Around the NHL - Part XLV (Playoffs edition)

[Filip Chytil]

Avalanche Journal: Samuel Girard and the challenge of trading team-friendly contracts

Is Winnipeg Jets’ Neal Pionk a better hockey player than Colorado Avalanche’s Samuel Girard?

www.denverpost.com

Another issue is the contract. Well, not his contract. At $5 million for two more seasons, a No. 3 defenseman who helps generate 5-on-5 offense and is a secondary helper on both special teams is a team-friendly pact.
For a team like the Avs — up against the cap and often looking to squeeze extra value out of its roster — trading a No. 3 defenseman on a team-friendly deal is a tough ask. Replacing him with a No. 3 guy of equal or better on-ice value could be cost-prohibitive.
The salary cap ceiling is finally going up in the NHL. And it will be way up relative to where it’s been for the past half decade.
Pionk wasn’t a $7 million defenseman last season. But next year, when the cap increases to $95.5 million, or keeps rising to $113.5 million in year three of his deal? Yeah, that number makes more sense.

Here’s the bottom line: It would be harder than fans think for the Avs to replace Girard. Not just because he’s a good player, but his contract was signed in a pre-cap spike world.
Those contracts are going to be even more valuable in the next couple of seasons. This isn’t just about Girard, either.
Pick another veteran outside the inner-circle core. Artturi Lehkonen? Valeri Nichushkin? Josh Manson?
They’re all signed to contracts that are very favorable to the Avs, given their production and value. Trying to replace any of them with a player of similar talent and value at a similar cost would be very difficult.
It will be next to impossible to do it in the free-agent market, because lots of teams now have lots of cap space. And while the Avs have made some nice trades in recent years, they are short on draft and prospect equity. So trading one of the players we’ve mentioned to fill a hole is one thing, but then making a second swap to replace the guy just shipped out will be hard as well.
Financially speaking, the Avs are stuck. It’s not as bad as that word suggests. When all of those players are healthy, the Avs are still an excellent hockey team. It’s a first-world problem by NHL standards.

 

[will1066]

Thousands take part in Gaudreau Family 5K walk and run in honor of brothers John and Matthew

Thousands of people attended the inaugural Gaudreau Family 5K Walk, Run and Family Day, with plenty more taking part in the event virtually.

apnews.com

 

[n8]

I

Avalanche Journal: Samuel Girard and the challenge of trading team-friendly contracts

Is Winnipeg Jets’ Neal Pionk a better hockey player than Colorado Avalanche’s Samuel Girard?

www.denverpost.com

I recall reading Avs fans complaining about Girard during the playoffs the way we complained about Lindgren. For what that's worth.

 

[Boris Zubov]

Anyone here watch The Whalers documentary? SNY carried it.

I watched about 30 minutes in between Mets and Knicks while doing some other stuff. It was really well done and I'm going to DVR it for next weekend.

A few observations:

-Mike Liut as a grandfather makes me feel old. I remember him as a villain as the Capitals goalie in the early 90s who gave the Rangers fits.

-Ulf Samuelson is a really funny guy.

-I loved the footage of a young Larry Pleau, Emile Francis in Hartford, and the 1986 playoffs. I was too young but all of that was like folklore to me growing up.

-Dean Evanson young is the weirdest thing. He wasn't always a SyFy Channel dystpotian authoritarian figure.

Documentary film “The Whalers” to premiere this Sunday on NBC Sports Boston

The world television premiere of the critically acclaimed documentary “The Whalers” will be this Sunday, April 13 at 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston.

www.nbcsportsboston.com

There was a local showing of the premiere up here in Hartford back in February, but the weather was awful so I wound up not going.

Weirdly it was a one day only thing to celebrate 50 years of hockey in the area. Looking forward to finally seeing it.

 

[LokiDog]

There was a local showing of the premiere up here in Hartford back in February, but the weather was awful so I wound up not going.

Weirdly it was a one day only thing to celebrate 50 years of hockey in the area. Looking forward to finally seeing it.

Man, CT people have so little to look forward to. At least I can drive down the road and go “look! A cow!”

 

[Boris Zubov]

Man, CT people have so little to look forward to. At least I can drive down the road and go “look! A cow!”

I actually have a cow pasture around the corner from my house. Once you leave the shoreline, CT is shockingly rural; mostly woods & farms with 3 random tiny ghetto cities mixed in, one just happens to be the state capital. I'm 10 miles from downtown Hartford & you'd think I lived in Kansas.

 

[LokiDog]

I actually have a cow pasture around the corner from my house. Once you leave the shoreline, CT is shockingly rural; mostly woods & farms with 3 random tiny ghetto cities mixed in, one just happens to be the state capital. I'm 10 miles from downtown Hartford & you'd think I lived in Kansas.

Okay, fine, but do you have the unfathomable excitement of seeing tiny oil rigs in peoples yards? Not to mention desolate, dying small towns that somehow can’t support a 7/11 but have 2-3 mega churches within walking distance of one another? Didnt think so.

 

[Boris Zubov]

Okay, fine, but do you have the unfathomable excitement of seeing tiny oil rigs in peoples yards? Not to mention desolate, dying small towns that somehow can’t support a 7/11 but have 2-3 mega churches within walking distance of one another? Didnt think so.

Our main local industry is Insurance, Aviation & Aerospace (& now Amazon). So the same people who own the cow pasture sold 10-20 acres of their adjacent land to Travelers... so as soon as I go up the hill past the cows, out of nowhere there's a huge office building that is completely out of place with the rest of the landscape. So bizarre.

 

[LokiDog]

Our main local industry is Insurance, Aviation & Aerospace (& now Amazon). So the same people who own the cow pasture sold 10-20 acres of their adjacent land to Travelers... so as soon as I go up the hill past the cows, out of nowhere there's a huge office building that is completely out of place with the rest of the landscape. So bizarre.

When I drive past the nearest cattle ranch, which is around the corner, less than 5 minutes walking, I’m at the old “Traveler’s Inn” which is an abandoned hotel that’s been vacant since like 1950, caddy-cornered from the also vacant train depot. The realtor has put up a real sign - not some hand written, homemade thing - that says “NOT HAUNTED” beneath their number. I’m not kidding, I’ll take a picture this week.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Jesper Fast(h) retired

 

[mrmovies779]

The realtor has put up a real sign - not some hand written, homemade thing - that says “NOT HAUNTED” beneath their number. I’m not kidding, I’ll take a picture this week.

This is the greatest thing I've read online in a very long time.Absolutely Gold

 

[NYRnine94]

Jason Robertson available? Fits in with our other sucks at skating players right?

 

[Filip Chytil]

So, what now?

Could the Stars move someone like Jason Robertson, who has one more year on his deal at an incredible $7.75 million value, to try to recoup Draft capital and free up cap space to once again go big-game hunting in the summer? If so, I’d watch the Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks as possible destinations.

And if (and it’s a big ‘if’) the Stars move Robertson, do we start to hear Mitch Marner’s name attached to Dallas?

The Stars still want to be tougher. I believe if Mathieu Olivier got to market, the Stars would have been all over him.

Guerin made clear during a conversation with The Athletic that there’s a certain price point he’s willing to go to in contract talks with Rossi — and, so far, Rossi’s ask has been significantly higher. The Wild have made two contract offers — five years, $25 million in the winter, per league sources, and a shorter-term offer last week.

While the five-year offer had previously been rejected (after a bridge counter the Wild didn’t agree to), Rossi’s camp has not yet countered the Wild’s recent bridge offer. The sides are expected to speak again this coming week.
However, given that Rossi received the third-lowest ice time of any Wild player in the playoffs (11:08 per game) with most of his even-strength shifts on the fourth line, it’s very unlikely now that Rossi would accept a bridge deal and risk being deployed in the bottom six during the term of his next contract. After the season, he said he was “very disappointed” with how the Wild used him in the playoffs.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

J-Robertson available from Dallas? I know he's slow but id still be interested

 

[will1066]

J-Robertson available from Dallas? I know he's slow but id still be interested

No.

 

[LokiDog]

No.

x2

 

[Filip Chytil]

Drury as GM and Gomez as HC. We could even bring in Redden to coach the defense. Brad Richards as assistant coach.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Drury as GM and Gomez as HC. We could even bring in Redden to coach the defense. Brad Richards as assistant coach.

what a brain trust

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

Drury as GM and Gomez as HC. We could even bring in Redden to coach the defense. Brad Richards as assistant coach.

Roszival as the PP coach

 

[turcotte8]

Roszival as the PP coach

Malik as the skills coach

 

[NickyFotiu]

J-Robertson available from Dallas? I know he's slow but id still be interested

He has legit scoring but do you think we should start looking more for "16 game players"?

 

[NickyFotiu]

Drury as GM and Gomez as HC. We could even bring in Redden to coach the defense. Brad Richards as assistant coach.

I know guys like to joke but who knows. He may turn out to be a good coach.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

He has legit scoring but do you think we should start looking more for "16 game players"?

I guess. I don’t think we’re anywhere close to contending anytime soon. So just a change of pace might be nice

 

[savebyrichter94]

I know guys like to joke but who knows. He may turn out to be a good coach.

He seems to be building off a solid base so far, honestly hope it works out for him he’s a good personality for the game

 

[Filip Chytil]

League executives told Postmedia the Senators have been scouring the market for scoring help after the club averaged 2.67 goals per game last season and finished ranked No. 18 in scoring in 82 games.

The talk in league circles is that the Senators would like to acquire a proven top-six forward who can score either through a trade or on the unrestricted free agent market.

We’re also told the club is looking for a right-shot defenceman because veteran Nick Jensen is believed to have had hip surgery last month, which will require a lengthy recovery. There is no timeline for his return but, by all accounts, he won’t be ready to start the regular season.

Three league executives say a name to keep an eye on with the National Hockey League draft set for June 28-29 is winger Drake Batherson. There was talk at the trade deadline in March that the Senators were listening on Batherson and his name has surfaced on the market again.

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner will become a UFA on July 1 and likely will hit the market because of his lack of playoff success. That won’t affect his asking price because a league executive suggested Marner will command $14 million per year on a new deal.

Marner’s name has been connected to the Senators because he does fit the need for offence.

The belief is that the Chicago Blackhawks would be thrilled to have Marner sign with them so he can play with Connor Bedard. They won’t be alone because the Vegas Golden Knights, Utah Mammoth and Carolina Hurricanes will all make a pitch.

The point is, if Marner gets to that kind of number, he won’t be getting that term or cash from the Senators.

We’re told Ehlers will get $9.5 million on a long-term deal in the open market. That’s a big ticket, and you have to wonder if the Senators are comfortable with that number.