Just curious
@Ararana does the fact that Byram's point totals and especially goal totals are way down so far from last year make the average Avs fan less bullish on him, or more precisely why doesn't it since everyone seems to say he's untouchable?
Also, would you agree with me that the future of the Avalanche organization is not riding on Byram being their superstar defenseman along with Makar?
It seems to me under those circumstances that Sakic might pull the trigger on Hall for Byram if he were convinced it presented them with a legitimate shot at the Cup.
Let me put it this way, the Avs (and us Colorado fans) just watched Makar have a disappointing D+1 year then turn into what he is now. So its a little hard for me to get too worked up over the first 23 games of Byram's post draft career. And IMO Byram's development is further than Makar's was when he was drafted.
Bryam has already shown he can dominate the WHL and its disappointing he had to return because of the rules. He should be in the AHL with Timmins working on his defensive game.
Secondly, I believe it's a fair point that this year's Giants team isn't firing on the offensive cylinders as last years team was. Sure Byram is responsible for a portion of that but he's not going to be able to do everything himself. For me, the WJCs and the mem. cup are the measuring sticks for Byram this season.
As far as his impact on the Avs going forward, Girard in my mind is a damn good #3 defenseman. Makar is still a bit of a mystery box, he could be a #1 he could just be a really good offensive top pairing guy. But we still have that hole for a top pairing left handed guy and Byram projects to fill that perfectly.
Byram - Makar
Girard - XXX
I believe a Byram - Makar pairing could be just as important to the Avs as the MacKinnon - Rantanen duo up front.
I'm not going to sit here and say Sakic would never trade Byram. I'm not Sakic, I don't get to make the decisions. But it would certainly be an abnormality in the recent NHL history for that to happen. The last top 5 defenseman to get traded within a few years of their draft was Seth Jones in his D+2 I believe, who was traded for a 23 year old #1 center under team control. And the crazy thing is I'd be willing to bet Poile would take that trade back if he could.