umdieecke*
Guest
The Avs had 3 players who are better, or who will be better in the future than Stastny, that could instantly step in and take his place.
There is no one on the Avs, on the Monsters, or in Junior that is a threat to EJ's spot. There will undoubtedly be a new "structure" in place by the time MacKinnon and EJ's agents are chatting with the Avs.
You don't think Barrie can supplant EJ?
It seems like he's the better skater and has the better shot, even though EJ has the edge on physicality. While EJ has the edge on physicality, it seems like the NHL is more and more becoming a league where skating is at a premium and physicality is merely a nice side benefit.
To wit, in the playoffs (albeit in only two games), Barrie seemed less overwhelmed by the speed of the game than Johnson was. To be honest, I was a little shocked by this. But it really seems like it was a referendum on ones skating ability.