Foppa, maybe and I'd take Vilardi and Tippett. Or keep one and trade down with the other.
Half this board will have a meltdown if we have two top 4 picks and don't pick a defender irregardless if there is one worth taking. I can see the "First we pass on Chychrun and then on Liljegren" hot takes coming already.
Hell that will be a hot take if we end up with just our pick at 3 or 4 and pass on him.
Vilardi and Tippett sounds like an intriguing duo. Seems like a lot of their relative strengths and weaknesses dovetail well together. The cerebral, responsible platmaker and the fast, strong sniper. Have they played together on the same line in any international or all star type events?
The meltdown wouldn't be because we didn't draft a D at #3 or #4.
The meltdown would be because we traded Duchene and didn't get any D for him.
If we don't get D for Duchene, where will we get it?
This being the Avs - we'd end up with two top 4 picks...but neither Patrick nor Hischier in yet another "wrong draft year to suck" especially if you need a top defender. Then again, management sees a chance to gain financial flexibility, lose a player whose heart seems no longer in it and can sell the duo selected at #3 and #4 as the "new generation" along with MacK, Ranta, Jost, Compher, Zads, etc.
Would you do it and who would you pick at 3 and 4?
If there was a Jones/Hanifin/Provorov/Werenski in this draft class, then yeah probably. But there isn't.
I refuse to believe there won't be a better option in the trade market. I think there's still a lot of teams that would want Duchene. Get a good young defenseman with upside + a mid 1st and draft a defender there.
In a world where you could end up with a Kucherov or you can end up with a Heard, in the 2nd round ...im sorry its just pure dumb luck
thats why you need as many picks as you can stomach.
Stupid hypothetical question but what would you say...
Vegas looks around at expansion draft options. Lots of depth available at defense. Plenty of intriguing goalie options. Some decent wingers out there. But center? Center quality in the expansion draft looks like it is going to be downright terrible.
Vegas eyes Patrick or Hischier in the entry draft but end up with pick #3. Avs, with typical Avs luck, end up at #4.
Looking for a top line center and a player with some speed and flash they can sell in their inaugural season, Vegas turns its attention to Duchene. They desperately need a #1 center and scoring and having just turned 26, Duchene can be both a short and long term solution. And with a cap floor to meet, salary is zero concern.
Vegas offers the #3 pick straight up. They know they are buying low (after all the two marque center prospects will likely be off the board in what is universally regarded as a "meh" draft anyways) but Sakic is feeling the pressure...Matty's absolute tank job after the trade deadline has made already unappealing offers even worse. Top offers start to become things like Ekholm or Carlo straight up - no Hanifin, no package of multiple top players and prospects.
This being the Avs - we'd end up with two top 4 picks...but neither Patrick nor Hischier in yet another "wrong draft year to suck" especially if you need a top defender. Then again, management sees a chance to gain financial flexibility, lose a player whose heart seems no longer in it and can sell the duo selected at #3 and #4 as the "new generation" along with MacK, Ranta, Jost, Compher, Zads, etc.
Would you do it and who would you pick at 3 and 4?
In the hypothetical and not-at-all likely Vegas scenario where we pick 3-4, I'd say Vilardi and Tippett. I'm not a huge fan of picking Tippet at 4 if that's our only pick, but if we're also getting a "safer" guy in Vilardi, taking a chance on Tippett is smart. If he works out, he'll be a great goal scorer, I'm just not terribly convinced that he'll ever get there.
In the hypothetical and not-at-all likely Vegas scenario where we pick 3-4, I'd say Vilardi and Tippett. I'm not a huge fan of picking Tippet at 4 if that's our only pick, but if we're also getting a "safer" guy in Vilardi, taking a chance on Tippett is smart. If he works out, he'll be a great goal scorer, I'm just not terribly convinced that he'll ever get there.
Yeah. Also hire Pierre Lacroix and I might be so pissed off with this mess that I just might find the strength to walk away for good. So there is some upside to this...
Nightmare scenario is probably underselling it.
I have warmed a bit to Vilardi and could be ok with taking him but getting him AND Tippett would be just too much.
A season should only hurt so much. Losing Duchene, suffering through a season like this and getting those guys in return would make me puke so hard.
I mean maybe they would pan out but drafting two more wingers would just be pure and utter madness.
But sure. Try to build a winning team from the wings out. That always works in the NHL...
I mean we barely have players who are comfortable on the wings between Landeskog, Rantanen, Jost, Compher, MacKinnon, Andrighetto..
Lets load up on this vital position!
If it is 3 and 4 give me Mittelstadt and Liljegren....
Not getting a D for either our pick or Duchene would just be hilariously awful GMing. Especially if it is 2 wingers...
So knowing the Avs, there is a very good chance of this happening...
Especially given that if Duchene leaves, we could use someone new to question over their decision making and limited hockey IQ...
Tippett could make Nate look very smart in comparison. So win-win I guess?
The winger depth on this team is abysmal. In this hypothetical, having the 3 and 4 pick, it is better to take BPA instead of forcing a D pick. There is no defenseman in this class worth a top 5 selection.
The only true top six wingers we have are Rantanen and Landeskog. Maybe Andrighetto if he can continue playing this way. We've been desperately needing top six wingers for years (think about who Duchene has had to play with over the years). Yes, centers are important, but between MacK, Jost, Soderberg and Compher we are OK at that position. As long as one of those last 3 can become a 2C (Soderberg was a fine 2C last season) I feel like we're OK down the middle. You can't just have six top six centers and expect four of them to play wing.
How many "true" top six wingers did other contending teams have when they were bad?
I will never understand Avs fans on this one. It looks like we have had an abundance of good forwards and a ****** defense for so long that fans are comfortable with that.
I mean our top6 depth in the future stacks up very well with other bad teams.
Our defense however is a joke. But for some reason people are always more concerned about the 5th or 6th best forward (who I honestly at this stage of our rebuild don't give a damn about) than they are about our top end Ds...
Landeskog, MacKinnon, Rantanen, Jost, Compher, Ghetto, Greer, Soda, etc...
All of those guys will have to be paid sooner or later. I honestly don't give a damn about our 4th or 5th best wingers right now.
Not with so many questionmarks on defense.
I am pretty sure that Mac, Rantanen, Jost and probably even Compher have a good chance of being on this team 4-5 years from now. And maybe even add Landeskog if he survives the incoming purge.
Aside from Zadorov I am not sure any of our Ds will be here in 4 years.
So I personally would like to adress the big elephant in the room instead of the broken clock on the wall and focus heavily on our D but that is just me I guess.
I have confidence that a more capable front office should not have any problems getting us another top6 complimentary guy or two once we are ready to contend.
Problem is we will never contend with this D and a competent front office is not on the horizon yet so we will probably never find out if I am right.
At this point I very much rather ask Carolina if they give us their #1 (hopefully Valimaki or atleast Heiskanen would be there), Bean (don't really like him but he has some upside) + Gauthier + 2nd for Duchene.
Or maybe Lindholm instead of Gauthier + 2nd.
Would like that way more than getting Owen Tippett for Matt Duchene...
How many "true" top six wingers did other contending teams have when they were bad?
I will never understand Avs fans on this one. It looks like we have had an abundance of good forwards and a ****** defense for so long that fans are comfortable with that.
I mean our top6 depth in the future stacks up very well with other bad teams.
Our defense however is a joke. But for some reason people are always more concerned about the 5th or 6th best forward (who I honestly at this stage of our rebuild don't give a damn about) than they are about our top end Ds...
Landeskog, MacKinnon, Rantanen, Jost, Compher, Ghetto, Greer, Soda, etc...
All of those guys will have to be paid sooner or later. I honestly don't give a damn about our 4th or 5th best wingers right now.
Not with so many questionmarks on defense.
I am pretty sure that Mac, Rantanen, Jost and probably even Compher have a good chance of being on this team 4-5 years from now. And maybe even add Landeskog if he survives the incoming purge.
Aside from Zadorov I am not sure any of our Ds will be here in 4 years.
So I personally would like to adress the big elephant in the room instead of the broken clock on the wall and focus heavily on our D but that is just me I guess.
I have confidence that a more capable front office should not have any problems getting us another top6 complimentary guy or two once we are ready to contend.
Problem is we will never contend with this D and a competent front office is not on the horizon yet so we will probably never find out if I am right.
At this point I very much rather ask Carolina if they give us their #1 (hopefully Valimaki or atleast Heiskanen would be there), Bean (don't really like him but he has some upside) + Gauthier + 2nd for Duchene.
Or maybe Lindholm instead of Gauthier + 2nd.
Would like that way more than getting Owen Tippett for Matt Duchene...
Anyone else see the Hockey News article about MacKinnon being no longer untouchable? He's been playing phenomenal lately and given his still high chance of being elite if not a really good 1C, I'm calling BS. Sakic himself said he's untouchable. They based this article off an Edmonton journalist saying they'll listen to offers. I mean management is pretty stupid, but not stupid enough to trade MacKinnon right? Players like him don't grow on trees they need to build around Jost, Rantanen, and Mack.
Anyone else see the Hockey News article about MacKinnon being no longer untouchable? He's been playing phenomenal lately and given his still high chance of being elite if not a really good 1C, I'm calling BS. Sakic himself said he's untouchable. They based this article off an Edmonton journalist saying they'll listen to offers. I mean management is pretty stupid, but not stupid enough to trade MacKinnon right? Players like him don't grow on trees they need to build around Jost, Rantanen, and Mack.
And Duchene isn't a #1C anymore.