Salary Cap: Chris MacFarland - Record as Avalanche GM (Updates In First Post)

[expatriatedtexan]

Do we know how involved PL was during the 90's when the Nords/Avs had so much success at the draft? I don't think they had a head scout back then. Somebody had to make the final call though.

That's kinda what I guess I was getting out in a long around about way. Is there some perspective the Avs are lacking within their collective amateur drafting brain trust. PL was a player agent. Greg was from accounting. Joe was a player. Would having an agents' perspective be of benefit?

A couple of seasons ago I would have suggested attempting to just throw an ungodly amount of money at Pierre Dorian to convince him to leave the circus. But it really looks like things are on track now for him. I'm just not sure what the answer is now for the department.

 

[the_fan]

I voted for he's done an amazing job and should be fired

 

[Bonzai12]

Geez if we just resigned Mack and the cap is going up by $10M by 2026? Stroke of genius move by the management team.

NHL preparing teams for sharp salary cap increase over next three seasons

The NHL salary cap rose for the first time in three seasons this year, setting at $82.5 million for 2022-23. And as the league returns to normalcy, that number should rise considerably more in the coming yearts.

www.sportsnet.ca

 

[Sea Eagles]

Geez if we just resigned Mack and the cap is going up by $10M by 2026? Stroke of genius move by the management team.

NHL preparing teams for sharp salary cap increase over next three seasons

The NHL salary cap rose for the first time in three seasons this year, setting at $82.5 million for 2022-23. And as the league returns to normalcy, that number should rise considerably more in the coming yearts.

www.sportsnet.ca

Yep, Mack won't be the highest paid player long. By 25-56, that contract will look very measured imo.

 

[SirLoinOfCloth]

Avs are down 2-0 to VGK

MacF deserves to fired, updating my rating to 0/5.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

I sure hope Georgiev pans out. Otherwise we in trouble.

 

[forsbergavs32]

I sure hope Georgiev pans out. Otherwise we in trouble.

I didn’t see the game but I think he’ll be fine. He had a grand total of 3 NHLers playing in front of him tonight (all bottom 6 players).

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

 

[Pokecheque]

Do we know how involved PL was during the 90's when the Nords/Avs had so much success at the draft? I don't think they had a head scout back then. Somebody had to make the final call though.

I thought Dave Draper was the guy making the calls back when the Avs were getting some real gems. Otherwise it was a bunch of David Liffitons and Vaclav Nederosts.

 

[Pokecheque]

Show me a few rosters, that still have a lot of their round 2-whatevers still playing for them (in their top team), and you'll find it's very hit and miss. I'm sorry, but this club has an absolute track record of developing players from good players, to amazing players.

Donskoi, Nichushkin, Burakovsky, Kadri, Newhook (in the process), are just some VERY recent players I'm thinking of.

Getting the most out of veteran players isn't really "development" though. It's absolutely coaches and scouts being on the same page, which can be disastrous when they're not.

Getting value out of the draft absolutely IS a problem for this organization. We'll see if they can improve under Klipp, because they did not under Hepple. Now is the time they cannot afford to whiff on lower-round picks because it's likely they use their first (and second) rounders to bolster the roster during their contention window.

I'm not expecting an Ondrej Palat in the 7th round or anything, but they gotta start getting some legit players.

 

[Sea Eagles]

Getting the most out of veteran players isn't really "development" though. It's absolutely coaches and scouts being on the same page, which can be disastrous when they're not.

Getting value out of the draft absolutely IS a problem for this organization. We'll see if they can improve under Klipp, because they did not under Hepple. Now is the time they cannot afford to whiff on lower-round picks because it's likely they use their first (and second) rounders to bolster the roster during their contention window.

I'm not expecting an Ondrej Palat in the 7th round or anything, but they gotta start getting some legit players.

One of the absolute best and possibly my all time favourite NHL player was Paul Stastny at 44th overall, and I'm not embarrassed to say I cried when he left us.

 

[Pokecheque]

One of the absolute best and possibly my all time favourite NHL player was Paul Stastny at 44th overall, and I'm not embarrassed to say I cried when he left us.

That was back when they actually WERE getting some good players out of the lower rounds of the draft. It all came to a head in 2009, and for some reason after that it all went to hell. I don't know what the hell happened, but Pracey just lost his way. It still upsets me that for some inexplicable reason, he was allowed to run the 2014 draft even though it was obvious to everyone that he and Roy were on completely different pages. We all know how THAT draft went. Unfortunately, even that disaster didn't convince them that the amateur scouting system was broken.

 

[Foppa2118]

I thought Dave Draper was the guy making the calls back when the Avs were getting some real gems. Otherwise it was a bunch of David Liffitons and Vaclav Nederosts.

Looks like it was a mixture of both in the 90's.

According to Eliteprospect, Frank Jay was the Director of Amateur Scouting in Quebec before PL took over. Then when PL came aboard in 94-95, Frank Jay left, and they didn't have anyone in this title. Same thing their first year in Colorado in 95-96. Draper was just a scout at this time.

Then in 96-97 Draper took over as Director of Scouting. Then two years later in 98-99 his title changed to Team Consultant so he may have just run draft day. For two years they went without a Director of Scouting title, then Draper moved on to be Director of Scouting for the Coyotes in 00-01.

Then Jim Hammett took over as Avs Director of Scouting in 00-01. I distinctly remember this was much more of a part time gig than a full time one for him, maybe similar to Draper just running draft day. I think this is how they preferred things around this time.

Brad Smith had moved from Scout to Director of Player Personnel in 05-06. Hammett left in 06-07. They went without a Director of Scouting for two years, but Brad Smith might have handled this role. Then in 08-09 Pracey was hired as Director of Scouting.

94-95 - Empty
95-96 - Empty
96-97 - Dave Draper
97-98 - Dave Draper
98-99 - Empty (Draper Team Consultant)
99-00 - Empty (Draper Team Consultant)
00-01 - Jim Hammett
01-02 - Jim Hammett
02-03 - Jim Hammett
03-04 - Jim Hammett
04-05 - Jim Hammett
05-06 - Jim Hammett (Former Scout Brad Smith moved up to Director Of Player Personnel)
06-07 - Empty (Brad Smith might have handled this role)
07-08 - Empty (Brad Smith might have handled this role)
08-09 - Rick Pracey
09-10 - Rick Pracey
10-11 - Rick Pracey
11-12 - Rick Pracey
12-13 - Rick Pracey
13-14 - Rick Pracey
14-15 - Alan Hepple
15-16 - Alan Hepple
16-17 - Alan Hepple
17-18 - Alan Hepple
18-19 - Alan Hepple
19-20 - Alan Hepple
20-21 - Alan Hepple
21-22 - Wade Klippenstein
22-23 - Wade Klippenstein

 

[Avsboy]

That was back when they actually WERE getting some good players out of the lower rounds of the draft. It all came to a head in 2009, and for some reason after that it all went to hell. I don't know what the hell happened, but Pracey just lost his way. It still upsets me that for some inexplicable reason, he was allowed to run the 2014 draft even though it was obvious to everyone that he and Roy were on completely different pages. We all know how THAT draft went. Unfortunately, even that disaster didn't convince them that the amateur scouting system was broken.

Pracey got excited about his type of player. Intangibles, intangibles, intangibles.

 

[niwotsblessing]

Pracey got excited about his type of player. Intangibles, intangibles, intangibles.

So intangible they made no tangible impact in the NHL. This situation simply needs to improve.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Pracey got excited about his type of player. Intangibles, intangibles, intangibles.

 

[Avsboy]

View attachment 589753

Mitchell Heard, Conor Bleackley, Chris Bigras, Landeskog, Siemens, Hishon, RoR all were considered hard working leader types

 

[Foppa2118]

Looks like it was a mixture of both in the 90's.

According to Eliteprospect, Frank Jay was the Director of Amateur Scouting in Quebec before PL took over. Then when PL came aboard in 94-95, Frank Jay left, and they didn't have anyone in this title. Same thing their first year in Colorado in 95-96. Draper was just a scout at this time.

Then in 96-97 Draper took over as Director of Scouting. Then two years later in 98-99 his title changed to Team Consultant so he may have just run draft day. For two years they went without a Director of Scouting title, then Draper moved on to be Director of Scouting for the Coyotes in 00-01.

Then Jim Hammett took over as Avs Director of Scouting in 00-01. I distinctly remember this was much more of a part time gig than a full time one for him, maybe similar to Draper just running draft day. I think this is how they preferred things around this time.

Brad Smith had moved from Scout to Director of Player Personnel in 05-06. Hammett left in 06-07. They went without a Director of Scouting for two years, but Brad Smith might have handled this role. Then in 08-09 Pracey was hired as Director of Scouting.

94-95 - Empty
95-96 - Empty
96-97 - Dave Draper
97-98 - Dave Draper
98-99 - Empty (Draper Team Consultant)
99-00 - Empty (Draper Team Consultant)
00-01 - Jim Hammett
01-02 - Jim Hammett
02-03 - Jim Hammett
03-04 - Jim Hammett
04-05 - Jim Hammett
05-06 - Jim Hammett (Former Scout Brad Smith moved up to Director Of Player Personnel)
06-07 - Empty (Brad Smith might have handled this role)
07-08 - Empty (Brad Smith might have handled this role)
08-09 - Rick Pracey
09-10 - Rick Pracey
10-11 - Rick Pracey
11-12 - Rick Pracey
12-13 - Rick Pracey
13-14 - Rick Pracey
14-15 - Alan Hepple
15-16 - Alan Hepple
16-17 - Alan Hepple
17-18 - Alan Hepple
18-19 - Alan Hepple
19-20 - Alan Hepple
20-21 - Alan Hepple
21-22 - Wade Klippenstein
22-23 - Wade Klippenstein

Took a little deeper dive into the best picks during their tenures.

Pierre Gautheir (89-93)

Mats Sundin - 1346 games
Owen Nolan - 1200 games
Adam Foote - 1154 games
Bill Lindsay - 777 games
Eric Lindros - 760 games*
Anson Carter - 674 games
Andrei Kovalenko - 620 games
Alexander Karpovtsev - 596 games
Jocelyn Thibault (G) - 586 games
Adam Deadmarsh - 567 games*
Dave Karpa - 557 games
Todd Warriner - 453 games
Janne Laukkanen - 407 games
Rene Corbet - 362 games
Manny Fernandez (G) - 325 games

Frank Jay (94)

Milan Hejduk - 1020 games
Chris Drury - 892 games
Wade Belak - 549 games
Tim Thomas (G) - 426 games

Unknown (95-96)

Sammy Pahsson - 798 games
Marc Parrish - 722 games
Dan Hinote - 503 games
Brian Willsie - 381 games
Marc Denis (G) - 349 games
Brent Johnson (G) - 309 games

Dave Draper (97-00)

Robin Regehr - 1090 games
Alex Tanguay - 1088 games
Radim Vrbata - 1057 games
John-Michael Liles - 836 games
Martin Skoula - 776 games
Branko Radivojevic - 393 games
Ville Nieminen - 385 games
Kurt Sauer - 357 games
Scott Parker - 308 games
Brad Larsen - 294 games
David Aebischer (G) - 214 games
Jeff Finger - 199 games
Rick Berry - 197 games
Riku Hahl - 92 games
Steve Moore - 69 games*

Jim Hammett (01-06)

Paul Stastny - 1072 games
Brad Richardson - 869 games
Johnny Boychuk - 725 games
Chris Stewart - 668 games
Tom Gilbert - 655 games
David Jones - 462 games
Wojtek Wolski - 451 games
Cody McCormick - 405 games
Peter Budaj (G) - 368 games
Marek Svatos - 344 games
Brandon Yip - 174 games
Kyle Cumiskey - 139 games
TJ Hensick - 112 games

Brad Smith? (07-08)

Kevin Shattenkirk - 816 games
T.J. Galiardi - 321 games
Brad Malone - 207 games
Paul Carey - 100 games
Mark Olver - 74 games
Jonas Holos - 39 games

Rick Pracey (09-14)

Matt Duchene - 905 games
Ryan O'Reilly - 938 games
Gabe Landeskog - 738 games
Tyson Barrie - 683 games
Nathan MacKinnon - 638 games
Will Butcher - 275 games
Calvin Pickard (G) - 116 games
Michael Bournival - 113 games
Joseph Blandisi - 101 games
Joey Hishon - 13 games*

Alan Hepple (15-20)

Mikko Rantanen - 408 games
Tyson Jost - 342 games
Cale Makar - 178 games
Alex Newhook - 77 games
Bo Byram - 49 games
Martin Kaut - 20 games
Sampo Ranta - 10 games
Justin Barron - 7 games
Jean-Luc Foudy - 0 games

* Career cut short due to injury

 

[Alienblood]

Took a little deeper dive into the best picks during their tenures.

Pierre Gautheir (89-93)

Mats Sundin - 1346 games
Owen Nolan - 1200 games
Adam Foote - 1154 games
Bill Lindsay - 777 games
Eric Lindros - 760 games*
Anson Carter - 674 games
Andrei Kovalenko - 620 games
Alexander Karpovtsev - 596 games
Jocelyn Thibault (G) - 586 games
Adam Deadmarsh - 567 games*
Dave Karpa - 557 games
Todd Warriner - 453 games
Janne Laukkanen - 407 games
Rene Corbet - 362 games
Manny Fernandez (G) - 325 games

Frank Jay (94)

Milan Hejduk - 1020 games
Chris Drury - 892 games
Wade Belak - 549 games
Tim Thomas (G) - 426 games

Unknown (95-96)

Sammy Pahsson - 798 games
Marc Parrish - 722 games
Dan Hinote - 503 games
Brain Willsie - 381 games
Marc Denis (G) - 349 games
Brent Johnson (G) - 309 games

Dave Draper (97-00)

Robin Regehr - 1090 games
Alex Tanguay - 1088 games
Radim Vrbata - 1057 games
John-Michael Liles - 836 games
Martin Skoula - 776 games
Branko Radivojevic - 393 games
Ville Nieminen - 385 games
Kurt Sauer - 357 games
Scott Parker - 308 games
Brad Larsen - 294 games
David Aebischer (G) - 214 games
Jeff Finger - 199 games
Rick Berry - 197 games
Riku Hahl - 92 games
Steve Moore - 69 games*

Jim Hammett (01-06)

Paul Stastny - 1072 games
Brad Richardson - 869 games
Johnny Boychuk - 725 games
Chris Stewart - 668 games
Tom Gilbert - 655 games
David Jones - 462 games
Wojtek Wolski - 451 games
Cody McCormick - 405 games
Peter Budaj (G) - 368 games
Marek Svatos - 344 games
Brandon Yip - 174 games
Kyle Cumiskey - 139 games
TJ Hensick - 112 games

Brad Smith? (07-08)

Kevin Shattenkirk - 816 games
T.J. Galiardi - 321 games
Brad Malone - 207 games
Paul Carey - 100 games
Mark Olver - 74 games
Jonas Holos - 39 games

Rick Pracey (09-14)

Matt Duchene - 905 games
Ryan O'Reilly - 938 games
Gabe Landeskog - 738 games
Tyson Barrie - 683 games
Nathan MacKinnon - 638 games
Will Butcher - 275 games
Calvin Pickard (G) - 116 games
Michael Bournival - 113 games
Joseph Blandisi - 101 games
Joey Hishon - 13 games*

Alan Hepple (15-21)

Mikko Rantanen - 408 games
Tyson Jost - 342 games
Cale Makar - 178 games
Alex Newhook - 77 games
Bo Byram - 49 games
Martin Kaut - 20 games
Sampo Ranta - 10 games
Justin Barron - 7 games
Jean-Luc Foudy - 0 games
Oskar Olausson - 0 games
Sean Behrens - 0 games

* Career cut short due to injury

I thought Klip ran the 2021 draft

 

[Richard88]

LeBrun: Replacing Sakic? Re-signing MacKinnon? Losing Kadri and Kuemper? How new Avs GM Chris MacFarland took it all in stride

The Avalanche promoted MacFarland to general manager following their Stanley Cup run, with Joe Sakic ascending to team president.

theathletic.com

 

[The Merchant]

Geez if we just resigned Mack and the cap is going up by $10M by 2026? Stroke of genius move by the management team.

NHL preparing teams for sharp salary cap increase over next three seasons

The NHL salary cap rose for the first time in three seasons this year, setting at $82.5 million for 2022-23. And as the league returns to normalcy, that number should rise considerably more in the coming yearts.

www.sportsnet.ca

The Cale contract is gonna become the new MacK contract

 

[Foppa2118]

I thought Klip ran the 2021 draft

Yeah he was, good catch. They promoted him a couple months before the 21 draft. I had him with the 21 draft in the previous post, but EP didn't have him listed that year because he was promoted late.

 

[Pokecheque]

Yeah he was, good catch. They promoted him a couple months before the 21 draft. I had him with the 21 draft in the previous post, but EP didn't have him listed that year because he was promoted late.

I mean, he ran it but did he really “run” it? To me, the head scout needs at least a full year to lay out the groundwork, gather the data, and make the lists and what not, IMO he’s making the calls but he’s also going off of Hepple’s gameplan in 2021.

 

[Foppa2118]

I mean, he ran it but did he really “run” it? To me, the head scout needs at least a full year to lay out the groundwork, gather the data, and make the lists and what not, IMO he’s making the calls but he’s also going off of Hepple’s gameplan in 2021.

Well he had been a scout with the team since 2016, so he did do a full year of his own scouting, and meetings with all the other scouts. His process was probably similar though where they all just sit in a room and go over all the prospects before the draft and then the Director makes the final call.

You have to give credit to someone, and it's probably not Joe, and it's probably not any of the other scouts making the final call, so I think you have to give it to Klip in 21.

Also, I don't think he necessarily had to use Hepple's gameplan. I think it's more likely that a new Director coming in put some sort of his own stamp on things, and maybe made one or two calls that Hepple might not have. That's usually what happens to varying degrees when new people come into positions of leadership.

 

[Pokecheque]

Well he had been a scout with the team since 2016, so he did do a full year of his own scouting, and meetings with all the other scouts. His process was probably similar though where they all just sit in a room and go over all the prospects before the draft and then the Director makes the final call.

You have to give credit to someone, and it's probably not Joe, and it's probably not any of the other scouts making the final call, so I think you have to give it to Klip in 21.

Also, I don't think he necessarily had to use Hepple's gameplan. I think it's more likely that a new Director coming in put some sort of his own stamp on things, and maybe made one or two calls that Hepple might not have. That's usually what happens to varying degrees when new people come into positions of leadership.

I suppose, what I want to see is a wholesale change. If we just keep seeing most of the same process under Klipp as we saw under Hepple then nothing is going to change. I liked that Hepple at least wasn't targeting low-ceiling do-nothings like Pracey did for years, but it still didn't work.