Rumor: 2023-24 Trade Rumors and Free Agency: Season Thread

[Valushkin]

That doesn't mean it will succed... and on Drouin specifically, the pro scouts are not the reason he is here.

Whatever they get from Drouin is a plus for 800K. The main guy they need to pan out is RyJo. The 2 C was the biggest issue for this team. Colton and Wood are the safest bets as far as you know what you gonna get out of them.

 

[redacted]

Eller was just a stopgap for Newhook's failure during the season. Directly season over season, Colton is replacing Newhook more than Eller. Which is basically the reverse Drouin/ERod debate... Colton brings more everywhere else, but Newhook has more offensive potential.

I do think the nuance of improving over last year though loses the point. Moderate improvement over last year's team isn't going to be enough. The Avs have to get closer to the 21-22 team in quality. Which basically puts Drouin to Burkie, RyJo to Kadri, Colton to Compher, Wood to... Landy(?)...

 

[redacted]

Whatever they get from Drouin is a plus for 800K. The main guy they need to pan out is RyJo. The 2 C was the biggest issue for this team. Colton and Wood are the safest bets as far as you know what you gonna get out of them.

It really isn't just a plus... the Avs need something from him. He's directly replacing ERod in last year's lineup (arugably Burkie from 2 seasons ago). I don't think he's the make or break, and you can fix that issue down the line, but he's not unimportant either.

Agree on RyJo working out. He's pretty much the whole key to the season IMO.

I wouldn't call Wood safe at all... he was pretty bad last year and looked like a shell of his earlier self. If he's like he was the last ~60 games of the season, the Avs have a bad contract they'll have to figure out (LTIR most likely).

 

[JLo217]

I'm fine with the way the Avalanche have tried to rebuild after last years massive failure. I like that they took risks instead of trying to bandaid it with Soderbergs and Nemeth types.

There is still room to add. I also hope they get a lot more aggressive at the deadline. One massive gap for me that is goaltending. Frankie can't stay healthy and they really had to lean on Georgiev. Not sure what the move is there but they need a better/safer option for their depth.

 

[redacted]

I'm fine with the way the Avalanche have tried to rebuild after last years massive failure. I like that they took risks instead of trying to bandaid it with Soderbergs and Nemeth types.

There is still room to add. I also hope they get a lot more aggressive at the deadline. One massive gap for me that is goaltending. Frankie can't stay healthy and they really had to lean on Georgiev. Not sure what the move is there but they need a better/safer option for their depth.

Yeah this is how I feel... It isn't a perfect way to go about this, but the guys they all got have had some bright spots in their career. It isn't without risk (and a lot of it actually) as 3/4 were pretty bad last year... but the players they got have all performed in the NHL at the level they need from them at some point. If that level is found again on all of them, then the Avs will be in good shape. Each that don't will progressively hurt more.

Avs are simply betting on Annunen being ready for more. It also fits the timeline that the Avs love to plan around. If it works, Annunen shows he can handle the backup role and takes over on the cheap in 24-25. I have my doubts in this working, but that is clearly the plan.

 

[Valushkin]

It really isn't just a plus... the Avs need something from him. He's directly replacing ERod in last year's lineup (arugably Burkie from 2 seasons ago). I don't think he's the make or break, and you can fix that issue down the line, but he's not unimportant either.

Agree on RyJo working out. He's pretty much the whole key to the season IMO.

I wouldn't call Wood safe at all... he was pretty bad last year and looked like a shell of his earlier self. If he's like he was the last ~60 games of the season, the Avs have a bad contract they'll have to figure out (LTIR most likely).

Again, I’ll bring up the fact that Avs won the division with bunch of AHL players replacing injured players throughout the season, and they almost beat the Kraken in the playoffs without any depth scoring. They gonna have more depth next season by default because I don’t think Nuke is gonna do what he did again in the playoffs

 

[redacted]

Again, I’ll bring up the fact that Avs won the division with bunch of AHL players replacing injured players throughout the season, and they almost beat the Kraken in the playoffs without any depth scoring. They gonna have more depth next season by default because I don’t think Nuke is gonna do what he did again in the playoffs

I don't care about the division at all... the Central sucked and almost beating the Kraken just isn't anything to brag about. A 2nd year expansion team that was supposed to be easy... they then went and lost in the 2nd round.

On the AHL players... frankly the Avs are 1-2 injuries away from the same thing happening again. The depth here is very surface level and the Avs are always going to have injuries. I'll be shocked if guys like Foudy, OO, Stienburg, and Tufte don't play a decent amount of games. Hell, a low talent college UFA might break camp as the 4C... Meyers and Olofsson are likely game 1 starters as we sit. That isn't much deeper than last year. This idea that the Avs are so much deeper is incorrect. Maybe 1 forward deeper.... that's it.

IMO being slightly better on paper than last year is a low bar and should not be the goal. The goal should be the Cup and getting a roster closer to that level. Avs need all these risks to work out to be close, and even then they probably need to add a couple pieces.

 

[sethro109]

That doesn't mean it will succed... and on Drouin specifically, the pro scouts are not the reason he is here.

But! Let's not forget that MacK was also the reason we got Cogs and that worked out perfectly. The way I see it, he's currently batting 1000.

 

[redacted]

But! Let's not forget that MacK was also the reason we got Cogs and that worked out perfectly. The way I see it, he's currently batting 1000.

He also talked up Bowers... so .500 at best.

 

[Valushkin]

I don't care about the division at all... the Central sucked and almost beating the Kraken just isn't anything to brag about. A 2nd year expansion team that was supposed to be easy... they then went and lost in the 2nd round.

On the AHL players... frankly the Avs are 1-2 injuries away from the same thing happening again. The depth here is very surface level and the Avs are always going to have injuries. I'll be shocked if guys like Foudy, OO, Stienburg, and Tufte don't play a decent amount of games. Hell, a low talent college UFA might break camp as the 4C... Meyers and Olofsson are likely game 1 starters as we sit. That isn't much deeper than last year. This idea that the Avs are so much deeper is incorrect. Maybe 1 forward deeper.... that's it.

IMO being slightly better on paper than last year is a low bar and should not be the goal. The goal should be the Cup and getting a roster closer to that level. Avs need all these risks to work out to be close, and even then they probably need to add a couple pieces.

I think they’ve done a decent job with the limited cap space they had. They could have used the entire Landy LTIR money on one guy, but don’t think that would have been a good way to fix depth. I just don’t see what else they could have done. The roster isn’t even finalized yet. They still have little cap space and maybe a guy like Kovalenko will be a solid add to bottom 6. Can’t judge this roster until after March deadline

 

[redacted]

I think they’ve done a decent job with the limited cap space they had. They could have used the entire Landy LTIR money on one guy, but don’t think that would have been a good way to fix depth. I just don’t see what else they could have done. The roster isn’t even finalized yet. They still have little cap space and maybe a guy like Kovalenko will be a solid add to bottom 6. Can’t judge this roster until after March deadline

That’s pretty much what everyone said last season too…

I get the reason why the Avs have gone this route, but it is far from a slam dunk roster.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Colton over Eller is our biggest upgrade of the off-season and it continuously gets failed to be mentioned in regards to the upgrades made to this roster. It is so clearly a massive upgrade for the bottom six provided Colton stays there all season.

After Nuke left the team in the post season, we had Lars Eller playing in our top 6. The fact he was only added at the deadline doesn’t change anything. He was our penciled in 3C in the playoffs.

RyJo/Compher and Drouin/Erod can be argued either way. Colton/Eller cannot, it is Colton AINEC.

Can it really though?


But yes, Colton is the clear upgrade for this team versus last year.


Unfortunately I don't think it's nearly enough, for that to be our only upgrade. Definitely need RyJo to play like he cares this year.

 

[NateTheGreat]

It’s hard to admit for some reason, but Lars Eller was the 3C for the Avs when the games mattered most. Not Newhook, not Compher, it was Eller. That spot is now filled by Colton, which is a massive upgrade.

Newhook was traded for futures which can be flipped at the deadline for a player more ready to contribute in the playoffs. Wood can be viewed as the Newhook replacement but I think Newhook wins that one.

 

[NateTheGreat]

Can it really though?


But yes, Colton is the clear upgrade for this team versus last year.


Unfortunately I don't think it's nearly enough, for that to be our only upgrade. Definitely need RyJo to play like he cares this year.

I’m on the Erod side for that one personally.

And yes agreed that it’s not enough when looking at the entire picture.

 

[Valushkin]

That’s pretty much what everyone said last season too…

I get the reason why the Avs have gone this route, but it is far from a slam dunk roster.

When Naz left, we all knew the center depth was gonna be bad and it was.

MacK
JTC
Newhook/Eller
Meyers

Vs

MacK
RyJo
Colton
Meyers/Cogs

The current center depth is night and day better even not knowing what RyJo is gonna do

 

[AllAboutAvs]

What really counts besides Colton and Nuke having a good year is that we get playoffs RYJO in the playoffs and not regular-season RYJO. Drouin would be just bonus.

We will obviously have some injuries but we also need to be relatively healthy for the playoffs. Our pro scouts also need to find us a good upgrade at the TDL.

 

[redacted]

When Naz left, we all knew the center depth was gonna be bad and it was.

MacK
JTC
Newhook/Eller
Meyers

Vs

MacK
RyJo
Colton
Meyers/Cogs

The current center depth is night and day better even not knowing what RyJo is gonna do

If it is last year’s RyJo, it’s practically the same

 

[The Moops]

I see a lot of people hanging hopes on upgrading at the TDL, and I'm over it. Historically this team hates the deadline so let's not put our hope in that. Honestly they probably do better with waiver pick ups than they do at the deadline

 

[redacted]

I see a lot of people hanging hopes on upgrading at the TDL, and I'm over it. Historically this team hates the deadline so let's not put our hope in that. Honestly they probably do better with waiver pick ups than they do at the deadline

I’d hope they’d see the one year they spent bigger that it worked

 

[Valushkin]

If it is last year’s RyJo, it’s practically the same

I mean I for one think RyJo is gonna have a good season. He was injured last year and he said he’s gonna be 100% healthy for the upcoming season. He’s not gonna be counted on to be a 1C and carry a team. Besides you can’t just say if this and if that. What if none of the pick ups pan out? What if MacK and Mikko take a step back, what if Georgiev takes a step back. Gotta have some faith. I think at least both RyJo and Colton are gonna produce big for this team, and we’ll see with Drouin. Wood wasn’t brought in to produce big points, he has more of a checking role on bottom 6.

 

[redacted]

I mean I for one think RyJo is gonna have a good season. He was injured last year and he said he’s gonna be 100% healthy for the upcoming season. He’s not gonna be counted on to be a 1C and carry a team. Besides you can’t just say if this and if that. What if none of the pick ups pan out? What if MacK and Mikko take a step back, what if Georgiev takes a step back. Gotta have some faith. I think at least both RyJo and Colton are gonna produce big for this team, and we’ll see with Drouin. Wood wasn’t brought in to produce big points, he has more of a checking role on bottom 6.

RyJo was pretty healthy until the end of the year…

Faith is what I’d describe all the hopes as… which is fine but I’m not a religious person.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

The biggest question mark for me still is, what kind of player is Nuke now assuming he's clean and sober.

He was in and out of the lineup alot last season, and when he was in the lineup he often looked less than 100%. Assuming he gets back to the Nuke we know and love, that's a pretty significant addition to the lineup over last season.

 

[Valushkin]

RyJo was pretty healthy until the end of the year…

Faith is what I’d describe all the hopes as… which is fine but I’m not a religious person.

I think there is a difference between playing for Nashville and Colorado. He won’t have a pressure of being the main guy 1C, he’ll play behind MacK and be on 1st PP with MacK, Mikko and Makar. I think that should make a big difference for RyJo

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

I really hope we get a motivated and healthy RyJo as he would make a world of difference. The guy though that I feel has a real chance to take a step and help the Avs a lot over last year is Colton. His style of play should fit perfectly here. He's got more talent than he's shown so far in the NHL, especially in his playmaking ability. If RyJo struggles, it wouldn't shock me to see Colton get a run and really do well in the role. I also think he's got a real chance to help the 2nd PP unit a bunch. His shot is a weapon. People are going to be a big fan of him.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Colton ends up being the 2C, and not in a bad way (i.e. JTC being 2C). Also, if Nuke is back to being the Nuke we all loved, Lehkonen-Colton-Nichushkin would be an absolute pain in the ass to play against, and they'd create so much offense through the disruptions they'd cause in the offensive zone.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

I see a lot of people hanging hopes on upgrading at the TDL, and I'm over it. Historically this team hates the deadline so let's not put our hope in that. Honestly they probably do better with waiver pick ups than they do at the deadline

Yeah I always just laugh at anybody who says the "It's fine for now and they will make upgrades at the deadline" garbage. We have been contenders for 4 years now, and made meaningful deadline acquisitions just one single time. They even won a cup the year they decided to be aggressive and then followed it up the next year with more passive bullshit.


This management group should not be given the benefit of the doubt that they will fix anything at the trade deadline at this point. Especially not with the lacking assets we have available to make those meaningful additions.