Pre-Game Talk: 2023/24 Training Camp

[S E P H]

Yeah the larger project and the requirement to it being tied to the development is a real issue. Financially, I totally get it from KSE. Expensive and get what you can. Just that I'd hope fans can see through the charade of strictly having it tied. They have land today they can develop practice facilities on if they really desired... with or without Elitches.

KSE is still working on getting the Rams facility... 7 years later.

And this plan also includes the Pepsi Centre parking space as well, right? That would be torn down and made into high-rise apartment buildings. Maybe at this point, Kroenke will keep the Pepsi Centre at its current location and simply just reconstruct/rebuild it as Seattle did with KeyArena considering how prime the location is and how the land in the Denver metro area is currently crazy high and will probably become California 2.0 sometime down the road with the amount of transplants moving into the state.

This doesn't sound like they are going to target a goalie via waivers or trade. I know Bednar isn't going to give anything away. It wouldn't be the first time he talked about players like this, and then The Avs went out and made a trade, but this sounds like Georgiev/Annunen tandem to start the year.

If the Avs brass gave Miska five honest games during that fiasco, then Annunen has the backup spot secured for at least a couple of months at this point.

 

[henchman21]

And this plan also includes the Pepsi Centre parking space as well, right? That would be torn down and made into high-rise apartment buildings. Maybe at this point, Kroenke will keep the Pepsi Centre at its current location and simply just reconstruct/rebuild it as Seattle did with KeyArena considering how prime the location is and how the land in the Denver metro area is currently crazy high and will probably become California 2.0 sometime down the road.

Yeah all those parking lots and some extra space beyond. The idea is high rise condos, street level shops and restaurants, and green space in between. This is a project that should net them in the billions when all is said and done... so I 100% get why they are tying it, but I do hate the line of 'we are moving as quickly as we can.' It is a half truth. They are moving as fast as they can for their desired project. If they were just doing practice facilities, they could have started construction 4-5 years ago.

 

[S E P H]

Yeah all those parking lots and some extra space beyond. The idea is high rise condos, street level shops and restaurants, and green space in between. This is a project that should net them in the billions when all is said and done... so I 100% get why they are tying it, but I do hate the line of 'we are moving as quickly as we can.' It is a half truth. They are moving as fast as they can for their desired project. If they were just doing practice facilities, they could have started construction 4-5 years ago.

Agreed, but my main question is where are all the parking spaces going to go? CO is still a primary drive-first state, it isn't Seattle. Most people either have Ford F150s, Suburu Outbacks or "insert any Jeep model here" Jeeps. Parking garages or are they just going to strike a deal with Auraria Campus to use theirs?

 

[henchman21]

Agreed, but my main question is where are all the parking spaces going to go? CO is still a primary drive-first state, it isn't Seattle. Most people either have Ford F150s, Suburu Outbacks or "insert any Jeep model here" Jeeps. Parking garages or are they just going to strike a deal with Auraria Campus to use theirs?

There are parking garages in the planning docs... but not enough to overcome what they will lose. I expect a push to the light rail and even teaming up with the Broncos to use their lot and shuttle/light rail from there. For those outside of downtown, the games are likely to be harder to drive to and from.

 

[Rumplesnipeskin]

There are parking garages in the planning docs... but not enough to overcome what they will lose. I expect a push to the light rail and even teaming up with the Broncos to use their lot and shuttle/light rail from there. For those outside of downtown, the games are likely to be harder to drive to and from.

I actually find it a bit easier to use SpotHero and park 2-3 blocks from the arena in a garage. Easier to get out and onto the highway for me. There are a decent number of people who do this already, but wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the garages in that distance / radius pick up some business, also.

 

[S E P H]

There are parking garages in the planning docs... but not enough to overcome what they will lose. I expect a push to the light rail and even teaming up with the Broncos to use their lot and shuttle/light rail from there. For those outside of downtown, the games are likely to be harder to drive to and from.

When I go to Avs, I tend to park away and walk as it is much easier to get out from than the Pepsi Centre parking lot so it won't be a difference to me. I stopped taking Lightrail since it has gone way downhill with the homeless practically living on it and the crime also increasing a ton. But for the obese or physical ailment people, it does seem like a losing battle for them.

 

[henchman21]

I'm drive north person, so the Elitches lot is perfect for me. A few minute walk and easy exit. It doesn't really help with getting my business to downtown though.

I'm going to be curious how it goes, but we are probably still 2 years from a huge impact.

 

[Foppa2118]

Going to be interesting what they do with the final cuts.

Tufte has stood out in all three of the games I've seen, and the last one was probably his best, where he stood out most of the game with not just his presence around the net, but a couple smart IQ passing plays as well. Three goals in three games now I believe. He's eligible for waivers though.

Olofsson has looked solid and reliable, and had a nice goal knocking the puck out of the air last game, but hasn't stood out nearly as much as Tufte IMO. He's also eligible for waivers.

Meyers has looked ok but hasn't stood out too much either. He has 10 NHL games before he's eligible for waivers.

OO had another beauty goal with the OT winner, but it was again the only time I really noticed him in the game. He won't be eligible for waivers for a couple seasons though.

Ivan Ivan didn't have an NHL contract but he didn't quite look NHL ready to me. Showed some good things, but also some things you can't do in the NHL. Had a nice rush opportunity up the middle last game but fumbled a nice pass and lost the puck. Also had a loose puck he could get to at the defensive blueline, but made a bit of a soft effort and allowed Dallas to keep the puck in the zone.

Malinski got better and a little more confident as last game went on, but still doesn’t look quite NHL ready to me. Still looks like it’s the pace that’s keeping him from playing to his capabilities. He’s rushing passes, because the pressure comes quicker than he’s expecting, and he’s a tad off in his loose puck anticipation. Unless he has a breakout performance in the final games, then half a season in the AHL would do him some good IMO.

I've liked Kiviranta a lot too. I wonder what the plan is with him? He's on a PTO and would have to pass through waivers to get sent down if he signs, but chances are he'd clear if he does, because he'll probably have offered his services to all the other teams first.

Sounds like they don't want to spend time teaching Tufte to play center, while Olofsson played center back in Sweden. So he might have the edge if they have to pick between them. Feels like a decent chance both would get claimed in waivers though.

Would be too bad if Tufte gets claimed, especially after pounding the logo on his chest after scoring his first goal last game, and sounding like he very much wants to be here in his interview.

My guess is they send down Meyers, Malinski, and OO, keep MacDermid as an emergency D option even though they don't want to play him there, start Olofsson at 4C, and keep Tufte up as the 13F for a 22 man lineup that gives them $525k in LTIR space.

 

[Richard88]

Going to be interesting what they do with the final cuts.

Tufte has stood out in all three of the games I've seen, and the last one was probably his best, where he stood out most of the game with not just his presence around the net, but a couple smart IQ passing plays as well. Three goals in three games now I believe. He's eligible for waivers though.

Olofsson has looked solid and reliable, and had a nice goal knocking the puck out of the air last game, but hasn't stood out nearly as much as Tufte IMO. He's also eligible for waivers.

Meyers has looked ok but hasn't stood out too much either. He has 10 NHL games before he's eligible for waivers.

OO had another beauty goal with the OT winner, but it was again the only time I really noticed him in the game. He won't be eligible for waivers for a couple seasons though.

Ivan Ivan didn't have an NHL contract but he didn't quite look NHL ready to me. Showed some good things, but also some things you can't do in the NHL. Had a nice rush opportunity up the middle last game but fumbled a nice pass and lost the puck. Also had a loose puck he could get to at the defensive blueline, but made a bit of a soft effort and allowed Dallas to keep the puck in the zone.

Malinski got better and a little more confident as last game went on, but still doesn’t look quite NHL ready to me. Still looks like it’s the pace that’s keeping him from playing to his capabilities. He’s rushing passes, because the pressure comes quicker than he’s expecting, and he’s a tad off in his loose puck anticipation. Unless he has a breakout performance in the final games, then half a season in the AHL would do him some good IMO.

I've liked Kiviranta a lot too. I wonder what the plan is with him? He's on a PTO and would have to pass through waivers to get sent down if he signs, but chances are he'd clear if he does, because he'll probably have offered his services to all the other teams first.

Sounds like they don't want to spend time teaching Tufte to play center, while Olofsson played center back in Sweden. So he might have the edge if they have to pick between them. Feels like a decent chance both would get claimed in waivers though.

Would be too bad if Tufte gets claimed, especially after pounding the logo on his chest after scoring his first goal last game, and sounding like he very much wants to be here in his interview.

My guess is they send down Meyers, Malinski, and OO, keep MacDermid as an emergency D option even though they don't want to play him there, start Olofsson at 4C, and keep Tufte up as the 13F for a 22 man lineup that gives them $525k in LTIR space.

I agree with your guessed lineup. That makes the most sense.

One thing to keep in mind however is that Francouz could start the year on LTIR, which would give them a tonne of cap flexibility. With Francouz on LTIR and Annunen up there's $1.75m in capspace with Tufte and MacDermid as the 13F and 14F, so if they wanted they could even call up a 7D.

The smart move in that scenario would probably be to still run with a 22 man roster and have as much unused capspace as possible to help cover possible overages at the end of the year. Overages are covered by the average unused capspace over the season, so "banking" (note: not accruing) some unused space early would be helpful in that regard.

Either way though with Francouz on LTIR it's probably safe to expect Tufte to stay up.

That said they may still want to sneak him through waivers before the season starts to leave themselves some extra flexibility. Once the season starts and rosters around the league start to have more spots open up due to injuries it would probably be riskier to send Tufte down than in preseason.

 

[Bender]

I agree with your guessed lineup. That makes the most sense.

One thing to keep in mind however is that Francouz could start the year on LTIR, which would give them a tonne of cap flexibility. With Francouz on LTIR and Annunen up there's $1.75m in capspace with Tufte and MacDermid as the 13F and 14F, so if they wanted they could even call up a 7D.

The smart move in that scenario would probably be to still run with a 22 man roster and have as much unused capspace as possible to help cover possible overages at the end of the year. Overages are covered by the average unused capspace over the season, so "banking" (note: not accruing) some unused space early would be helpful in that regard.

Either way though with Francouz on LTIR it's probably safe to expect Tufte to stay up.

That said they may still want to sneak him through waivers before the season starts to leave themselves some extra flexibility. Once the season starts and rosters around the league start to have more spots open up due to injuries it would probably be riskier to send Tufte down than in preseason.

I'm not 100% sure but I believe the Avs would not be able to 'bank' any cap space at all since they are already over the cap by $7M or so using Landeskog's LTIR $$$.

In other words, 'we ain't bankin' shit this year'....

 

[Richard88]

I'm not 100% sure but I believe the Avs would not be able to 'bank' any cap space at all since they are already over the cap by $7M or so using Landeskog's LTIR $$$.

In other words, 'we ain't bankin' shit this year'....

Yeah that's correct.

What I meant with "banking" is that if you leave say $1m unused for half a season, and then zero unused for the second half, the average unused would be $500k which could cover bonus overages.

To be clear that has nothing to do with accruing capspace for the TDL (being in LTIR with Landeskog prevents that). Overage coverage is calculated with the average unused capspace rather than being able to use accrued space.

 

[henchman21]

Yeah that's correct.

What I meant with "banking" is that if you leave say $1m unused for half a season, and then zero unused for the second half, the average unused would be $500k which could cover bonus overages.

To be clear that has nothing to do with accruing capspace for the TDL (being in LTIR with Landeskog prevents that). Overage coverage is calculated with the average unused capspace rather than being able to use accrued space.

Bonus overages are not covered in that manner. There is a different pool for them and essentially there are very few ways to get the overage covered with LTIR. Whatever bonuses the Avs get hit with, will fall on next years cap.

 

[Richard88]

Bonus overages are not covered in that manner. There is a different pool for them and essentially there are very few ways to get the overage covered with LTIR. Whatever bonuses the Avs get hit with, will fall on next years cap.

Hmm I thought if you were well under the cap you weren't at risk of having bonus overages carrying over? What am I missing?

 

[henchman21]

Hmm I thought if you were well under the cap you weren't at risk of having bonus overages carrying over? What am I missing?

If you are under you can apply the overages to the current year. But the Avs aren’t under they are utilizing LTIR and doing so basically eliminates them from having bonus room (there is a technical pool but requires a few specific things that are hard to hit).

 

[RoyIsALegend]

If they REALLY wanted to, they could tear down Elitches or build the facility in the parking lot in ~18 months. No real major permitting or re-zoning issues would crop up. The hold up is getting Denver to sign off on the whole plan which will add a bunch of a mixed use commercial and residential facilities on it.

As I've said forever with KSE, they tied their projects for their teams to ones that make money for their other businesses. You don't get any major investment from them unless their real estate arm gets a slice.

We are likely in the 4-7 year range from the practice facility being completed. I any demolition is done prior to spring 24 with any actual construction staring fall 24 to spring 25. Then 2 years to build. If these facilities even opened in fall 26, I'd be shocked.

Can Ms. Boebert lend us a hand and help out?

 

[Richard88]

If you are under you can apply the overages to the current year. But the Avs aren’t under they are utilizing LTIR and doing so basically eliminates them from having bonus room (there is a technical pool but requires a few specific things that are hard to hit).

Ah cool, that makes sense. I didn't realise that being in LTIR eliminates you from being able to apply overages to the current season. Thanks for clarifying.

With that being the case they might as well ride a 23 man roster if Francouz is on LTIR to start with.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Can Ms. Boebert lend us a hand and help out?

I’ve heard she’s pretty handsy. I mean handy.

 

[UncleRisto]

I’ve heard she’s pretty handsy. I mean handy.

Give us a handy?

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

Can Ms. Boebert lend us a hand and help out?

I'd let her give me a hand...y

 

[Balthazar]

 

[S E P H]

Stream?

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

Stream?

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

I thought Bednar said he wouldn't get any games?

 

[Avs9296]

I love this fken team.