Has this off-season been a dissapointment?

[duckbear]

Technically we are only a week into unrestricted free agency and there are still players out there, but with our RFAs signed we have an NHL roster of 13F, 8D, and 2G, and that is not including any prospects making the jump. It is very possible that this is our roster going into next season.

The noteworthy changes are:

In: Kadri, Donskoi, Burakovsky, Bellemare, Connauton, Rosen
Out: Soderberg, Kerfoot, Brassard, Borque, Barrie, Nemeth

Has our team improved enough? Are you happy with the moves as a whole, especially given our cap space?

Click to read more...

 

[Balthazar]

We have a legit 2C and Kerfoot is gone. Pretty good off-season to me.

Not happy with the Burakovsky trade though.

 

[cgf]

Not a disappointment, but I'm not thrilled that we had to use our #1 blueliner -- even if his days as our #1 were numbered -- to get a 2C when we were so rich with futures with which to address that hole and this hole didn't exactly creep up on us...and I can't help but wonder how much more than what we spent on Bura it would've cost to get a guaranteed solution for that 3rd top 6 winger spot.

But there's potential solutions in place everywhere and we still have the resources to upgrade were needed before the postseason rolls around. So I'm more option 3 than the other two, but option 3 doesn't feel completely right for me either.

 

[the_fan]

Alot of question marks. If the following happens up front I'll be happy...

Burakovsky 40+points
Donskoi 30+ points
Jost 40 points
Kadri 50 to 60 points 25 to 30 goals

 

[henchman21]

Need a 4th option... met expectations.

 

[Raucherhusten]

Need a 4th option... met expectations.

Or option 5: No matter what we do we will NEVER be happy.

I'm fine with our roster. They did good.

 

[cgf]

Or option 5: No matter what we do we will NEVER be happy.

I'm fine with our roster. They did good.

Why not option 6: No matter what we do we will ALWAYS be happy?

 

[duckbear]

Personally, I am disappointed that we weren't able to weaponize/capitalize on our cap space more than we did. I would have loved us to be more aggressive towards adding an elite player - i.e Trading for or offer sheeting someone like Laine, Aho, Point, Connor. Would Panarin have come here at 15mx2yrs? Does Carolina match if the offer-sheet was 10.5x5? And if none of those things were possible, why wasn't it us buying our Marleau for a first rounder?

It's not that the moves we've made were bad, they just don't stand out. I don't see Donskoi or Bura turning into 60pt guys in Colorado. It seems like in each of the deals (Soda, Bura, Barrie) we paid too much or came away with too little and certainly didn't dramatically improve the team - why did we trade Soda for a depth D and a third, only to sign Bellemare at ages 34-36? Are Connauton or Rosen something special?

 

[Raucherhusten]

Why not option 6: No matter what we do we will ALWAYS be happy?

Only Sea Eagles would vote for that

 

[Spender]

Sad to see Barrie go, but we've improved up front and hopefully Makar and Girard can step up enough to lessen the loss of Barrie. I think we're a better team going into this season, so I'm pretty happy.

 

[Pokecheque]

The Avs needs going into the offseason:
1. Get a 2nd line center
2. Improve depth up front
3. Get better at faceoffs
4. Improve the PK

They checked three of those boxes for certain, and hopefully got the 4th covered as well. And they did so without diving headlong into the stupid game of free agency (though they did at least make a concerted effort to snag the best player available on the market) and sign a deal that could leave them in cap hell in 1-2 years.

I'd honestly say they did amazingly well this offseason. Obviously a lot rides on a young blueline and unproven goalie tandem, so we'll see how it pans out. But on paper they did everything they needed to do save for signing their big-name RFA.

 

[Thepoolmaster]

Personally, I am disappointed that we weren't able to weaponize/capitalize on our cap space more than we did. I would have loved us to be more aggressive towards adding an elite player - i.e Trading for or offer sheeting someone like Laine, Aho, Point, Connor. Would Panarin have come here at 15mx2yrs? Does Carolina match if the offer-sheet was 10.5x5? And if none of those things were possible, why wasn't it us buying our Marleau for a first rounder?

It's not that the moves we've made were bad, they just don't stand out. I don't see Donskoi or Bura turning into 60pt guys in Colorado. It seems like in each of the deals (Soda, Bura, Barrie) we paid too much or came away with too little and certainly didn't dramatically improve the team - why did we trade Soda for a depth D and a third, only to sign Bellemare at ages 34-36? Are Connauton or Rosen something special?

No. Hasn't it been reported the AVS had one of if not the highest option on the table and he still didn't come.
Couldn't get offer that kind of money to Panarin was probably Joe's thinking with Rantanen's contract needing to be signed for not getting Marleau .

 

[Foppberg]

Naturally the single vote for option A is a Leafs fan. Dumbass.

 

[OwenNolan]

It's been a fantastic offseason.

1- We get rid of Barrie and his contract demands. He wants 8x8 and there was no way we were giving him that with Makar, Girard, Byram and Timmins on the roster.

2- We finally acquired a 2C. A guy who is a 30/30 player and a great 2 way center. He will bring so much to this team that was lacking last year.

3- Bellmare is one of the best 4th line centers in the league. Vegas fans were not happy that he left. He will bring what Calvert did last year. You win games with these guys.

4- We signed Donskoi who can play up and down the lineup and re-signed Wilson who can do the same.

5- We acquired an extremely talented player in Burakovsky who was buried behind some great players in Washington. Pair him with Rantanen or MacKinnon and he will shine.

A+ offseason.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Best offseason I’ve witnessed as an adult who can actually understand the makeup of a team from a cap perspective.

- drafted the best defenseman in the draft
- shot for the sun at 16 with Newhook who has risks but a huge ceiling as potentially the best skater in the draft
- added a legit 2C
- got rid of Kerfoot
- improved our Pk and faceoff ability.
- added depth (love the Donskoi signing more each day)

Only thing I’m not loving (outside of losing Barrie but I understand that move) is the Burakovsky trade and he can easily change my mind. Still I feel Joe made the move too quickly. Had he waited he may have found a clone in free agency without giving up the assets or traded those assets for a guy like Gusev who I think is a better option.

Still a tremendous offseason. Joe has quietly replaced the picks we’ve lost too. We drafted 8 players this year and the only round we don’t have a pick in going forward is round 2 next season.

 

[pockets]

Need the ‘meh’ option - as in ‘not really disappointed but also could have done better’

 

[S3rkie]

I haven't hated any of the moves. I'm just really nervous about the defense, it went from being really confident then news of two injuries and Barrie gone. I'm concerned about regression. I think long term things look good, but this next year could be rough if a lot of things don't go the right way.

 

[Perratrooper]

I'm more indifferent than disappointed, but I think another move say bring in another capable RHD or sign Ferland/Dzingel to a one year high cap deal.

 

[Richard88]

Best offseason I’ve witnessed as an adult who can actually understand the makeup of a team from a cap perspective.

- drafted the best defenseman in the draft
- shot for the sun at 16 with Newhook who has risks but a huge ceiling as potentially the best skater in the draft
- added a legit 2C
- got rid of Kerfoot
- improved our Pk and faceoff ability.
- added depth (love the Donskoi signing more each day)

Only thing I’m not loving (outside of losing Barrie but I understand that move) is the Burakovsky trade and he can easily change my mind. Still I feel Joe made the move too quickly. Had he waited he may have found a clone in free agency without giving up the assets or traded those assets for a guy like Gusev who I think is a better option.

Still a tremendous offseason. Joe has quietly replaced the picks we’ve lost too. We drafted 8 players this year and the only round we don’t have a pick in going forward is round 2 next season.

I agree with our post, great offseason.

Just want to comment on the bolded in particular.

I seem to recall reading that Washington were wanting to move Burakovsky quickly, so it seems like Sakic had to make his move when he did or else risk losing out on him. He may have overpaid, but it's a reasonable overpayment to make for a player with his upside. Sakic has clearly been targeting players with good character and playoff experience too, and Burakovsky ticks those boxes.

It's possible that had Sakic waited he could have found a decent alternative in free agency, but that likely would have involved overpaying in terms of cap hit, particularly as there weren't that many attractive options to start with (and let's not forget that Sakic did nab one of the best options in Donskoi as well).

With the position the roster is in now, I'd rather Sakic took calculated risks with 2nd/3rd round picks rather than risks involving overpaying project players in free agency that would hamstring us cap-wise in a couple of years.

As for Gusev, I agree that he would be a worthy player to acquire, but it's unlikely that Vegas would want to trade him within the conference, unless it's a huge overpay.

 

[flyfysher]

Best offseason I’ve witnessed as an adult who can actually understand the makeup of a team from a cap perspective.

- drafted the best defenseman in the draft
- shot for the sun at 16 with Newhook who has risks but a huge ceiling as potentially the best skater in the draft
- added a legit 2C
- got rid of Kerfoot
- improved our Pk and faceoff ability.
- added depth (love the Donskoi signing more each day)

Only thing I’m not loving (outside of losing Barrie but I understand that move) is the Burakovsky trade and he can easily change my mind. Still I feel Joe made the move too quickly. Had he waited he may have found a clone in free agency without giving up the assets or traded those assets for a guy like Gusev who I think is a better option.

Still a tremendous offseason. Joe has quietly replaced the picks we’ve lost too. We drafted 8 players this year and the only round we don’t have a pick in going forward is round 2 next season.

Donskoi, Burakovsky and Kadri are all vets with PO experience and in Burakovsky's case, a SC winner. I know vet experience is overrated since Roy but they have it. People aren't even mentioning what Sakic did for the Eagles that made the AHL POs in their inaugural season. He has taken steps to balance the rosters of both clubs. That was also impressive.

 

[Avsboy]

The roster has much more depth up front now. All we lost of value was Barrie, and he got more back than Trouba. It was a 9/10 offseason. Bring in Ferland or Gusev and it’s a 10.

 

[Mac2Rants]

No.

 

[Vaslof]

It's a disappointment considering we had a realistic chance to add both Hughes/Kakko and Panarin and we ended up with neither.

 

[Foppberg]

It's a disappointment considering we had a realistic chance to add both Hughes/Kakko and Panarin and we ended up with neither.

Nah.

 

[cgf]

Only Sea Eagles would vote for that

Exactly! That's 1 more than would select your option