Do the Avs Win the Cup with Jack Hughes instead of Bo Byram?

[MaKarter]

Avs lost the 2019 draft lottery and selected Byram 4th overall. Do they win the Cup last year if they end up with Jack Hughes instead?

I would say no because of how impressive Byram was during the playoffs. This year with the Avs losing Kadri, Hughes would fill the void perfectly.

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[GirardSpinorama]

We were too dominant to not win last year.

 

[Steerpike]

So.... I think winning the cup is always a below 50% proposition. Even getting to 25% probability to win is a major achievement. So I don't think it was likely that the Avs would win the cup with Byram to begin with.

But I don't think Jack Hughes instead of Byram hurts our cup chances. It probably just changes our focus from picking up someone like Lehkonen to picking up another LHD....

But it was also random that Girard was out... so maybe not.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Avs probably win the cup even if Byram doesn't play at all in the postseason. Not that he wasn't helpful, but if he sits and another guy steps in I think they still win.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

Purely swapping Byram for Hughes would have made the Avs worse. They might have still won but Byram was the Avs best Dman against Tampa.

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

Yes.

 

[Eltuna]

It would have created such a huge butterfly effect that there’s no way to really answer the question.

I think its very interesting that the Avs lost both 1st overall picks to the Devils however when they had the best odds at both the 2017 and 2019 1st overalls. Comparing the 4th overall defenceman in Makar and Byram vs the 1st overall centers in Hischier and Hughes is fun to look back on. Avs made the most of losing both lotteries and falling the furthest they could have both times.

 

[Voight]

It would have created such a huge butterfly effect that there’s no way to really answer the question.

I think its very interesting that the Avs lost both 1st overall picks to the Devils however when they had the best odds at both the 2017 and 2019 1st overalls. Comparing the 4th overall defenceman in Makar and Byram vs the 1st overall centers in Hischier and Hughes is fun to look back on. Avs made the most of losing both lotteries and falling the furthest they could have both times.

Well never actually know (unless hes on record like Burke was RE Morgan Rielly), but I wonder if Sakic takes Makar even if he gets #1.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

Well never actually know (unless hes on record like Burke was RE Morgan Rielly), but I wonder if Sakic takes Makar even if he gets #1.

All signs pointed to the Avs picking one of Patrick/Hischier if they didn't lose the lottery. They were saved by pure luck and it allowed the team to lift a cup.

 

[lakai17]

I voted no as I value defence but now I'm reconsidering my vote. Look at the depth the Avalanche had last year. Kuemper in net. Kadri + Burakovsky alone bringing in 23 points together. The team was built to win last year. With or without Byram the Avs had a chance last year I imagine

 

[EdJovanovski]

Hughes is astronomically better than Bryam he paced for 94pts last year. Wtf is this thread lmao, one of the dumbest threads I’ve ever seen in my life

 

[McJedi]

I really wanted Kakko. So thankfully the Avs lost out on 2nd and 3rd overall and Kakko and Dach were off the board by 4th OA.

Avs got lucky after getting screwed by Toronto. The league continues to find ways to make sure New Jersey defies all mathematical odds to win 3 lotteries since 2017.

Hughes is astronomically better than Bryam he paced for 94pts last year. Wtf is this thread lmao, one of the dumbest threads I’ve ever seen in my life

You realize you’re comparing a defender to a center based on point totals. So be careful with the use of the word dumb because well... something else is obvious to many of us that interpret your comment.

 

[Hockey Monstar]

All signs pointed to the Avs picking one of Patrick/Hischier if they didn't lose the lottery. They were saved by pure luck and it allowed the team to lift a cup.

Hischier is a great player, would have been awesome behind MacKinnon long-term

 

[TruePowerSlave]

Hischier is a great player, would have been awesome behind MacKinnon long-term

He is also significantly worse than Makar + the Avs desperately needed a top pairing Dman at the time

 

[Arthur Morgan]

We were too dominant to not win last year.

Dominant for sure but I still think alot of luck went with it, you need alot to go right to win and even with dominant teams they still need a little luck here and there.
everything worked out really well for Colorado last year.

 

[Hockey Monstar]

He is also significantly worse than Makar + the Avs desperately needed a top pairing Dman at the time

Significantly worse? Idk that seems harsh

And all was meant by that was Colorado would have two 1Cs locked up for a really long time, that would have been great stability for them when they were in 2017 if they took him 1st instead of Makar

 

[MaKarter]

Hughes is astronomically better than Bryam he paced for 94pts last year. Wtf is this thread lmao, one of the dumbest threads I’ve ever seen in my life

Astronomically huh?

Yeah.. but also if you watched the actual playoffs and Cup Finals then you know Byram was crucial to the Avs win.

The thread was created because of the Avs vs Devils game tonight as well as a few margaritas. Carry on Ed.

 

[Mrb1p]

Doubt it. Byram was the best defender in the SCF. They didnt have Girard either and their 3rd pairing was disgusting.

They didnt really need Hughes too but I guess with Kadri out it could work.

 

[RapidKnight]

If you rewind the time machine entirely they don’t win with Hughes but they also don’t with Byram again. This is a dumb thread. Talk about instant karma lol. When you mangle a perfectly simple question with a freight train of hypotheticals stay clear of the train tracks.

 

[Voight]

Hughes is astronomically better than Bryam he paced for 94pts last year. Wtf is this thread lmao, one of the dumbest threads I’ve ever seen in my life

To be fair pacing and actually scoring that much are two different things.

& if Hughes was on the Avs last year he probably wouldn't of had the same projections given Mack/Kadri had the top 6 centre jobs locked down.

 

[Xirik]

I mean the Av's did play against a very tired team that were back to back champions in the finals. I think pretty much any team could have beat the Lightning. Av's fans shouldn't put much into winning the Stanley cup last year IMO.

.....What do you know, this is fun to do.

 

[Voight]

I mean the Av's did play against a very tired team that were back to back champions in the finals. I think pretty much any team could have beat the Lightning. Av's fans shouldn't put much into winning the Stanley cup last year IMO.

.....What do you know, this is fun to do.

Disagree. I'm not convinced the Oilers or whoever else from the west beat Tampa. It still took the Avs 6 games and there was only one blowout game in the series.

 

[centipede2233]

In order to win the cup you really need your best players either on a cheap bridge contract in a contract year, or locked in at a reasonable caphit to their production. Nichushkin, kadri, Burakovsky, Kuemperwere all on cheap deals in a contract year. add in Mackinnon still on a steal, makar at a very good 9 mil compared to his peers, this is what “the stars have aligned” looks like.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

Purely swapping Byram for Hughes would have made the Avs worse. They might have still won but Byram was the Avs best Dman against Tampa.

Which is saying something when your playing with Bobby Orr

 

[Favin]

It would have created such a huge butterfly effect that there’s no way to really answer the question.

I think its very interesting that the Avs lost both 1st overall picks to the Devils however when they had the best odds at both the 2017 and 2019 1st overalls. Comparing the 4th overall defenceman in Makar and Byram vs the 1st overall centers in Hischier and Hughes is fun to look back on. Avs made the most of losing both lotteries and falling the furthest they could have both times.

Whoa...imagine MacKinnon-Hughes-Kadri-Hischier up the middle, but without Byram or Makar. Would be a very different looking team.