Colton >= Compher
- Colton will have a bigger impact for this team away from the puck then JTC ever did, as someone who has always praised JTCs game away from the puck. Colton will just be better, better pest, better two way play, much better forechecker, much better effort more consistently. And I highly suspect if Colton gets even close to the same amount of usage as Compher got for us, he will score way more goals and probably produce similar points. If Colton gets 15+ minutes at 5 on 5 a night and 20 minutes a game of ice time, I'd bet he scored 25G and 50+ points this year for us.
Drouin >= Newhook
- Again, every year of Drouins career in the NHL his PPG has been higher then Newhooks. Given that Newhook provides absolutely nothing for us away from the puck(Soft, poor forechecker, couldn't win board battles, not good defensively, etc.) even if Drouin ends up being the exact same in that regard(Which realistically there's a good chance that ends up the case, though not guaranteed either), he very likely will at least be a 40-45 point player for us which is better then Newhook ever provided us. Personally I really do think a 55-60 point seaason and
some level of engagement away from the puck is going to happen with Drouin this year and he's going to end up being the best UFA signing for value of the summer.
Wood =< Rodrigues
- This is probably one matchup where we breakeven or get slightly worse. Though I do think Woods style of play will prove a better fit for our bottom 6. I highly doubt he's able to replicate the kind of ~40 point production we got from Rodrigues. I think realistically a good year from Wood would be ~30-35 points. If we can get 30+ points with his forechecking game being what it used to be again for us, I think that's a fair swap to ERod. If we dont get that production, probably a small loss here.
RyJo >> Literally nobody
- We literally dont have a comparable to RyJo on the roster from last year. We went the entire season without a legit 2C. So RyJo is a significant upgrade over literally nobody. Even if he ends up just being a 45 point player again for us, that's an upgrade over nothing. I gues you could say Lars Eller is the comparison here(LOL). Again, even if that is the comp, huge upgrade. And personally I think RyJo will be a 50-60 guy again with a small chance of even hitting 60-70. Especially if Mikko is on his wing, he's never played with a goal scorer that good before. Wouldn't be surprised at all to see him hit 20G and 45-50 Assists with Lehky and Mikko on his wings.
Jack Johnson > Erik Johnson
As sad as it is to say, this is very likely true. EJ was clearly on a rapid breakdown for us last year, and while JMFJ certainly isn't anything to right home about either. I think he at least last year proved to be the far more steady and reliable player of the two Johnsons for us. Now, both guys are old so its certainly possible JJ ends up breaking down quickly again next year, but I'd put money on him being an upgrade over EJ for us next year.
Then you've got wildcards basically. What can Sam Malinski potentially do when he gets action as that 3rd pairing PMD for us. I really think he's going to fit the style we play and the way Bednar asks his Dmen to play like a glove and will be great for us. But we do have to wait and see. Have our pro scouts "done it again" with Frederic Olofsson? Will they have churned out another solid bottom 6 forward out of nothing like they have before?
And, I still think they have 1 more move left in the tank. I think they'll grab a Top 9 forward for ~$1.5-2M once the dust has settled on all the trades/RFA signings around the league that needs to be made, Ross gets signed for us, and there's still ~9-10 UFA forwards sitting waiting on a contract.
My money is on that forward being Tatar. Which yes Tatar's playoff numbers are concerning, but the regular season is still very important for us and Tatar would be a phenomenal add to round out the Top 9 and give a much needed offensive threat to go along with Ross. Although I also wouldn't hate seeing them grab someone that can play Center, since at some point this year I want Ross to get a good look on Mackinnons wing, and when that happens they need a Center that can shift to 3C without turning the 3rd line into a weakness again. A few names that are still available that obviously make sense for such a role would be Toews, Suter, Sundqvist, Nosek, and Boqvist.
But ultimately yeah. I think even if the Avs dont make another move(Which I doubt), I think we're significant better prepared for this year then last year. Most importantly by far, we have real Center depth. JT2C is no more, and if an injury happens to RyJo, Ross Colton steps into the 2C spot and likely doesn't miss a beat. If Mack gets hurt while you certainly cant replace him, RyJo gives you a better shot at keeping our heads above water then JTC did.
If Drouin doesn’t put up points, what else can he do?
Basically nothing, but here's the thing. The guy he's replacing is Alex Newhook.
What did Newhook do if/when he wasn't putting up points? And every year of Drouins career, his PPG rate has been higher then both of Newhooks seasons with us. So at this point I at least trust Drouin to produce more offensively then Newhook did for us, even if it isn't much and he doesn't provide anything else just like Newhook.
ok that was pretty funny.
