GDT: NHL Free Agent Frenzy 2024

[TruePowerSlave]

We really do have a lot of question marks going into next season.

Goaltending
Bottom 6 forwards
Nuke
Landy

Yeah, but if the goaltending holds the team will do more than well. The Avs will still score a lot. I just have no idea what we will get between the pipes.

 

[the_fan]

Yeah, but if the goaltending holds the team will do more than well. The Avs will still score a lot. I just have no idea what we will get between the pipes.

I think Val situation and Landy’s health are the biggest concerns. That’s bigger than goaltending. Without those 2 we won’t win anything even if we get great goaltending

 

[UncleRisto]

We don't have a starting goaltender either. No 4giev ain't it.

He got through a starter workload, and Annunen can most likely be trusted to share more of it than last season. You never know with goalies from season to season.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

I think Val situation and Landy’s health are the biggest concerns. That’s bigger than goaltending. Without those 2 we won’t win anything even if we get great goaltending

Nah. We still have some of the best scoring talent in the sport. Mack, Rants, Makar and company will put the puck in the back of the net a lot, how can anyone even doubt that at this point.

It's the goaltending that will decide a ton. Get good goaltending and most nights we win. The Avs rarely fail to score at least a couple, even with a bunch of injuries.

 

[the_fan]

Nah. We still have some of the best scoring talent in the sport. Mack, Rants, Makar and company will put the puck in the back of the net a lot, how can anyone even doubt that at this point.

It's the goaltending that will decide a ton. Get good goaltending and most nights we win. The Avs rarely fail to score at least a couple, even with a bunch of injuries.

Mack Rants Makar can get us through the regular season, in the playoffs we gonna need depth. We gonna need Landy and Nuke.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

I barely even care about the regular season at this point. I know we will finish anywhere from 3-8 in the West.

My concerns:

- Bednar’s usage of the top guys and not having them burnt out come playoff time
- Landeskog’s health
- Getting Nuke off of this team
- Georgiev come playoff time and also not being burnt out
- Rantanen’s extension
- Trade deadline depth acquisitions

 

[Grigowski]

I think Val situation and Landy’s health are the biggest concerns. That’s bigger than goaltending. Without those 2 we won’t win anything even if we get great goaltending

Oh, get used to it. Landy is still in limbo if he ever can play or play on that level again and the russian guy is as good as gone. Either we get somehow rid of him or, and thats the probable outcome, fails another test.

I barely even care about the regular season at this point. I know we will finish anywhere from 3-8 in the West.

My concerns:

- Bednar’s usage of the top guys and not having them burnt out come playoff time
- Landeskog’s health
- Getting Nuke off of this team
- Georgiev come playoff time and also not being burnt out
- Rantanen’s extension
- Trade deadline depth acquisitions

Bold are my 2 biggest concerns.

Bednar playing his top dogs into the ground and TDL.... We dont have much ammunition to trade and bring in quality depth....

Last season was our best shot and we failed..... Beside that one guy derailing another run with his shit.

 

[henchman21]

I barely even care about the regular season at this point. I know we will finish anywhere from 3-8 in the West.

My concerns:

- Bednar’s usage of the top guys and not having them burnt out come playoff time
- Landeskog’s health
- Getting Nuke off of this team
- Georgiev come playoff time and also not being burnt out
- Rantanen’s extension
- Trade deadline depth acquisitions

 

[Alienblood]

We really do have a lot of question marks going into next season.

Goaltending
Bottom 6 forwards
Nuke
Landy

Throw away next year I guess unless fatso takes over

 

[Alienblood]

Oh, get used to it. Landy is still in limbo if he ever can play or play on that level again and the russian guy is as good as gone. Either we get somehow rid of him or, and thats the probable outcome, fails another test.


Bold are my 2 biggest concerns.

Bednar playing his top dogs into the ground and TDL.... We dont have much ammunition to trade and bring in quality depth....

Last season was our best shot and we failed..... Beside that one guy derailing another run with his shit.

The players will be spent by playoff time again , Bednar will overplay them and the 4 nations is in February for some reason

 

[NorthernAvsFan]

The forward group looks really strong to me.

But… it’s hard to fully put together a lineup with the uncertainty around Landy and Nichushkin.

Defensively it’s a good group, but the depth has taken a hit since the cup run.

I don’t know… I think Brannstrom/CDH/Malinski/Behrens and whoever emerges from that group will make a fine bottom pair, but they’ll likely have to add a defender at the deadline.

I’d say second line wing might also be a target at the deadline.

It’s not a team without holes, but even if you only get one of Nichushkin, or Landeksog back it’s a really good team.

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

I'm throwing a hope and a prayer out there that Crosby gets sick of Dubas' shit and forces a trade to Colorado where the return is around Nuke. I think Crosby would have such a positive developmental effect on Mitts (who would transition to wing). This will, of course, never happen though.

 

[tucker3434]

I don’t mind being patient on Nichushkin. The guy had 100 points in his last 107 games with an AAV of $6.125m. The cap rules regarding his specific situation are team friendly. When he’s suspended, his cap comes off the books entirely, no LTIR to worry about, and if it does happen again, I’d imagine he’s headed for a mutual termination anyway.

We see the prices teams pay at the TDL for ~20 guaranteed games from a player. Why shouldn’t we expect a real asset for Nuke?

 

[Mighty Makar]

I don’t mind being patient on Nichushkin. The guy had 100 points in his last 107 games with an AAV of $6.125m. The cap rules regarding his specific situation are team friendly. When he’s suspended, his cap comes off the books entirely, no LTIR to worry about, and if it does happen again, I’d imagine he’s headed for a mutual termination anyway.

We see the prices teams pay at the TDL for ~20 guaranteed games from a player. Why shouldn’t we expect a real asset for Nuke?

Cause he’s a shitty teammate and can’t be trusted.

 

[tucker3434]

Cause he’s a shitty teammate and can’t be trusted.

Can't be trusted, fine. Do we know that he's disliked for reasons other than this? If he wound up on a new team, would he be a disruption in the locker room? I don't think he's an Evander Kane or Tony DeAngelo. I'm not even sure he's a Georgiev.

It'd be a risk, sure. But to a team that needs to make the playoffs and has some extra picks lying around, I could see why it would be one worth taking.

 

[RockLobster]

Can't be trusted, fine. Do we know that he's disliked for reasons other than this? If he wound up on a new team, would he be a disruption in the locker room? I don't think he's an Evander Kane or Tony DeAngelo. I'm not even sure he's a Georgiev.

It'd be a risk, sure. But to a team that needs to make the playoffs and has some extra picks lying around, I could see why it would be one worth taking.

If he had 1, MAYBE 2 years left on his contract then perhaps we'd get a late-round pick for him or something.

But with 6 years AND the amount of money left on his deal, no one is taking him. The Avs appeared to have shopped him HARD to anyone that would take him, and got nothing, not even a "future considerations"

 

[dahrougem2]

Can't be trusted, fine. Do we know that he's disliked for reasons other than this? If he wound up on a new team, would he be a disruption in the locker room? I don't think he's an Evander Kane or Tony DeAngelo. I'm not even sure he's a Georgiev.

It'd be a risk, sure. But to a team that needs to make the playoffs and has some extra picks lying around, I could see why it would be one worth taking.

The guy has shown he cannot be trusted to stay on the ice when it matters most in back to back years now. That's way, WAY worse than being an asshole piece of trash like DeAngelo or having baby mama drama like Evander Kane.

If DeAngelo didn't actually suck, more teams would put up with him.

No locker room is going to want Nichushkin playing a prominent role then f***ing off to go do drugs and leaving the boys high and dry. No GM wants that at all.

 

[tucker3434]

If he had 1, MAYBE 2 years left on his contract then perhaps we'd get a late-round pick for him or something.

But with 6 years AND the amount of money left on his deal, no one is taking him. The Avs appeared to have shopped him HARD to anyone that would take him, and got nothing, not even a "future considerations"

I don’t think the length should matter, especially to a Buffalo, Ottawa, San Jose, Anaheim, etc. If he keeps his nose clean, you’d currently be paying him under market with no indication that he’s slowing down yet. If he does get into trouble, the cap hit disappears.

I think teams will reevaluate his risk profile once he’s back on the ice and they see their place in the standings. It’s easy to have an ivory tower view when everyone’s record is 0-0-0.

 

[LOFIN]

Don't kid yourself, if Nuke comes back and seems good to go, there will be teams interested.

There is absolutely no point for teams to acquire him now.

 

[Mighty Makar]

Don't kid yourself, if Nuke comes back and seems good to go, there will be teams interested.

There is absolutely no point for teams to acquire him now.

He’ll be good to go, until he f***s up again and he’s suspended for a year or more.

 

[henchman21]

Don't kid yourself, if Nuke comes back and seems good to go, there will be teams interested.

There is absolutely no point for teams to acquire him now.

Until he can keep himself clean, nobody will pay for him. Two seasons in a row of exiting in the playoffs with another time sandwiched in between where he got pinched (he was caught 3 times within 13 months). No team is taking on that cap hit and risk until he can prove he can stay clean. Playoff teams won't want to allocate the cap and role that can be allocated. Rebuilding teams won't want him in the locker room.

 

[LOFIN]

He’ll be good to go, until he f***s up again and he’s suspended for a year or more.

Which is basically a get out of jail free card for a team. Because very hard to see him reinstated at that point. He would just sign in the KHL or something.

I personally think Evander Kane had much more baggage than Nuke does, and there were like 16 teams interested in him. Stan Bowman and Quennville will get NHL jobs at some point. Bowman could be hired in few weeks for Edmonton.

​

 

[dahrougem2]

Which is basically a get out of jail free card for a team. Because very hard to see him reinstated at that point. He would just sign in the KHL or something.

I personally think Evander Kane had much more baggage than Nuke does, and there were like 16 teams interested in him. Stan Bowman and Quennville will get NHL jobs at some point. Bowman could be hired in few weeks for Edmonton.

​

Kane never left a team three times in thirteen months due to drug issues.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Don't kid yourself, if Nuke comes back and seems good to go, there will be teams interested.

There is absolutely no point for teams to acquire him now.

Define "Good to go"


If you think teams would have interest as soon as he starts playing games again, you're out to lunch.

The absolute earliest a team would maybe sniff around is next summer. If Nuke comes back and stays clean the entire rest of the year while also having a strong year. Even then, we're talking minimal value. Nobody is going to give up anything even remotely valuable for the guy with 5-6 years left on his deal. Way, way too much risk to even consider.

 

[LOFIN]

Kane never left a team three times in thirteen months due to drug issues.

No he didn't, but he had a gambling addiction, broke COVID-restrictions multiple times, and there were accusations of domestic violence and whatnot. He was toxic AF when his contract was terminated by the Sharks. Yet still, over half of the league were willing to sign him.

Define "Good to go"


If you think teams would have interest as soon as he starts playing games again, you're out to lunch.

The absolute earliest a team would maybe sniff around is next summer. If Nuke comes back and stays clean the entire rest of the year while also having a strong year. Even then, we're talking minimal value. Nobody is going to give up anything even remotely valuable for the guy with 5-6 years left on his deal. Way, way too much risk to even consider.

You guys are seriously underestimating how much risky bets teams are willing to take on perceived problem players.

If Nuke f***s up again, his contract is finished in the NHL. There is absolutely no risk for a team. The only risk would be him disappearing in the playoffs, but do you think contending teams can afford his cap hit anyway?