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

[lionsDen]

No, it clearly isn't if you actually read the post.

It's about having one of the worst 4th lines in the league. And despite what you seem to think, it absolutely matters. Having a terrible 4th line versus a good 4th line is the difference of roughly ~4 wins in a season. That's the difference between finishing Top 2 in our division this year, and finishing 3rd or as a Wild Card team.


Sure, other things matter more right now(Although quite frankly I would argue only the success of RyJo is more important), but that doesn't mean having an absolutely terrible 4th line isn't a big issue either.


You'd honestly think after watching the 1st round against Seattle last year, and watching our bottom 6 get absolutely destroyed in that series, more people would understand how valuable and important good depth is... But I guess not lol.

I can see why they are pinching Pennie’s. Giving some of the younger guys a little ice time is something I’ve read on this forum a billion times Needs to happen. They talked about becoming more physical and addressed that to some degree. We don’t know how the roster will look at the deadline not a horrible idea to have some flexibility. The problem is $. Either way it’s not gonna be a hill I die on.

 

[AvsMakar08]

Montreal Canadian fans will be very sad in a few years if Michkov becomes the next Kaprizov, Crosby or the next Ovie. Michkov has a sealing of a future star player.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

I can see why they are pinching Pennie’s. Giving some of the younger guys a little ice time is something I’ve read on this forum a billion times Needs to happen. They talked about becoming more physical and addressed that to some degree. We don’t know how the roster will look at the deadline not a horrible idea to have some flexibility. The problem is $. Either way it’s not gonna be a hill I die on.

Sure, but people are just kidding themselves if they think this roster today is a contender, with as much uncertainty in the new acquisitions as we have, combined with a 4th line that objectively is terrible. Without a single injury keep in mind. We are one injury away from Miles Wood or LOC being a Top 6 forward and then one of the 4th line guys becoming a 3rd liner that has to play 12-14 minutes a night.


Its a wildcard team today without any other moves. If the new acquisitions step up and play above what is expected, they might be able to find themselves a few wins higher in the standings however. But once the playoffs get here its just going to be more of the same issues as last year where our depth gets exposed quickly and they're golfing by early May again.

 

[sethro109]

The way I see it, the 4th line is set for the playoffs with;

Wood - Cogs - LoC

It's the 3rd line that we need wingers for. Hopefully those can be obtained via waiver wire. I really also hope we land one of Kane or Tatar sauce to shore up top 6, but the 3rd line does need another forward.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

The way I see it, the 4th line is set for the playoffs with;

Wood - Cogs - LoC

It's the 3rd line that we need wingers for. Hopefully those can be obtained via waiver wire. I really also hope we land one of Kane or Tatar sauce to shore up top 6, but the 3rd line does need another forward.

That would be ideal, but feels pretty unrealistic.


For one, I dont think they have the cap space to make that the 4th line. But I also just dont think the Avs would/will view Wood as a 4th liner.


Which is another thing worth talking about IMO. We all have Wood penciled in as a 3rd liner for this team and he's certainly going to play 3rd line for us, but he was really awful for New Jersey last year and given the injuries he's went through already in his career, its a definite possibility that he isn't a 3rd line quality player anymore and instead a 4th line guy... And if that's the case then we now have two 4th liners playing on our 3rd line...


Just another one of those really risky spots in our lineup right now. One that doesn't have a lot of upside(Best case scenario is that he's a 35 point 3rd liner, so still not really a standout but a legit 3rd line guy for sure), but does have a lot of downside if he cant return to form from 2-3 years ago.



Tatar for $1.5M really would do so, so much for the depth of this team. Its only one player but he basically fixes two weak spots in the depth by also moving LOC(Or Wood I guess) down to the 4th line and thus moving Olofsson to extra forward. And if they're concerned about his playoff numbers, just upgrade on Tatar at the trade deadline.

 

[Balthazar]

Based on recent performances RyJo hasn't played like a 2C, Wood hasn't played like a 3W and Drouin hasn't played like a 1W.

Nuke we still don't know how last year's drama will affect his play and JJ may or may not have another season left in the tank.

That's so many question marks playing at key positions, it's understandable if the GM wants to wait to see what's happening with those guys before spending all his cap space.

 

[The Moops]

Roster looks a whole lot worse last year if Rants and MacK don't have career years either. Expecting them to do what they did last year is asking a lot. They need help

 

[Spilot23]

Montreal Canadian fans will be very sad in a few years if Michkov becomes the next Kaprizov, Crosby or the next Ovie. Michkov has a sealing of a future star player.

I doubt they lose any sleep considering they now have Newhook.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Roster looks a whole lot worse last year if Rants and MacK don't have career years either. Expecting them to do what they did last year is asking a lot. They need help

Also true... Though to be fair they're probably going to play 21 minutes a night again given the awful forward depth, so they probably due end up fairly close to those numbers quite frankly.


I would say the bigger concern will be expecting Mikko to go all 82 games again.

It's easy to say the roster looks OK when it's at 100% health right now, but we are 1-2 injuries away from Logan O'Connor playing Top 6 minutes, Ben Meyers playing 3C, etc, etc.


And we all know this team probably doesn't even make it to opening night at 100% health.

 

[sethro109]

That would be ideal, but feels pretty unrealistic.


For one, I dont think they have the cap space to make that the 4th line. But I also just dont think the Avs would/will view Wood as a 4th liner.


Which is another thing worth talking about IMO. We all have Wood penciled in as a 3rd liner for this team and he's certainly going to play 3rd line for us, but he was really awful for New Jersey last year and given the injuries he's went through already in his career, its a definite possibility that he isn't a 3rd line quality player anymore and instead a 4th line guy... And if that's the case then we now have two 4th liners playing on our 3rd line...


Just another one of those really risky spots in our lineup right now. One that doesn't have a lot of upside(Best case scenario is that he's a 35 point 3rd liner, so still not really a standout but a legit 3rd line guy for sure), but does have a lot of downside if he cant return to form from 2-3 years ago.



Tatar for $1.5M really would do so, so much for the depth of this team. Its only one player but he basically fixes two weak spots in the depth by also moving LOC(Or Wood I guess) down to the 4th line and thus moving Olofsson to extra forward. And if they're concerned about his playoff numbers, just upgrade on Tatar at the trade deadline.

The regular season will be tough, but I do believe past the TDL that could be our 4th line. Or with injuries, more likely our playoff 4th line. I have a feeling the waiver wire will be used a ton this season by a bunch of teams, So hopefully we can get one or a couple decent players from there.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

The regular season will be tough, but I do believe past the TDL that could be our 4th line. Or with injuries, more likely our playoff 4th line. I have a feeling the waiver wire will be used a ton this season by a bunch of teams, So hopefully we can get one or a couple decent players from there.

I hope so, but not sure how they do it with the cap space they have?


I'm guessing you're penciling Kovalenko on the 3rd line by March or April? So you think it'll be something like:


Drouin - Mack - Nuke
Lehky - RyJo - Mikko
???? - Colton - Kovalenko
Wood - Cogs - LOC

Its doable, they'd have roughly $2M in space to grab a 3LW, which at the deadline could mean grabbing a $4M player at 50% retention or perhaps even grabbing an $8M player at 75% retention...


But I think that's also putting a lot of fait into Kovalenko to be a Top 9 forward which I really dont think happens, at least not right away.



I'd still like to grab Tatar before the season starts. Adding Tatar alone would honestly make a difference of about ~4 wins this season for us which I think would prove to be the difference between being a C3 or WC1 team, versus being a C1 team or even winning the West.

 

[sethro109]

I hope so, but not sure how they do it with the cap space they have?


I'm guessing you're penciling Kovalenko on the 3rd line by March or April? So you think it'll be something like:


Drouin - Mack - Nuke
Lehky - RyJo - Mikko
???? - Colton - Kovalenko
Wood - Cogs - LOC

Its doable, they'd have roughly $2M in space to grab a 3LW, which at the deadline could mean grabbing a $4M player at 50% retention or perhaps even grabbing an $8M player at 75% retention...


But I think that's also putting a lot of fait into Kovalenko to be a Top 9 forward which I really dont think happens, at least not right away.



I'd still like to grab Tatar before the season starts. Adding Tatar alone would honestly make a difference of about ~4 wins this season for us which I think would prove to be the difference between being a C3 or WC1 team, versus being a C1 team or even winning the West.

Anyone we get at the TDL will absolutely have to have retention on their contract. I was not penciling in Kovalenko. I actually completely forgot about him. I was thinking more along the line of a cheap waiver player. Kinda like a Strum or Jost type player. I have a feeling more than a few of those will hit the waiver wire early this season. Although I don't see it happening, we could also end up moving McDermid or Franky for more flexibility.

 

[jfc64]

The way I see it, the 4th line is set for the playoffs with;

Wood - Cogs - LoC

It's the 3rd line that we need wingers for. Hopefully those can be obtained via waiver wire. I really also hope we land one of Kane or Tatar sauce to shore up top 6, but the 3rd line does need another forward.

The way I see it it is not Wood on the fourth line but rather Cogliano - Meyers - LOCO

where Wood and Colton need a third line RW. Be it one of Malgin, Kovalenko or Polin hopefully. Then we only need to trade for a shit happens winger for the playoffs. And stay healthy.

No need "shoring" up the first two lines of Drouin - MacK - Rantanen and Lehkonen - Johansen and Nichushkin. Beside our firstrounders we have a third and fourth pick to trade awa at the TDL. Plus maybe Girard. If Towes is signed. And who knows where our cap space lands. Or even Landeskog on the fourth line. A deep team for the playoffs raises our chances.

My guess is that Sakic has his hooks out and as soon as one of the UFA:s in mind accepts the million we are set for the regular season (but not yet for the playoffs).

 

[The Moops]

No need "shoring" up the first two lines of Drouin - MacK - Rantanen and Lehkonen - Johansen and Nichushkin.

I have a feeling Drouin's 5 yearly goals are going to be quite the conversation piece around the trade deadline

 

[LTCPain75]

The way I see it it is not Wood on the fourth line but rather Cogliano - Meyers - LOCO

where Wood and Colton need a third line RW. Be it one of Malgin, Kovalenko or Polin hopefully. Then we only need to trade for a shit happens winger for the playoffs. And stay healthy.

No need "shoring" up the first two lines of Drouin - MacK - Rantanen and Lehkonen - Johansen and Nichushkin. Beside our firstrounders we have a third and fourth pick to trade awa at the TDL. Plus maybe Girard. If Towes is signed. And who knows where our cap space lands. Or even Landeskog on the fourth line. A deep team for the playoffs raises our chances.

Colorado Avalanche Draftpicks, Contracts, Salary Cap, Cap Hit, Colorado Avalanche Contracts | Puckpedia

puckpedia.com

For the 2024 draft the Avalanche DOES NOT have a 3rd round pick. It was part of the Darcy Kuemper trade.

 

[BrickNHL]

The way I see it it is not Wood on the fourth line but rather Cogliano - Meyers - LOCO

where Wood and Colton need a third line RW. Be it one of Malgin, Kovalenko or Polin hopefully. Then we only need to trade for a shit happens winger for the playoffs. And stay healthy.

No need "shoring" up the first two lines of Drouin - MacK - Rantanen and Lehkonen - Johansen and Nichushkin. Beside our firstrounders we have a third and fourth pick to trade awa at the TDL. Plus maybe Girard. If Towes is signed. And who knows where our cap space lands. Or even Landeskog on the fourth line. A deep team for the playoffs raises our chances.

My guess is that Sakic has his hooks out and as soon as one of the UFA:s in mind accepts the million we are set for the regular season (but not yet for the playoffs).

Malgin signed a long term contract in Switzerland

 

[jfc64]

Colorado Avalanche Draftpicks, Contracts, Salary Cap, Cap Hit, Colorado Avalanche Contracts | Puckpedia

puckpedia.com

For the 2024 draft the Avalanche DOES NOT have a 3rd round pick. It was part of the Darcy Kuemper trade.

We DO have one in 2025.

I have a feeling Drouin's 5 yearly goals are going to be quite the conversation piece around the trade deadline

Yup, see if the motivation is there now. The idea of redeeming his career playing with his old team mate from Halifax seem ok, though. I believe he had 25 points or so MORE than MacK one year. Being born 95 both.

 

[jfc64]

Malgin signed a long term contract in Switzerland

Yeah, I figured...11 goals in 42 games seemed not have been enough for a contract....

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

I have a feeling Drouin's 5 yearly goals are going to be quite the conversation piece around the trade deadline

If he has 40 assists to go along with those 5 goals I won't care so much.


I think he'll get his usual ~40-45 points at least for us(Or pace for that anyway), it's whether he can do anything more then that in a big role playing alongside Mack, and whether he cares about the game anymore.


Definitely another risky spot in the lineup but actually one I'm qukte optimistic about. I think he ends up working out really well here.

 

[LOFIN]

The offseason is supposed to be built on hopes and dreams, yet this place is like the cavern of occultists where everyone gathers to discuss their worst nightmares.

 

[The Moops]

The offseason is supposed to be built on hopes and dreams, yet this place is like the cavern of occultists where everyone gathers to discuss their worst nightmares.

All of our dreams were snorted up Nuke's nose last playoffs

 

[Muffin]

For me, the most annoying thing our management does is believe time and time again that our "Young guys will step up"

They have zero ability to draft or develop young forwards especially, and the entire success of the team relies on our Pro scouts.

Ain't nobody stepping up for the 10th year in a row, Chris.

Every team counts on their young guys to step up, it’s the reality of a hard salary cap league.


This will never be a deep team, not with MacKinnon,Makar and Rantanen taking up over 30 million in cap space.

 

[dahrougem2]

Yeah, I figured...11 goals in 42 games seemed not have been enough for a contract....

The more likely scenario is he's guaranteed to make a million in Switzerland and tried to see if he could get more from some NHL team, which wasn't going to happen.

 

[NorthernAvsFan]

I’m usually on the more positive outlook side of things, but going into the season without anymore adds would be a mistake.

LOC is on the 3rd line right now. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but inevitably when injuries hit, it’s going to push guys into uncomfortable situations.

You can add at the deadline, but at that point you’ll just be replacing the guys who are already injured.

It just makes no sense to leave $2M of cap on the table. At the most you leave $1M.

I don’t really expect any addition if it doesn’t happen in the next couple weeks, so hopefully they strike soon.

 

[The Moops]

I’m usually on the more positive outlook side of things, but going into the season without anymore adds would be a mistake.

LOC is on the 3rd line right now. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but inevitably when injuries hit, it’s going to push guys into uncomfortable situations.

You can add at the deadline, but at that point you’ll just be replacing the guys who are already injured.

It just makes no sense to leave $2M of cap on the table. At the most you leave $1M.

I don’t really expect any addition if it doesn’t happen in the next couple weeks, so hopefully they strike soon.

My biggest hope is that they find some gem on the waiver wire and make that work until the deadline where they go big again.

I honestly think though they'll pinch pennies again find some garbage waiver pickup and go through the motions at the deadline just like they constantly do and we'll be bounced in the 2nd round because our top guys can't get any help.