I see the potential for there to be a deal with the Avs around Stastny for Grabovski. Both of them are players who are being overpaid and seem to be a better fit on the opposite team. In Colorado, the Avs already have Duchene and O'Reilly as their top two centers. Acquiring Grabovski will allow them to have a third option with speed and skill. Stastny is a good player in his own right, but his skating isn't near as good as Grabovski's skating and it has always been a knock on him. It is being speculated that O'Reilly will be traded by the Avs as soon as the offer sheet-imposed restriction is lifted roughly a year from now, and it will give the Avs a good one-two punch with speed in Duchene and Grabovski.
Stastny would come to the Leafs and he is exactly what we need: a skilled, playmaking center. Sure, he is grossly overpaid for this season and another, but we would finally have a first line-capable pivot. While he may not be a bona fide #1, he would be our #1 by default and would absolutely thrive with the wingers we have in our system. Having Stastny would also push Bozak as out #3 center, which is where I see him long-term.
So, with this being said, I propose:
To Colorado:
C Mikhail Grabovski
3rd 2014
To Toronto:
C Paul Stastny
With Grabovski out the door and Stastny coming into the fold, our forward group would look like this (when healthy):
Lupul - Stastny - Kessel
van Riemsdyk - Kadri - Frattin
Kulemin - Bozak - MacArthur
Orr/McLaren - McClement - Komarov
To clarify, I added the 3rd to Toronto's side of the deal because both teams are getting rid of bad contracts, and Grabovski's has the longer term. Stastny would be up for a resigning at the end of next season, while Grabovski's contract doesn't end until after the 2016/2017 season. The Avs would end up paying out an extra $15.4M (starting at the beginning of next season), but would have a speedy second line center for three extra years to replace O'Reilly should he be dealt.
