Avs need more possession players, and they mainly need them on the wing since our center corp seems set.
Rads honestly might be the perfect Duchene winger.
Avs need more possession players, and they mainly need them on the wing since our center corp seems set.
Not to put the cart before the horse, but Radulov actually fits the avs needs perfectly.
How many 6 million dollar forwards can we afford?
Whenver I mention future cap issues people always tell me Brieres deal is coming off the books at the end of this year. So all will be fine.
Yeah I don't think that's enough for say a new 6 million dollar forward, and a #2 FA defenseman that everyone want. Plus Johnson, barrie and Mackinnon all needing extensions within the next year. Cap issues are going to be very real very soon.
How do other teams get away with paying several players 7, 8, 10M? But yeah O'Reilly isn't getting the blank check.
I mean team like Philly, Toronto have been getting away with having no money for years. I can't look up exact numbers right now.
The key is going to get a couple more core players on friendly contracts and using guys on ELCs for depth.
I know O'Reilly has to go if he doesn't re-sign but they better have a backup plan. A good backup plan. Can't lose Stastny and O'Reilly in back to back years without getting a good replacement. O'Reilly is doing everything for this team right now and it's clear Duchene can't handle that role.
They have a plan. And the plan...is no plan.
I know O'Reilly has to go if he doesn't re-sign but they better have a backup plan. A good backup plan. Can't lose Stastny and O'Reilly in back to back years without getting a good replacement. O'Reilly is doing everything for this team right now and it's clear Duchene can't handle that role.
Duchene shouldn't be traded. I think he has been the biggest disappointment on the team this season but can't just forget what he did last season. He was a PPG player who might have finished top 10 in scoring if he didn't get hurt. He's a very important part of the team.
I agree about this season though. O'Reilly has been much better. The offensive production is very similar and everything else O'Reilly is doing blows Duchene and his fishing rod out of the water. Teams still have to gameplan for Duchene though and that also frees up the other lines. So he's still valuable even when he's not scoring but just hasn't been as valuable as O'Reilly this season.
Yeah, it's clear that there are several posters on here that could be put in management and do a better job, they tell us every day.
It's not that I want him traded, but it's more a "How is this team going to be built" reason. No doubt Duchene is fantastic and I remember what he's done for this team in the past, but I trust O'Reilly a hell of a lot more out there in key match-ups than Duchene, and I don't trust MacKinnon lol. But I think Sakic/Roy do believe in MacKinnon as a centre, which makes for an interesting decision as to who is going to be the 2C for this club.
There are other factors that play into this, too. Landeskog and O'Reilly have outstanding chemistry with one another and can shut down any line in the league together. We saw what they did last night vs the Gaudreau-Monahan-Hudler line. Bleackley is coming and is likely going to be converted to RW in order to fill MacK's absence there. I just think that this team would be built better with a MacK/ROR combo down the middle instead of MacK/Duchene.
I also think they see MacKinnon as a center but there's no one Roy trusts more than O'Reilly so maybe they'd be okay with MacKinnon staying at wing. Especially if that's what it takes for O'Reilly to re-sign. Hopefully that's something MacKinnon would be okay with as well.
I don't think it needs to be Duchene or O'Reilly. They're both important pieces and we can afford both of them. Duchene has already bought in and signed long-term so he's here to stay.
It's not an option to trade Duchene and keep O'Reilly, it simply isn't. The ship sailed when one signed a long term contract and one didn't. MacK could very well be a RW. Two years he's hardly played C, when is he all of a sudden develop as one? By magic over the summer? If they lose O'Reilly they'll have to bring in a defensive 2/3C. There is going to be a limit to how much they can pay O'Reilly. If they have to trade him they can put that money elsewhere, they have to.
You simply can't say that, though. Just because Duchene signed a long-term contract doesn't change anything IMO. He signed a market-value deal, no discount given to the Avs, he just happened to sign for more term. Given how O'Reilly has played this season, management can't ignore this question.
I'm not advocating for Duchene to be traded. But I am saying that Sakic/Roy have said in the past that if we win a cup, it will be with MacKinnon as a centre. If that has changed and they believe in MacKinnon as a permanent RW, great, I'd prefer that. But if they still believe in MacK as a centre, than the question of "Who can be our 2C" has to be asked. And if we're judging it in terms of playing style and fit, my personal preference is O'Reilly.
Wayne Gretzky was traded. It's not unfathomable to think that Sakic/Roy could trade Duchene if they think that 1) O'Reilly is the better 2C fit, and 2) Duchene can garner a bigger return. They are here to make the team better, not to pick favourites