Rumor: 2024 Trade Rumors and Free Agency Thread: Post Deadline

[Andrew Wiggin]

Good post.

I think you made a mistake in your numbers though. With $8.7m in capspace, trading Wood's $2.5m leaves you with $11.2m, not $10.2m. So you have an extra $1m to play with

Regarding your last point, the guys with the inside track for the 12th/13th forward spots are probably Ivan and Prischepov. Ivan started the season well and made the roster, but he tailed off halfway through the season, presumably due to fatigue in his first NHL season. Prischepov is a good forechecker but 0g+0a in 10 games got him sent down to work on his offense a bit. Maros Jedlicka impressed Bednar in camp a couple of years ago too so maybe he's a guy who can surprise. It would be fun to see Stienburg get another shot as well given his physicality. Doubt Foudy or Olausson do much given how disappointing they've been in the last couple of preseasons.

Good catch . Then sign EJ at vet min for depth with the extra

 

[Andrew Wiggin]

Good post.

I think you made a mistake in your numbers though. With $8.7m in capspace, trading Wood's $2.5m leaves you with $11.2m, not $10.2m. So you have an extra $1m to play with

Regarding your last point, the guys with the inside track for the 12th/13th forward spots are probably Ivan and Prischepov. Ivan started the season well and made the roster, but he tailed off halfway through the season, presumably due to fatigue in his first NHL season. Prischepov is a good forechecker but 0g+0a in 10 games got him sent down to work on his offense a bit. Maros Jedlicka impressed Bednar in camp a couple of years ago too so maybe he's a guy who can surprise. It would be fun to see Stienburg get another shot as well given his physicality. Doubt Foudy or Olausson do much given how disappointing they've been in the last couple of preseasons.

True, some of the better prospects are LW or L shot C. I think at some point it is a good question to ask if we are doing some of these players a disservice in development to make a bunch of the LWs play RW?

How you see the ice, make transitions and passing/shooting options coming up the ice can matter to some degree.

 

[dahrougem2]

Anyone else not that impressed by Drouin? I’m sure he stays but I just dunno, he seems like a luxury we can’t afford even at a discounted cap hit.

Drouin was fantastic last season and has been ok this season but remember he has dealt with an injury since game 1, an injury he said will not get better on its own and just needs rest at times. So he clearly isn't 100% nor will he be the rest of the way.

 

[Pokecheque]

Yeah, Drouin is clearly not 100%. There are games where he looks pretty good, others (like the Leafs game) where he's a complete nonfactor. It's a shame, I think he implied it would get at least a little better with the rest afforded by the 4N break but nope, he came out of that actually looking worse.

 

[Avsfan1921]

Also proving to be a good example of why we shouldn't be so quick to judge a trade. Lots of folks thought that trade was horrific for us when looking at Lindgrens numbers but it's not surprising on a better team and a more appropriate role, he looks better.

Unfortunately that won’t stop us from running for the ledge en masse at the next trade. Patience and cooler heads are not this boards strong suite lol.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

Drouin has been a band-aid for quite a while so injuries should be expected. I'm actually surprised he has even played this much for the Avs.

The injured guys should get rest before the playoffs. They are facing Dallas anyway.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

32 points in 37 games. He's on a 70 point pace over 82. I think he's been quite good.


The injuries should only help further to keep his number down.


$3M aav for however many years he wants is what I'd be offering him. A top 6 Forward for that kind of money is simply something we can't turn our backs on.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Drouin has been a band-aid for quite a while so injuries should be expected. I'm actually surprised he has even played this much for the Avs.

The injured guys should get rest before the playoffs. They are facing Dallas anyway.

Drouin reminds me a bit of Burakovsky. Really nice player to have around, but you don't want to pay full price for either. Both have skills that flash greater than the sum of their parts. If on a discount, both are tremendously helpful to a team... at full market value, probably not as much.

 

[Chiarelli]

Drouin was fantastic last season and has been ok this season but remember he has dealt with an injury since game 1, an injury he said will not get better on its own and just needs rest at times. So he clearly isn't 100% nor will he be the rest of the way.

I actually didn’t know he had this lingering issue.

But even his fantastic year saw him put up 56 points which isn’t even really second line production. If Landy doesn’t come back, for sure. But if you have Landeskog, Lehkonen, Necas, Nuke, and Drouin and need to ditch a top 6 wing I know who I’m picking

 

[dahrougem2]

I actually didn’t know he had this lingering issue.

But even his fantastic year saw him put up 56 points which isn’t even really second line production. If Landy doesn’t come back, for sure. But if you have Landeskog, Lehkonen, Necas, Nuke, and Drouin and need to ditch a top 6 wing I know who I’m picking

1) It most definitely is 2nd line production

2) Drouin had an awful start last year but finished the season with 50 points in 59 games after only 6 in his first 20. He was great.

 

[TheForsbergShow]

I actually didn’t know he had this lingering issue.

But even his fantastic year saw him put up 56 points which isn’t even really second line production. If Landy doesn’t come back, for sure. But if you have Landeskog, Lehkonen, Necas, Nuke, and Drouin and need to ditch a top 6 wing I know who I’m picking

I think you are overestimating what 2nd line production is across the league. 56 points was good enough for t-95th last year for all forwards and t-101 in EVP (even after a slow start). If anything his unexpected 200 foot game/low cost has him at one of the best pure values for a forward when he is healthy.

 

[Pokecheque]

I actually didn’t know he had this lingering issue.

But even his fantastic year saw him put up 56 points which isn’t even really second line production. If Landy doesn’t come back, for sure. But if you have Landeskog, Lehkonen, Necas, Nuke, and Drouin and need to ditch a top 6 wing I know who I’m picking

Dude, you think 50+ points ain't "2nd line" production? You take that total any day if you're the Avs.

I guess the silver lining here is that Drouin won't cost a ton, but if he walks, he walks.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

lol Olivier is a unicorn. Toughest guy in the league and he’s gonna score 20 goals. Tom Wilson is the only other comparable. Miles Wood is not.

Yep, he’s not a goon, he’s a good hockey player.

Also, interesting stat…

Tom Wilson, Brady Tkachuk, and Matthew Knies are the only 3 players in the NHL with 25+ goals and 150+ hits.

They are the true unicorns, IMO.

 

[dahrougem2]

Yep, he’s not a goon, he’s a good hockey player.

Also, interesting stat…

Tom Wilson, Brady Tkachuk, and Matthew Knies are the only 3 players in the NHL with 25+ goals and 150+ hits.

They are the true unicorns, IMO.

St. Louis has a couple of those types, too. Holloway needs 2 goals to enter that category and Jake Neighbours needs 6 goals and 6 hits.

 

[Pokecheque]

I haven't seen enough of Olivier's play to really know what makes him so coveted but I assume he has one thing in common with Wilson--he's a big guy who can skate.

 

[Balthazar]

I haven't seen enough of Olivier's play to really know what makes him so coveted but I assume he has one thing in common with Wilson--he's a big guy who can skate.

He's not as intimidating as Wilson was in his prime though. No one is.

 

[Balthazar]

I'd rather give 4M to Drouin than 4M to Colton. I know this much.

 

[Pokecheque]

He's not as intimidating as Wilson was in his prime though. No one is.

I know, that wasn't where my focus was, it was in his actual hockey ability. That's the thing that sets Wilson apart from your average goon. Olivier is more along those lines but not at the same level.

The only guy I'd say that came even close was prime-era Milan Lucic. No one could knock that guy down, I swear both Dan Hamhuis and P.K. Subban tried to hit him as hard as they could, both came away with serious injuries.

 

[Richard88]

32 points in 37 games. He's on a 70 point pace over 82. I think he's been quite good.


The injuries should only help further to keep his number down.


$3M aav for however many years he wants is what I'd be offering him. A top 6 Forward for that kind of money is simply something we can't turn our backs on.

$3m would be great value for the Avs. It'll be interesting to see what Drouin asks for in free agency. He obviously really, really wants to be in Colorado, having twice signed cheap deals to play with and have a daily routine going to the rink with Mackinnon. But he's also earned a pay rise with his play. He'll know that the Avs need to trade other guys (likely Wood and Colton) to make room for him if Nelson gets re-signed. And if he asks for too much there simply won't be any way to fit him in.

If Landeskog is back and playing at a top 6 level too there's a case to be made that Colton is a better fit on a 3rd/checking line than Drouin. Interesting to see how much he gets.

 

[forsbergavs32]

My guess is they end up keeping Drouin. 4 years, 3.8 million. Basically the Donskoi contract. He could easily go grab $5 mil or more on the open market but he also knows he has a great fit here and his best buddy Mack is here, so I think he gets a bump but won't break the bank.

 

[Vaslof]

Drouin needed another healthy season in order to get paid in UFA. He's just too much of a question mark for teams to invest into him. I'd only expect like a 2 year deal if the cap hit is 5M or more. For a longer deal you take a mil or two off and no trade protections.

 

[Foppa2118]

Yeah I think you're right. It's why I've started mentioning Lehkonen as a guy who could be needed in a trade for a RHD. The Avs just simply don't have any assets to win bidding wars with for in-demand RHD's. Unless of course CMac pulls another Toews-for-2 2nd's trade out of nowhere.

I don't think the Avs necessarily need a RHD that's an upgrade on Manson though. Getting someone who's more or less at the same no.4 D level (and healthy/available) would be enough.

Yeah, that might be where we should set our expectations. Perhaps a younger, less injury prone, Manson.

I kinda thought they'd take that approach earlier and then move Manson to free up space, but now with Mikko gone, and Necas cheap next year, they can probably keep Manson, if they move someone like Colton.

If we're lucky, maybe CMac can get good value again, and the pro scouts can target another gem waiting to breakout. Probably best case scenario in terms of trade.

Maybe the real best case scenario though is Malinski continues playing well, comes into his own and proves himself in the playoffs, and they don't make a move for a D man, re-sign Lindgren, and have two second pairs again with Girard-Manson and Lindgren-Malinski.

Really curious how this plays out in the summer. I think that's when they'll set their team for the year. Have a feeling they won't make any big deadline deals with their lack of assets.

 

[Freaky Styley]

Drouin isn't going anywhere. Hopefully he can be a little bit more durable but it also keeps his number down.

On the RHD front I wonder if Crevier from Chicago is a realistic target. Haven't watched him a ton but with Rinzel and Levshunov maybe he's available as I'm guessing they'd want a vet in the mix instead of 3 young guys on the right side. Korchinski is another guy that can be available if they draft Schaefer and we do decide to move on from Girard. Kaiser too. Hawks have a really underrated blueline pipleline.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

Yeah, that might be where we should set our expectations. Perhaps a younger, less injury prone, Manson.

I kinda thought they'd take that approach earlier and then move Manson to free up space, but now with Mikko gone, and Necas cheap next year, they can probably keep Manson.

If we're lucky, maybe CMac can get good value again, and the pro scouts can target another gem waiting to breakout. Probably best case scenario in terms of trade.

Maybe the real best case scenario though is Malinski continues playing well, comes into his own and proves himself in the playoffs, and they don't make a move for a D man, re-sign Lindgren, and have two second pairs again with Girard-Manson and Lindgren-Malinski.

Really curious how this plays out in the summer. I think that's when they'll set their team for the year. Have a feeling they won't make any big deadline deals with their lack of assets.

The Avs can’t afford to have a D of Makar, Toews, Girard, Manson, Lindgren, and Malinski on the roster to start the season. Not with Landeskog there to start the year.

That would mean no Nelson or Drouin coming back and we would still have to dump Colton and Wood either way.

My concern is a strong top 9, top 4 and 2 goalies. 4th line are already under contract and Malinski can have some bozo as his D partner on the third pairing until the trade deadline.

The logical move is Lindgren walks.

 

[Foppa2118]

The Avs can’t afford to have a D of Makar, Toews, Girard, Manson, Lindgren, and Malinski on the roster to start the season. Not with Landeskog there to start the year.

That would mean no Nelson or Drouin coming back and we would still have to dump Colton and Wood either way.

My concern is a strong top 9, top 4 and 2 goalies. 4th line are already under contract and Malinski can have some bozo as his D partner on the third pairing until the trade deadline.

The logical move is Lindgren walks.

I think Nelson is more likely to walk than re-sign and I think they can move at least Colton and possible Wood if they package them.

We don't really know how the off season will shake out. Could go lots of different ways and allow for that D core.