Rumor: Avs Proposals/Rumors/Free Agents 18-19 Part IX l Off-Season

[ABasin]

Sportsnet ranked teams by how their offseasons have gone.

Avs were ranked 7th out of 31 teams.

NHL Off-Season Power Rankings: Who’s improved most (so far)? - Sportsnet.ca

If Grubauer is indeed a NHL-caliber starting goaltender, then they deserve that ranking.

If he's not, then they really didn't do very much this offseason. If Grubauer is just a backup, they already had a solid backup.

I don't mind either Cole or Calvert, but Calvert more or less equals Comeau, and given what they paid Cole, which Top 4 defenseman is going to lose the minutes and get sent down to the 3rd pairing? Pretty much looks like Girard, I would think. Not sure that's really a step forward for the team, looking long term.

In the end, it's probably not really bad or really good. The team needed someone to step in when Varlamov and EJohnson inevitably get hurt. So they accomplished that. And I've felt they've needed a PK specialist type for a few years now, so Calvert is fine.

But in the end, I think the success of this offseason (minus the draft) comes down to the goaltender they got.

 

[the_fan]

Sportsnet ranked teams by how their offseasons have gone.

Avs were ranked 7th out of 31 teams.

NHL Off-Season Power Rankings: Who’s improved most (so far)? - Sportsnet.ca

That's just about right. Very good offseason for the Avs. Goaltending issue was resolved which was the most important, and I know a lot of people including me want 2nd line upgrade, but I cant say it enough how happy I am they didn't sign Stastny or JVR to the contracts they got. Let the kids like Jost, Kerfoot grow into that 2nd line role, or there is always a possibility of a trade for a really good 2nd line player if Avs want to go that route. They have plenty to offer to teams for a top 2nd liner.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

Even if the cap doesn’t go up, we are slated to go into next summer with just under $30m in cap space. Rantanen and Zadorov will be the only big raises, IMO. Crazy amount of flexibility plus 5 picks in the top 90 of the ‘19 draft(including The Precious).

While I would like to see us bring in a second line scorer, Joe has put us in a remarkably comfortable position financially. Next summer could be huge.

 

[Raucherhusten]

Even if the cap doesn’t go up, we are slated to go into next summer with just under $30m in cap space. Rantanen and Zadorov will be the only big raises, IMO. Crazy amount of flexibility plus 5 picks in the top 90 of the ‘19 draft(including The Precious).

While I would like to see us bring in a second line scorer, Joe has put us in a remarkably comfortable position financially. Next summer could be huge.

Next summer HAS to be huge. Best chance for us to fill the holes and go beast mode. Playoffs this season would have been sweet tho ...

 

[agentblack]

Avs make out like bandits in such a trade. To get Palat and only give up a mid 1st rounder to do so...



A better winger for Jost will be very hard to come by. Palat is seriously underrated.

On this board?...Give it another week

 

[twostroke27]

Even if the cap doesn’t go up, we are slated to go into next summer with just under $30m in cap space. Rantanen and Zadorov will be the only big raises, IMO. Crazy amount of flexibility plus 5 picks in the top 90 of the ‘19 draft(including The Precious).

While I would like to see us bring in a second line scorer, Joe has put us in a remarkably comfortable position financially. Next summer could be huge.

I think this is why the Av's haven't been super aggressive this off season. This season gives them a chance to see how Jost is going to handle a 2c position (hopefully anyways) and see what they have in guys like Kerfoot/Kamanev/Compher can do and I'd imagine Greer will get a extended look too. Ditto for Meloche and possibly even Timmins. It's also expected that Makar and maybe even Bowers could be joining the fold at the end of the college season too. It'll be interesting to see how Kaut does as well in the AHL.

The sens first could be a gamebreaker for next season as well. I know it's not popular to take another development year, but I honestly believe it is the smartest thing to do right now to see where things stand. Then next year, go into contending mode, consolidate assets if needed and swing for the fences once you know where you holes actually are.

 

[OwenNolan]

Okay, so, in my drunken stupor (and careful editing) this evening, I came up with the following:

Ottawa
1st COL 2019
1st TBL 2020
Sergachev
Katchouk
Greer

Colorado
Palat, Ondrej

Tampa Bay
Karlsson, Erik

Yay? Nay? I’m rather under the influence, so I take partial responsibility for the proposal.

I'm not trading a future 1st for a guy coming off 11 goals.

Like any team, we are one injury away from a top 5 pick.

 

[MarkT]

I think this is why the Av's haven't been super aggressive this off season. This season gives them a chance to see how Jost is going to handle a 2c position (hopefully anyways) and see what they have in guys like Kerfoot/Kamanev/Compher can do and I'd imagine Greer will get a extended look too. Ditto for Meloche and possibly even Timmins. It's also expected that Makar and maybe even Bowers could be joining the fold at the end of the college season too. It'll be interesting to see how Kaut does as well in the AHL.

The sens first could be a gamebreaker for next season as well. I know it's not popular to take another development year, but I honestly believe it is the smartest thing to do right now to see where things stand. Then next year, go into contending mode, consolidate assets if needed and swing for the fences once you know where you holes actually are.

You're my soulmate

 

[twostroke27]

You're my soulmate

I certainly wasn't feeling like this before but looking objectively at the avs situation objectively, it makes sense. If you start trading assets right now, you're really just looking at shorter term solutions for problems that might only exist for one season...or could very well not even exist this season. Our secondary scoring is definitely worrying, but if jost proves to be a capable 2c this season (which he very well could....he had a pretty rough year last year right from camp) suddenly our needs are very different. I know the probability isn't there, but what if the avs actually do end up with a top three pick from Ottawa? There are just an awful lot of what if's right now.

I don't obsess with prospects like some of you here, but it's just the smart thing to do right now.

 

[MarkT]

I certainly wasn't feeling like this before but looking objectively at the avs situation objectively, it makes sense. If you start trading assets right now, you're really just looking at shorter term solutions for problems that might only exist for one season...or could very well not even exist this season. Our secondary scoring is definitely worrying, but if jost proves to be a capable 2c this season (which he very well could....he had a pretty rough year last year right from camp) suddenly our needs are very different. I know the probability isn't there, but what if the avs actually do end up with a top three pick from Ottawa? There are just an awful lot of what if's right now.

I don't obsess with prospects like some of you here, but it's just the smart thing to do right now.

Well I'm glad you and others have come around to this viewpoint. I've been preaching pretty much this for what seems like months now, but now that Stastny is no longer an option and people see the deals that some of their desired top 6 forwards got, there's a lot less backlash to people wanting to use this as another development year.

 

[Papa Francouz]

I'm not trading a future 1st for a guy coming off 11 goals.

Like any team, we are one injury away from a top 5 pick.

Palat has always been more of a set-up guy than anything else, but I understand where you’re coming from. He did only play 56 games last year, which is probably why his goal totals were low. Personally, I don’t think we’d only be able to get him for a 1st if Tampa wasn’t trying to shed some salary to fit Karlsson under their cap. He’s basically a much less expensive, 80% Mark Stone player.

 

[hooverdam]

I'd still really like to see them get secondary scoring this offseason. Skinner, Stone...just do something to prove to that room you're ready to help them take the next steps. I understand preaching patience but it's going to sting when Skinner gets traded for some garbage right before camp and the Avs didn't take advantage. MacKinnon shouldn't go into next season knowing he has to go god-mode again just to sniff the playoffs. That's a worrying scenario to place him in, confidence-wise.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

If Grubauer is indeed a NHL-caliber starting goaltender, then they deserve that ranking.

If he's not, then they really didn't do very much this offseason. If Grubauer is just a backup, they already had a solid backup.

I don't mind either Cole or Calvert, but Calvert more or less equals Comeau, and given what they paid Cole, which Top 4 defenseman is going to lose the minutes and get sent down to the 3rd pairing? Pretty much looks like Girard, I would think. Not sure that's really a step forward for the team, looking long term.

In the end, it's probably not really bad or really good. The team needed someone to step in when Varlamov and EJohnson inevitably get hurt. So they accomplished that. And I've felt they've needed a PK specialist type for a few years now, so Calvert is fine.

But in the end, I think the success of this offseason (minus the draft) comes down to the goaltender they got.

Agree on Grubauer.

Mostly agree on Calvert. Half the people say he is better than Comeau. The other half say Comeau is the better player. In the end they are probably pretty close. They just bring minor different things to the table but overall it is close to a wash.

However i disagree on Cole. First we need more depth on D so we can keep guys like Siemens and Warf out of the lineup. You can argue that, as hench says, it is the wrong kind of depth as he would have prefer a PMD instead and he might be right but Cole is still pretty good depth. The other thing people forgets is that Sakic said that they got Cole because Z and Nemeth might not be ready to start the season. With that in mind then Cole was the right kind of depth to bring in and therefore we can now argue that it was a pretty good offseason.

 

[MarkT]

I'd still really like to see them get secondary scoring this offseason. Skinner, Stone...just do something to prove to that room you're ready to help them take the next steps. I understand preaching patience but it's going to sting when Skinner gets traded for some garbage right before camp and the Avs didn't take advantage. MacKinnon shouldn't go into next season knowing he has to go god-mode again just to sniff the playoffs. That's a worrying scenario to place him in, confidence-wise.

I'd be amazed if they haven't at least inquired about the cost of getting Skinner and any other top 6 forward available who would fit with the team's mold. But that doesn't mean they should be willing to pay whatever it costs to get such a player. If Skinner is traded for garbage then maybe you'd have a point, but what makes you think he'll be traded for garbage? If that were the case surely he'd already have been traded.

 

[Raucherhusten]

I'd still really like to see them get secondary scoring this offseason. Skinner, Stone...just do something to prove to that room you're ready to help them take the next steps. I understand preaching patience but it's going to sting when Skinner gets traded for some garbage right before camp and the Avs didn't take advantage. MacKinnon shouldn't go into next season knowing he has to go god-mode again just to sniff the playoffs. That's a worrying scenario to place him in, confidence-wise.

If the right trade is available (Trade/Sign for Skinner/Stone) i would love for Joe to be all over it. But if not it's not a big deal either. 1 more year fellas, just one more year.

(Try to stay positive here - but it's not that easy)

 

[MarkT]

If the right trade is available (Trade/Sign for Skinner/Stone) i would love for Joe to be all over it. But if not it's not a big deal either. 1 more year fellas, just one more year.

(Try to stay positive here - but it's not that easy)

Can you imagine how hyped this board will be next June if the Avs had a good season, are drafting in the top 5, have half the team to re-sign, and there's a wide range of genuinely good forwards likely available in free agency?

 

[hooverdam]

If the right trade is available (Trade/Sign for Skinner/Stone) i would love for Joe to be all over it. But if not it's not a big deal either. 1 more year fellas, just one more year.

(Try to stay positive here - but it's not that easy)

Right but you just know some Central team is going to miraculously have "the right trade" for Skinner in the last week of August, and get him for some pocket lint and a crappy protected first. Stone, maybe Ottawa just holds on to him for another lengthy drama, but we really should be able to leverage the one asset they value most in the entire league to make a play for him.

I do trust Sakic to a certain extent, but I also don't want him to be patient to a fault. I tend to go against the HFB hivemind when it comes to picks and prospects and when there's a need at the NHL level, I hate seeing a team hoard those futures assets and watch that need go unfilled.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

Can you imagine how hyped this board will be next June if the Avs had a good season, are drafting in the top 5, have half the team to re-sign, and there's a wide range of genuinely good forwards likely available in free agency?

Let's shoot for the best outcome...we win the Cup and we draft 1st overall with the Sens 1st. Now that would be a successful season lol.

 

[Raucherhusten]

Let's shoot for the best outcome...we win the Cup and we draft 1st overall with the Sens 1st. Now that would be a successful season lol.

We need about 3 more MacKinnons for this to happen

 

[Raucherhusten]

Right but you just know some Central team is going to miraculously have "the right trade" for Skinner in the last week of August, and get him for some pocket lint and a crappy protected first. Stone, maybe Ottawa just holds on to him for another lengthy drama, but we really should be able to leverage the one asset they value most in the entire league to make a play for him.

I do trust Sakic to a certain extent, but I also don't want him to be patient to a fault. I tend to go against the HFB hivemind when it comes to picks and prospects and when there's a need at the NHL level, I hate seeing a team hoard those futures assets and watch that need go unfilled.

If one of the Centrals steals Skinner and Stone i obviously rage-quit the internet. And so should you

 

[shadow1]

Sportsnet ranked teams by how their offseasons have gone.

Avs were ranked 7th out of 31 teams.

NHL Off-Season Power Rankings: Who’s improved most (so far)? - Sportsnet.ca

That's funny because you'd think Sakic set the team back a couple years by taking a glance in the "free agent frenzy" thread.

Sakic has a solid, if unremarkable, off-season. I think 7th is a bit too generous considering the team's greatest weakness - secondary scoring - has yet to be addressed.

 

[chet1926]

The amount of people in here that are simply OK with having a mediocre season next year, and not really trying to improve off of last season is simply staggering to me. How can anyone in their right mind be OK with possible regression?

I see all this crap about how we are in a good position for the 2019 offseason, but lets take a step back for a second. Let's play devil's advocate on few of the hot button topics.

What if Ottawa is not as bad as people think, and we end up with a mid first like 12-16 range? I see a ton of posters in here pretty much banking on us getting Jack Hughes. Personally I'd say the chances of that are less than 5%, a lot things would have to fall in our favor for that to happen. And when we get the 12-16th pick what does another mid first round pick get us? Another player a few years away.

Let's say we regress, and miss the playoffs. Why would any potential good UFAs want to come to a middling team with no chance of winning the Cup? What big names have we lured to Colorado recently through UFA? The answer is 0. No one wants to come to a team that isn't winning. We miss the playoffs you can pretty much kiss any chance of a Stone or Panarin or pretty much any UFA worth a crap coming here. I don't care how much money you throw at them they aren't going to come to a mid market team with a recent history of missing the playoffs. So really what good is it to have 30M+ in cap space next year if you're not really going to have a chance to use in on anyone of significance. We're not New York or LA or Chicago where the lure of playing a big market is still appealing even if the team is weaker. We have to be a good team for top players to even consider us. Look at Tavares, he wouldn't even consider us. Why would it be any different for other top guys?

At some point or another you have to get better for a prolonged period of time. You can't just keep banking on prospects tearing it up and stuff like winning the 1st overall pick. It might happen, and if so great, but there is also the high likelihood that it won't work out perfectly. Thus why you have to have a plan if it doesn't work out that way. And right now I can't see any other "plan" from Sakic if they don't get significant improvement from their young prospects/players and we don't win a top pick next year who can step in right away and help secondary scoring.

 

[chet1926]

That's funny because you'd think Sakic set the team back a couple years by taking a glance in the "free agent frenzy" thread.

Sakic has a solid, if unremarkable, off-season. I think 7th is a bit too generous considering the team's greatest weakness - secondary scoring - has yet to be addressed.

He didn't set us back a couple years we still have a bunch of nice prospects, picks and young players moving forward. What he did do, is sit around doing nothing of value and watched the Western conference get even tougher. Making it nearly impossible for us to have a successful playoff caliber season next season which is incredibly frustrating to some of us in here. Some of us are not OK with losing and want to continue the success of last year. Some prefer the wait it out method.

Not sure either method is right. But I feel as if you need to keep making progress, which IMO did not happen and we kind of stagnated and are in the praying for a lot of things to go right over the next few seasons mode. Which might not work out.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Going out an trading for Grubauer is the equivalent of "doing nothing" I guess.

 

[the_fan]

The amount of people in here that are simply OK with having a mediocre season next year, and not really trying to improve off of last season is simply staggering to me. How can anyone in their right mind be OK with possible regression?

I see all this crap about how we are in a good position for the 2019 offseason, but lets take a step back for a second. Let's play devil's advocate on few of the hot button topics.

What if Ottawa is not as bad as people think, and we end up with a mid first like 12-16 range? I see a ton of posters in here pretty much banking on us getting Jack Hughes. Personally I'd say the chances of that are less than 5%, a lot things would have to fall in our favor for that to happen. And when we get the 12-16th pick what does another mid first round pick get us? Another player a few years away.

Let's say we regress, and miss the playoffs. Why would any potential good UFAs want to come to a middling team with no chance of winning the Cup? What big names have we lured to Colorado recently through UFA? The answer is 0. No one wants to come to a team that isn't winning. We miss the playoffs you can pretty much kiss any chance of a Stone or Panarin or pretty much any UFA worth a crap coming here. I don't care how much money you throw at them they aren't going to come to a mid market team with a recent history of missing the playoffs. So really what good is it to have 30M+ in cap space next year if you're not really going to have a chance to use in on anyone of significance. We're not New York or LA or Chicago where the lure of playing a big market is still appealing even if the team is weaker. We have to be a good team for top players to even consider us. Look at Tavares, he wouldn't even consider us. Why would it be any different for other top guys?

At some point or another you have to get better for a prolonged period of time. You can't just keep banking on prospects tearing it up and stuff like winning the 1st overall pick. It might happen, and if so great, but there is also the high likelihood that it won't work out perfectly. Thus why you have to have a plan if it doesn't work out that way. And right now I can't see any other "plan" from Sakic if they don't get significant improvement from their young prospects/players and we don't win a top pick next year who can step in right away and help secondary scoring.

So what should Sakic have done? For me it was Tavares or nothing in this free agency and he had a list of teams which did not include the Avs. Nothing you can do about that.

Please dont say Stastny again, or JVR. Those 2 would not have enough impact to make the Avs a better team than they were last year. Avs had a younger Stastny for many years and that didn't get them anywhere, why would older Stastny be any better. And if you're a smart GM, you don't spend 7 mill on one dimensional winger like JVR who may score 30 goals and get you 10 assists for 40 points. No thanks.

Basically other than Tavares, there wasn't much available to make the Avs a better team for next year.