Did they though? They essentially hoped to find a budget solution for 2C, and used budget solutions for the depth. Drouin worked out, they had to pay to get rid of RyJo, then finally had to pay to actually get a 2C. None of that screams “proactive”
You can argue about the success/failure of the moves... But yeah you absolutely cannot deny that they've been pretty aggressive over the last year. Since getting eliminated by Seattle last year, the Avs:
- Traded Newhook for a 1st + 2nd
- Traded that 2nd for Colton
- Traded for RyJo @50%
- Signed Drouin and Tatar for cheap
- Traded Tatar within 3 months because he wasn't working out
- Dumped RyJo in 6 months because he wasn't working out.
- Traded for Walker
- Traded Byram for Mitts
- Traded 3rds for both Trenin and Duhaime
That is a f***ing lot of movement. It hasn't all worked out. But they're clearly being as aggressive as they realistically can be, given the situation with the cap they're currently stuck in.
Folks have got to understand the Avs have very little cap space right now. Essentially nothing for that matter. They have just enough space today to fill out a 21 or 22 man roster with guys making ~$1M or less. They dont have anymore room to do anything else.
And sure, if they traded Colton they'd free up $4M in space. Guess what, they'd also create a significant hole in the lineup by doing so. One that would arguably take $2-3M at minimum just to fill it up with a weaker player in that role. And for what, $1-2M additional cap space that really doesn't give them much room to do anything else.
They're in a real tough spot right now with the Nuke and Landy situations, and other teams also know this. CMac alluded to as much just a couple days ago at the draft. Its not fun to be a team desperate for cap space and other teams recognizing this. They're probably trying to trade Colton, and getting absolute shit all for offers in return, because teams know the Avs really want that space.
Also, they did some good things at the draft. Trading down from 24 to 38 and picking up a 2025 2nd is a good move. That gives them some key firepower for the deadline next year. Its a good sign the Avs likely recognize the roster isn't going to be strong enough to win at the start of this year, and will need to add at the deadline again next year. This gives them some ammunition to do that.