Rumor: 2023-24 Trade Rumors and Free Agency: Part Deux

[BobRossColton]

So 4M cap raise

Will they just round that to 87.5?

 

[redacted]

So 4M cap raise

CBA MOU dictates this... nobody should have expected a penny more. NHLPA won't budge on escrow, so NHL has zero reason to budge on this.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

Correct the whole 2nd line is the problem. All the other lines function in their roles just fine.

The 2nd line is horseshit and absolutely killing any offense flow the entire lineup has.

The 1st line needs some offensive protection from 2 to be useful and they aren't getting it.

Even last year JTC managed 50 pts. None of our current 2nd liners are even remotely on that pace.

Right now our best forward outside of the 1st line, Colton, is pacing out at around 41 pts. RyJo is at a 34 pts pace, Tatar about 30 pts pace, Drouin 21 pts pace.

Last year Compher, Lehk, Nuke, ERod all over 40 pts pace. This year we have 1 non-first liner at that pace. That's not good and we are kind of f***ed.

You want to know the real reason 29 and 96 are struggling, they have absolutely no help on offense outside of Nuke. So other teams are just playing our 1st line super tight then taking 3 straight shifts off, gearing up for another hard shift on our 1st line.

CMac's bargain bin 2nd line experiment has failed and I sure as hell hope he has a plan B. Because it's completely f***ing this team and is ultimately going to be another wasted year.

Great post. Sums up our situation very well.

 

[myperbixhurts]

Correct the whole 2nd line is the problem. All the other lines function in their roles just fine.

The 2nd line is horseshit and absolutely killing any offense flow the entire lineup has.

The 1st line needs some offensive protection from 2 to be useful and they aren't getting it.

Even last year JTC managed 50 pts. None of our current 2nd liners are even remotely on that pace.

Right now our best forward outside of the 1st line, Colton, is pacing out at around 41 pts. RyJo is at a 34 pts pace, Tatar about 30 pts pace, Drouin 21 pts pace.

Last year Compher, Lehk, Nuke, ERod all over 40 pts pace. This year we have 1 non-first liner at that pace. That's not good and we are kind of f***ed.

You want to know the real reason 29 and 96 are struggling, they have absolutely no help on offense outside of Nuke. So other teams are just playing our 1st line super tight then taking 3 straight shifts off, gearing up for another hard shift on our 1st line.

CMac's bargain bin 2nd line experiment has failed and I sure as hell hope he has a plan B. Because it's completely f***ing this team and is ultimately going to be another wasted year.

Before Lehky got injured he was on 54 point pace. Him or Nuke would make the 2nd line better if Lehky didn’t get hurt. There is a possibility Landy comes back for the playoffs which will upgrade 2nd line. They may or may not need a better 2C if Avs have Lehky and Landy in the playoffs. I wouldn’t mind upgrading the 2C, but RyJo might do just fine if he’s centering Lehkonen and Landeskog instead of Tatar and Drouin

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

What about Frank Vatrano as a 2nd line scoring option. 50% retention from the Ducks would have him at $1.8M for this year and next year. That's the kind of cheap Burakovsky type replacement we could really use in the middle 6.


Of course I'd rather get a Center personally but given I highly doubt the Avs are that interested in a Center.

 

[CobraAcesS]

What about Frank Vatrano as a 2nd line scoring option. 50% retention from the Ducks would have him at $1.8M for this year and next year. That's the kind of cheap Burakovsky type replacement we could really use in the middle 6.


Of course I'd rather get a Center personally but given I highly doubt the Avs are that interested in a Center.

This team isn't Bura away from solving it's problems. We have went full Pejorative Slur on bring in Bura B team.

Kadri hasn't remotely been replaced.

Fact, signed sealed delivered.


But, if Ryjo had training wheels from the get go like Mikko and Lehky. It might be a different story. I wonder if it still gets there eventually.

We ain't doing shit but a couple of small moves on depth. That I do believe.

 

[Bender]

Correct the whole 2nd line is the problem. All the other lines function in their roles just fine.

The 2nd line is horseshit and absolutely killing any offense flow the entire lineup has.

The 1st line needs some offensive protection from 2 to be useful and they aren't getting it.

Even last year JTC managed 50 pts. None of our current 2nd liners are even remotely on that pace.

Right now our best forward outside of the 1st line, Colton, is pacing out at around 41 pts. RyJo is at a 34 pts pace, Tatar about 30 pts pace, Drouin 21 pts pace.

Last year Compher, Lehk, Nuke, ERod all over 40 pts pace. This year we have 1 non-first liner at that pace. That's not good and we are kind of f***ed.

You want to know the real reason 29 and 96 are struggling, they have absolutely no help on offense outside of Nuke. So other teams are just playing our 1st line super tight then taking 3 straight shifts off, gearing up for another hard shift on our 1st line.

CMac's bargain bin 2nd line experiment has failed and I sure as hell hope he has a plan B. Because it's completely f***ing this team and is ultimately going to be another wasted year.

There is nothing in there that is incorrect but there are a lot of other teams out there that would love to 'struggle' to 1st place in the division.

I completely understand what you mean though and I do agree that if the Avs want to make it far in the playoffs, they'll need to address it. I don't think Ryjo has been terrible but just not a good fit in this system...just hasn't got the legs anymore.

I think they will address it though but the pressure to do something this 'early' isn't there yet since we are doing well in the standings AND the fact that other teams are not totally out of it yet.

I would expect that CMac wouldn't want to wait until the TDL though. I'm expecting a late december-january move and it will be a big one.

 

[Balthazar]

We have went full Pejorative Slur on bring in Bura B team.

Which Pejorative Slur did you use here?

 

[Chiarelli]

Which Pejorative Slur did you use here?

bah humbug

 

[The Abusement Park]

This team isn't Bura away from solving it's problems. We have went full Pejorative Slur on bring in Bura B team.

Kadri hasn't remotely been replaced.

Fact, signed sealed delivered.


But, if Ryjo had training wheels from the get go like Mikko and Lehky. It might be a different story. I wonder if it still gets there eventually.

We ain't doing shit but a couple of small moves on depth. That I do believe.

It’s not necessarily a Bura away from competing, but having a Bura would go a long way in improving the team. This team desperately lacks skill and goal scoring outside 29, 96, and 13.

 

[Ararana]

It’s not necessarily a Bura away from competing, but having a Bura would go a long way in improving the team. This team desperately lacks skill and goal scoring outside 29, 96, and 13.

All the wingers in the world won't fix their biggest issue at 2C. If anything more wingers, and the cap it would take to pay for them, takes them further from fixing their real problem.

 

[LOFIN]

The problem is lack of real top-6 players, it doesn't matter if they play center or wing. Wingers are usually easier and cheaper to acquire. You look in the East, Boston and NYR are doing pretty well with not so great center depth.

Team is missing Lehkonen and Landeskog, badly. But CMac should look into what it would take to swap RyJo with Lindholm. A lot is my guess.

 

[redacted]

The problem is lack of real top-6 players, it doesn't matter if they play center or wing. Wingers are usually easier and cheaper to acquire. You look in the East, Boston and NYR are doing pretty well with not so great center depth.

Team is missing Lehkonen and Landeskog, badly. But CMac should look into what it would take to swap RyJo with Lindholm. A lot is my guess.

Boston certainly doesn't have great center depth, but the Rangers have great center depth. Zibi-Trocheck-Chytil(when healthy)-Bones is a great rotation. With Chytil injured they have Goodrow to slot in the 4 spot and Bones (who has played 3C most of his career) to slot up. I don't see how that isn't great center depth.

All that said, we've seen a million times over that you don't need center depth in the regular season to pile up points... but you need it in the playoffs.

There is nothing in there that is incorrect but there are a lot of other teams out there that would love to 'struggle' to 1st place in the division.

I completely understand what you mean though and I do agree that if the Avs want to make it far in the playoffs, they'll need to address it. I don't think Ryjo has been terrible but just not a good fit in this system...just hasn't got the legs anymore.

I think they will address it though but the pressure to do something this 'early' isn't there yet since we are doing well in the standings AND the fact that other teams are not totally out of it yet.

I would expect that CMac wouldn't want to wait until the TDL though. I'm expecting a late december-january move and it will be a big one.

Avs were first place last year and lost in the first round... it doesn't really mean anything (unless you're Nashville). Along with this though, the Avs' schedule has been VERY soft to start the season and only gets moderately tougher. Depending how it is weighted and where you look it is somewhere between 25th and 30th so far on the season. A team with the ability to throw out all of Rants, MacK, Makar, Toews, and Nuke for 25+ minutes should be able to eat through bottom 10-15 teams on a consistent basis.

Just take this stretch to finish 2023... the toughest team they face is Winnipeg. That's the only team they play who made the playoffs last season out of the next 13 games. And they fumbled into that spot. They only play 6 out of 13 games of teams in a playoff spot currently. They play the bottom 3 teams in the league 4 times in the same stretch. If you extend to bottom 10 teams, 7 of the 13 games are bottom 10 teams. There is basically zero excuse if the Avs don't win 8 games, arguably 9 or 10 to finish the year.

January turns tougher and if the standings hold, February looks the same. That'll be more of the real test of where this team stands.

 

[LOFIN]

Rangers have great center depth. Zibi-Trocheck-Chytil(when healthy)-Bones is a great rotation. With Chytil injured they have Goodrow to slot in the 4 spot and Bones (who has played 3C most of his career) to slot up. I don't see how that isn't great center depth.

My point here was that Chytil has been out for most of the season, and Zibanejad has only started actually playing 5v5 hockey during the last week or so. But I agree, when healthy that should be pretty good.

All that said, we've seen a million times over that you don't need center depth in the regular season to pile up points... but you need it in the playoffs.

Probably true as well

 

[John Mandalorian]

If the Islanders drop in the standings, what about something involving Nelson and Johansen? It would give NYI two million in capspace.

 

[The Abusement Park]

The problem is lack of real top-6 players, it doesn't matter if they play center or wing. Wingers are usually easier and cheaper to acquire. You look in the East, Boston and NYR are doing pretty well with not so great center depth.

Team is missing Lehkonen and Landeskog, badly. But CMac should look into what it would take to swap RyJo with Lindholm. A lot is my guess.

Huh? New York has good C depth. Maybe not good enough to win a cup, but Zib is an easy 1C, Trochek is a god 2C, Chytil when he was playing was a good 3C and Bonino is fine as a 4. They‘re quite strong down the middle actually.

Boston doesn’t make sense to me, at least at the top of the lineup. But Pasta is clearly gives them some leeway as the best winger in the NHL right now.

 

[redacted]

My point here was that Chytil has been out for most of the season, and Zibanejad has only started actually playing 5v5 hockey during the last week or so. But I agree, when healthy that should be pretty good.

Probably true as well

Yeah Zibi struggled hard to start the season, but I'd argue the depth they have has allowed him to find his footing without it hurting the team. IMO having Bones as a 4C is a pretty damn good luxury as he can still hold water in a 3C role in stretches. Goodrow then... Goodrow is plenty good as a 4C to keep that line moving (though I like him at wing much better).

Trocheck is one of those guys that got away... coulda been had coming out of Florida, and I would have signed him to that contract or more to get over. the Colorado River draw. He would have fit like a glove here... hard nosed, can skate, can play defense, and pretty reliable 20+g guy who in a down year will get you 30a and a good year 40+.

 

[redacted]

Huh? New York has good C depth. Maybe not good enough to win a cup, but Zib is an easy 1C, Trochek is a god 2C, Chytil when he was playing was a good 3C and Bonino is fine as a 4. They‘re quite strong down the middle actually.

Boston doesn’t make sense to me, at least at the top of the lineup. But Pasta is clearly gives them some leeway as the best winger in the NHL right now.

Boston has a rookie who is playing way above his head and they are giving Zacha the full rope to prove he can hack as a center with his skills. They are also a team though that went full Seattle/Vegas/Detroit and mopped up all the cheap good depth. Guys who aren't top guys anymore (or never were), but got useable skills to fill in roles. Shatty, JVR, Heinen, Geekie, Lucic (prior to unleashing caveman) is a bunch of depth guys who can serve in roles and took up 5m in cap.

Probably as much as that though, they have the best goalie tandem in the league.

 

[LOFIN]

Trocheck is one of those guys that got away... coulda been had coming out of Florida, and I would have signed him to that contract or more to get over. the Colorado River draw. He would have fit like a glove here... hard nosed, can skate, can play defense, and pretty reliable 20+g guy who in a down year will get you 30a and a good year 40+.

I have to admit, I was a bit "meh" when that deal was signed. Thought it was too risky because of the length. But clearly I didn't know enough of how effective he would be.

 

[Alienblood]

Huh? New York has good C depth. Maybe not good enough to win a cup, but Zib is an easy 1C, Trochek is a god 2C, Chytil when he was playing was a good 3C and Bonino is fine as a 4. They‘re quite strong down the middle actually.

Boston doesn’t make sense to me, at least at the top of the lineup. But Pasta is clearly gives them some leeway as the best winger in the NHL right now.

Pasta has played some center as well I believe

 

[redacted]

Pasta has played some center as well I believe

He hasn't played any center. Zacha-Coyle-Poitras-Beecher has been their rotation. Zacha has the Rat and Pasta with him. Coyle runs a '3rd' line that is deployed like a 2nd line (mainly JVR/Frederic on his wings) and Poitras runs a scoring line that is deployed like a 3rd line. Poitras almost always has DeBrusk with him and then one of Heinen or Geekie.

 

[Ararana]

The problem is lack of real top-6 players, it doesn't matter if they play center or wing.

Oh, it very much does. cMac should have anything and everything not 29/8 on the table for a long term 2C. It is by far the most important position now that the 1C, 1D, and 1G is locked down.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Pasta has played some center as well I believe

He most certainly has not

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Ya they should be pulling all of our resources towards Center(Maybe spending a little on another RD as well). 100%. I just don't think our management quite frankly is smart enough to recognize that roster deficiency.

 

[redacted]

Ya they should be pulling all of our resources towards Center(Maybe spending a little on another RD as well). 100%. I just don't think our management quite frankly is smart enough to recognize that roster deficiency.

I think the management is plenty smart... they just don't believe in the importance of high end center play. It is clear they think they can make up the difference with wings who can be a better 'value' due to the money differences between centers and wings.