s ready to return.

Straight up, gives us time to assess what we have, and make that decision then. That would be a 4D chess move Cmac is capable of.

 

[Balthazar]

Film And Analysis: How The Avalanche Can Best Utilize Jonathan Drouin (+)

Perhaps no one the Colorado Avalanche brought in this summer comes with more intrigue than Jonathan Drouin. He’s not their most important acquisition, but his history with Nathan MacKinnon has fans dreaming of the good old days. So with Drouin arriving, I decided to watch some of his games from...

coloradohockeynow.com

I'm not a subscriber so I can't see all the content but @The Mars Volchenkov analyzed a lot of Drouin games and he said this:

that showcase both where Drouin can help the Avalanche, and why this is far from a slam-dunk signing.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

Film And Analysis: How The Avalanche Can Best Utilize Jonathan Drouin (+)

Perhaps no one the Colorado Avalanche brought in this summer comes with more intrigue than Jonathan Drouin. He’s not their most important acquisition, but his history with Nathan MacKinnon has fans dreaming of the good old days. So with Drouin arriving, I decided to watch some of his games from...

coloradohockeynow.com

I'm not a subscriber so I can't see all the content but @The Mars Volchenkov analyzed a lot of Drouin games and he said this:

that showcase both where Drouin can help the Avalanche, and why this is far from a slam-dunk signing.

How dare you?

 

[the_fan]

Hi

 

[GoNordiquesGo]

Well, which is it?

Because Mack's new contract starts this year... And you could certainly make an argument based on the results of last year and the current risks associated with this year's roster that indeed, the window closed when some of us said it would.

Its pretty obvious that we are starting the year as a cup contender. The Avs appear as a top 5ish team in at least 2/3 of the power rankings, betting sites or semi-experts sites. Arguing that they are NOT starting the year as a cup contender is a minority opinion that confirms that there is no unanimity on the topic. Their probability of winning the cup are lower than in the past and will likely decrease a little every year. But it is highly likely that they will maintain the label of contender, in the eyes of the majority (not unanimity) for 2-3 more years. In my humble opinion, the only rational way of arguing that they are not a contender anymore is by applying a very, very restrictive definition to the term "contender", in order to include only 2-3 teams per year in that category.