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

[Bill Peckerskull]

 

[UncleRisto]

About to put Pickard in a game.

 

[Pokecheque]

IDK... I think the jury is still out. Colton has been trash way more often than not, and the same with Wood. They may skate fast in a straight line and hit, but that's all they can really do (when apparently not playing New Jersey). They don't maintain the puck, they don't win battles all that often... they simply move the puck, dump it, couple hits, then go off for a change. That's not what the Avs were built on. They were built on maintaining the puck and keeping pressure. Not grind teams.

Colton's puck management has been absolutely horrifying at times. He makes passes and other decisions with the puck that just make me want to throw things at the screen. I'm pretty sure it was a terrible pass from him to MacKinnon that led to the turnover and Kraken rush that eventually led to the GWG for Seattle (and we all know what Colton did there).

He kinda strikes me as a faster, meaner Johnny Mitchell, which makes for a perfectly fine player, but not one you want centering your third line.

 

[henchman21]

I don't necessarily disagree, but I'll give them a bit of leeway when the instructions provided to them are "so you've got 1 dollar to fix a 10 dollar issue, good luck!".

I think it further highlights how badly the amateur scouts have done over the years where there is virtually no one that can come up and be cheap depth.

The amateur scout definitely get some black marks from this.... but CMac/Sakic shouldn't escape it either. The decisions to re-sign Manson and Frank and continuing to bring back/keep up JMFJ/Dermy has eroded what little cap space the Avs have had. It is too early to judge for sure, but the early results on Colton, Wood, and RyJo also point right to 10m of cap that is inefficient. This always tends to happen with teams, but with narrow margins in the NHL, it is hard to say elite when you have all these things happening, even with elite players.

What is kinda scary is if Landy returns next year, this situation is likely to get even worse with depth and inefficiencies. But that's a future problem.

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

Colton's puck management has been absolutely horrifying at times. He makes passes and other decisions with the puck that just make me want to throw things at the screen. I'm pretty sure it was a terrible pass from him to MacKinnon that led to the turnover and Kraken rush that eventually led to the GWG for Seattle (and we all know what Colton did there).

He kinda strikes me as a faster, meaner Johnny Mitchell, which makes for a perfectly fine player, but not one you want centering your third line.

I think you need someone that is good at managing the puck to play with Colton and Wood. Both are chaos monsters, but they are not good distributors. If we managed to get Kane he'd actually be the perfect addition for them. Those guys would create space for him, and he could be the guy on that line.

 

[henchman21]

Colton's puck management has been absolutely horrifying at times. He makes passes and other decisions with the puck that just make me want to throw things at the screen. I'm pretty sure it was a terrible pass from him to MacKinnon that led to the turnover and Kraken rush that eventually led to the GWG for Seattle (and we all know what Colton did there).

He kinda strikes me as a faster, meaner Johnny Mitchell, which makes for a perfectly fine player, but not one you want centering your third line.

This is the worry. If he was a middle 6 winger or centering the 4th line, that dumb shit wouldn't matter as much. As the pivot of a line that's going to be around 12 minutes 5v5 and as the primary puck handler on the line... it is unsustainable.

Tampa forced Colton out of the 3C role twice with moves to shore up the spot, and while I didn't think he was making these types of decisions, maybe I wasn't watching closely enough. It is a real problem if he can't figure out the 3C role.

I think you need someone that is good at managing the puck to play with Colton and Wood. Both are chaos monsters, but they are not good distributors. If we managed to get Kane he'd actually be the perfect addition for them. Those guys would create space for him, and he could be the guy on that line.

Pretty much zero chance Kane would come here to play with those two.

 

[Pokecheque]

I think you need someone that is good at managing the puck to play with Colton and Wood. Both are chaos monsters, but they are not good distributors. If we managed to get Kane he'd actually be the perfect addition for them. Those guys would create space for him, and he could be the guy on that line.

Oh no, Kane is not that type of player anymore, and his nonexistent defensive game would be a disastrous fit with those two, as neither of them are nowhere near good enough defensively to cover for him.

No...the guy I was hoping would click with them is Tatar, and for a brief time it kinda worked. In his prime I think it absolutely would have as he was a puck management king in Montreal.

 

[henchman21]

Oh no, Kane is not that type of player anymore, and his nonexistent defensive game would be a disastrous fit with those two, as neither of them are nowhere near good enough defensively to cover for him.

No...the guy I was hoping would click with them is Tatar, and for a brief time it kinda worked. In his prime I think it absolutely would have as he was a puck management king in Montreal.

Tatar also did that in Montreal with arguably one of the best pure defensive centers in the league.

 

[GoNordiquesGo]

Cap dump for TBL to add someone? Kane?

OK... what's with Weekes and his head ...?!? I figured that was gonna be a 2-3 time thing that is supposed to be funny but it's been like months now, if not over a year, and he still does it...? Looks so childish, is there an actual story behind this or its just nonsense ?

 

[UncleRisto]

Tatar also did that in Montreal with arguably one of the best pure defensive centers in the league.

By any chance, was that center Jonathan Drouin?

 

[JH21]

Ryan Johansen 4 mil
Ross Colton 4 mil
Miles Wood 2.5 mil
Tomas Tatar 1.5 mil
Jonathan Drouin 875k
Jack Johnson 775k

13,650,000 mil = 19 points

JT Compher 5.1 mil
Evan Rodriques 3.0 mil
Alex Newhook 2.9 mil
Lars Eller 2.450 mil
Erik Johnson 3.250 mil

16,700,000 mil = 34 points

I think we dropped the ball big time. Sometimes making changes for the sake of making changes never works

Lehkonen- Mackinnon- Rantanen
Rodriques- Compher- Nichushkin
Newhook- Eller- O'Connor
Tufte- Olofsson- Cogliano

Toews - Makar
Byram - Manson
2 mil - EJ

I think I'd rather take that lineup than what we have. Mack and Makar have both said there are too many changes and new players. There's no chemistry.

In this scenario Girard would have had to go but we would assume to bring in another Dman for 2 mil for the difference of his contract.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

Mack and Makar have both said there are too many changes and new players.

No, they have not.

 

[GoNordiquesGo]

Just because the old farts smell better than the new ones doesn't means they're desirable...

But yhea, the new additions sure are looking like a disaster...

 

[henchman21]

Ryan Johansen 4 mil
Ross Colton 4 mil
Miles Wood 2.5 mil
Tomas Tatar 1.5 mil
Jonathan Drouin 875k
Jack Johnson 775k

13,650,000 mil = 19 points

JT Compher 5.1 mil
Evan Rodriques 3.0 mil
Alex Newhook 2.9 mil
Lars Eller 2.450 mil
Erik Johnson 3.250 mil

16,700,000 mil = 34 points

I think we dropped the ball big time. Sometimes making changes for the sake of making changes never works

Lehkonen- Mackinnon- Rantanen
Rodriques- Compher- Nichushkin
Newhook- Eller- O'Connor
Tufte- Olofsson- Cogliano

Toews - Makar
Byram - Manson
2 mil - EJ

I think I'd rather take that lineup than what we have. Mack and Makar have both said there are too many changes and new players. There's no chemistry.

In this scenario Girard would have had to go but we would assume to bring in another Dman for 2 mil for the difference of his contract.

The points at this particular point of the season is completely pointless. Beyond that though, they made changes because the team last year simply wasn't good enough to win the Cup (or even close). Coming back for round 2 of that would have been a failure. This season's risk/reward play also may not pan out... but changes were absolutely needed.

 

[JH21]

The points at this particular point of the season is completely pointless. Beyond that though, they made changes because the team last year simply wasn't good enough to win the Cup (or even close). Coming back for round 2 of that would have been a failure. This season's risk/reward play also may not pan out... but changes were absolutely needed.

For the 100th time...Nichushkin and Manson were not playing vs Seattle. If they did we win that series and then who knows what happens.

That healthy lineup I proposed could beat anyone.

 

[henchman21]

For the 100th time...Nichushkin and Manson were not playing vs Seattle. If they did we win that series and then who knows what happens.

That healthy lineup I proposed could beat anyone.

You can believe that if you wish, but there is zero proof of it. Plus both actually did play against Seattle. Nuke went 1-1 and Manson went 2-3.

Even if they could have gotten past Seattle, the odds are not high they would have made it to the Finals. The team was simply flawed and not good enough.

 

[AvalancheSpeedsters]

Markstrom

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Guy sat around all summer and ended up signing a cheap deal... nobody is moving any real assets to get him. Maybe if you waive him, but not even sure then with the performance he's had. Teams will simply look at him and think he'd probably do even worse on their teams. Gotta play out of his funk.

The Avs are going to have to play around with the fringes of the lineup and maybe call up/waive players... but as a whole, they kinda just have to figure it out with who they got until January. Given the schedule, that should be fine... but will be frustrating at times.

Anyone else feel like they are kind of fed-up with the whole stagnant cap situation?

Ryan Johansen 4 mil
Ross Colton 4 mil
Miles Wood 2.5 mil
Tomas Tatar 1.5 mil
Jonathan Drouin 875k
Jack Johnson 775k

13,650,000 mil = 19 points

JT Compher 5.1 mil
Evan Rodriques 3.0 mil
Alex Newhook 2.9 mil
Lars Eller 2.450 mil
Erik Johnson 3.250 mil

16,700,000 mil = 34 points

I think we dropped the ball big time. Sometimes making changes for the sake of making changes never works

Lehkonen- Mackinnon- Rantanen
Rodriques- Compher- Nichushkin
Newhook- Eller- O'Connor
Tufte- Olofsson- Cogliano

Toews - Makar
Byram - Manson
2 mil - EJ

I think I'd rather take that lineup than what we have. Mack and Makar have both said there are too many changes and new players. There's no chemistry.

In this scenario Girard would have had to go but we would assume to bring in another Dman for 2 mil for the difference of his contract.

IF JTC, ERod, Newy, Eller and EJ were all on the same team putting up those points you might have a point. Individually each and everyone one of them can serve a real good purpose for a team. Collectively, they will sink you.

 

[henchman21]

Anyone else feel like they are kind of fed-up with the whole stagnant cap situation?

I don't feel that way personally as the alternative to this escrow and payback period would have been to go the NFL route and have a pull back on the cap. That would have been WAY worse for the NHL. 20-21 would have been roughly a 75m cap and 21-22 in the realm of 55-60m. With a large jump back to 83m last year and this year being close to 87m. Yeah that'd be better today... but those first two years would have lead to an exodus from the Avs far worse than the 04-05 lockout.

One of the reasons we have ownership crying poor like in Winnipeg is essentially the owners footed the bill from the first covid shutdown until the Avs won the Cup. IIRC in 20-21, the owners actually paid more in raw salaries than they brought in for the whole season in HRR.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Yep...and we just happen to have two guys that can do that work, which is why it makes so much sense to break Nate and Mikko up at 5v5. They'll still have plenty of PP time to over pass with.

It just seems so obvious to me...

X-Nate-Nuke
Lehky-RyJo-Rants

You could even swap Nuke and Lehky if you wanted to load the beef on a line or move Lehky up and bring in Tufte to play LW with RyJo and Nuke for another beefy lineup.

Lehky and Mack do seem to have a little better chemistry than with Nuke.

I've never actually believed Mikko and Mack have this amazing chemistry anyway personally. It works because they're both ridiculous, but they need to be driving their own line.

 

[CobraAcesS]

I don't think it's a misfiring. They were clearly budget options.

They still haven't tried the one damn thing that made the most sense for making Drouin work..

Mack & Drouin with either one of Nuke or Lehkky. It's f***ing hilarious at this point.

 

[John Mandalorian]

They'll most likely wait until the deadline when Tufte will have replaced Drouin, Tatar will get buried and replaced by Kovalenko, and they'll probably snag a forward or two for cheap with money retained. They'll make it work.

If Drouin or Tatar are dressed in the playoffs, something has gone horribly wrong and we are getting bounced early.

Not saying they’re the same but the enthusiasm for Kovalenko is somewhat reminiscent of the enthusiasm for signing Meyers.

 

[Pokecheque]

Not saying they’re the same but the enthusiasm for Kovalenko is somewhat reminiscent of the enthusiasm for signing Meyers.

 

[NOTENOUGHRYJOTHINGS]

Ryan Johansen 4 mil
Ross Colton 4 mil
Miles Wood 2.5 mil
Tomas Tatar 1.5 mil
Jonathan Drouin 875k
Jack Johnson 775k

13,650,000 mil = 19 points

JT Compher 5.1 mil
Evan Rodriques 3.0 mil
Alex Newhook 2.9 mil
Lars Eller 2.450 mil
Erik Johnson 3.250 mil

16,700,000 mil = 34 points

I think we dropped the ball big time. Sometimes making changes for the sake of making changes never works

Lehkonen- Mackinnon- Rantanen
Rodriques- Compher- Nichushkin
Newhook- Eller- O'Connor
Tufte- Olofsson- Cogliano

Toews - Makar
Byram - Manson
2 mil - EJ

I think I'd rather take that lineup than what we have. Mack and Makar have both said there are too many changes and new players. There's no chemistry.

In this scenario Girard would have had to go but we would assume to bring in another Dman for 2 mil for the difference of his contract.

There's a reason Tampa didn't want Colton as their 3C. And a reason Wood was used as a fourth liner.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

I don't feel that way personally as the alternative to this escrow and payback period would have been to go the NFL route and have a pull back on the cap. That would have been WAY worse for the NHL. 20-21 would have been roughly a 75m cap and 21-22 in the realm of 55-60m. With a large jump back to 83m last year and this year being close to 87m. Yeah that'd be better today... but those first two years would have lead to an exodus from the Avs far worse than the 04-05 lockout.

One of the reasons we have ownership crying poor like in Winnipeg is essentially the owners footed the bill from the first covid shutdown until the Avs won the Cup. IIRC in 20-21, the owners actually paid more in raw salaries than they brought in for the whole season in HRR.

Oh, I'm not disagreeing at all. The owners actually went above and beyond by getting us some semblance of hockey back on the ice as soon as medically, politically and socially allowed.

I'm just tired of the Avs being flat up against the cap and potentially still needing an improvement at 2C. It's not really fair for me to blame the stagnant cap though as all 31 other teams are playing by the same rules. The Avs have just allocated their salary cap in a wonky way that really forced them to look only at cheap routes for centers.