Well, who knows if this is the right place for this post, but it does concern trades.
First, Bednar needs to stop being so damn stubborn He has a very interesting system, but it only seems to work if there is not a single hiccup. The Avs have 2 very interesting players in the fold in Mitts and Drouin. They have seriously high Hockey IQ and can play east / west as well as north / south.
So who do I really want to keep?
Drouin - Mac - XXX
Lehky - Mitts - XXX (I suppose Landy if he does return, but that is a big IF)
LOC - XXX - XXX (I like the Roaring 20s line plus both Wood and Colton are under contract)
Kovy - XXX - XXX (I would not mind Trenin back for one of these slots. Maybe Kivy? Wagner is also signed next year)
Makar - XXX (I simply do not see what Toews provides. He had a good Game 6 but that might have been his only good game of the playoffs. His major, game-altering mistakes number 50+. I do not expect the Avs to move him, but I do not see what he brings that a $2M or $3M youngster could duplicate.)
Girard - Manson
??? - ??? ( If they use Malinski and Behrens, that pair will get destroyed before they truly learn how to play in the NHL. JMFJ might have one more year in the tank as a 6/7, but that bottom pair concerns me.
So here is my open question:
I do not think the Avs necessarily need a complete retool. I very much like Mac, Drouin, Mitts, Lehky and LOC. Assuming that LOC's return will signal better play by the Roaring 20s I'd have to say that they are a good 3rd line or the best 4th line by a mile. So..........
Let's say that Nuke's contract can be jettisoned. Let's say that Landy ends up on LTIRetirement. Now let's say that Mikko does get moved. That is $22.25M in cap room for 1W ($6M), 2W ($5M), 1G (+ $3M), increases for Drouin and Mitts ($5M total over those slots this year) and some decent 4th-liners. In this scenario, moving Mikko ( even at his current $9, not the $12M+ he will demand) allows the team to keep Drouin and Mitts long term, and improve the 1G.
Sadly, Toews has 2 more years of NMC, and young kids, so he is unlikely to go anywhere. That $7.25M AAV is going to dour as if it were ice cream left in the cup since the 2022 win. There is not a human on the planet who can convince me his 23-24 performance was worth $7.25M But I digress.
Assuming Nuke and Landy will not count against the cap one way or another, is it smart to send Mikko packing as well, to seriously beef up the 4 forward lines? An argument can be made that the window which seemingly slammed shut last night could reopen for 4 or 5 years.