I don't even dislike Jones, and still think he'd be a great player in Colorado (as I thought before he was traded to Chicago). But while I recognize the whole RFA vs. UFA contract thing, I don't think the Avs care to mess up their cap structure by bringing in a defenseman who makes more than Makar, and they can't really afford to pay the right side of their top four $18.5+ million for the next 6+ years anyways. Certainly not with key UFAs upcoming this year that will require some replacement (Kadri, Nuke, Burakovsky), and MacK shortly after that. The Avs' defense will be fine in terms of top end talent with Toews and Makar on the top pairing. If they bring in a defender, they'd be fine with a big #4 calibre RHD IMO. They don't need to go for broke on the back end -- especially with bigger needs elsewhere.
