Has this off-season been a dissapointment?

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Good but not great. I still have concerns that we are being too passive and that our window will never truly open up.


But we did get a 2C this summer and we did add quality Top 9 depth, and we drafted strong in June IMO.


I'm definitely happy despite thinking we still could have done more.

 

[CharlesPuck]

Just glad to see the poll results match my response!

 

[The Abusement Park]

It’s been an offseason.

 

[forsbergavs32]

Good but not great. I still have concerns that we are being too passive and that our window will never truly open up.


But we did get a 2C this summer and we did add quality Top 9 depth, and we drafted strong in June IMO.


I'm definitely happy despite thinking we still could have done more.

I agree that it isn’t perfect but I’m not sure what more Sakic could have done to be more aggressive aside from throwing out an offersheet somewhere.

He went all in trying to get Panarin and threw more money to him and he still signed elsewhere, so not much he could do there. He signed 2 middle 6 guys who are upgrades on what we had plus added a great 4th line C, fixing our depth problems. Then traded for a 2c with potential to put up 30g and 50-60 points, losing Barrie hurts but we have solutions coming up and he was gonna be too expensive. Plus he’s got us in a good position cap-wise going forward by not overpaying guys like Ferland, Nyquist, etc.

Like I said, it’s not perfect because the defense may take a step back while Makar and Byram get going. But I think he was aggressive enough, without going overboard on signing people to bad contracts.

 

[Avaholic29]

It was a perfect offseason.

- We have no long term hindering contracts during our window of re signing our big 3.

- We improved the depth drastically
(Donskoi, bura, Kadri, bellemare)
People show too much doubt in bura and donskoi, they will improve their "buried in the line up" stats for sure.

- We got a 2C who makes 4.5x3 for Barrie who has come out and said he will look for 8X8 next year, no thanks.

We remain young and nowhere near a cap crunch because of terrible contracts like zuccs and Lee.

 

[Tralfamadore]

Happy with the depth acquisitions.

Kadris point projection for the upcoming season is a bit of a question mark but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt considering he was playing a limited role last season.

Truth is we shipped out 150 points and only brought in 106. There's going to be some ground to make up. Good news is it seems like the 3 players brought in were all being somewhat under utilized in each of their own respects. Makar will help here as well. Also, hopefully the kids can take a step forward as well, ideally Jost.

Overall I'd say the team is stronger largely because of the Kadri acquisition. 2C was the biggest need and they got it done.

 

[Raucherhusten]

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

You know damn well that even if we win the Cup the next 3 years there would still be some people left that would complain about the silliest things. It's in our nature - nothing we can do about it.

 

[Pokecheque]

What I like is that they improved up front in terms of size, defensive ability, faceoffs, "grit", and the fancy stats without sacrificing overall team speed. In fact, I'd argue they may have improved it. The one major thing they DID sacrifice this offseason, is experience.

 

[Balthazar]

Good but not great. I still have concerns that we are being too passive and that our window will never truly open up.

Sakic doesn't see "our window" as early as some of you see it.

 

[cgf]

You know damn well that even if we win the Cup the next 3 years there would still be some people left that would complain about the silliest things. It's in our nature - nothing we can do about it.

You need to stop listening to ghosts

 

[cgf]

Sakic doesn't see "our window" as early as some of you see it.

That’s what we’re afraid of...

 

[AvsWraith]

Great off-season, IMO.

After the Trouba trade, I lost all hope that we would get anything great for Barrie. I actually thought Sakic was going to go with the "He's our own rental" kinda deal for Barrie this season.

However, we got a legit 2C with term, and a sweetheart contract. I honestly don't know if we could get a better deal than that. Kadri had back to back 30 goal seasons before the Leafs got JT, so his talent is legit in every way. Plus, he is not soft like 85% of everyone else on the team. He's a mean bastard!

Then there's Barrie, who I'm betting is going to be THE UFA next year that everyone will be fighting over. After the year he has with Toronto, which could get him a Norris, he going to get 8.5-9.0 M from someone. No way we could ever afford him, so we got out of the way of that **** storm, and filled a giant hole in the roster instead.

 

[Pokecheque]

It can't be overstated what it means to have a 1-2 punch at center that's as good as the Avs have now who are cost controlled for the next three seasons.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

You need to stop listening to ghosts

This is ironic because I could see you being one of the guys complaining that we could have had 4 cups instead of 3 if only Sakic would have not been passive last summer and trade for a 2C.

 

[Pokecheque]

FTR I'm not positive Barrie's numbers will be as explosive as people are thinking. He went to one of the few teams that had a puckmoving defenseman that scored more than he did, so I'm just not sure how much power play time he'll get. But he'll also be on a deeper offensive club that's going to use him extensively, so that may balance out.

 

[John Eichel da GOAT]

Im happy in general, but we have a lot of question marks in our acquisitions. Tons of potential, but no sure things. If we add Gusev, ill be perfectly content and excited.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

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.

This is the post that is the closest to my opinion. The offseason was great but then there is Bura. I see why he got him (because of the upside) but I thought he could have got somebody that fits a little better our identity. I'm excited for this season though.

 

[Richard88]

What I like is that they improved up front in terms of size, defensive ability, faceoffs, "grit", and the fancy stats without sacrificing overall team speed. In fact, I'd argue they may have improved it. The one major thing they DID sacrifice this offseason, is experience.

I would disagree with that, and here's why:

• Burakovsky - 2018 Stanley cup champion with Washington
• Donskoi - 2016 Stanley cup final and 2019 WCF with Sharks
• Bellemare - 2018 Stanley cup final with Vegas
• Rosén - 2018 AHL Calder Cup champion
• Kadri - experience with handling media pressure cooker environment in Toronto (yes this one is generous admittedly)

Conversely, none of Soderberg, Varlamov, Barrie, Kerfoot, Bourque, Andrighetto, or Nemeth, have ever been past the 2nd round.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

I’m quite pleased with the off-season. Losing Barrie hurts for sure, but it was a necessary move considering he didn’t have a future with the Avs, given his upcoming contract and the young defenceman we have.

The prospect pool is as deep as it’s been in a long time and the depth upfront is very solid.

Kadri coming in as the 2C is a massive addition and gives us another legitimate threat outside the big three.

I think there will be growing pains with our young guys on the backend, but we have a lot of talent that is on the rise.

We’re probably a year away from hitting our stride, but it’s a great time to be an Avs fan.

 

[Pokecheque]

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

There was no chance for Panarin, no matter what the pundits/beat writers have said. The Avs did their damndest but Panarin would not ever have moved to Denver. He left money on the table to go to Manhattan, and the 2nd choice would've been Long Island. He wanted to be near the coast.

Yeah, it kinda sucks that the Avs lost out on Hughes/Kakko, but Plan B ended up being Kadri/Byram/Newhook so I'm okay with that.

 

[Pokecheque]

I would disagree with that, and here's why:

• Burakovsky - 2018 Stanley cup champion with Washington
• Donskoi - 2016 Stanley cup final and 2019 WCF with Sharks
• Bellemare - 2018 Stanley cup final with Vegas
• Rosén - 2018 AHL Calder Cup champion
• Kadri - experience with handling media pressure cooker environment in Toronto (yes this one is generous admittedly)

Conversely, none of Soderberg, Varlamov, Barrie, Kerfoot, Bourque, Andrighetto, or Nemeth, have ever been past the 2nd round.

Totally fair, my point was focusing on their young blueline corps and inexperienced goaltending tandem, but I did overlook the experience the new additions bring.

 

[cgf]

This is ironic because I could see you being one of the guys complaining that we could have had 4 cups instead of 3 if only Sakic would have not been passive last summer and trade for a 2C.

That's because you people make a lot of assumptions about me

I'm scared of going the way of Winnipeg & not winning a cup (or two) with this core; not failing to win every cup. If we win 2 or 3 I will be thrilled even if they're all when MacK's in his 30s.

 

[McMetal]

Hardly. We solved the pressing 2C problem, acquired a solid top 9 forward in Donskoi, and we now have a really high end 4th line in Nieto-Bellemare-Calvert (with players like Bourque and Dries now pushed out of the healthy lineup altogether). Our top defensive pair is now set for a decade with the drafting of Byram, picking 8 times in the draft even though we were only a game away from the conference finals. The defense is young but loaded with talent and potential after a decade of being among the worst in the league and carrying non-NHL plugs.

I could have done without the Burakovsky trade but aside from that it's hard to imagine a better offseason. The only thing left to do is get Rantanen locked up long term.

 

[Balthazar]

I'm scared of going the way of Winnipeg & not winning a cup (or two) with this core

The way I see it there was the old core:
ROR, Landy, Duchene, Barrie, EJ, Stastny, Varly. Management failed miserably at building a team around them, mostly due to bad financial decisions and overall bad drafting (no depth).

and the new core:
Mack, Rants, Girard, Makar, Byram

This is the core they should go to the cup with and they need not to mess up this time. The difference is we have high end support (starting with Landy and Kadri which I could have included in the "core") and good depth at all positions (except goaltending).

 

[flyfysher]

That's because you people make a lot of assumptions about me

I'm scared of going the way of Winnipeg & not winning a cup (or two) with this core; not failing to win every cup. If we win 2 or 3 I will be thrilled even if they're all when MacK's in his 30s.

The Jets got handicapped by the cap and one can argue they aren't set up long term. The Avs' D is set for the long term and we actually have quality prospects. Sakic has been very careful in setting up contracts to manage the cap. I think our situation embodies a longer cup window than other teams although you can argue teams like the Hawks will consistently field competitive teams because of Stan Bowman's willingness to be a lot more aggressive with trades. Teams fill in and end up with bad contracts. The Avs are in an unbelievably enviable position. I hear your concern. But I don't see the Avs' position as being analogous to the Jets'.