Speculation: 2025 Off-season Thread

[Bill Peckerskull]

Bennett gone. They did the bare minimum

Needed to be done. Unlike others, I don't have an huge issue with any of the other coaches.

 

[avalanche_country]

It’s been 3 days and I’m still really pissed off. Usually losing doesn’t bother me this much.

 

[GeoRox89]

I love Stankoven as a player. Man, Dallas just does drafting and developing better than us.

They do but to be fair on Stankoven Dallas had the inside track. Gaglardi owns the Blazers and he was the hometown kid you could see had talent and motor but Covid messed up the ability to scout his draft year

 

[Foppa2118]

This is not a thing that can even happen.

It 100% is and has many times in the past. Don't even need to specifically write it into the contract like the Karlsson example.

We used to hear fairly often about GM's trading a player that may be traded again, and making a handhskake deal with the opposing GM not to flip them to a rival. Players being flipped in season used to be more common.

When Quincey was traded for Downie in the three team deal with Tampa and Detroit, people were surprised Colorado and Detroit essentially made a deal together, and thought at first that Yzerman screwed over Sakic, because teams didn't flip players to rivals for the reasons I mentioned. But it was reported the Avs were made aware and signed off on it to close the deal.

GM's can make handshake deals about anything they want. Doesn't mean they have to abide by it, but then they lose trust among other GM's who will be reluctant to deal with them in the future.

Somebody even asked CMac about this when Carolina traded him, and he basically answered it the way I said he would if asked again.

They could have tried to make a handshake deal like that with Tulsky, but unless CMac was being misleading at the deadline with how he answered, it sounds like they didn't for whatever reason.

 

[chet1926]

About right on that press conference.

No accountability on a damn thing.

Oh boy they found the scapegoat and fired him. Something that should have been done 2 years ago.

I'm literally counting the minutes until 29 demands a trade out if this completely incompetent franchise. There isn't one possible way that he's ok with that little of a change. Firing Ray f***ing Bennett isn't going to do shit. 29 was absolutely over it after the loss in game 7, he wanted big changes this isn't it.

Hopefully the assistant they hire is f***ing Coach Q so he can't be a very nerve racking presence over Bednar shoulder and the second Bednar f***s up, because it's inevitable, Q gets promoted and he's shown the door.

What a f***ing joke this franchise is, have some accountability. Losing like we did requires more than just a simple scapegoat firing. We as fans deserve better than this shit. The goal is to win not lose first round each year.

 

[SirLoinOfCloth]

Losing like we did requires more than just a simple scapegoat firing.

Losing like we did literally only required our PP to be inept. Let's not pretend like we got curb stomped and the entire team is broken. Bennett was the right person to go. Sure there were other issues, including some of our top guys underperforming, and our 3rd line doing nothing. But we lost this series because when we had the chance to put things to bed, our PP was stone cold and/or players made dumbf*** mistakes.

 

[NOTENOUGHRYJOTHINGS]

About right on that press conference.

No accountability on a damn thing.

Oh boy they found the scapegoat and fired him. Something that should have been done 2 years ago.

I'm literally counting the minutes until 29 demands a trade out if this completely incompetent franchise. There isn't one possible way that he's ok with that little of a change. Firing Ray f***ing Bennett isn't going to do shit. 29 was absolutely over it after the loss in game 7, he wanted big changes this isn't it.

Hopefully the assistant they hire is f***ing Coach Q so he can't be a very nerve racking presence over Bednar shoulder and the second Bednar f***s up, because it's inevitable, Q gets promoted and he's shown the door.

What a f***ing joke this franchise is, have some accountability. Losing like we did requires more than just a simple scapegoat firing. We as fans deserve better than this shit. The goal is to win not lose first round each year.

They lost to a team under the cap playing Ceci and other random jobbers big minutes.

Their random jobbers got things done. Meanwhile Rantanen was constantly on the ice against Girard and that from new york.

"Bednar hockey" may have worked when they were by far the deepest most talented team due to some shrewd trades and signings. But the Avs don't do shewd trades or signings or drafting no more (or ever in the case of drafting).

They need to fundamentally change their approach to hockey from the top down.

Teams that go all in and bow out first round to a team under the cap and missing its best player. And there's no changes?

Come on.

 

[Foppa2118]

Feels like Joe and CMac have been reading my posts, using the same language sometimes.

CMac - “We blew three third period leads, and at crucial times, we didn’t execute. That’s why we lost.”
CMac - “Didn’t step on their throats.”
Sakic - “They executed at key moments of the game…..we did not execute in those big moments.”
Sakic - “5 on 5 I thought we played incredible hockey.”
Sakic - “Their power play was the difference for them, and ours wasn’t quite as sharp as it normally is.”
Sakic - “Ultimately, execution comes from the players. We have some of the top players in the league on our team. They’re the ones that need to execute.”
Sakic - “If you have Cale Makar and Nathan MacKInnon, your window is open.”

 

[sethro109]

Feels like Joe and CMac have been reading my posts, using the same language sometimes.

CMac - “We blew three third period leads, and at crucial times, we didn’t execute. That’s why we lost.”
CMac - “Didn’t step on their throats.”
Sakic - “They executed at key moments of the game…..we did not execute in those big moments.”
Sakic - “5 on 5 I thought we played incredible hockey.”
Sakic - “Their power play was the difference for them, and ours wasn’t quite as sharp as it normally is.”
Sakic - “Ultimately, execution comes from the players. We have some of the top players in the league on our team. They’re the ones that need to execute.”
Sakic - “If you have Cale Makar and Nathan MacKInnon, your window is open.”

If I was MacK and Makar I'd want a trade. f*** those comments.

 

[Foppa2118]

If I was MacK and Makar I'd want a trade. f*** those comments.

Nah. Guarantee you they'd take accountability themselves for not executing.

 

[chet1926]

If I was MacK and Makar I'd want a trade. f*** those comments.

Yeah I'd be on the phone with my agents right now, get off this sinking ship.

 

[Foppa2118]

What exactly does this mean about Mikko though?

Sakic - “I’m not going to go into details, and talk about negotiations, but I know his agents…they know where they were at before the trade was made.”

 

[LOFIN]

What exactly does this mean about Mikko though?

Sakic - “I’m not going to go into details, and talk about negotiations, but I know his agents…they know where they were at before the trade was made.”

Pretty much confirms what has been reported by multiple sources, including Nick Kypreos yesterday on his show. That Rantanen's agent was still looking for that 13M when they pulled the trigger. What was new to me, is the timeline of Rantanen personally going to the office and saying that he's willing to come down from their ask, and make the deal work. But at that point they had already decided to move on from him, and they traded him 48 hours later.

Which to me at least sounds like they are still putting the blame on this to Rantanen's agent for asking too much, and they completely ignored Mikko when he personally went to talk to them about a contract. Which, if all of this is true, is pretty sad TBH.

 

[Foppa2118]

Pretty much confirms what has been reported by multiple sources, including Nick Kypreos yesterday on his show. That Rantanen's agent was still looking for that 13M when they pulled the trigger. What was new to me, is the timeline of Rantanen personally going to the office and saying that he's willing to come down from their ask, and make the deal work. But at that point they had already decided to move on from him, and they traded him 48 hours later.

Which to me at least sounds like they are still putting the blame on this to Rantanen's agent for asking too much, and they completely ignored Mikko when he personally went to talk to them about a contract. Which, if all of this is true, is pretty sad TBH.

There's been too many conflicting comments for me to know what to think at this point.

I don't have it in me to go back and find everything, but I wish we had a clear record of all the comments on this. Someone is being incredibly misleading. I feel like it may be the Avs, because they have some history doing that.

Like saying "it didn't get to that point" about letting Carolina talk to Mikko, when either they talked to his agent, or it was relayed that they would consider an extension.

Either his agent or a reporter, reported that they had a meeting before he was traded, and they dropped their price, and in that meeting Mikko said he told them he wants to stay and he was flexible, but they traded him right after.

 

[The Pwnerer]

Man what a whole lot of nothing from that press conference. For the older folks out there which time period was more frustrating as a fan? The post 96 years or the current post 22 years? I would love to know.

I was a little too young to appreciate it but man the years after the 96 win seemed like heart break after heart break until we broke through again in 2001. Those WCFs where we lost to Dallas back to back seem particularly awful.

Would you say those years were worst then current times post 2022? Or does this series loss leap frog any of those years in terms of pain and frustration? Would love to hear opinions.

 

[the_fan]

So there was a press conference and we can’t even watch it anywhere?

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Nah. Guarantee you they'd take accountability themselves for not executing.

They will. Because they are for better or worse, still professional.

The sad fact is, neither the Head Coach, General Manager or President of the Avalanche are acting as such. They are deflecting blame upon the very players they trot out for 30 minutes a f***ing night.

I need to see this interview and Q&A, becaues from what I'm reading of it here... it would be my hope that Nate and Cale both asked for a trade about 15 minutes after it was over.

 

[Foppa2118]

They will. Because they are for better or worse, still professional.

The sad fact is, neither the Head Coach, General Manager or President of the Avalanche are acting as such. They are deflecting blame upon the very players they trot out for 30 minutes a f***ing night.

I need to see this interview and Q&A, becaues from what I'm reading of it here... it would be my hope that Nate and Cale both asked for a trade about 15 minutes after it was over.

You know I respect your opinion ET, and I respect everyone else who wants Bednar fired, I can understand the argument from the perspective that maybe they need a new voice.

But I think the anger and disappointment in those comments, mostly stems from them not doing what was hoped they'd do. Not that they're bad answers IMO.

We mostly all knew they weren't going to fire him anyway. They believe it was the players not executing. If it's not the coach, that's what it was. And they don't believe it was the coach.

View it in the larger context. That post of mine just referenced the comments that sounded very close to ones I made. They talked about other things, and those comments were spread out.

We knew what they were gonna say. I think they more or less said what I predicted they'd say on most answers. Sometimes verbatim again.

 

[AnimalMother73]

Man what a whole lot of nothing from that press conference. For the older folks out there which time period was more frustrating as a fan? The post 96 years or the current post 22 years? I would love to know.

I was a little too young to appreciate it but man the years after the 96 win seemed like heart break after heart break until we broke through again in 2001. Those WCFs where we lost to Dallas back to back seem particularly awful.

Would you say those years were worst then current times post 2022? Or does this series loss leap frog any of those years in terms of pain and frustration? Would love to hear opinions.

I'd say now. In '95 the team was new and we didn't feel the growing pains to get the first cup. The '22 team won the cup a several years later than expected and has been much colder afterwards than between the '96 and '01 cups when we went to the WCFs at least twice during that span.

 

[The Merchant]

About right on that press conference.

No accountability on a damn thing.

Oh boy they found the scapegoat and fired him. Something that should have been done 2 years ago.

I'm literally counting the minutes until 29 demands a trade out if this completely incompetent franchise. There isn't one possible way that he's ok with that little of a change. Firing Ray f***ing Bennett isn't going to do shit. 29 was absolutely over it after the loss in game 7, he wanted big changes this isn't it.

Hopefully the assistant they hire is f***ing Coach Q so he can't be a very nerve racking presence over Bednar shoulder and the second Bednar f***s up, because it's inevitable, Q gets promoted and he's shown the door.

What a f***ing joke this franchise is, have some accountability. Losing like we did requires more than just a simple scapegoat firing. We as fans deserve better than this shit. The goal is to win not lose first round each year.

MacK isn't as weak-willed as you think he is. He models everything he does after Sid and that dude is going to retire a Pen despite some absolutely godawful decision making from the suits above him. MacK is as guaranteed to be a lifer as you're gonna get. It's Cale we should start getting a little nervous about.

 

[The Merchant]

So there was a press conference and we can’t even watch it anywhere?

 

[Foppa2118]

I haven't watched the DNVR version, but I would recommend watching this one, not the one on the Avs site.

That one on the Avs site had terrible audio, too low and only in the left channel, and you couldn't hear the questions.

 

[NOTENOUGHRYJOTHINGS]

Feels like Joe and CMac have been reading my posts, using the same language sometimes.

CMac - “We blew three third period leads, and at crucial times, we didn’t execute. That’s why we lost.”
CMac - “Didn’t step on their throats.”
Sakic - “They executed at key moments of the game…..we did not execute in those big moments.”
Sakic - “5 on 5 I thought we played incredible hockey.”
Sakic - “Their power play was the difference for them, and ours wasn’t quite as sharp as it normally is.”
Sakic - “Ultimately, execution comes from the players. We have some of the top players in the league on our team. They’re the ones that need to execute.”
Sakic - “If you have Cale Makar and Nathan MacKInnon, your window is open.”

Window?

They've gotten out of the first round once in the past three years. And that's mainly due to Helleybuick outduelling Georgiev in a battle of letting in soft goals.

They've bled whatever leftover assets they had after 2022 and have another year of Coyle to show for it.

There's no window.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

You know I respect your opinion ET, and I respect everyone else who wants Bednar fired, I can understand the argument from the perspective that maybe they need a new voice.

But I think the anger and disappointment in those comments, mostly stems from them not what many hoped they'd do. Not that they're bad answers.

We mostly all knew they weren't going to fire him anyway. They believe it was the players no executing. If it's not the coach, that's what it was. And they dn't believe it was the coach.

View it in the larer context. That post of mine just referenced the comments that sounded very close to ones. They talked about other things, and those comments were spread out.

We knew what they were gonna say. I think they more or less said what I predicted they'd say on most answers. Sometimes verbatim again.

Yeah, my disappointment is that I did not believe Joe Sakic would sit on the stage and blame Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar for not executing or performing. You see... to me, that's an unforgivable sin. He threw his boys under the bus.

It is a major, major issue that they believe it is the players fault. They are basically blaming 5 players they play 30 minutes a night for not getting more done. . The only thing new in this situation to me is the fact that Chris MacFarland and Joe Sakic are both 100% on board with the way Bednar is utlizing his players and mis-managing their minutes.

Now, all that being said.... Thank you for the link!!! Watching the Q&A put things into better context. I'm still not happy at all with the conclusion that it was the players and not the coaches/tactics/iceload that were the major issue. I got the impression they flat out said the players didn't get the job done (based on comments here, not on the actual interview). Real big difference between that and saying we failed at special teams.... which is what I took away from the actual Q&A.

Just a random plea... FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!! This Q&A was posted by the Colorado Avalanche. Why the f*** can't you hear a single question? Do they not realize how hard it is to sit there for 30-45 second of silence while someone is asking a question we can't hear and then all of sudden Chris starts talking and we have no idea what it's about for several seconds. When people say Altitude and the Avs aren't professional... how hard is it to put a microphone in front of the report asking a question? Especially since we've seen the Avs media scrums and we all know there is only 3 or 4 people sitting there.

 

[the_fan]

PP failed so Bennett is gone, what about the PK allowing the game winning goal? There is no blame there? The PK has also failed in big moments just like the PP for this team and not just once