Rumor: 2024 Trade Rumors and Free Agency Thread: Post Deadline

[dahrougem2]

Playing all 82 regular season games is an overrated ability.

Who cares if a player misses 10 games a season, as long as they’re available in the playoffs. Which is a legitimate critique for Nuke, since he peaced out last year.

But give me a better player who misses 10-15 games a year, over a worse player who plays all the time.

It’s frustrating as a fan because we want to watch a healthy lineup all the time, but Val’s contract is actually very good value for what he brings.

I disagree. The Avs probably run into some major issues if Mikko Rantanen isn't so durable over the last couple of seasons when MacKinnon got his injuries.

The more guys miss 10-15 games the worse off your team is and it could become a dog fight for the playoffs. We are lucky the injury bug didn't hit MacKinnon or Rantanen this season.

Old saying goes the best ability is availability.

 

[NorthernAvsFan]

I disagree. The Avs probably run into some major issues if Mikko Rantanen isn't so durable over the last couple of seasons when MacKinnon got his injuries.

The more guys miss 10-15 games the worse off your team is and it could become a dog fight for the playoffs. We are lucky the injury bug didn't hit MacKinnon or Rantanen this season.

Old saying goes the best ability is availability.

The issue comes, if you have lesser talent that plays more it’s great for the regular season, but doesn’t help you win cups.

 

[Hasbro]

Exactly. Nuke is borderline untouchable at this point.

You might say he's radioactive.

 

[Balthazar]

Playing all 82 regular season games is an overrated ability.

Who cares if a player misses 10 games a season, as long as they’re available in the playoffs. Which is a legitimate critique for Nuke, since he peaced out last year.

But give me a better player who misses 10-15 games a year, over a worse player who plays all the time.

It’s frustrating as a fan because we want to watch a healthy lineup all the time, but Val’s contract is actually very good value for what he brings.

It's not like Nuke would ever go MIA during the playoffs or anything

 

[JLo217]

I kinda want the Avs to run with Justus and potentially a backup or 1B next year if George is gonna have a bad attitude about it. Cut his cap space. Save 1.5M on his deal and get some cap relief to hopefully keep some of the band together.

My only fears at this point roster wise is Nuke keeping his head on straight and George not blowing up and losing them a series.

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

I kinda want the Avs to run with Justus and potentially a backup or 1B next year if George is gonna have a bad attitude about it. Cut his cap space. Save 1.5M on his deal and get some cap relief to hopefully keep some of the band together.

My only fears at this point roster wise is Nuke keeping his head on straight and George not blowing up and losing them a series.

I kind of want to win a Cup so I think we're going to disagree on this point.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

I kinda want the Avs to run with Justus and potentially a backup or 1B next year if George is gonna have a bad attitude about it. Cut his cap space. Save 1.5M on his deal and get some cap relief to hopefully keep some of the band together.

My only fears at this point roster wise is Nuke keeping his head on straight and George not blowing up and losing them a series.

Ya I could see that working.


Ingram from Arizona would be the guy I would target.

 

[PAZ]

Ya I could see that working.


Ingram from Arizona would be the guy I would target.

The only thing is the cost.

If we can find some sucker to take Georgiev and give us a 2nd (which I doubt), I think CMac would be comfortable throwing a 1st + for Ingram. Short of that though, I can't see a realistic scenario happening. From Arizona's POV, they can still get a decent return for Vejmelka and I can't see them wanting to commit long term to him.

 

[dahrougem2]

If the cap is 86.75M next season, the Avs COULD still ice a very good team while bringing Gabriel Landeskog back if they did the following:

- Got Casey Mittelstadt to sign for 6M long term-ish whether that be 4/5/6 years
- Got Jonathan Drouin to sign for 2.75-3M per for two seasons
- Traded Samuel Girard for draft picks
- Signed a similar caliber defensemen (I'll keep banging the Oliver Kylington drum) for ~2M
- Re-signed JMFJ for 775K and ran a JMFJ-Malinski 3rd pairing until the TDL where an obvious upgrade on D would be made because forwards wouldn't need it.

You could be looking at running:

Drouin - MacKinnon - Rantanen
Landeskog - Mittelstadt - Nichushkin
Lehkonen - Colton - Kovalenko
Wood - Ivan/Pavel - O'Connor

Toews - Makar
Kylington - Manson
JMFJ - Malinski

Georgiev
Annunen

Leaves just over 600K in cap space. 4/5D and 4C would be the targets at the TDL which honestly wouldn't cost the Avs an absurd amount.

The problem here is you're running a 20 man roster and I don't believe teams ever want to do that, but it would give the Avs IMO the deepest roster in hockey once again.

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

Avs seem to be pretty quiet on the college UFA scene, we usually see them adding a couple of guys.

 

[Bensch88]

Every time (not that often) i've seen him play Alex Lyon didnt look too bad, but his stats arent great. Is he worth a punt if Cmac decides to ditch George in the off-season?

 

[Richard88]

If the cap is 86.75M next season, the Avs COULD still ice a very good team while bringing Gabriel Landeskog back if they did the following:

- Got Casey Mittelstadt to sign for 6M long term-ish whether that be 4/5/6 years
- Got Jonathan Drouin to sign for 2.75-3M per for two seasons
- Traded Samuel Girard for draft picks
- Signed a similar caliber defensemen (I'll keep banging the Oliver Kylington drum) for ~2M
- Re-signed JMFJ for 775K and ran a JMFJ-Malinski 3rd pairing until the TDL where an obvious upgrade on D would be made because forwards wouldn't need it.

You could be looking at running:

Drouin - MacKinnon - Rantanen
Landeskog - Mittelstadt - Nichushkin
Lehkonen - Colton - Kovalenko
Wood - Ivan/Pavel - O'Connor

Toews - Makar
Kylington - Manson
JMFJ - Malinski

Georgiev
Annunen

Leaves just over 600K in cap space. 4/5D and 4C would be the targets at the TDL which honestly wouldn't cost the Avs an absurd amount.

The problem here is you're running a 20 man roster and I don't believe teams ever want to do that, but it would give the Avs IMO the deepest roster in hockey once again.

Trading Girard and having Lehkonen play on the 3rd line for $4.5m isn't the smartest cap management, especially given how important transition from the blue line is for this team.

It's also super unrealistic to expect a 20 man roster.

Every time (not that often) i've seen him play Alex Lyon didnt look too bad, but his stats arent great. Is he worth a punt if Cmac decides to ditch George in the off-season?

Lyon would be a decent fit stylistically for the Avs, not sure he's 1A/1B level though, especially with an inexperienced backup like Annunen

 

[RoyIsALegend]

If the cap is 86.75M next season, the Avs COULD still ice a very good team while bringing Gabriel Landeskog back if they did the following:

- Got Casey Mittelstadt to sign for 6M long term-ish whether that be 4/5/6 years
- Got Jonathan Drouin to sign for 2.75-3M per for two seasons
- Traded Samuel Girard for draft picks
- Signed a similar caliber defensemen (I'll keep banging the Oliver Kylington drum) for ~2M
- Re-signed JMFJ for 775K and ran a JMFJ-Malinski 3rd pairing until the TDL where an obvious upgrade on D would be made because forwards wouldn't need it.

You could be looking at running:

Drouin - MacKinnon - Rantanen
Landeskog - Mittelstadt - Nichushkin
Lehkonen - Colton - Kovalenko
Wood - Ivan/Pavel - O'Connor

Toews - Makar
Kylington - Manson
JMFJ - Malinski

Georgiev
Annunen

Leaves just over 600K in cap space. 4/5D and 4C would be the targets at the TDL which honestly wouldn't cost the Avs an absurd amount.

The problem here is you're running a 20 man roster and I don't believe teams ever want to do that, but it would give the Avs IMO the deepest roster in hockey once again.

A few points from me:

- Avs won't run a 20 man roster, that's not feasible. Need to find another $1.5-$1.8m or so for 2 scratches, one up front and one on D.
- That's almost a $14m bottom 6. I don't see that as possible. Lehkonen on the bottom 6 is a luxury we won't be able to afford.
- Drouin's hit seems low. He's probably in the $4m AAV range.

The reality is we need to trade one of Girard/Manson AND one of Lehkonen/Colton, or Drouin walks and you don't need to trade a forward.

We have to accept that a couple of difficult decisions need to be made this summer.

Our opportunity to win Stanley Cups will continuously get worse over the upcoming years. That much is obvious. Make every run count.

 

[Avs9296]

I'd hope they also explore trading Miles of Wood if he's going to be on the 4th line anyways. Might not be an easy sell to teams tho.

 

[ABasin]

If the cap is 86.75M next season, the Avs COULD still ice a very good team while bringing Gabriel Landeskog back if they did the following:

- Got Casey Mittelstadt to sign for 6M long term-ish whether that be 4/5/6 years
- Got Jonathan Drouin to sign for 2.75-3M per for two seasons
- Traded Samuel Girard for draft picks
- Signed a similar caliber defensemen (I'll keep banging the Oliver Kylington drum) for ~2M
- Re-signed JMFJ for 775K and ran a JMFJ-Malinski 3rd pairing until the TDL where an obvious upgrade on D would be made because forwards wouldn't need it.

You could be looking at running:

Drouin - MacKinnon - Rantanen
Landeskog - Mittelstadt - Nichushkin
Lehkonen - Colton - Kovalenko
Wood - Ivan/Pavel - O'Connor

Toews - Makar
Kylington - Manson
JMFJ - Malinski

Georgiev
Annunen

Leaves just over 600K in cap space. 4/5D and 4C would be the targets at the TDL which honestly wouldn't cost the Avs an absurd amount.

The problem here is you're running a 20 man roster and I don't believe teams ever want to do that, but it would give the Avs IMO the deepest roster in hockey once again.

20 man roster is the problem here.

 

[henchman21]

One defensemen will be gone… either in UFA or trade. Then one forward will be gone. Odds are high it will be one of each >4m in salary if they are traded out. The cap is just too hard to work otherwise.

 

[ABasin]

A few points from me:

- Avs won't run a 20 man roster, that's not feasible. Need to find another $1.5-$1.8m or so for 2 scratches, one up front and one on D.
- That's almost a $14m bottom 6. I don't see that as possible. Lehkonen on the bottom 6 is a luxury we won't be able to afford.
- Drouin's hit seems low. He's probably in the $4m AAV range.

The reality is we need to trade one of Girard/Manson AND one of Lehkonen/Colton, or Drouin walks and you don't need to trade a forward.

We have to accept that a couple of difficult decisions need to be made this summer.

Our opportunity to win Stanley Cups will continuously get worse over the upcoming years. That much is obvious. Make every run count.

Yes. A current contract needs to go.

Unless of course the Avs plan to start the season by LTIR'ing Landeskog again, and/or Makar (I'm assuming he's played the whole year injured). Either of those things could change this discussion significantly.

 

[ABasin]

One defensemen will be gone… either in UFA or trade. Then one forward will be gone. Odds are high it will be one of each >4m in salary if they are traded out. The cap is just too hard to work otherwise.

It's really kinda looking like Lehkonen, isn't it?

 

[henchman21]

It's really kinda looking like Lehkonen, isn't it?

12 pages to be added in 3…2…

 

[GeoRox89]

Yes. A current contract needs to go.

Unless of course the Avs plan to start the season by LTIR'ing Landeskog again, and/or Makar (I'm assuming he's played the whole year injured). Either of those things could change this discussion significantly.

Landy and Makar are the two possible candidates now but this team is held together by bandaids so who knows who might end up an LTIR candidate after a (hopefully) long playoff run

 

[RoyIsALegend]

It's really kinda looking like Lehkonen, isn't it?

At the end of this year's playoff run, we need to have the discussion on who's more valuable to this team moving forward; Lehkonen or Drouin.

It's easy to say Lehky right now because we've seen him score the key goals and successfully execute 'playoff hockey,' however Drouin can conceivably have a massive playoff for us, playing huge minutes and cementing himself as a must-keep player. If Drouin disappears, we forget the regular season performances and stick with the proven playoff guy in Lehky.

It's still too early to make that call. For a team like ours, it's all about what you do from mid-April onwards.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

A few points from me:

- Avs won't run a 20 man roster, that's not feasible. Need to find another $1.5-$1.8m or so for 2 scratches, one up front and one on D.
- That's almost a $14m bottom 6. I don't see that as possible. Lehkonen on the bottom 6 is a luxury we won't be able to afford.
- Drouin's hit seems low. He's probably in the $4m AAV range.

The reality is we need to trade one of Girard/Manson AND one of Lehkonen/Colton, or Drouin walks and you don't need to trade a forward.

We have to accept that a couple of difficult decisions need to be made this summer.

Our opportunity to win Stanley Cups will continuously get worse over the upcoming years. That much is obvious. Make every run count.

Was it CMac that just made the comment about not falling in love with players?

So true, but unfortunately a bit unavoidable. I really like some of the FNGs.

 

[ABasin]

12 pages to be added in 3…2…

I could have said "It's really looking like a Finnish top 6 wing, isn't it?"

But I was trying to keep it to a mere dozen pages.

 

[ABasin]

At the end of this year's playoff run, we need to have the discussion on who's more valuable to this team moving forward; Lehkonen or Drouin.

It's easy to say Lehky right now because we've seen him score the key goals and successfully execute 'playoff hockey,' however Drouin can conceivably have a massive playoff for us, playing huge minutes and cementing himself as a must-keep player. If Drouin disappears, we forget the regular season performances and stick with the proven playoff guy in Lehky.

It's still too early to make that call. For a team like ours, it's all about what you do from mid-April onwards.

I struggle to see how the Avs can keep either of them.

They need to cut a current contract (for example, Lehkonen). Even doing that, don't see how they can afford Drouin at $4M per.

 

[Balthazar]

At the end of this year's playoff run, we need to have the discussion on who's more valuable to this team moving forward; Lehkonen or Drouin.

It's easy to say Lehky right now because we've seen him score the key goals and successfully execute 'playoff hockey,' however Drouin can conceivably have a massive playoff for us, playing huge minutes and cementing himself as a must-keep player. If Drouin disappears, we forget the regular season performances and stick with the proven playoff guy in Lehky.

It's still too early to make that call. For a team like ours, it's all about what you do from mid-April onwards.

It’s not Drouin or Lehky. Drouin is gone regardless.

Drouin gone
+
Two of Girard/Manson/Walker gone
+
One of Lehky/Colton gone


Remember that we have basically 0 cap space and need to swap 800k Drouin for 7M Landy. Also the players gone need to be replaced

To do that we need to free up around 10M of cap space from the current lineup, excluding the upcoming UFA’s.