Post-Game Talk: Avalanche @ Lightning 1/25/2014 7PM EST: Battle of Young Sami VS. Old Sami.

[cgf]

And lets say you move Parenteau for a defender...then you're left with a top nine that is not ideally suited to run three scoring lines.

O'Reilly-Duchene-McGinn
Landeskog-Stastny-Tanguay
XXX-MacKinnon-XXX

And suddenly MacKinnon is playing with Talbot/Mitchell/McLeod. This team absolutely needs one good top four defender, ideally two. If the Avs want to run three scoring lines then we cannot afford to move any of our top forwards for a defensman, which means the only way we'll improve our defense is by drastically overpaying a guy like MacDonald in free agency or hoping to find a team willing to move a defender for futures. I don't like either of those options. I'd love to keep Stastny and keep running three scoring lines, but to do that we need to keep all of our other forwards as well and potentially add another one to play alongside MacKinnon if you don't want Mitchell/Talbot in our top 9 nine long term. I just don't feel that's an overly realistic option if we want to improve our defense and give both Stastny and MacKinnon good linemates.

I'd play MacK with McGinn and Talbot as was the plan, McGinnon had good chemistry together and just needed a veteran defensive presence to keep them from getting hemmed into their own zone. We'd have to make another smaller move to find ROR-Duchene a new partner, but that's not hard, hell Malone could even fill the role while we look for a trade.

But I'm all about building lines around duos, adding a third complimentary piece that fits. For us those duos should be ROR-Duchene, Landeskog-Stastny, and McGinn-MacKinnon. Tanguay is the perfect third piece for Landy-Staz, and Talbot is great next to McGinnon. So we could still keep the three lines rolling.

 

[CobraAcesS]

I'd play MacK with McGinn and Talbot as was the plan, McGinnon had good chemistry together and just needed a veteran defensive presence to keep them from getting hemmed into their own zone. We'd have to make another smaller move to find ROR-Duchene a new partner, but that's not hard, hell Malone could even fill the role while we look for a trade.

But I'm all about building lines around duos, adding a third complimentary piece that fits. For us those duos should be ROR-Duchene, Landeskog-Stastny, and McGinn-MacKinnon. Tanguay is the perfect third piece for Landy-Staz, and Talbot is great next to McGinnon. So we could still keep the three lines rolling.

The one thing about moving a forward, would be that it's going to be far easier to find replacements in free-agency than it will to find defense in free-agency. At least to the level that we need....

Hell if Parenteau was moved, Hemsky would be fine as a replacement for what he brings. I wouldn't want both on the roster though.

 

[Avs44]

I'd play MacK with McGinn and Talbot as was the plan, McGinnon had good chemistry together and just needed a veteran defensive presence to keep them from getting hemmed into their own zone. We'd have to make another smaller move to find ROR-Duchene a new partner, but that's not hard, hell Malone could even fill the role while we look for a trade.

But I'm all about building lines around duos, adding a third complimentary piece that fits. For us those duos should be ROR-Duchene, Landeskog-Stastny, and McGinn-MacKinnon. Tanguay is the perfect third piece for Landy-Staz, and Talbot is great next to McGinnon. So we could still keep the three lines rolling.

And then our defense has to be fixed either through free agency or by hoping a team is willing to move a good defender for futures...Our defense has been masked all year by Roy's system and Varlamov. This team really has two top 4 defenders, Barrie, and then a collection of AHLers and 6th/7th defensman. Our back end needs serious help.

 

[CobraAcesS]

And then our defense has to be fixed either through free agency or by hoping a team is willing to move a good defender for futures...Our defense has been masked all year by Roy's system and Varlamov. This team really has two top 4 defenders, Barrie, and then a collection of AHLers and 6th/7th defensman. Our back end needs serious help.

I think this is going to get even more exposed in the playoffs.

 

[AvsFanJosh]

Its going to be great to make the playoffs, but that D is barely holding on in the reg season. Come Playoffs we might as well play short handed with 3 forwards and no D at all.

 

[Drij]

Teams behind are starting to gain, sure we have games in hand but we still have to win those.

 

[cgf]

And then our defense has to be fixed either through free agency or by hoping a team is willing to move a good defender for futures...Our defense has been masked all year by Roy's system and Varlamov. This team really has two top 4 defenders, Barrie, and then a collection of AHLers and 6th/7th defensman. Our back end needs serious help.

...this discussion started with the idea of trading PAP for a guy to play with Barrie like Gorges. Hejda-EJ, Gorges-Barrie means our D is already fixed.

 

[Foppa Frossa]

Teams behind are starting to gain, sure we have games in hand but we still have to win those.

If we go 9-18-4 during the remainder of the season we still have better than even odds to make the playoffs. It is still possible to grasp defeat from the jaws of victory, sure.

 

[tigervixxxen]

I agree. Don't watch the teams behind us. Watch the points. 13 wins to 95 points and that doesn't include loser points which very well can put us to 100+. 13 wins. 13 wins. We can do it.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

Teams behind are starting to gain, sure we have games in hand but we still have to win those.

No teams from behind us are starting to gain that really matter. The Coyotes have been 12 points back now for a while, and it was even less a while back. If anything, they're losing ground.