Rumor: 2024-2025 Trade Rumors and Free Agency Talk | The Slow Crawl to the Season

[ANewHope]

And strictly IMO... the difference between 13 and 14m will not at all extend any contention. Yeah a million could be useful, but the other issues on the roster are far more critical than whatever Rants ends up getting. Selfishly I want Rants under 11m and would be very happy with 12m. 3 years from now and only 2 years into the deal... I just don't think it matters all that much.

Probably not but it has the potential to help out if he took 11-12. If Mack/Rants/Makar are still elite than you'll always have a chance even if it's a big long shot. Let's say Mitts really pops off here and the cap continues to rise making his final year awesome value. Richie also hits and you have MacK/Mitts/Richie as an elite C core with Makar as a superstar 1D. Avs could still contend in 2 seasons. Not likely to happen but not impossible. If you take a 2m penalty from the Nuke situation + give Rantanen 13.5 or something dumb than it'll make a difficult situation that much harder.

Realistically someone's going to fall off the next year or two. The Nuke/Landy situations potentially could still be hurting us in 2-3 years depending on how they shake out. Next 3 seasons should be the main focus tho. It's why I liked the Mitts contract and why I won't mind if the Avs give lesser players more term to keep the AAV down.

 

[ANewHope]

That’s the point.

Rants will absolutely get that deal if not more and you’re right, we won’t contend. Also have Cale due for another big raise that can be negotiated in 2 summers.

Our window is closing fast if not already closed.

We had MacK, Makar and Rantanen barely making $15m combined and won 1 Cup.

I can't even think about the Makar deal. I know some disagree but the Avs got lucky with Makar the first time. He's going to cash in big time.

Yeah winning a cup is hard tho. The Landy/Nuke situations really hurt us. Not getting aggressive earlier. Not ideal but could be alot worse. Oiler fans may never get to see McDavid win 1..

 

[the_fan]

If none of them are ready we'll probably sign a bum like Kubalik/Yamamato/Lablanc to fill-in until they're ready or claim a reclamation project.

We can always sign RyJo. He’s gonna be a free agent

 

[MacKaRant]

3 years from now and only 2 years into the deal... I just don't think it matters all that much.

Yeah, probably the only hope to contend in a few years' time is to find contributors like Wyatt Johnston and Thomas Harley in the middle of the first round of the 2026 draft. Ritchie and Gulyayev way outperforming expectations would help too.

 

[The Moops]

Oiler fans may never get to see McDavid win 1..

We can only hope

 

[Chibby]

Yzerman picking him instead of the local boy in Quinn Hughes might end up being the very thing that derailed the "Yzerplan" before it even really started.

I think that was still Holland

 

[the_fan]

Don't worry, we'll get Zadina, he'll look amazing in being a key contributor to a Cup, we will re-sign him only for him to develop a massive addiction to antihistamines

He can develop an addiction to crack cocaine as long as he helps us win the cup


Wait no…. That wasn’t nice. Don’t get addicted to crack cocaine

 

[Hasbro]

He can develop an addiction to crack cocaine as long as he helps us win the cup


Wait no…. That wasn’t nice. Don’t get addicted to crack cocaine

Just dabble

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1828559484656185619

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

He can develop an addiction to crack cocaine as long as he helps us win the cup


Wait no…. That wasn’t nice. Don’t get addicted to crack cocaine

Maybe he'll go for something more exotic, like Krokodil

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

I think it's pretty clear that the Avs are going to ignore the concept of depth and instead go all in on top tier talent. They'll be sending Nuke to Siberia, shipping out Wood and Colton and retiring Landeskog to sign Draisaitl in the off-season. The Avs will only be able to operate 2 lines, but they're going to put up insane stats (because they'll have to since the team won't have a goalie either).

 

[LOFIN]

Guess who will be traded back to the Avs at the deadline for half retained?

 

[henchman21]

Guess who will be traded back to the Avs at the deadline for half retained?

Just like last season!

 

[Tommy Shelby]

When he's ready to call it quits, EJ will either sign a 1-day retirement contract, or join the development staff. Or both

I doubt he gets traded here, but you never know

 

[The Abusement Park]

Guess who will be traded back to the Avs at the deadline for half retained?

I hope not. Love EJ the person but the dude is completely cooked.

 

[Chiarelli]

My hottest take amongst this fan base is that EJ really never was that good of a hockey player.

 

[dahrougem2]

When he's ready to call it quits, EJ will either sign a 1-day retirement contract, or join the development staff. Or both

I doubt he gets traded here, but you never know

Idk about joining. He might be content living in California with his horses.

 

[henchman21]

My hottest take amongst this fan base is that EJ really never was that good of a hockey player.

Not wrong... he had flashes and in spurts he'd look like a legit top pairing guy and maybe even flashed as a 1 in the brief first two seasons of Roy. Beyond that he was more of a middle pairing guy who wasn't great at either end, but could handle minutes. That dropped off into being a bottom pairing guy who could play up when injuries hit. Phenomenal leader though. Not a traditional glue guy, but a guy everyone respected and listened to.

 

[Pokecheque]

EJ was never elite but a good player who unfortunately was well past his prime by the time the Avs were ready to contend. Regardless, I don't think there's ever been a player who cared more about the Avs or played harder for them. He'll have a place with the organization in whatever capacity he wants for as long as he wants once he's done.

And y'all can scoff all you want, but I would not be shocked at all if we someday see the number 6 hanging from the rafters. I'm not saying what I want to have happen, just what I think will eventually happen.

 

[dahrougem2]

My hottest take amongst this fan base is that EJ really never was that good of a hockey player.

He was a good player, and had a couple of seasons where he looked great - especially 14-15 pre-injury. He was pacing 21 goals and 41 points that season and playing good defensively, too.

IMO that injury was the final straw for his level of good play. After that he became a #4 type for a few years then a 3rd pairing guy for a few, to now where he is not NHL caliber but from 2011-2015 IMO he was a legit top pair guy.

 

[S E P H]

There's nobody left that really should be a surefire contract. Just talk PTO's at this point.

Not saying we need him, but Lankinen is a legit backup goaler who should already have a contract by now.

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

Not wrong... he had flashes and in spurts he'd look like a legit top pairing guy and maybe even flashed as a 1 in the brief first two seasons of Roy. Beyond that he was more of a middle pairing guy who wasn't great at either end, but could handle minutes. That dropped off into being a bottom pairing guy who could play up when injuries hit. Phenomenal leader though. Not a traditional glue guy, but a guy everyone respected and listened to.

He's a guy where I wonder how much different he would've been without all those injuries (particularly that golf cart one). He's like the better version of Ryan Wilson where it seemed like every time he got into a groove he would get hurt.

Him in his prime would look amazing in the Josh Manson spot IMO. Just felt like he was asked to do more than he could for a long period of time - there were moments in time where it looked like he could meet that expectation, but it wasn't for a long period.

 

[henchman21]

He was a good player, and had a couple of seasons where he looked great - especially 14-15 pre-injury. He was pacing 21 goals and 41 points that season and playing good defensively, too.

IMO that injury was the final straw for his level of good play. After that he became a #4 type for a few years then a 3rd pairing guy for a few, to now where he is not NHL caliber but from 2011-2015 IMO he was a legit top pair guy.

Yeah that injury in 2015 killed any hope of him staying great.

I don't agree with 11-13 though. Prior to Roy, EJ had talent, but played really poorly under Sacco and was a big part of the reason of the struggles. In the 2013 lockout season, he was horrendous. Roy revitalized EJ and put him in the best positions to succeed... it was just derailed when he got hurt in 2015.

He's a guy where I wonder how much different he would've been without all those injuries (particularly that golf cart one). He's like the better version of Ryan Wilson where it seemed like every time he got into a groove he would get hurt.

Him in his prime would look amazing in the Josh Manson spot IMO. Just felt like he was asked to do more than he could for a long period of time - there were moments in time where it looked like he could meet that expectation, but it wasn't for a long period.

It is a woulda coulda shoulda situation. Hard to really say too. He only looked great with the Blues when he had little structure and responsibility. From there he looked great under Roy who encouraged him to play an aggressive game. When he lost a few steps, that game couldn't really be there outside spurts. Saying that... Ekblad reminds me so much of EJ. Even some similar injury issues. I think that's the ultimate level that EJ could have been. Which isn't a bad player at all, actually quite good. It just never lined up.

 

[Pokecheque]

IMO the Avs missed a golden opportunity not pairing EJ and Barrie at even strength more often, those two worked great together. I realize it made for a shitty 2nd and 3rd pairing but they should've rotated them together more often than they did. And Barrie did just fine on the left side.

 

[Pokecheque]

I don't agree with 11-13 though. Prior to Roy, EJ had talent, but played really poorly under Sacco and was a big part of the reason of the struggles. In the 2013 lockout season, he was horrendous. Roy revitalized EJ and put him in the best positions to succeed... it was just derailed when he got hurt in 2015.

EJ made it pretty clear he despised playing for Sacco. He said once he was trying to carry the puck up the ice in practice and Sacco told him no, you gotta dump it and hang back. That's absolutely NOT how you best use a guy like that. I will never for the life of me understand why Sacco became such a needlessly conservative coach, he didn't start out that way.

For some reason there were a lot of people who classified him as more of a stay-at-home type and I have no idea why. Dude thrived when he was free to skate the length of the ice and generate offense. He was never an elite skater and we all know he struggled to get his shot through traffic but he was very effective on end-to-end rushes when he could build speed. But after injuries set in and he kinda lost a couple steps, that's when his game more or less disappeared.

Also, Bednar had a hard time figuring out what to do with him. I'm still more than a bit irritated that he struggled for so long to figure out how to win in 3-on-3 OT when he had a player perfectly suited to that style of play. Instead Bednar kept going back to guys like MacKinnon who, at least early on, had NO clue what they were doing in the extra session.