Avs acquire C Brock Nelson (50% retained) + F William Dufour for F Cal Ritchie + D Oliver Kylington + 2026 1st + Cond. 2028 3rd

[NOTENOUGHRYJOTHINGS]

What really strikes me as the main difference stylistically between Nelson and Mitts is that Nelson isn't terrible at hockey this season.

Long term the Bryan to Mitts to Coyle trade tree may end up being a huge loss in value. But it's so nice to not have two useless lines.

For too long the second and third lines aspired to be below average. Now they're actually good.

 

[a mangy Meowth]

What really strikes me as the main difference stylistically between Nelson and Mitts is that Nelson isn't terrible at hockey this season.

Long term the Bryan to Mitts to Coyle trade tree may end up being a huge loss in value. But it's so nice to not have two useless lines.

For too long the second and third lines aspired to be below average. Now they're actually good.

Bowman Bryant can go to hell!

 

[GoNordiquesGo]

What really strikes me as the main difference stylistically between Nelson and Mitts is that Nelson isn't terrible at hockey this season.

Long term the Bryan to Mitts to Coyle trade tree may end up being a huge loss in value. But it's so nice to not have two useless lines.

For too long the second and third lines aspired to be below average. Now they're actually good.

The 2025 Stanley Cup will take care of fixing that ;-)

 

[SaltySkywalker]

Everyone's overreactions last week was cute. #2Good2Be2Bad

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Everyone's overreactions last week was cute. #2Good2Be2Bad

Love that hashtag!

 

[Islanders100]

Love to see Brock delivering for you guys. 7 points in 9 games and a SO winner. Would love to see him resign with you guys and play out his career with your big boys. Pulling for you guys to win the cup! Good Luck!

 

[flyfysher]

Love to see Brock delivering for you guys. 7 points in 9 games and a SO winner. Would love to see him resign with you guys and play out his career with your big boys. Pulling for you guys to win the cup! Good Luck!

Thank you!

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

 

[RoyIsALegend]

Bednar's speed addiction, blitzkrieg style isn't for everybody.

You better be ready to skate to succeed with him as your coach.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Bednar's speed addiction, blitzkrieg style isn't for everybody.

You better be ready to skate to succeed with him as your coach.

Bednar's system works so beautifully when you have the players in place to play it.

It's wonky as hell when you don't though.

 

[GoNordiquesGo]

like the Canes

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

like the Canes

There's not much to hate. Other than they traded Rants to Dallas.

 

[niwotsblessing]

There's not much to hate. Other than they traded Rants to Dallas.

CMac is playing 10-D Chess. Moose will fail in Dallas (Bless their Hearts) causing Cap chaos for years to come.

 

[cinchronicity]

Well, CMac did the best job he could to go all in. Drury and Coyle have been great grabs Necas could be a significant contributor if the Avs can somehow end the Bednar Blendar. That leaves Nelson.

I think many folks in here are over-reacting with regards to Nelson. He played in a very different system ( well 2 very different systems) with the Isles. Everyone takes a while to get into the Bednar flow. Hell, Drouion even got sat during his 20 games initiation streetch, and we all pretty much love him now.SO...

Let's say that Nelson has a good playoff, but the Avs do not win the cup. Not necessarily stupendous, but better than any 2C not named Kadri - at least in Naz' cup year. What does CMAC do?

1) I love Coyle in the 3C slot. I am not at all sure I would be as happy with him as a 2C
2) Nelson seems to want 4 to 5 years and - I suspect - something at or near his current $6M
3) The Avs have really cleaned out the cupboard this year. I don't know if there are enough assets to trade for a quality 2C

Is CMac basically forced to sign Nelson to 5 years? If his ask is $6M that is $1M less than Kadri got in Calgary. It is $250K more than Mittelstadt. The only FA Centers are Duchene (never going to happen, Bennett and Granlund , the latter two currently playing in States with no income tax which means 6% more money in their pocket dollar for dollar.

I don't think CMac has any options. He needs to sign Nelson to 4 or 5 at a number greater than that which the Wild might offer him ( to come home.)

 

[Tommy Shelby]

Folks need to chill on Nelson. He isn't going to be carrer-year Kadri on the 2nd line, nobody is. He ended the season with a PPG of .68 here, and with the Isles it was .70

In his last 5 seasons with the Isles he averaged a PPG of .79, with a lot of 1st line ice time (he's only behind Horvat and Barzal for TOI/GM in that span)

He's doing fine. He is what he is, and is pretty consistent production-wise, which is infinitely better than our last couple of 2Cs were

 

[AllAboutAvs]

As I said in another thread my issue with Nelson is not his production. It is the way he battles on the puck and how easily he loses the puck while cycling. I was expecting better puck control from him. That's all.

 

[Pokecheque]

As I said in another thread my issue with Nelson is not his production. It is the way he battles on the puck and how easily he loses the puck while cycling. I was expecting better puck control from him. That's all.

He's definitely not an open-cycle type of player, and that's what the Avs (mostly) are. He's better battling down low, getting the puck to one of his wingers in the corner or on the half-wall, and then making his way to a soft spot on the ice to receive a pass and take a shot. To my surprise, Nichushkin did not work well with him in this regard, and somehow Necas did. I think most of that is because Necas does a lot of the puckhandling so that Nelson can just get set up for a shot.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

He's definitely not an open-cycle type of player, and that's what the Avs (mostly) are. He's better battling down low, getting the puck to one of his wingers in the corner or on the half-wall, and then making his way to a soft spot on the ice to receive a pass and take a shot. To my surprise, Nichushkin did not work well with him in this regard, and somehow Necas did. I think most of that is because Necas does a lot of the puckhandling so that Nelson can just get set up for a shot.

IMO that is exactly why.

 

[Hasbro]

There's not much to hate. Other than they traded Rants to Dallas.

They're jerks.

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

Bednar's system works so beautifully when you have the players in place to play it.

It's wonky as hell when you don't though.

My frustration is that he doesn't seem to be able to recognize when he doesn't have the right personnel for that style, nor is he seemingly able to adjust when he doesn't.

 

[Foppa2118]

There's not much to hate. Other than they traded Rants to Dallas.

I don't like how the Canes and their GM do business personally.

The way they take big gambles, and then when they don't pay off, they make a concerted effort to create a narrative to shift the blame away from the GM and to the player. They did this with Guentzel too.

Also trading Mikko to a rival a month later, because he didn't do his due diligence before the trade about whether Mikko would actually sign there..

I also think their coach is kind of a spazz who gets way too emotional, which gets his team too emotional, says things that aren't true off the cuff if it benefits him, and makes hockey more boring than it should be.

Other than that they're fine.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

My frustration is that he doesn't seem to be able to recognize when he doesn't have the right personnel for that style, nor is he seemingly able to adjust when he doesn't.

That's because Bednar is an idiot.

Idiots can still have a wonderful idea. They are just incapable of massaging it any further than the way it came out their brain 10 years ago.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Yeah the Nelson hate makes absolutely zero sense.

His production with us(13 Points in 19 games, 0.68 PPG) is almost identical to his production in New York this year(43 points in 61 games, 0.70 PPG).

 

[Cake Malar]

Yeah the Nelson hate makes absolutely zero sense.

His production with us(13 Points in 19 games, 0.68 PPG) is almost identical to his production in New York this year(43 points in 61 games, 0.70 PPG).

Avalanche fans are spoiled because for years we had Forsberg and Sakic, and then the other time we won a cup Kadri was playing like a 1C. Nelson is playing fine for a 2C. What we need from him is to more often than not win the matchup for his line. He's doing exactly that.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Avalanche fans are spoiled because for years we had Forsberg and Sakic, and then the other time we won a cup Kadri was playing like a 1C. Nelson is playing fine for a 2C. What we need from him is to more often than not win the matchup for his line. He's doing exactly that.

I'd counter that even if we had Gabe all season, combined with a Nuke who wasn't going through the dope show, Mitts was playing fine for a second line center.

By jumping in neck deep on winger salary, we've been asking some extremely difficult things from centers who command a pretty low salary.

It's not been fun, it's not easy and it's not over. But when you go all in on MacKinnon (finally!1!), Rants, Gabe, Nuke, Cale, Toews... there's just not much left for a 2C. Certainly not enough for a stud, prime 2C to want to come here.

I'm fine with Nelly. I'm also more than fine with waiting until after the playoffs to figure out where to go next.

Seriously, if we all new that Nuke could maintain sobreity, Gabe was coming back... and had the chance of being a 2nd line player... would we have had any more patience with Mitts? Man, I know our second line sucked...and has sucked since Kadri left. I just never got the feeling that Mitts quit. I felt his frustration a lot. I felt his defeat more than I wanted to. But I don't think he quit. He was trying, but just not capable. That just proves he's not a superstar capable of doing things on his own. But where was the angst at his linemates not getting shit done either?

Bednar's philosphy of stacking the top line means there is absolutely no chemistry anywhere in the lineup. I think you need to give enough stability (at least one center-one winger) to every line to succeed. I prefer a philosphy of getting duos together. JD-Nate is one. In my opinion, we are better off at even strength with a Nelly-Necas pairing.