GDT: 2021 NHL Free Agency & Offseason Thread

[Nihiliste]

So, Copp then? What do we even have to trade for him with now with no 1st or 2nd or Timmins?

nothing

 

[VikingAv]

I think there were a couple of low-key 4th-line signings we really missed the boat on; Glendening and Derek Ryan. They came very cheap. Having one of those two as our PEB-replacement on the 4th- line could be a big difference, imo. Especially having Glendening as a very good PK-er, pushing our beloved Compher further down. Now we'll most likely have a very inexperienced 4th line, ready to get caved in when it matters. Hoping the pro scouts knock it out of the park with Maltsev.

 

[Richard88]

I think there were a couple of low-key 4th-line signings we really missed the boat on; Glendening and Derek Ryan. They came very cheap. Having one of those two as our PEB-replacement on the 4th- line could be a big difference, imo. Especially having Glendening as a very good PK-er, pushing our beloved Compher further down. Now we'll most likely have a very inexperienced 4th line, ready to get caved in when it matters. Hoping the pro scouts knock it out of the park with Maltsev.

Glendenning, Kampf, Ryan... yeah it would have been nice to get one of them

 

[Bender]

I wanted Horvat instead of Kadri too, but if we can get the 2019-20 Kadri that scored at a 31 goal 58 point pace, and then put up 9 goals and 18 points in 15 playoff games, without getting suspended, that's a pretty damn good 2C.

I just think the concern over Kadri is over blown and it's given life to this new narrative that the Avs center depth is a big problem. He got in a goal slump in a weird shortened season and then had one shift where he lost his head and got suspended.

Maybe those things happen again, but if I'm a betting man, I'm betting they don't in his contract year when he's trying to prove to all the other teams he deserves one last big contract.

I think there's just as big or maybe even a bigger chance Kadri has a career year next season, rather than one like last year.

This is a good post by you and I sure hope you are right.

Personally, I am just not as convinced as you that Kadri has the ability to keep it under control and not do something stupid at the worst possible time. The way we felt after he got suspended and was unavailable for us the rest of the playoffs is the same way Leafs fans felt when he did it against Boston - two years in a row. That's 3 out of the last 4 playoffs that he's done something ridiculous and put his team in a bad spot.

I don't like the idea that there's even the chance that we go into a tough playoff series and at some point, need to shift Jost or Newhook into that #2C spot.

 

[Metallo]

Interesting series of events.

Avs move on from Varly because he's injury prone. They replace him with Grubauer and Francouz who both become injury prone the following season while Varly stays healthy.

Then Grubauer stays healthy the next year, while Francouz misses the whole season and has hip surgery.

Then they let Grubauer go and bring in another injury prone goaltender in Kuemper coming off an injury plagued year, to play with their other injury prone goaltender Francouz, coming off hip surgery.

Not even going to try to figure out the thought process there. Not sure there is one.

The only way I can explain it is that the Avs medical team reviewed Kuemper medical record and found that he was not a risk.

Same with Francouz.

Let’s hope that’s the case.

 

[Richard88]

Already signed in Boston.



I dunno, maybe I'm thinking too crazy here. But IMO we still haven't gotten our classic "Out of left field" unexpected Joe Sakic trade during free agency time. Last year it was the Toews trade and really the Saad trade. Two years ago it was the Kadri trade. Three years ago it was the Grubauer trade.


Joe always tends to make a deal nobody really expected around this time of year. Especially with Arizona retaining 1M on Kuemper I think there's something still in the works. Otherwise we wouldn't have needed that salary retained and maybe the price would have been that little bit cheaper. But by retaining 1M, once Jost signs the Avs will still have potentially upwards of 5M in space to fill out the roster.


Maybe trying to bring back Saad is the play right now, I'd be ok with doing that. But I just have hunch/hopeful thinking that something else is in the works.

Last offseason Sakic clearly had a very specific plan with how he went about the offseason. Acquired Saad with $1m retention - which was a very specific number that allowed him to then acquire and sign Toews at $4.1m. Jost was left until last when there was barely enough capspace for his QO.

The $1m retention on Kuemper and subsequent extra capspace seems reminiscent of the Saad deal where $1m retention created the perfect space to fit Toews in.

Sakic clearly has a plan. The price on Kuemper may have been high but he clearly lined that one up ahead of time as a possible fallback incase Grubauer walked - the rumours linking Colorado to Kuemper were there several days before UFA. But this trade will have been done specifically with further moves in mind.

Sakic was counting on having a goalie at $5m, and now instead we have an extra $1.5m. That's enough to go from signing a $2m forward to possibly getting a forward in the $4m range. That flexibility opens up the possibility for a trade for someone like Copp who can be extended at $4m-ish.

 

[Metallo]

This is kinda how I thought this would play out so far.

I didn't think Joe had some big masterplan B if he lost Landy or Grubauer. He just had a price in his mind that he wouldn't go above, and he would figure things out after that if he needed to.

The moves he would make to replace them are budgetary moves, because they're going to be for cheaper players.

If Joe did not have a BATNA for Landy and Grubi’s negotiation he is not doing is job. I don’t know one way or another.

 

[Richard88]

The Eichel avenue remains open.

 

[Tralfamadore]

The Eichel avenue remains open.


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Lol horrible deal for Buffalo.

 

[The Pwnerer]

Woke up and still upset we traded Timmins. I was rooting for him and cost controlled RHD are so valuable. Sakic needs to find a replacement, I guess that Hakannapa guy would be OK.

 

[Avs71]

At least there is some hope when it comes to the Avs forward group actually stepping up to cover the loss of Donskoi/Saad.

-Kadri slept through all of last season, he is playing for a contract now.

-Jost only improved in the back part of the season, but might be better for a whole year. Especially with more opportunity.

-Newhook showed he has the speed and skill to make it at the NHL level. He will get plenty of opportunity in the top-9.

-O’Connor wasn’t a regular at the start of last season, and was injured for a good part of the late season/playoffs.

-Hopedully one of Maltsev/Raanta/Kaut can be a cheap, hardworking winger.

-The scoring added by removing Graves and adding Byram.

 

[Metallo]

The Eichel avenue remains open.


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Forget this, way too little depth. It’s horrendous.

 

[bohlmeister]

Wonder how much it would cost to pry Troy Terry out of Anaheim?

 

[Richard88]

Lol horrible deal for Buffalo.

Why? Kadri could probably return a pretty high 2nd and a good prospect which if you include in the deal makes it:

Newhook
Bowers
2023 COL 1st
2022 OTT 2nd
Compher
Good prospect from Ottawa

That's a bluechip prospect, two high picks (late 1st and early 2nd most likely), two more prospects, and a forward who can fill a need on their roster who knows their organisation already.

 

[Richard88]

Forget this, way too little depth. It’s horrendous.

Eichel can drive a line on his own so he doesn't need superstar wingers. He still has Burakovsky though.

Jost at 3C is a bit underwhelming but you can get away with that behind Mackinnon/Eichel. The Nichuskin-Jost pair works well together so just need to find a cheap 3RW who can dovetail with them. Perry would be cheap and would give this team something it lacks in the playoffs especially.

The 4th line is a bit meh but I figure that Riley is an experienced and versatile 4th liner on the cheap. Could replace him with someone else from free agency.

Also the D is improved here by adding Hakanpaa who is arguably a better fit in a 3rd pair PK role than Timmins.

 

[shadow1]

What options are even available for a 2C?

Two names on the trade market are Christian Dvorak and Ryan Strome.

The Insiders made it sound like those two players were going to have homes in Boston and Seattle (respectively), but seems like those deals have fizzled out.

 

[Metallo]

Eichel can drive a line on his own so he doesn't need superstar wingers. He still has Burakovsky though.

Jost at 3C is a bit underwhelming but you can get away with that behind Mackinnon/Eichel. The Nichuskin-Jost pair works well together so just need to find a cheap 3RW who can dovetail with them. Perry would be cheap and would give this team something it lacks in the playoffs especially.

The 4th line is a bit meh but I figure that Riley is an experienced and versatile 4th liner on the cheap. Could replace him with someone else from free agency.

Also the D is improved here by adding Hakanpaa who is arguably a better fit in a 3rd pair PK role than Timmins.

The lineup looks like the Oilers with good defense. I don’t like the Oilers as a blue print.

 

[Richard88]

The lineup looks like the Oilers with good defense. I don’t like the Oilers as a blue print.

I don't see the Oilers comparison.

Sure, you can say that there's two elite C's just like Edmonton, but beyond that Avs are better set in my Eichel roster scenario.

Our 3rd line has an elite possession driver who made our 3rd line the best possession line (in CF%) last year. Edmonton don't have anything comparable in their bottom 6.

Our 4th line is meh so it's a wash there.

Our D is MUCH better. Makar, Toews, Girard and Byram on the 3rd pairing is miles ahead of the patchwork Edmonton have with Barrie and Ceci as their top 2 RHD's.

In net it's no contest either. Kuemper is arguably a top 5 goalie. Edmonton have Koskinen and a 39 year old Smith. LOL

 

[BKarchitect]

If Dvo were available for a reasonable price he would have probably been in the Kuemper deal.

Get Hakanpaa today. He won’t cost an arm and a leg and is the perfect fit to round out the blueline. Especially with Timmy gone and EJ always a question. Huge, rugged and smart defensively - everything we need. I know it sounds odd as he’s basically a #5 dman but in terms of value and fit he’s the UFA I have coveted the most as an ideal target.

 

[Metallo]

I don't see the Oilers comparison.

Sure, you can say that there's two elite C's just like Edmonton, but beyond that Avs are better set in my Eichel roster scenario.

Our 3rd line has an elite possession driver who made our 3rd line the best possession line (in CF%) last year. Edmonton don't have anything comparable in their bottom 6.

Our 4th line is meh so it's a wash there.

Our D is MUCH better. Makar, Toews, Girard and Byram on the 3rd pairing is miles ahead of the patchwork Edmonton have with Barrie and Ceci as their top 2 RHD's.

In net it's no contest either. Kuemper is arguably a top 5 goalie. Edmonton have Koskinen and a 39 year old Smith. LOL

It’s a super top-heavy line-up and that does not work in the playoffs.

 

[Richard88]

It’s a super top-heavy line-up and that does not work in the playoffs.

Add a forward or 3C at the deadline.

Landeskog --- Mackinnon -- Rantanen
Burakovsky ----- Eichel ----- Kaut
Nichuskin -------- Jost ------- Forward
Perry ----------- Maltsev ----- O'Connor

 

[Spilot23]

We trick Buffalo into trading Eichel for Rants, Helleson and a 1st.

What they don't know is in their first meeting with the new acquisitions in Zoom they found out that they traded Eichel for Ranta, Helleson and a 1st. We tell them that Rants is Ranta nickname while Moose is Rantanen's nickname.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

The Landeskog signing ended any chance of Eichel coming to Colorado.

Between Rantanen, Makar, Landeskog, and soon MacKinnon there’s just too much high-end salary to make it work imo.

 

[Richard88]

I wonder if Sakic wants to give Newhook a shot at C this season, to give him a year to adapt with Kadri insulating him.

That opens up the possibility of trading Jost to regain some picks, which could also save another ~$1m in cap if you replace Jost's expected ~$2m with a cheaper forward (eg. Perry).

$750k spent on a bottom 6 spot instead of $2m on Jost, and the 3RHD spot filled with Hakanpaa at $1.75m, leaves $4.7m left to spend on a forward which is in the ballpark of Saad's ask.

If you go cheap at 3RHD and give MacDonald/Barron/McKeown a shot instead of signing Hakanpaa you have up to $5.5m freed up. That could be enough to resign Saad.

 

[Metallo]

Just heard on the radio that the cap should increase substantially, up to 100M$ in 2 years. Any truth to that?