John Mandalorian
2022 Avs: The First Dance
- Nov 29, 2018
- 11,113
- 6,925
Probably one of the most succinct posts in the history of this board.
For me, Nichushkin's play is concerning too. He can drive net, mostly unsuccessfully and that's about it. I didn't like his game in the bubble either. His play is a far cry from the pre-covid Nichushkin we all fell in love with.
The question becomes, is Compher at center the black hole that brings all of his linemates down? Or this more in line with the 'real' Nichuskin?
All I know is if the first line isn't scoring, we probably aren't winning (unless we can play San Jose every game).
Edit - Since the bubble, Nuke has 6 points in 27 games. That's just not good enough...
Move him to Chicago. Remind Bowman that Compher always played great in front of his family and friends there, and then point to Roslovic's ressurgence in his home town. Stan took Zadorov off our hands so it's probable that his decisions aren't driven by analytics much which would help.
We'll add a 3C or Newhook at the deadline which will push Compher to 4RW.Compher is digging himself into a hole. I wonder what Super Joe will do with him during the upcoming offseason?
I don’t think it’s a guarantee they’ll add a 3C this year.
I think if you consider what they’re looking for, availability, and cost, it’s a pretty small area if represented as a Venn diagram. But they’ll still want to be shrewd and not settle or be trapped. That makes this summer more realistic.
If they don’t address this then they’re not all in on this season. And they need to be.
I think they'd love to address it but its about opportunities and trade offs.
When the Avs needed to trade Duchene, did it happen right away?
I think they'd love to address it but its about opportunities and trade offs.
When the Avs needed to trade Duchene, did it happen right away?
They could afford to wait. The team was recovering from their worst season in franchise history and did not have playoff aspirations.
They cannot afford to wait now. This is the last year of Makar’s ELC and Landeskog will be due a new deal. The window of contention is open NOW, it wasn’t open when Duchene was sitting around waiting to get traded. They have to find a solution at 2G and 3C. Whatever you gotta do, do it.
The trade-off is that they likely don’t win the cup without a 3C/Compher replacement. I’d say that’s an opportunity lost.
Very different situations. Time is of the essence currently.I think they'd love to address it but its about opportunities and trade offs.
When the Avs needed to trade Duchene, did it happen right away?
They were ok with Compher at 3C last year and didn't address it in the off-season.
3C will without a doubt be something Sakic fixes at the deadline, take it to the bank. Every man and his dog knows that the 3rd line is the Avs biggest issue and it stems from a lack of a 3C.I don’t think it’s a guarantee they’ll add a 3C this year.
I think if you consider what they’re looking for, availability, and cost, it’s a pretty small area if represented as a Venn diagram. But they’ll still want to be shrewd and not settle or be trapped. That makes this summer more realistic.
Sakic made a move to try to shore up the 3rd line last season by acquiring Namestnikov (and the season prior with Brassard). Namestnikov had some time at 3C but wasn't effective either.They were ok with Compher at 3C last year and didn't address it in the off-season.
3C will without a doubt be something Sakic fixes at the deadline, take it to the bank. Every man and his dog knows that the 3rd line is the Avs biggest issue and it stems from a lack of a 3C.
Tampa were in a similar situation last year with a dysfunctional 3rd line in the regular season, but they went out and got Coleman and Goodrow and then their 3rd line was a huge advantage in the playoffs.
Avs need to follow that example and make an upgrade at 3C.
Sakic made a move to try to shore up the 3rd line last season by acquiring Namestnikov (and the season prior with Brassard). Namestnikov had some time at 3C but wasn't effective either.
Landeskog --- Mackinnon ---- Rantanen
Burakovsky ----- Kadri -------- Donskoi
Nichuskin ------ Compher ---- Jost/Namestnikov
Nieto ----------- Bellemare ---- Calvert
In the offseason Avs had $9m in capspace to use, and Sakic clearly prioritised adding a partner for Makar (Toews) and a top 6 forward (Saad) to bump Donskoi down to a more appropriate place on the 3rd line. After those two additions capspace was completely used up, to the point that Jost basically had no choice but to sign a cheap deal if he wanted to stay.
Given the efforts they've made with roster moves to maximise cap accrual and deadline capspace it seems pretty clear that their plan is to make additions at the deadline, with 3C being the most glaring need. Needless to say I think it's pretty safe to say that Avs will most certainly be shopping for a 3C at the deadline. Unless of course they are extremely confident of Newhook making an immediate jump and filling the 3C role, but even then it would be prudent to acquire a 3C to shore up the depth down the middle.
Sakic is most certainly aware of Compher's struggles. I mean, if we can look at the advanced stats and see with our eyes that he's not contributing much then Sakic most definitely has as well.I’m willing to bet Sakic realizes Compher isn’t the answer and he has a real issue on his hands, but the flat cap, Compher’s bad contract, and injuries are really tying him up at present. He has to move out salary in order to make any sort of deal happen, and that in and of itself is a huge problem.
I’m guessing he will wait until closer to the deadline to make a deal when there’s a larger delineation between teams going for it and teams that know they’re out of it, but not addressing the goaltending and third line center were major, major mistakes on Sakic’s part, even in light of the really good moves he made this offseason.
There will be a rental market at the deadline, just like every year. In fact, there might be more movement than usual as teams will be making final moves to prepare their rosters for the expansion draft. Travel restrictions may counteract that though, but not enough that teams will altogether stop trading deadline rentals to manage their assets.Did Tampa make that trade pre - covid?
Would you agree that it’s more difficult to make trades now?
It’s not that I don’t think they’ll try. But like I said, it comes down to specifics and not making a worse situation.
I think there will be more of an opportunity once teams fall out of the play off race. But, again, it will depend on the specifics. And I think some teams will want to exploit the Avs’ desperation and maybe ask for more than they would otherwise. I don’t think the Avs will stop being shrewd. That’s why I can see them waiting.