Salary Cap: Chris MacFarland - Record as Avalanche GM (Updates In First Post)

[TruePowerSlave]

Let's be f***ing honest: the tight cap situation and lack of assets and prospect pool is what leads to a lot of these mistakes, a lot of which are reclamation projects. It's not a get out of jail free card for him, but we can all talk in retrospect what a horrible trade that RyJo was, or that it was silly to hope that Newhook would become a #2C, or that Georgiev might've found his groove in the playoffs and that with more responsibility they could become a passable tandem.

That's what the majority of this board talked themselves into, at least in one of these cases. If you thought all the time that all of this was dumb, good for you. The majority saw what CMac tried to do with limited assets.

CMac deserves no rope on these mistakes.

The RyJo trade was dumb day one. He was never going to be a #2C, I question if they even did their scouting in this case.

The goaltending was also pretty obvious. Georgiev should have never been on the team this season. Totally understandable that they kept him for the second season as the first went pretty well.

Boards often just hope for the best in the offseason, its the sunshine and rainbows period.

 

[shadow1]

In general (not specifically in this thread), MacFarland's successes have been minimized and his mistakes have been magnified.

2022-2023 was a wasted season, there's no getting around that. When the dust settles on this core, that year is going to stick out like a sore thumb. But I seriously doubt it would've been any different with Sakic at the helm. For as great of a GM as he was, almost every notable move he made came in the off-season. The Avs were notorious for in-season inactivity under Joe, with the massive exception being the year they won the cup.

MacFarland has been the exact opposite of that. Has there been a more active GM? He made eight trades last season. Eight. He's already made three this year (including the Brannstrom deal). For only the second time in this cup window, Colorado was all-in last deadline.

Has he made mistakes? Yes. The minor dice rolls (Brannstrom, Tatar) were converted into draft capital. The major ones (Johansen, goaltending) were addressed. Maybe not as quickly as we would've liked, but the trades themselves ended up being way bigger than anyone expected. Elliotte Friedman was linking the Avalanche to Nick Bjudgstad and Alex Kerfoot, yet they go out and get Casey Mittelstadt.

Over the past month, I've seen so much echo chamber parroting about how "stupid" MacFarland was going to stick with Georgiev. How many times in NHL history has a team traded both of their goalies before Christmas? Or how about traded both of their goalies in a span of 10 days?

I absolutely agree it shouldn't have gotten to that point. But ultimately it was addressed, and in aggressive fashion. Other contenders like Edmonton need goaltending, and they've done exactly two things to address it: Jack and Shit. I'll take the GM who makes a lot of moves (mostly good ones) and fixes his mistakes, thank you very much.

 

[MarkT]

In general (not specifically in this thread), MacFarland's successes have been minimized and his mistakes have been magnified.

2022-2023 was a wasted season, there's no getting around that. When the dust settles on this core, that year is going to stick out like a sore thumb. But I seriously doubt it would've been any different with Sakic at the helm. For as great of a GM as he was, almost every notable move he made came in the off-season. The Avs were notorious for in-season inactivity under Joe, with the massive exception being the year they won the cup.

MacFarland has been the exact opposite of that. Has there been a more active GM? He made eight trades last season. Eight. He's already made three this year (including the Brannstrom deal). For only the second time in this cup window, Colorado was all-in last deadline.

Has he made mistakes? Yes. The minor dice rolls (Brannstrom, Tatar) were converted into draft capital. The major ones (Johansen, goaltending) were addressed. Maybe not as quickly as we would've liked, but the trades themselves ended up being way bigger than anyone expected. Elliotte Friedman was linking the Avalanche to Nick Bjudgstad and Alex Kerfoot, yet they go out and get Casey Mittelstadt.

Over the past month, I've seen so much echo chamber parroting about how "stupid" MacFarland was going to stick with Georgiev. How many times in NHL history has a team traded both of their goalies before Christmas? Or how about traded both of their goalies in a span of 10 days?

I absolutely agree it shouldn't have gotten to that point. But ultimately it was addressed, and in aggressive fashion. Other contenders like Edmonton need goaltending, and they've done exactly two things to address it: Jack and Shit. I'll take the GM who makes a lot of moves (mostly good ones) and fixes his mistakes, thank you very much.

BRAVO!

I know this board in general trends negative, but the narrative that he's made more bad moves than good is counter to reality.

I'll tell you one thing that irks me about the "MacFarland was stupid to stick with Georgiev". I have yet to hear a single realistic trade proposal where they could have moved Georgiev in the offseason without having to pay to get rid of him. I'd also like to hear proposals about who the starter should have been instead.

 

[CobraAcesS]

BRAVO!

I know this board in general trends negative, but the narrative that he's made more bad moves than good is counter to reality.

I'll tell you one thing that irks me about the "MacFarland was stupid to stick with Georgiev". I have yet to hear a single realistic trade proposal where they could have moved Georgiev in the offseason without having to pay to get rid of him. I'd also like to hear proposals about who the starter should have been instead.

I get why they didn't, he rebounded in the playoffs and things were tight. Plus I don't blame them for hoping for growth not regression from Annunen.

I wanted him gone, but as you say there wasn't an obvious fit. I figured they'd try to upgrade possibly and knew he was a question mark. The evidence in that is no contract extension.

They've gone though Hepple and Klippenstein in pretty rapid succession. That at least indicates they are well aware the drafting isn't good enough and finally trying to take steps to fix that, though I can't say that whatever they're doing are the right moves, they're moves nonetheless. I'm still flabbergasted they let Pracey have another draft after the throwdown they had with him in 2013.

I'm also glad there's been a philosophical shift at least in terms of drafting a goddamn goaltender. They're FINALLY actually giving a f***, though again, I question their actual ability to get the job done.

So...I'm at a 3 right now. There are so many aspects to this job and to be sure, MacFarland has made his share of mistakes already. He was put in a tough position, what with a Cup-winning roster and very little cap space to work with, but even then he's made some bad decisions. Nevertheless I think he's done some good things to try and make up for them, we will see if it ends up being enough.

I will most certainly take this over what I'm watching in New York. There might have been some scrambling taking place in Ball Arena's front office to be sure, but it's nothing compared to the full-blown panic taking place in Madison Square Garden, and the ham-fisted way that Drury has been handling players (notably Goodrow and Trouba) has just been baffling to me. If he thought that was going to serve as motivation for the rest of the roster, well, it ain't workin'.

Yeah, I do not have a grass is greener view of him yet. He has proven he can, and will fix his mistakes.

It's legit scary to think about having some of these GMs, and Mr Y is on that list too lol.

Some good some bad, definition of #3.

I fully believe he has as many 4s and 5s as he does still because people forget, don't care, or don't know they can change it lol.

I dropped him from 4 to 3 just recently after seeing how the offseason went.

 

[pockets]

I'm going back up to 2. I'm still not a fan of CMac but got to give him credit for acknowledging the shit show in net and aggressively attempting to fix it. Let's hope he continues this trend and has a good TDL.

 

[Vaslof]

Fun hot takes from Finnish mag:

Avs won't make the playoffs, or if they will, they won't stand a chance in the playoffs.
MacFarland is panic trading and terrorizing future chances.
Trading Annunen was bad beyond belief.
Blackwood trade will also be regretted because he isn't much of an improvement over Georgiev.

 

[Pokecheque]

Fun hot takes from Finnish mag:

Avs won't make the playoffs, or if they will, they won't stand a chance in the playoffs.
MacFarland is panic trading and terrorizing future chances.
Trading Annunen was bad beyond belief.
Blackwood trade will also be regretted because he isn't much of an improvement over Georgiev.

They really think that highly of Justus?

 

[expatriatedtexan]

They really think that highly of Justus?

Not sure what to think of their talent evaluation. They said Blackwood is not much of an impovement over Georgiev. Alright. I'll still take the small improvement from -6.44 GSAA to 3.45.

A 9.89 increase in GSAA is not much of an improvement?

 

[the_fan]

Fun hot takes from Finnish mag:

Avs won't make the playoffs, or if they will, they won't stand a chance in the playoffs.
MacFarland is panic trading and terrorizing future chances.
Trading Annunen was bad beyond belief.
Blackwood trade will also be regretted because he isn't much of an improvement over Georgiev.

Did Ismo wrote this?

 

[Pokecheque]

I'm actually lowering my 3 to a 2.

The fact is, between Bednar's (and I guess it's also Pratt's) bad PK system that requires faster-skating defensemen on it, and the fact that MacFarland keeps getting bargain bin depth defenders and about the same exact knock on every one of them is "they can't kill penalties," we're still seeing Cale Makar played into the ground. It's as much the fault of the GM as it is the coach IMO.

 

[the_fan]

I'm actually lowering my 3 to a 2.

The fact is, between Bednar's (and I guess it's also Pratt's) bad PK system that requires faster-skating defensemen on it, and the fact that MacFarland keeps getting bargain bin depth defenders and about the same exact knock on every one of them is "they can't kill penalties," we're still seeing Cale Makar played into the ground. It's as much the fault of the GM as it is the coach IMO.

In CMac’s defense, it’s not his fault that Toews hasn’t been himself because he’s not 100% and playing injured. Also not his fault that Manson got injured, Girard can be good and bad depends on the day. If you look at it that way, we need a complete new blueline. Pretty much keep Makar and replace everyone else which is not realistic

 

[expatriatedtexan]

In CMac’s defense, it’s not his fault that Toews hasn’t been himself because he’s not 100% and playing injured. Also not his fault that Manson got injured, Girard can be good and bad depends on the day. If you look at it that way, we need a complete new blueline. Pretty much keep Makar and replace everyone else which is not realistic

No, it's his fault for signing an aging defensemen to a 7 year - 7M contract that didn't kick in until the dude was 30. This is going to be Devon Toews lot in life moving forward and it was forseen. This contract is already tasting sour.

 

[the_fan]

No, it's his fault for signing an aging defensemen to a 7 year - 7M contract that didn't kick in until the dude was 30. This is going to be Devon Toews lot in life moving forward and it was forseen. This contract is already tasting sour.

Can you really blame CMac for re-signing Toews? He’s been so good for the Avs, and it was either giving that contract or he was gonna walk as a UFA. If we lost Toews to free agency, CMac would get a lot more criticism

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Can you really blame CMac for re-signing Toews? He’s been so good for the Avs, and it was either giving that contract or he was gonna walk as a UFA. If we lost Toews to free agency, CMac would get a lot more criticism

Yes, I can and do. He should have traded him. Devon Toews could have been the center piece of our 2C deal and it would have been solved much earlier.

 

[the_fan]

Yes, I can and do. He should have traded him. Devon Toews could have been the center piece of our 2C deal.

And then who would replace Toews on top pair? I guess it would have to be Byram and maybe it would work, but again, Byram is a good young player but he’s not Toews defensively

 

[expatriatedtexan]

And then who would replace Toews on top pair? I guess it would have to be Byram and maybe it would work, but again, Byram is a good young player but he’s not Toews defensively

Dude... Ryan f***ing Graves looked like a mini-god next to Cale. Getting him a partner is not hard. I argue that Toews play is actually holding Makar back. He looked much better with Girard.

 

[the_fan]

Dude... Ryan f***ing Graves looked like a mini-god next to Cale. Getting him a partner is not hard. I argue that Toews play is actually holding Makar back. He looked much better with Girard.

Toews is playing with injury and he’s not 100%. They just have to fix whatever injury he has to get him to 100%

 

[Foppa2118]

Can you really blame CMac for re-signing Toews? He’s been so good for the Avs, and it was either giving that contract or he was gonna walk as a UFA. If we lost Toews to free agency, CMac would get a lot more criticism

IMO the best move, both short term, and long term, would have been to keep Toews for the Cup run and then let him walk. Stay patient and keep Byram and trade G for a stop gap 2C.

Try to trade for Oleksiak or someone like him to pair with Makar and help him defend the front of the net. Then let Byram play his game and lead the 2nd pair with Manson.

That $7M (plus G's $5M) could have been used to spend more than league min on the 3rd pair, and/or the bottom 6, and/or the goalies. Or been able to keep both Val and Landy in the current lineup.

You maintain both your depth, and quality of players on the team, and you extend your window with a good young two way D core, with that approach.

Devon is a very good defenseman, and still a good second pair defenseman, but as an anchor for Cale to do his thing, he has to play near perfect hockey with his style, and that's a tough bar for him these days. Lost coverage, not tying up sticks, and defending the front of the net are an issue for him occasionally, and that's a problem on the top pair, of a top heavy D core especially.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Toews is playing with injury and he’s not 100%. They just have to fix whatever injury he has to get him to 100%

He's going to be always injured because he's on the wrong side of 30. That's what I'm saying. This is not unique, this is going to be his lot in life.

And with that last line, I've come full circle with my first post in this conversation. I'm certainly not going to change your mind, you are certainly not going to change mine. I do however, offer you last word and then I'm moving on. I doubt anyone else is really interested in this conversation other than us (probalby because I am an outlier on the topic).

 

[Foppa2118]

Toews is playing with injury and he’s not 100%. They just have to fix whatever injury he has to get him to 100%

Maybe, maybe not, but he hasn't been inured for three years since the Cup run, and most of that time he's had some issues. If he has been injured the whole time that might be an even bigger problem.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Maybe, maybe not, but he hasn't been inured for three years since the Cup run, and most of that time he's had some issues. If he has been injured the whole time that might be an even bigger problem.

I honestly believe you'll see Devon's reputation take a hit during the Four Nations Tournament. There will be a lot more eyeballs glued to him. I'll be very interested to see how long they keep Toews-Makar together. It's be insanity to not start with them.

But seriously.... If you are Jon Cooper and you have Makar, Toews, Theodore, Pietrangelo, Morrissey, Parayko and Sanheim after you kick Don Sweeney in the nuts, how would pair them up?

 

[the_fan]

Can’t just start trading everyone because they haven’t been the same since the cup run. Other than Makar, no one else on that blueline has been the same since the cup run. Byram is gone who was really good in the cup run but wasn’t the same after that, same with Manson and Toews. Girard wasn’t even there for the cup run. So we should just trade everyone except Makar?

 

[Foppa2118]

Can’t just start trading everyone because they haven’t been the same since the cup run. Other than Makar, no one else on that blueline has been the same since the cup run. Byram is gone who was really good in the cup run but wasn’t the same after that, same with Manson and Toews. Girard wasn’t even there for the cup run. So we should just trade everyone except Makar?

Bo was 22 and basically in his sophomore season in terms of regular seasons games played. He had plenty of upside and had already proven he could play well in the most pressure packed and most important time of the season. Much more likely that was an indicator of his ability doing it at such a young age, than it was a fluke.

Manson's only issue is staying healthy. Aside from that he plays his role pretty well.

Ideally they'd keep everyone, and let their play determine how far up the depth chart they play, but in the cap world you have to make decisions.

Their current decision to keep Toews and G, who have their occasional issues themselves, has forced them to go with a league min bottom pair and cheap goalies. All of this has been the biggest reasons they've struggled post Cup, and why they've lost in the playoffs. Also why they probably can't afford both Val and Gabe on the same team.

Both paths have their risks, but they shortened their window going this path, and so far it hasn't worked the way they thought it would.

 

[the_fan]

Bo was 22 and basically in his sophomore season in terms of regular seasons games played. He had plenty of upside and had already proven he could play well in the most pressure packed and most important time of the season. Much more likely that was an indicator of his ability doing it at such a young age, than it was a fluke.

Manson's only issue is staying healthy. Aside from that he plays his role pretty well.

Ideally they'd keep everyone, and let their play determine how far up the depth chart they play, but in the cap world you have to make decisions.

Their current decision to keep Toews and G, who have their occasional issues themselves, has forced them to go with a league min bottom pair and cheap goalies. All of this has been the biggest reasons they've struggled post Cup, and why they've lost in the playoffs. Also why they probably can't afford both Val and Gabe on the same team.

Both paths have their risks, but they shortened their window going this path, and so far it hasn't worked the way they thought it would.

The thing is, if you trade Toews for someone cheaper, you gonna downgrade the defense while gaining cap space. I mean we’re not rebuilding. The same issues was with the goalies we had. We had 2 cheap goalies and we saw what happened. Now we’ve upgraded in net but have to pay more money to both goalies. That’s how it is. If you want to have a good team you have to pay more money. Toews just needs to get healthy and we need Manson back

 

[Foppa2118]

The thing is, if you trade Toews for someone cheaper, you gonna downgrade the defense while gaining cap space. I mean we’re not rebuilding. The same issues was with the goalies we had. We had 2 cheap goalies and we saw what happened. Now we’ve upgraded in net but have to pay more money to both goalies. That’s how it is. If you want to have a good team you have to pay more money. Toews just needs to get healthy and we need Manson back

I think my argument is the alternative path gives them more money to upgrade on other areas, like the defensive depth, and goalies. I've always preferred the path I'm suggeting.

I'm not sure Toews just needs to get healthy, unless he's played injured for almost three years now.

It's not that Toews sucks, it's that the top pair has a certain level of play he needs to be capable of, and even more so when paired with Cale playing as a rover at times, and it's even more important when you lack quality on some of the other pairs.

With his level of play post Cup, and him getting further and further away from 30 every year, it's less and less likely he can gt back to that level of play. They placed a big gamble on him, and so far it hasn't worked out. And that's just in terms of him. Keeping him has other impacts on the team as I mentioned.

I respect that you see things differently though.