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

[JLo217]

Not sure if I'm excited for hockey, but I'm actually pretty excited for this roster and some of the younger guys in the system. Hanzel, Ivan x2, and a few others sound exciting to have developing assuming they sign them.

Just figure out this goalie thing.

 

[ABasin]

Disagree, but that's also because I just dont think goalies are important....


Well, important probably isn't the right word. Obviously you need good goaltending to win generally speaking(Avs cup run being an exception to the rule), but its pretty clear at this point that goaltending is extremely random particularly in the playoffs. We just watched Aiden Hill essentially come out of nowhere to backstop Vegas to a Cup. Bobrovsky was one of the worst contracts in the league and a legit buyout candidate for basically the last 2-3 years before he went god mode in the playoffs for Florida and nearly carried them to a cup.

I believe you don't need elite goaltending to win.

But correspondingly, it's hard to win with outright bad goaltending.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

Drouin's agent is posting offseason game highlights now... @henchman21

Hopefully he didn't spend all that future money yet.

 

[Alienblood]

If I was a betting man my bet would be on the Devils to get out of the East.

could.Ruff is.a good.coach.but I think.they fluked last.year.

It's still Tampa for me. They should have beat the Leafs last year and I think after a bitter off season they reset and come back.with a bang .

 

[Chiarelli]

If I had to pick today it would be leafs out of the east. Jersey if they pick up a goalie. Carolina if they add an elite offensive player.

 

[henchman21]

The East is setup to be another blood bath. New Jersey has the least flaws and most talent... but is asking a lot of young players. Leafs are old and goaltending is a bigger question to me than even last year... but they grabbed a lot of guys to shore them up for one year. Carolina needs to finally get aggressive. If they don't, they don't have the firepower today to make it all the way through. I think Florida will be better than last year by the end of the season, but they need to hold steady before Montour and Ekblad are ready. Then you have Buffalo and Ottawa who could jump.

There are just so many moving pieces in the East. I'd go with Jersey just based on their roster. Schmid has to play well and Hughes/Nemec/Bahl all need to be good (or Miller instead of Nemec if Nemec doesn't grab a spot). If they play to their capabilities, they are a good notch above other teams. If the defensemen and Schmid struggle, the East is tough enough up and down to make them pay.

 

[BobRossColton]

Could vejmelka be a smart acquisition?

 

[Avsboy]

I see NYR doing well for some reason

 

[Pokecheque]

Could vejmelka be a smart acquisition?

He won't be coming to Colorado.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Could vejmelka be a smart acquisition?

No... We don't need a starting goalie and we certainly don't need to pay a 1st+ to get one.

 

[Pokecheque]

I see NYR doing well for some reason

I don't see it

 

[Chiarelli]

Yup rangers showed last playoffs they just don’t have it. The 2022 run is looking pretty flukey they squeaked past a banged up Crosby -less penguins team then got Carolina’s back up goalies. Tampa wiped the floor with them

 

[henchman21]

Yup rangers showed last playoffs they just don’t have it. The 2022 run is looking pretty flukey they squeaked past a banged up Crosby -less penguins team then got Carolina’s back up goalies. Tampa wiped the floor with them

There is nothing fluky about Carolina having injured goalies.

 

[Pokecheque]

If Shestyorkin (and he really should've just left it spelled that way) can return to Vezina form, then anything is possible, but they already have two major weapons up front showing major signs of decline, and the young players they drafted as part of this "rebuild" haven't even come close to meeting expectations.

Also, I'm not sure Peter Laviolette has been a good coach since his Carolina days. I suppose if you're gonna try a desperation quick-fix move, that's the guy you should try it with.

 

[henchman21]

The dude gets a ton of hate, but Gallant can coach. He will ruin a room, he will fight with GMs, but he will get results for a year or two that exceed what teams normally can do.

The big issue with New York IMO is they didn't really solve the 2C issue when their forward core was young enough... and now they are aging and on the precipice of a heavy decline. Lafs, Kakko, and Chytil have to step up in a big way this season. If it doesn't happen, they'll have to attempt a re-tool on the fly to open a new window with the defense. The bright side there is they should have a solid 4-5 year area to where an 18 month retool still gives them a bit of a window.

 

[Pokecheque]

The dude gets a ton of hate, but Gallant can coach. He will ruin a room, he will fight with GMs, but he will get results for a year or two that exceed what teams normally can do.

The big issue with New York IMO is they didn't really solve the 2C issue when their forward core was young enough... and now they are aging and on the precipice of a heavy decline. Lafs, Kakko, and Chytil have to step up in a big way this season. If it doesn't happen, they'll have to attempt a re-tool on the fly to open a new window with the defense. The bright side there is they should have a solid 4-5 year area to where an 18 month retool still gives them a bit of a window.

They've been "retooling on the fly" since Henrik Lundqvist's rookie season. I said before and I'll say again their "rebuild" was doomed from the start.

Chytil is the most consistent of their younger stars up front (and that says more about how bad Kakko and Lafreniere have been than how good Chytil has been) but I don't see him reaching another level. He's a perfectly good 3C with a surprisingly good release, but I wouldn't characterize him as a legit star talent who can take over games.

 

[henchman21]

They've been "retooling on the fly" since Henrik Lundqvist's rookie season. I said before and I'll say again their "rebuild" was doomed from the start.

Chytil is the most consistent of their younger stars up front (and that says more about how bad Kakko and Lafreniere have been than how good Chytil has been) but I don't see him reaching another level. He's a perfectly good 3C with a surprisingly good release, but I wouldn't characterize him as a legit star talent who can take over games.

Yeah… they had most of the pieces and could have pushed over the top utilizing one of the the Kakko/Lafs picks. But that’s a move that GMs don’t make anymore.

I don’t see the level needed in any of them. I think they’ll have to go on a major trade spree admitting that the forward group needs swapped out to get the guys they need. If any team should be grabbing Zegras, it is the Rangers. Pay whatever it takes outside of Fox.

 

[sethro109]

So Toews is giving the Avs a hard time limit. I don't think this will play out the way he hopes. To me it sounds like he's gone.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

So Toews is giving the Avs a hard time limit. I don't think this will play out the way he hopes. To me it sounds like he's gone.

If anything it sounds like a deal is pretty likely to get done.

Not that I necessarily trust Friedman with Avs stuff, but Friedman basically says Toews is willing to take less to stay with the Avs... That doesn't even sound remotely like a guy who's going to be gone.

 

[Balthazar]

So Toews is giving the Avs a hard time limit. I don't think this will play out the way he hopes. To me it sounds like he's gone.

Chances are he's no different than Landy, Nuke or Kadri and would take total market value spread over 8 years instead of 7.

So for example if his camp believes that he'd get 7 X 8M on the market he'd agree to 8 X 7M to stay. Same dollar amount but one more year.

We'll see if the Avs want to go there or not.

 

[sethro109]

If anything it sounds like a deal is pretty likely to get done.

Not that I necessarily trust Friedman with Avs stuff, but Friedman basically says Toews is willing to take less to stay with the Avs... That doesn't even sound remotely like a guy who's going to be gone.

I just don't think the Avs will like the time table. They always work slow. A player threatening isn't going to help.

 

[PAZ]

I just don't think the Avs will like the time table. They always work slow. A player threatening isn't going to help.

It's not unreasonable.

The chance of a deal happening prior to the season starting is unlikely, but by the sounds of it his preferred destination is the Avs. He may sign elsewhere, but the most likely outcome is a deal is figured out in the post-season but prior to free agency.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

I just don't think the Avs will like the time table. They always work slow. A player threatening isn't going to help.

They want to re-sign him. They also dont always work slow. They got Mackinnon done around the same time last year. They got basically all the RFA guys done this year early in the summer.

And... Toews didn't say he would outright shut down the conversation. He simply said if things weren't progressing he would shut it down.

If they're making progress towards a deal it isn't some hard deadline. And again the fact Toews at least according to Friedman is willing to take a little less to stay here almost certainly means they should be able to progress towards something in due time.


My money is on a 7-8 year deal in the 7.5-8M range being signed before the season starts.

 

[sethro109]

They want to re-sign him. They also dont always work slow. They got Mackinnon done around the same time last year. They got basically all the RFA guys done this year early in the summer.

And... Toews didn't say he would outright shut down the conversation. He simply said if things weren't progressing he would shut it down.

If they're making progress towards a deal it isn't some hard deadline. And again the fact Toews at least according to Friedman is willing to take a little less to stay here almost certainly means they should be able to progress towards something in due time.


My money is on a 7-8 year deal in the 7.5-8M range being signed before the season starts.

I still think he'll want more than that. But, if he wants 7.5, then we'd be fools to not sign him for that amount.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

They want to re-sign him. They also dont always work slow. They got Mackinnon done around the same time last year. They got basically all the RFA guys done this year early in the summer.

And... Toews didn't say he would outright shut down the conversation. He simply said if things weren't progressing he would shut it down.

If they're making progress towards a deal it isn't some hard deadline. And again the fact Toews at least according to Friedman is willing to take a little less to stay here almost certainly means they should be able to progress towards something in due time.


My money is on a 7-8 year deal in the 7.5-8M range being signed before the season starts.

I think if Toews was open to 60M over 8 years, the deal would be done, unless they're squabbling over movement protection or some such. I'm thinking he wants closer to 70M. I figure his side considers taking 68M over 8 years a bit of a discount for the Avs. 8.5M/year...considering how underpaid he's been, he's earned the chance at the bank, but the Avs giving it to him is going to make keeping Rants and any semblance of depth just *that* much harder.