No one wants Radulov to sign with the Avs more than I do. I think he's an elite talent, and I would have ZERO problem going a 5 year term for him, because I think he'd be earning every bit of his contract (and then some) for that 5 years.
I want it to happen, not just because I'll have to deal with people looking back at what I wrote and asking "So, what happened, huh?"; but because I truly believe he'll make the team better.
If I didn't know anything, I wouldn't be posting on the matter in the manner I have been. But the problem is, he's not signed...so, until he is, I recognize that anything can happen.
RL, he's 30 in a week. We are talking about a 35-36 year old at contracts end. I'm really unsure why you so desperately want him here? Didn't Joe specifically say he didn't want to mortgage our future on an older player?
Sure, he'd make it more fun for the fans in the next couple of years, but you tell me, are we in a building phase, or are we in a phase where we add a few pieces and contend for a cup?
That's why I stated in the Trades thread that Joe and Pat may hold off on moves (for now), and be quite inactive (which quite a few people disagreed with) - yet I notice a lot of the articles that have come out have this week have agreed with my theory.
Honestly mate, (and I know the club has preached patience for ages), I think we need to consolidate.
We need to wait until contracts like Iginla, Stuart & a few others (I'd even say Beauchemin (because I literally saw him physically slow in the last 1/3 of the season) are gone.
Duchene, Landeskog, Mackinnon, Barrie, Johnson will all be 25-28 then, and that's when we add pieces to make a tilt for a cup.
Fact is (in my opinion) Sakic made EXACTLY the right moves in acquiring veterans to help our young guys, but it's also a fact that they have grossly under performed (even Tangs, who got so much better as soon as he left us), so it's not Roy's or Sakic's fault in my opinion as to why we were so poor.
Wouldn't Radulov just potentially be another Tanguay, Iginla, Stuart, Beauchemin type?
Have patience. Let the core continue to develop. Hopefully Grigorenko and Rantanen (and whoever this years 10th overall is) grow some.
Sakic agreed he's not pulling the vet card anymore, and he's learned from it. I completely agree. Will we have tough times in the next few years? Sure ! But the payoff at the end is what we are after.
Remember, when I supported Quebec, it was exactly the same thing. Heck, players who were drafted didn't want to even play for us. But it was those really bad years, that made Colorado what it was when we came to Denver man.
We are just going through that again. I'm not sure Radulov right now helps that growth longer term.