Rumor: 2021-2022 Trade Rumors and Free Agency Part VIII: All Rumors No Trades

[Avaholic29]

I don't think any additional strength (I don't really notice any) is the reason for Girard's struggles. Most of his struggles are areas he always struggles with. He's just struggling more than usual for the regular season.

G's skating hasn't been the reason he's getting getting muscled off pucks, isn't tying up sticks, is out of position, and has been turning lots of pucks over. I don't really notice a drop in skating ability either. I do notice a drop in confidence though.

I think early on this year he was struggling more than normal because he was hearing his name in rumors. And the closer we've gotten to the deadline, the more he's struggled it seems.

IMO it's a combination of the limitations he'll always have, combined with the distraction of thinking he might be traded from the team he loves playing for, but I think we often over emphasize this idea of "bulking up too much."

Almost all of G's mistakes are mental mistakes. Especially his turnovers. He's a very smart D man but he's been making very poor puck decisions most of the year. That's very uncharacteristic for him.

Teams have him figured out. Once you take away his fancy skating he’s got nothing, that’s why the longer he’s been around the less we see him able to pull off his spins etc.

 

[Peter Peckerwood]

I'm fairly convinced Avs will trade a 2nd to Altitude for Liles.

Maybe a fifth? Jack, Crown, vodka? Oh wait, those would be coming with Liles.

 

[Foppa2118]

The best part of Girard’s game has been his transition game. He used his feet to get to pucks quickly and because of that he became a retrieval wizard. He’d win his race, retrieve with ease, use his magic feet to create space and transition forward. It was wonderful. This year he has lost a step and simply isn’t getting to those pucks first. He’s getting met to those pucks by attackers and like you said, he loses all those battles.

You’re right that his skating isn’t the reason he loses battles. However I think it’s fair to say his foot speed this year is the reason he has so many of those battles in the first place.

I agree about that being G's best part of his game, and he really is great at it, but I don't see that he's lost a step personally. I see that he's questioning himself too much, and that's making him make decisions a bit slower.

Also teams saw in the playoffs the best way to target him. You can't give him that time and space, you have to pressure him early in the D zone before he gets going.

Most teams play him like this now, whereas before it was only a handful. I think that's why he's been in more battles this year than usual. But when he's got time and space to skate the puck, he looks like he's skating just as well as he usually does to me. He just hasn't had the time and space he's used to getting.

On puck retrievals, I think he doesn't skate as aggressively to get to the puck like he used to, because he's more concerned with getting hit than he used to be. IMO it's less that he's not skating to the pucks as quickly, and more that he's taking a more cautious approach to dump ins.

Also he's spent very little time matched with the top line and paired with Makar this year. So he's spending more time in the D zone defending than he has in the past, and that's leading to him being in those physical battles more often.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

Copp would be a nice addition. I think he’s a guy that Colorado could easily resign too.

I do wonder if his production would drop getting a lesser role, but either way he’s a quality player. The Avs have enough cap to get him without moving anyone too. Or, they could add Copp, jettison Compher and add another player.

 

[Balthazar]

So I just looked and Copp was RFA last year and WPG re-upped him for one year, walking him straight to UFA. They drafted him and didn't manage to buy one single UFA season. That's sad.

They are 100% trading him.

 

[John Mandalorian]

I agree about that being G's best part of his game, and he really is great at it, but I don't see that he's lost a step personally. I see that he's questioning himself too much, and that's making him make decisions a bit slower.

Also teams saw in the playoffs the best way to target him. You can't give him that time and space, you have to pressure him early in the D zone before he gets going.

Most teams play him like this now, whereas before it was only a handful. I think that's why he's been in more battles this year than usual. But when he's got time and space to skate the puck, he looks like he's skating just as well as he usually does to me. He just hasn't had the time and space he's used to getting.

On puck retrievals, I think he doesn't skate as aggressively to get to the puck like he used to, because he's more concerned with getting hit than he used to be. IMO it's less that he's not skating to the pucks as quickly, and more that he's taking a more cautious approach to dump ins.

Also he's spent very little time matched with the top line and paired with Makar this year. So he's spending more time in the D zone defending than he has in the past, and that's leading to him being in those physical battles more often.

Why doesn’t anyone ever describe Girard’s struggles with a haiku?

 

[Bender]

Ah HFboards where all too many only remember the past 2 weeks...

Kuemper - OMG he's SOOO terrible - just because he's had a dip in play recently. Newsflash - it happens to ALL players at different times throughout the season. No one seems to remember how fantastic he was in our wins against Tampa Bay and the shutout against Vegas... nah - since that happened 3 weeks ago, it doesn't count. Christ, what kind of medication do you need to even out???

Girard - Yeah he hasn't been as good as he's capable of being but he also doesn't have a steady partner either. I wonder if Makar or Toews were playing consistently with JMFJ if they'd look any worse or need to change the way they play at all?? Nah, couldn't be. C'mon... the kid is 23 and needs to be paired up with a steady veteran who's also a decent skater and puck mover - once that happens, you'll see his play pick up significantly.

 

[Avaholic29]

Why doesn’t anyone ever describe Girard’s struggles with a haiku?

He used to spin smoothly

Now he slides on his belly

goals against.

 

[Avaholic29]

Ah HFboards where all too many only remember the past 2 weeks...

Kuemper - OMG he's SOOO terrible - just because he's had a dip in play recently. Newsflash - it happens to ALL players at different times throughout the season. No one seems to remember how fantastic he was in our wins against Tampa Bay and the shutout against Vegas... nah - since that happened 3 weeks ago, it doesn't count. Christ, what kind of medication do you need to even out???

Girard - Yeah he hasn't been as good as he's capable of being but he also doesn't have a steady partner either. I wonder if Makar or Toews were playing consistently with JMFJ if they'd look any worse or need to change the way they play at all?? Nah, couldn't be. C'mon... the kid is 23 and needs to be paired up with a steady veteran who's also a decent skater and puck mover - once that happens, you'll see his play pick up significantly.

Makar has looked fine with every partner, to be fair he had to save Girard defensively when paired up against Calgary. If you have an undersized dman that can only succeed if you find him a perfect partner than the issue isn’t the partners.

 

[EdAVSfan]

Makar has looked fine with every partner, to be fair he had to save Girard defensively when paired up against Calgary. If you have an undersized dman that can only succeed if you find him a perfect partner than the issue isn’t the partners.

Perfect - competent… same thing I guess

 

[henchman21]

Ah HFboards where all too many only remember the past 2 weeks...

Kuemper - OMG he's SOOO terrible - just because he's had a dip in play recently. Newsflash - it happens to ALL players at different times throughout the season. No one seems to remember how fantastic he was in our wins against Tampa Bay and the shutout against Vegas... nah - since that happened 3 weeks ago, it doesn't count. Christ, what kind of medication do you need to even out???

Girard - Yeah he hasn't been as good as he's capable of being but he also doesn't have a steady partner either. I wonder if Makar or Toews were playing consistently with JMFJ if they'd look any worse or need to change the way they play at all?? Nah, couldn't be. C'mon... the kid is 23 and needs to be paired up with a steady veteran who's also a decent skater and puck mover - once that happens, you'll see his play pick up significantly.

2 weeks ago… people were claiming Kuemper was elite. I said it then, people were going too far.

The simple thing with G is he is having a bad season (where he’s still having a damn good season). He needs to stop bulking up and go the opposite direction. Can’t really be done until the off-season.

 

[nammerus]

Objectively EJ has not been terrible all season. At the very least most people agreed he was great the first 10-20 games.

And I genuinely disagree EJ has been worse and especial "much worse" than Girard. G has made 2-3 times as many mistakes the last couple weeks. He's making like 5+ a game. All over the ice too. With and without the puck.

I think G is capable of playing much better, but the characterization of his play versus EJ is what I couldn't disagree more with.

Objectively, EJ has been horrible. He’s at replacement level according to GSVA and has even been worse than JJ defensively based on xGA%. He is god awful. A 6 million dollar anchor.

 

[niwotsblessing]

He used to spin smoothly

Now he slides on his belly

goals against.

5 - 7 - 5

You'll have to re-work the last line.

 

[Foppa2118]

Objectively, EJ has been horrible. He’s at replacement level according to GSVA and has even been worse than JJ defensively based on xGA%. He is god awful. A 6 million anchor

I've lost track of how many times recently those analytics get posted and show how inaccurate they are for judging defenseman.

And it's simply not true that he's been objectively terrible all season when this whole board acknowledged how well he was playing to start the year.

This place just forgets in an instant what he's done to go back to the EJ sucks narrative. He could play 81 games of perfect hockey and then make a mistake in a blowout win in the final minute of game 82, and people would rant about how bad he is.

It was the same thing a few years ago when EJ had a great playoffs, then got injured, and the team looked completely different without him.

NBC had been raving about him and so was this board, and I thought, finally everyone realizes how much he helps the team. Then literally over the course of an off season, everyone forgot, and went back to the old EJ sucks narrative to start the year as if what they saw in the playoffs never happened.

 

[Avaholic29]

Perfect - competent… same thing I guess

JJ, Murray and EJ all seem to perform better away from Girard, wether or not that is easier match ups and less minutes I’m not sure.

 

[forsbergavs32]

I've lost track of how many times recently those analytics get posted and show how inaccurate they are for judging defenseman.

And it's simply not true that he's been objectively terrible all season when this whole board acknowledged how well he was playing to start the year.

This place just forgets in an instant what he's done to go back to the EJ sucks narrative. He could play 81 games of perfect hockey and then make a mistake in a blowout win in the final minute of game 82, and people would rant about how bad he is.

It was the same thing a few years ago when EJ had a great playoffs, then got injured, and the team looked completely different without him.

NBC had been raving about him and so was this board, and I thought, finally everyone realizes how much he helps the team. Then literally over the course of an off season, everyone forgot, and went back to the old EJ sucks narrative to start the year as if what they saw in the playoffs never happened.

That’s the same thing I see all the time around here with Francouz. He’ll play great for a month and have one rough game and people are screaming for him to be off the team. I love this place but sometimes it’s hard to see the hot takes.

 

[shadow1]

GP	G	A	P	FO%
51	13	19	32	53.8%
46	17	12	29	56.6%

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

I posted in on the main boards already, but Andrew Copp + Paul Stastny would fix so many issues in Colorado's bottom-6.

I'd obviously be very happy with players like Giroux and Lehkonen as well, but Sakic can fix so much of what's wrong with the Avalanche in one trade with Winnipeg.

And hey, I've seen rumblings about Brendan Dillon being available too. May as well cut down on the paperwork and address everything at once...

 

[The Abusement Park]

I've lost track of how many times recently those analytics get posted and show how inaccurate they are for judging defenseman.

And it's simply not true that he's been objectively terrible all season when this whole board acknowledged how well he was playing to start the year.

This place just forgets in an instant what he's done to go back to the EJ sucks narrative. He could play 81 games of perfect hockey and then make a mistake in a blowout win in the final minute of game 82, and people would rant about how bad he is.

It was the same thing a few years ago when EJ had a great playoffs, then got injured, and the team looked completely different without him.

NBC had been raving about him and so was this board, and I thought, finally everyone realizes how much he helps the team. Then literally over the course of an off season, everyone forgot, and went back to the old EJ sucks narrative to start the year as if what they saw in the playoffs never happened.

By that logic why are we criticizing Girard? He's been an important part of this team in the past so he should be immune from criticism too.

 

[The Abusement Park]

GP	G	A	P	FO%
51	13	19	32	53.8%
46	17	12	29	56.6%

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

I posted in on the main boards already, but Andrew Copp + Paul Stastny would fix so many issues in Colorado's bottom-6.

I'd obviously be very happy with players like Giroux and Lehkonen as well, but Sakic can fix so much of what's wrong with the Avalanche in one trade with Winnipeg.

And hey, I've seen rumblings about Brendan Dillon being available too. May as well cut down on the paperwork and address everything at once...

Don't think we'd have the assets for it, but Copp, Lehkonen, and say Mayfield/Dillon would be an unreal TDL.

9296
Nuke-Kadri-Bura
Lehkonen-Copp-Newhook
who cares

Toews-Makar
Girard-Dillon
who cares

 

[SirLoinOfCloth]

That’s the same thing I see all the time around here with Francouz. He’ll play great for a month and have one rough game and people are screaming for him to be off the team. I love this place but sometimes it’s hard to see the hot takes.

It happens with lots of other players too. The recency and confirmation bias here is too much at times. There is so much hyperbole and downright falsehoods because someone has an agenda or narrative. It's easy to forget 100 good plays and focus on 1 terrible play when all you're looking for is the bad.

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

Makar’s astronomical immediate impact has kinda ruined Girard’s shine. BC (before Cale) G looked amazing because he was great at transitioning the puck but also competent defensively. Makar comes on the scene and is just better at everything and doing it at a whole other level. Sans Cale we’d all probably still be so stoked on Girard, haha

 

[Balthazar]

Copp + Mayfield + Clutterbuck is doable if Sakic wants to go for 3 pieces.

You get a much needed 3C, a good defensive/physical 4W and a big right handed 4D to play with Girard.

That's not a big splash but that's nearly perfection for what we need/can afford.

Edit: also if there's one team that may want JTC for next year it could be the Jets.

 

[nammerus]

I've lost track of how many times recently those analytics get posted and show how inaccurate they are for judging defenseman.p

And it's simply not true that he's been objectively terrible all season when this whole board acknowledged how well he was playing to start the year.

This place just forgets in an instant what he's done to go back to the EJ sucks narrative. He could play 81 games of perfect hockey and then make a mistake in a blowout win in the final minute of game 82, and people would rant about how bad he is.

It was the same thing a few years ago when EJ had a great playoffs, then got injured, and the team looked completely different without him.

NBC had been raving about him and so was this board, and I thought, finally everyone realizes how much he helps the team. Then literally over the course of an off season, everyone forgot, and went back to the old EJ sucks narrative to start the year as if what they saw in the playoffs never happened.

I’m not sure what your understanding of the word objective means. These statistical models are objective measures of his performance, and all of them say that EJ is medicine/awful. They are devoid of homerism. Now, are the models all perfect..of course not. But I don’t see you having any problem them saying that Mac/Ranta/Makar are too 5-7 players in the league do I?

What you describe is your subjective take. The same same subjective take that Habs fans have which allows them to think Chariot is a top pairing defender despite all evidence to the contrary. In the case of EJ, both objective and (my) subjective take seem to match. I guess you have an affinity for big defenceman that can’t skate, move the puck, or defend, which is skewing your perspective.

 

[Foppberg]

Copp + Mayfield + Clutterbuck is doable if Sakic wants to go for 3 pieces.

You get a much needed 3C, a good defensive/physical 4W and a big right handed 4D to play with Girard.

That's not a big splash but that's nearly perfection for what we need/can afford.

Edit: also if there's one team that may want JTC for next year it could be the Jets.

Honestly, I hope the Avs go out and do something like this versus big game hunting. We already have elite talent upfront and on defense, what we need is reliable good depth.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

Copp + Mayfield + Clutterbuck is doable if Sakic wants to go for 3 pieces.

You get a much needed 3C, a good defensive/physical 4W and a big right handed 4D to play with Girard.

That's not a big splash but that's nearly perfection for what we need/can afford.

Edit: also if there's one team that may want JTC for next year it could be the Jets.

Three moves like that make us a much deeper and well rounded team to win a Stanley Cup. It's great to add a big fish, but 3 guys with an edge and able to make an impact outweigh the big gun.

We'd become a way harder team to play against with those types of acquisitions.