Rumor: 2023-2024 Trade Rumors and Free Agency: Offseason Edition

[BobRossColton]

Another package in going to keep coming back to is Hayton+Crouse+valimaki. Then use G or Toews for bottom 6 help.

 

[Balthazar]

 

[UncleRisto]

Extend CMac.

 

[The Abusement Park]

What are you smoking Pierce? 'Proving once again'? When has this ever been the case?

We literally won last year because of our defensive depth. Bo was a 3rd pairing dman who stepped up when Girard got hurt. He was one of our best players in the final. Time and time again defense has proven to win championships.

Pittsburgh is the only team that may be the exception here over the last 10 years. And this isn't just about player caliber, but style of the team and defensive forwards. Right now FLA is getting a little bit of that from everyone buying in but also mostly surviving on the back of Bob

I think this post season kind of proved that isn't the case no?

 

[Balthazar]

Extend CMac.

It was absolute madness all the buyers in the East before the deadline (while the West was doing nothing).

The fact that all the teams that participated in this didn't pass the 2nd round may change things for the upcoming years.

 

[BaconNater]

I go back and forth between cautious optimism and worry about this off-season, I really hope they try a big swing for a 2C solution and not just lackluster solutions

 

[Freaky Styley]

I think this post season kind of proved that isn't the case no?

All it proved is that you can't be completely void of forward depth, which everyone knew. And again, if we were healthy/Nuke didn't go AWOL we wouldn't be having that conversation. Both matter. Forward depth may win you a round or 2 (especially with a hot goalie), but if you make the dance defense wins out.

 

[The Moops]

Really feel like we'd be waiting for the winner of the VGK/Oilers series if we had Nuke and a couple of even small adds during the deadline.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

Really feel like we'd be waiting for the winner of the VGK/Oilers series if we had Nuke and a couple of even small adds during the deadline.

If they added a couple solid 3rd liners the Avs could very well be in the conference finals, they certainly get past Seattle.

 

[PAZ]

It is still absolutely an example


They're beating teams with much better D cores than them. Simple as that. They're proving once again that Forwards and forward depth is far, far more important than Defensive depth.

Lol, whatever you say bud. Nobody cares how a team is built unless they win a cup, doesn’t matter what teams they beat in the quarter/semi-finals.

Vegas made it to the SCF simply due to depth, does that mean depth is more than having superstars?

But wait, Edmonton with less depth beat teams that were deep like LA and Calgary last year because of McDrai.

It’s nonsense to point to Florida and say forward depth is more important that defensive depth. If it’s not a cup-winning team, it doesn’t matter.

 

[Pokecheque]

I trust Joe Sakic. Just not Cmac. I know they said "nothing will really change" but something obviously changed.

I don’t really have a problem with Sakic or MacEff, apart from their drafting which hasn’t been good enough. The people I don’t trust are ownership.

 

[chet1926]

Really feel like we'd be waiting for the winner of the VGK/Oilers series if we had Nuke and a couple of even small adds during the deadline.

Hell even just adding Domi, I think he cost a 3rd, to play 2C, and Nuke not going MIA, and we are probably in the conference finals.

It's pathetic how little we needed to make a credible run and CMac did nothing. He should be fired. Simply had/has no pulse on this team.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

All it proved is that you can't be completely void of forward depth, which everyone knew. And again, if we were healthy/Nuke didn't go AWOL we wouldn't be having that conversation. Both matter. Forward depth may win you a round or 2 (especially with a hot goalie), but if you make the dance defense wins out.

That's why 5/6 of the remaining teams in the playoffs this year have weak Defenses but all 6 have great forward depth.


Last years Avs was one of the deepest and most dominant cup winners of the salary cap era. They were completely stacked both on offense and defense. To the point where they won the cup and only lost 4 games despite getting below average goaltending.


It's funny how this year they went into the playoffs with literally the exact same Defense all the way from 1-7, with a better goalie... And yet this year team didn't even get out of the 1st round. And the only thing that changed was forward depth.

Defense certainly didn't win any championship this year...

 

[Hasbro]

Find someone who looks at you the way HF Avs looks at Lawson Crouse.

 

[atreyuavenged]

Based on these playoffs, I'd take O'Money back on a 2 or 3 year deal at about 6m per. But he has always been about the money and might be looking for one more long term deal and he has never been a burner.

 

[Freaky Styley]

That's why 5/6 of the remaining teams in the playoffs this year have weak Defenses but all 6 have great forward depth.


Last years Avs was one of the deepest and most dominant cup winners of the salary cap era. They were completely stacked both on offense and defense. To the point where they won the cup and only lost 4 games despite getting below average goaltending.


It's funny how this year they went into the playoffs with literally the exact same Defense all the way from 1-7, with a better goalie... And yet this year team didn't even get out of the 1st round. And the only thing that changed was forward depth.

Defense certainly didn't win any championship this year...

The only teams with a weak D on paper are the Panthers and Edmonton.

Seattle has an underrated D core. No top-end guys but lots of depth. Plus Oleksiak has proven to be a playoff beast.

Carolina is Carolina.

Dallas has Heiskanen who is a Norris contender, followed by solid depth with Lindell, Miller, Hakanpaa, Suter, and young talent in Lundqvist and Harley

Vegas has a top D in the league, and the system to boot.

Of course all of these teams also have forward depth. They are both crucial. The point is forward depth can get you deep, but it won't win you the championship. I'll eat my hat if FLA wins the cup this year, and if they do so it will only be because Bobrovsky has an all-time performance. Certainly not a model to follow. Same goes for Edmonton - it will be on the back of their 2 superstars and a historically good PP, in spite of their D. Both are unlikely scenarios as I don't see either getting through Carolina (if Edmonton can get past Vegas).

Of course there are sometimes exceptions (like Pittsburgh, who still had Letang and great depth), but Carolina is the model. Not FLA. And that won't change off of a run to the Conference Finals, unless teams are looking to just compete and not win it all.

 

[Vaslof]

They were right that they needed to add. In hindsight it's a waste, but it was also the correct decision to make.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Based on these playoffs, I'd take O'Money back on a 2 or 3 year deal at about 6m per. But he has always been about the money and might be looking for one more long term deal and he has never been a burner.

Hard pass. Dudes washed.

 

[UncleRisto]

Sign O'Reilly to whatever that 3.5 mil contract was.

 

[BobRossColton]

This is more for my curiosity, what team could use Girard?

 

[Avsfan1921]

That's why 5/6 of the remaining teams in the playoffs this year have weak Defenses but all 6 have great forward depth.


Last years Avs was one of the deepest and most dominant cup winners of the salary cap era. They were completely stacked both on offense and defense. To the point where they won the cup and only lost 4 games despite getting below average goaltending.


It's funny how this year they went into the playoffs with literally the exact same Defense all the way from 1-7, with a better goalie... And yet this year team didn't even get out of the 1st round. And the only thing that changed was forward depth.

Defense certainly didn't win any championship this year...

In saying that though, sure, we had the same d core but they certainly did not play to the level of last years iteration. They were much weaker all year. Yes, some of that is on the forwards too. The nameplates on the back might read the same but this was nothing like last years D.

 

[Spleenless Wonder21]

The only teams with a weak D on paper are the Panthers and Edmonton.

Seattle has an underrated D core. No top-end guys but lots of depth. Plus Oleksiak has proven to be a playoff beast.

Carolina is Carolina.

Dallas has Heiskanen who is a Norris contender, followed by solid depth with Lindell, Miller, Hakanpaa, Suter, and young talent in Lundqvist and Harley

Vegas has a top D in the league, and the system to boot.

Of course all of these teams also have forward depth. They are both crucial. The point is forward depth can get you deep, but it won't win you the championship. I'll eat my hat if FLA wins the cup this year, and if they do so it will only be because Bobrovsky has an all-time performance. Certainly not a model to follow. Same goes for Edmonton - it will be on the back of their 2 superstars and a historically good PP, in spite of their D. Both are unlikely scenarios as I don't see either getting through Carolina (if Edmonton can get past Vegas).

Of course there are sometimes exceptions (like Pittsburgh, who still had Letang and great depth), but Carolina is the model. Not FLA. And that won't change off of a run to the Conference Finals, unless teams are looking to just compete and not win it all.

Hell, Pittspuke didn’t even have Letang for their 2017 Cup run, IIRC.

 

[Mighty Makar]

Hell, Pittspuke didn’t even have Letang for their 2017 Cup run, IIRC.

You’re correct.

 

[Gruyeriev]

This is more for my curiosity, what team could use Girard?

I think a lot of teams would like a Sam Girard but their fan base on HFBoards will say they don’t want him.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

In saying that though, sure, we had the same d core but they certainly did not play to the level of last years iteration. They were much weaker all year. Yes, some of that is on the forwards too. The nameplates on the back might read the same but this was nothing like last years D.

That's a product of the lack of forward depth quite frankly... although I don't really agree that our D was that much worse this year. At least not significantly. Makar was still arguably the best D in the league when he played, Toews and Byram were a little worse particularly on Defense, but the rest were pretty much the same and Girard was actually better this year than last year.


But last year we had 2 quality forward lines all season long even with injuries, in the playoffs we had 3 or 4 good forward lines. This year, we pretty much had 1 good line all season. That depth has an impact on the Defense and just how much they could impact the game.


It's kind of yet another example of why forwards are more important than Dmen. Forwards have a much bigger opportunity to impact the game.