Confirmed with Link: [COL, CAR, CHI] Rantanen-Hall to CAR, Necas-Drury-25 2nd-26 4th to COL, Chi 25 3rd to Chi (Ret 50% on Mikko)

Man there's a real risk that Rantanen will no longer be a superstar player away from Mack. If he's not good for the rest of the season in Carolina, they might pass on re-upping him...and the rest of the teams will wonder if he was riding Mack's coattails.
Would be hilarious if he re signed with the Avs because of this and ended up taking less than the 11.75x8 that was offered
 
I wonder if Bednar tries Necas at C before the deadline?

He said he's mostly played wing, and CMac said the same thing, but CMac also said if Bedsy wants to try him at center he has no problem with it.

Reports have been that Necas views himself as a center or wants to play there.

Haven't watched him play center enough to know how he may fit in that role, but his speed up the middle is kinda tailor fit for the Avs. Whether it's Nate, Naz, or Compher, they like that speed up the middle for their breakout, and that's one of Necas best attributes. Speed and carrying the puck in transition.

Also seems like having Necas and Nate on the same line, who both like to carry the puck in transition, is a bit of a waste.

If Necas can be a pt/gm center, it could open up more options for them in trade. Perhaps they switch to looking for a goal scoring winger instead of a center, and shift to the OG Avs model of dedicating their big salaries to their top two centers, instead of dedicating them to 1C and a 1W with a cheaper 2C?
 
I wonder if Bednar tries Necas at C before the deadline?

He said he's mostly played wing, and CMac said the same thing, but CMac also said if Bedsy wants to try him at center he has no problem with it.

Reports have been that Necas views himself as a center or wants to play there.

Haven't watched him play center enough to know how he may fit in that role, but his speed up the middle is kinda tailor fit for the Avs. Whether it's Nate, Naz, or Compher, they like that speed up the middle for their breakout, and that's one of Necas best attributes. Speed and carrying the puck in transition.

Also seems like having Necas and Nate on the same line, who both like to carry the puck in transition, is a bit of a waste.

If Necas can be a pt/gm center, it could open up more options for them in trade. Perhaps they switch to looking for a goal scoring winger instead of a center, and shift to the OG Avs model of dedicating their big salaries to their top two centers, instead of dedicating them to 1C and a 1W with a cheaper 2C?
I also think Necas on Mitts wing makes a ton of sense. They did the same thing for Naz by giving him Bura who was a zone entry machine. Granted Naz was a better zone entry guy than Mitts, but it would make a lot of sense to give Mitts a guy that's just a machine with zone entries.
 
I wonder if Bednar tries Necas at C before the deadline?

He said he's mostly played wing, and CMac said the same thing, but CMac also said if Bedsy wants to try him at center he has no problem with it.

Reports have been that Necas views himself as a center or wants to play there.

Haven't watched him play center enough to know how he may fit in that role, but his speed up the middle is kinda tailor fit for the Avs. Whether it's Nate, Naz, or Compher, they like that speed up the middle for their breakout, and that's one of Necas best attributes. Speed and carrying the puck in transition.

Also seems like having Necas and Nate on the same line, who both like to carry the puck in transition, is a bit of a waste.

If Necas can be a pt/gm center, it could open up more options for them in trade. Perhaps they switch to looking for a goal scoring winger instead of a center, and shift to the OG Avs model of dedicating their big salaries to their top two centers, instead of dedicating them to 1C and a 1W with a cheaper 2C?
Probably not a good idea to put Necas at center since he’s not very good defensively. One of the reasons it never worked with Mikko at center whenever Avs tried him there
 
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Probably not a good idea to put Necas at center since he’s not very good defensively. One of the reasons it never worked with Mikko at center whenever Avs tried him there
The reason it never worked with Mikko is because he's truly not a center lol.

If Necas views himself as such, it doesn't hurt to try him there BUT I will say watching Lehkonen's goal against the Islanders the other night I was flabbergasted at how wide open Nathan MacKinnon was when Necas gained the zone and drew 4 Isles to him only to feed MacK back door. That's the pro of those guys on a line together.

Regarding Biz and that video, I think he's 100% wrong. I think it's the Avs who came in with 11.75 as their absolute max number and if Rantanen told them he's not signing unless they go higher than that, he was never going to sign. No chance IMO they hand him a contract for 8 years and 12.5M, not after hearing CMac's comments about depth.

I think there's a real possibility Rantanen costs himself money this offseason if he doesn't produce at the same rate he was here and/or has a poor playoff performance.

Guentzel went to Carolina and produced at a higher clip than he was in Pittsburgh, and promptly got himself paid. We'll see if Mikko can do the same.
 
Probably not a good idea to put Necas at center since he’s not very good defensively. One of the reasons it never worked with Mikko at center whenever Avs tried him there

Kadri wasn't really that great defensively either though. Nate's not that great either. He has his defensive lapses and missed assignments every now and then.

I think it can work if he plays with good defensive wingers like Val, Lehky, or Gabe if he can play in the top six.
 
Man there's a real risk that Rantanen will no longer be a superstar player away from Mack. If he's not good for the rest of the season in Carolina, they might pass on re-upping him...and the rest of the teams will wonder if he was riding Mack's coattails.

They are saying Carolina might even trade him if they can't come up with a new contract.
 
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Defense wasn't the issue with Mikko at C. Dude just isn't a C at the NHL level over a prolonged period of time.
The reason it never worked with Mikko is because he's truly not a center lol.

If Necas views himself as such, it doesn't hurt to try him there BUT I will say watching Lehkonen's goal against the Islanders the other night I was flabbergasted at how wide open Nathan MacKinnon was when Necas gained the zone and drew 4 Isles to him only to feed MacK back door. That's the pro of those guys on a line together.

Regarding Biz and that video, I think he's 100% wrong. I think it's the Avs who came in with 11.75 as their absolute max number and if Rantanen told them he's not signing unless they go higher than that, he was never going to sign. No chance IMO they hand him a contract for 8 years and 12.5M, not after hearing CMac's comments about depth.

I think there's a real possibility Rantanen costs himself money this offseason if he doesn't produce at the same rate he was here and/or has a poor playoff performance.

Guentzel went to Carolina and produced at a higher clip than he was in Pittsburgh, and promptly got himself paid. We'll see if Mikko can do the same.

Kadri wasn't really that great defensively either though. Nate's not that great either. He has his defensive lapses and missed assignments every now and then.

I think it can work if he plays with good defensive wingers like Val, Lehky, or Gabe if he can play in the top six.
I still think we need a good defensive 2C because Nate isn’t that good defensively and we don’t want the top 2 centers being defensive liabilities. As far as Kadri, he was pretty good defensively in 22 along with his offense taking off. He was actually being mentioned in Selke conversation.
 
I still think we need a good defensive 2C because Nate isn’t that good defensively and we don’t want the top 2 centers being defensive liabilities. As far as Kadri, he was pretty good defensively in 22 along with his offense taking off. He was actually being mentioned in Selke conversation.

Love Naz, but I don't think he ever deserved Selke consideration. He was just average for the most part defensively IMO.
 
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BUT I will say watching Lehkonen's goal against the Islanders the other night I was flabbergasted at how wide open Nathan MacKinnon was when Necas gained the zone and drew 4 Isles to him only to feed MacK back door. That's the pro of those guys on a line together.

When a guy is going end to end, skating this fast and stick handling everybody on your team, you can’t help but have your eyes glued to him.

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Love Naz, but I don't think he ever deserved Selke consideration. He was just average for the most part defensively IMO.
I mean I’m not saying he should have been in the Selke top 5 or top 10 voting , he was 27th in Selke voting that year, and that was still ahead of guys like Crosby, Pageau who are considered good two way centers. I remember just hearing once or twice from some announcers mentioned Kadri and Selke, but that was mostly because of his offensive production, but I don’t think Naz was a defensive liability
 
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When a guy is going end to end, skating this fast and stick handling everybody on your team, you can’t help but have your eyes glued to him.

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Just to add…

The Islanders made the same mistake twice.

On the first goal, they watched Necas gain the zone with speed and all got fixated on him.

For the second goal, they didn’t want him to pick up the speed so 3 guys swarmed him in the neutral zone.

MacK totally free on the first goal.

Drury totally free on the second goal.

This is what happens when teams respect/fear the speed attacking the zone. Necas gives us that second element alongside/behind MacK where teams shit their pants because of the speed.

 
Kyper:
There were reports Rantanen was traded because his contract demands were in the range of Leon Draisaitl’s $14-million (U.S.) annual salary with Edmonton. From what we’ve learned, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Rantanen met with management a week before his trade and reiterated his love for Colorado and his flexibility to work something out. He confirmed that to reporters Monday: “I was willing to take a significant discount from my market value,” Rantanen told The Athletic.

Rantanen, according to sources, even went so far as to let management know he was willing to work out a number under Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6-million average annual value if it was imperative for MacKinnon to remain atop the food chain for the next few years, until the Avalanche have to open the vault for Cale Makar’s next contract.

During their months-long negotiations the Avalanche never really wavered from using David Pastrnak’s $11.25-million AAV as a comparable. That eight-year extension with the Bruins was signed in March 2023, when the salary cap was projected to be $83.5 million going forward. The projections of the cap next season could settle just shy of $100 million.
 
Kyper:

Lol. So multiple reporters have claimed Avs were willing to make him the highest paid winger but Kypreos says that couldn't be further from the truth?

Sounds like somebody's agent is doing damage control.
 
Lol. So multiple reporters have claimed Avs were willing to make him the highest paid winger but Kypreos says that couldn't be further from the truth?
If you can actually understand what you read, Kypreos is in no way contradicting those reports.

Let me spell it out for you: 12.25M for an example could've been what Rantanen wanted, but the Avs were not willing to go there.

Like I said earlier, people can choose to believe what they want (that's what I do). Kypreos is reliable, and has been pretty spot on when it comes to his reporting over the last few years.
 
I am content seeing Mack and Necas play together in 3 vs 3 OT. For 5 vs 5 I'd prefer to see:

Drouin - Mack - Lehky
Necas - Mitts - Nuke
Landy (Parsnip?) - Drury - Colton
Kivi - Kelly - LOC
Wood

In this scenario, the lines are really 1, 1a, 3, 3a and minutes for the top line can be brought down to earth. This is especially true in home games, when Bednar gets last change and can put the LOC line out against the top line of the opponent. Imagine the Mack line feasting on other second lines, and the Necas line chowing down on opposing third lines!!

I would also consider Necas as the Center on that line, moving Mitts to the wing. That leaves each line with a high IQ passer (Drouin, Mitts) a line driver ( Mack, Necas) and a 'grease monkey' ( Nuke, Lehky). Indeed, the third line is also constructed the same way and it isn't a stretch to say the 4th line is not dissimilar. Wouldn't it be terrific to see Mac and Necas speeding around in just 18 minutes of play? The 3rd and 4th lines would also be capable of 10 - 12 minutes, especially considering Kivi and LOC play significant roles on the PK.

This would leave any remaining cap to spend on defense. As others have said, a legit 3D would be nice, moving Manson down to the 3rd pair, then get a PK-ready 6D.

I'd love to find a way to get EP40, but I just do not see it working under the cap even if the Avs could find the assets to pull it off.
 

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