Rumor: 2024-2025 Trade Rumors and Free Agency - Offseason Edition

[henchman21]

Again, though, you play him with Landeskog who is more than capable of doing what Benn did, probably even better than Benn. This team is planning for Landeskog to return so might as well game plan for that. If Landeskog can't play, well, we're f***ed next season anyways.

Bednar had a 3rd line of Newhook - Compher - Burakovsky at one point and was fine with it. I'm sure a player like Ritchie isn't going to drive him to the brink of insanity and demanding the kid be sent back to junior.

To me, having a Landeskog - Ritchie - LOC 3rd line and keeping Drouin is the far superior option to keeping Ross Colton and letting Drouin walk.

They made moves to get away from that sort of 3rd line. Bednar has a preference for sure. I can understand the merit in changing styles (actually would be my preference to change up the style), but the Avs built this style up in the mold they prefer.

Compher played more of the style north south style. He’s the exception on that line.

On the human element side of it, if you are clean for over 2 years, probably a good bet that you will stay sober. Especially since we are apparently talking about painkillers and not party drugs.

There are teams desperate for talent in the NHL.

I wouldn’t say that at all. Most of the people in my life who have had addiction issues have relapsed and quite a few after a number of years sober.

Talent is absolutely at a premium. Which is why if he’s available for a year on a cheapish deal, many teams will be after him. Signing up for his current deal just won’t happen.

 

[dahrougem2]

They made moves to get away from that sort of 3rd line. Bednar has a preference for sure. I can understand the merit in changing styles (actually would be my preference to change up the style), but the Avs built this style up in the mold they prefer.

Compher played more of the style north south style. He’s the exception on that line.

Sure, and they can make moves to get back to that style of 3rd line if Bednar learns from his mistakes. It was clear Colton needed LOC for his line to thrive. Kiviranta being a poor man's version helped but wasn't good enough.

If my 3C needs that much help to hold his own on a line, I don't want him making 4M. They should move on before July 1st.

 

[henchman21]

Sure, and they can make moves to get back to that style of 3rd line if Bednar learns from his mistakes. It was clear Colton needed LOC for his line to thrive. Kiviranta being a poor man's version helped but wasn't good enough.

If my 3C needs that much help to hold his own on a line, I don't want him making 4M. They should move on before July 1st.

I don’t think they will change back as they made it a point to target this style in Colton and Wood.

Compher needed just as much on a cap hit similar percentage wise. Colton is making less than the average 3C at 4m. His replacement will be more expensive. Ritchie won’t be a legit option for that role as it won’t fit the style they clearly want.

 

[lionsDen]

He won’t be at that stage for the entire contract. If he cleans up for 2 years then relapses, it likely starts all over. Which presents a large risk for a team to take on the contract.

We just know 6 months at minimum.

They don’t make the stages permanent? I’m not to familiar how all this works

 

[henchman21]

They don’t make the stages permanent? I’m not to familiar how all this works

Why would the NHLPA agree to that?

 

[dahrougem2]

I don’t think they will change back as they made it a point to target this style in Colton and Wood.

Compher needed just as much on a cap hit similar percentage wise. Colton is making less than the average 3C at 4m. His replacement will be more expensive. Ritchie won’t be a legit option for that role as it won’t fit the style they clearly want.

Then maybe the Avs DO need a different coach, because it's insanely stupid to want 3rd and 4th lines that play north/south crash and bang hockey but the top six plays the polar opposite.

The Avs looked their best ever when they had a fast, skilled 3rd line. Bednar needs to realize that.

 

[The Moops]

Go get the best goalie available.
Georgiev wasn't the problem necessarily but also not a + either.
A star in net is the only way I see this team having a shot at contending again.

We aren't going to win many games where we can't score more than a goal

 

[Lonewolfe2015]

At the presser yesterday not only Bednar said that Landy wasn't close to come back, but didn't sound convinced that Landy will come back at all.

Given how close he should be to the situation, that doesn't sound very good. Does anyone have any idea how much longer this could be going on without resolution? Will we know next season for sure?

 

[henchman21]

Then maybe the Avs DO need a different coach, because it's insanely stupid to want 3rd and 4th lines that play north/south crash and bang hockey but the top six plays the polar opposite.

The Avs looked their best ever when they had a fast, skilled 3rd line. Bednar needs to realize that.

Seems to be what he wants. They could have built a line around Newhook as a 3C but simply chose not to do so. Not that I think Newhook is the right guy, but they could have easily built that way last summer.

Ritchie isn’t fast. The idea of pairing him up with Landy would have two guys who are not high end skaters (even assuming Landy recovers). Skilled line, absolutely. That wouldn’t be a fast line though.

 

[Balthazar]

Given how close he should be to the situation, that doesn't sound very good. Does anyone have any idea how much longer this could be going on without resolution? Will we know next season for sure?

Who knows. Bednar basically had Landy and Nuke in the same "uncertainty" basket.

 

[lionsDen]

On the human element side of it, if you are clean for over 2 years, probably a good bet that you will stay sober. Especially since we are apparently talking about painkillers and not party drugs.

There are teams desperate for talent in the NHL.

Did anything surface about what he was having an issue with or is it a guess

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Why would the NHLPA agree to that?

I'll be honest. I think a bigger question should be why would a doctor agree to such a program, sign off on it and participate? It sounds completely counter-productive to the idea of recovery and sobriety.

 

[MacKaRant]

You shouldn’t force stylistic changes on talented players. It almost never ends well. It isn’t about defense… it is about style. Bednar likes pace and physicality in his bottom 6. North south hockey. Not skill and slow it down.

This is the part I don't get, I've always thought that the lack of 3 scoring lines of on the Avs was due to cap constraints more than anything else. Let's say CMac gives Bednar the same amount of depth of Dallas, a team with three legitimate scoring lines. Is Bednar going to go back to CMac and say, "Trade some of these skilled players, I want more low IQ, north-south plugs!"

 

[Linds]

Landy is done. Who gets the C? MacK or Makar?

 

[henchman21]

This is the part I don't get, I've always thought that the lack of 3 scoring lines of on the Avs was due to cap constraints more than anything else. Let's say CMac gives Bednar the same amount of depth of Dallas, a team with three legitimate scoring lines. Is Bednar going to go back to CMac and say, "Trade some of these skilled players, I want more low IQ, north-south plugs!"

They targeted a lot of guys who fit that exact description and even signed a couple long term. Avs don’t particularly value iq much especially down the lineup.

 

[Pokecheque]

On the human element side of it, if you are clean for over 2 years, probably a good bet that you will stay sober. Especially since we are apparently talking about painkillers and not party drugs.

There are teams desperate for talent in the NHL.

Relapse can happen anytime, anywhere. That’s the tough part about addiction. You can get through the physical part of addiction and it goes away. The mental part never does. And what’s more, the very moment an addict relapses, their bodies immediately snap right back into an addicted state. Doesn’t matter if it’s two years or twenty years down the road, it can always happen.

 

[dahrougem2]

Seems to be what he wants. They could have built a line around Newhook as a 3C but simply chose not to do so. Not that I think Newhook is the right guy, but they could have easily built that way last summer.

Ritchie isn’t fast. The idea of pairing him up with Landy would have two guys who are not high end skaters (even assuming Landy recovers). Skilled line, absolutely. That wouldn’t be a fast line though.

Meh, I think the Avs realized Newhook straight up can't play center and didn't want him in a top-six wing role because he wasn't better than the guys they had.

Landy skates fine, and if he does recover he's not a skating liability. I don't expect Ritchie to be, either. The line wouldn't burn, it also wouldn't be slow.

 

[Avs9296]

I don’t think they will change back as they made it a point to target this style in Colton and Wood.

Compher needed just as much on a cap hit similar percentage wise. Colton is making less than the average 3C at 4m. His replacement will be more expensive. Ritchie won’t be a legit option for that role as it won’t fit the style they clearly want.

That is absolutely untrue about Colton being paid LESS than the average 3C. Colton is the 64th highest paid center in the league. There are 32 teams in the league. Meaning he makes the money of a low end 2C or a high end 3C.

Secondly you say Bednar likes his 3rd line to be a hard nose, north south line. That isn't true either.

Did you forget our third line in 2022 playoffs when we won the cup was Burakovsky-Compher-NAK?

Hardly a crash and bang, north south line.

 

[henchman21]

That is absolutely untrue about Colton being paid LESS than the average 3C. Colton is the 64th highest paid center in the league. There are 32 teams in the league. Meaning he makes the money of a low end 2C or a high end 3C.

Secondly you say Bednar likes his 3rd line to be a hard nose, north south line. That isn't true either.

Did you forget our third line in 2022 playoffs when we won the cup was Burakovsky-Compher-NAK?

Hardly a crash and bang, north south line.

Plenty of top 6Cs are in ELC or bridge contracts. You can’t just divide that down the line. Colton is very comparable to other 3Cs around the league. Good 3Cs like Gourde and JGP are mid 5s.


Compher and NAK are north south guys. All NAK can do at the nhl level is skate and throw hits. Sturm, Cogs, Helm, Wood, Colton, etc.

Meh, I think the Avs realized Newhook straight up can't play center and didn't want him in a top-six wing role because he wasn't better than the guys they had.

Landy skates fine, and if he does recover he's not a skating liability. I don't expect Ritchie to be, either. The line wouldn't burn, it also wouldn't be slow.

Maybe and even hopefully the case. They could have also just tried to build a skill based line and went a different direction last summer by choice. They weren’t forced into building the 3rd line in that manner.

It just doesn’t fit the speed game you’re talking about. It would have skill and has a chance to have success… it just isn’t how they have built.

 

[Pokecheque]

They targeted a lot of guys who fit that exact description and even signed a couple long term. Avs don’t particularly value iq much especially down the lineup.

Very true and I think that’s caused a decent sized step back. Way too many one-dimensional players in the lineup now, especially now that there’s a very real possibility we may never see Nuke or Landy in an Avs jersey ever again.

I feel like these things get a tad cyclical with the Avs. They try and shore up the depth with defensive forwards and then when the scoring depth suffers they go with some speedy grinders with more finish, but then the defense suffers so they go back the other direction. Either way they always seem to end up with too many players who are only good at one end of the ice.

 

[henchman21]

Very true and I think that’s caused a decent sized step back. Way too many one-dimensional players in the lineup now, especially now that there’s a very real possibility we may never see Nuke or Landy in an Avs jersey ever again.

I feel like these things get a tad cyclical with the Avs. They try and shore up the depth with defensive forwards and then when the scoring depth suffers they go with some speedy grinders with more finish, but then the defense suffers so they go back the other direction. Either way they always seem to end up with too many players who are only good at one end of the ice.

The Avs clearly wanted to get tougher and add some speed to the lineup. Colton and Wood clearly did that, they just have drawbacks too. The Avs chose this path last year when picking both of them up and locking them into deals. They could reverse, but that would be an odd thing contract wise and organizationally.


I completely get the desire to have a more skill based approach to the bottom 6. I just don’t think the organization’s moves point in that direction. Teams don’t make moves like they did to pivot within a year unless some heads rolled in that timeframe. Which hasn’t happened yet (and I highly doubt they will).

 

[dahrougem2]

The Avs clearly wanted to get tougher and add some speed to the lineup. Colton and Wood clearly did that, they just have drawbacks too. The Avs chose this path last year when picking both of them up and locking them into deals. They could reverse, but that would be an odd thing contract wise and organizationally.


I completely get the desire to have a more skill based approach to the bottom 6. I just don’t think the organization’s moves point in that direction. Teams don’t make moves like they did to pivot within a year unless some heads rolled in that timeframe. Which hasn’t happened yet (and I highly doubt they will).

It seems like a philosophical conflict, then.

You can't play "Avs hockey" with players not suited to Avs hockey. You don't build up the D to be what it is just to play north/south rock em sock em hockey. Otherwise go get yourself a bunch of Brendan Dillons and Joni Hakanpaas in UFA and go ultra heavy.

Something is not right with that shift in philosophy. The Avs used to be the team that wanted the puck for controlled zone entries and possession offensively.

A team like Dallas is able to clog things up because lines 3 & 4 can't do that, and line 2 had a guy in Parise who couldn't anymore.

Meanwhile two years ago Burakovsky was doing whatever he wanted with zone entries because he was amazing at them and played our preferred style.

It's like Bednar is fighting with himself, CMac wants a heavier team than Sakic, mix of both, idk.

 

[henchman21]

It seems like a philosophical conflict, then.

You can't play "Avs hockey" with players not suited to Avs hockey. You don't build up the D to be what it is just to play north/south rock em sock em hockey. Otherwise go get yourself a bunch of Brendan Dillons and Joni Hakanpaas in UFA and go ultra heavy.

Something is not right with that shift in philosophy. The Avs used to be the team that wanted the puck for controlled zone entries and possession offensively.

A team like Dallas is able to clog things up because lines 3 & 4 can't do that, and line 2 had a guy in Parise who couldn't anymore.

Meanwhile two years ago Burakovsky was doing whatever he wanted with zone entries because he was amazing at them and played our preferred style.

It's like Bednar is fighting with himself, CMac wants a heavier team than Sakic, mix of both, idk.

For most of Burkie’s term he was a top 6 guy here. Top 6 guys get a different style to play and more freedom. Though even when you look at other guys they brought in and ended in bigger roles like Nuke or Lehky, they play a very north south game. They have more skill to go with it, but the Avs clearly target that style and prefer that mentality if it is there. Even so far as to reducing the skill to get that stylistic preference. It doesn’t extend on defense where they clearly desire speed, good puck movement and aggressive play.

They clearly don’t want to dump and chase still with these guys. They avoid that like the plague even if it goes against their strengths as hockey players. The bottom 6 barely tried to play that way in the Dallas series and that has to be from coaching.

The problem is, when you don’t have a ton or assets or have to utilize free agency… you get the flawed guys. Simply because if those guys were the whole package, they’d either cost a lot to acquire or their UFA contract is huge. What we have are simply flawed players, and their acquisition/contracts reflect that. If Wood had a semblance of IQ he’s a 5m player. If Colton played D like JGP, he’s a 5.25-5.5m player.


IMO there is a bit of a moneyball thing happening here. Replacing in aggregate vs replacing players. That’s how you wind up with Dumb and Dumber.

 

[Pokecheque]

The Avs clearly wanted to get tougher and add some speed to the lineup. Colton and Wood clearly did that, they just have drawbacks too. The Avs chose this path last year when picking both of them up and locking them into deals. They could reverse, but that would be an odd thing contract wise and organizationally.


I completely get the desire to have a more skill based approach to the bottom 6. I just don’t think the organization’s moves point in that direction. Teams don’t make moves like they did to pivot within a year unless some heads rolled in that timeframe. Which hasn’t happened yet (and I highly doubt they will).

Ironically I feel like they took away some of that speed by adding Parise and Trenin.

I really just hate how redundant both Wood and Colton are. Way too similar with almost the exact same flaws. Unless they have a really good defensive winger on with them they’re downright disastrous out there.

 

[the_fan]

Ironically I feel like they took away some of that speed by adding Parise and Trenin.

I really just hate how redundant both Wood and Colton are. Way too similar with almost the exact same flaws. Unless they have a really good defensive winger on with them they’re downright disastrous out there.

Colton Wood line needed LOC badly