What’s your max offer for Val Nichushkin?

[expatriatedtexan]

Nuke will give Joe a two year prove it deal.

 

[Avs_19]

 

[Foppa2118]

You have to have at least a 20 man roster.

 

[Tweaky]

I started at $4M, raised it to $5M. I figure it ends up being 4-5 years.

 

[MaKarter]

This guy is like Nikola Jokic. Every game he plays in, he gets better.

Unbelievable.

 

[PAZ]

Give him a $4-5 mil x 6-8 year deal and deal with his the last 1-3 years when it comes down to it.

 

[CoachBadkitten]

Being a fan of this guy is pretty much all of my Avs personality right now. We have to extend him.

 

[AvsWraith]

I'd start with the Saad deal, but prepared to go to 5 or 5.5M.

 

[LTC Pain]

Being a fan of this guy is pretty much all of my Avs personality right now. We have to extend him.

Word!

 

[willy702]

My baseline expectations for deals
Kuemper 5x4 (gets him to 35, feels like he's about where Lehner was)
Nuke 4.5x5 (I think his prime is 3-4 more years so basically a 1-2 overpay at the end)
Manson 2.2x2 (although I could see them letting him go if they want to pay up more in FA)
Lehk 3.8x5 (hard to get a feel for if this is a shorter deal at lower price due to RFA or they get together on a longer deal with term, but feels like they have the space now so might as well do longer)
Sturm 1.3x2 (might get up a little more, but can't see him going past 1.5 so seems a likely signing)
Murray 1.1x1 (I think he or JJ will be around next year, but Murray should be preferred due to age)
NAK 1.1x1
MacDonald 0.9x2 (hopefully they clear out some old farts and give him a chance to stay up)
Maltsev 0.8x1 (ideal depth guy at his age, shouldn't spend time in Loveland)
Free Agent ~5m AAV - takes Bura's slot, hopefully someone with a better two-way game that can play 2nd line wing next to Newhook and Nuke

Let go
Kadri (could make it work at 6 or under, but he's clearly in line for much more)
MacDermid (maybe wishful thinking, but if he stays vet minimum deal)
Bura (he's going to want more than his 4.9, I say he's worth 4 so let him walk)
Cogliano (maybe circle back with him pre-camp to see if he wants back at vet minimum)
Helm (surely there are other 1m or lower vets who can play 4th line and PK)
JJ (he's been better than our low expectations, but he's probably got a surer role elsewhere for a little more money so they should thank him and let him go)

Bring up 2 forwards from Loveland (Kaut, Ranta, Sikura, etc) and/or maybe sign another veteran forward to a PTO that leads to a contract and you're at the cap. If more space is needed get rid of Compher's contract. With just one season left on it shouldn't require giving much up, just won't get anything of value back. Or keep him around until TDL and move him then for a better return if the cap works.

 

[Balthazar]

My baseline expectations for deals
Kuemper 5x4 (gets him to 35, feels like he's about where Lehner was)
Nuke 4.5x5 (I think his prime is 3-4 more years so basically a 1-2 overpay at the end)
Manson 2.2x2 (although I could see them letting him go if they want to pay up more in FA)
Lehk 3.8x5 (hard to get a feel for if this is a shorter deal at lower price due to RFA or they get together on a longer deal with term, but feels like they have the space now so might as well do longer)
Sturm 1.3x2 (might get up a little more, but can't see him going past 1.5 so seems a likely signing)
Murray 1.1x1 (I think he or JJ will be around next year, but Murray should be preferred due to age)
NAK 1.1x1
MacDonald 0.9x2 (hopefully they clear out some old farts and give him a chance to stay up)
Maltsev 0.8x1 (ideal depth guy at his age, shouldn't spend time in Loveland)
Free Agent ~5m AAV - takes Bura's slot, hopefully someone with a better two-way game that can play 2nd line wing next to Newhook and Nuke

Let go
Kadri (could make it work at 6 or under, but he's clearly in line for much more)
MacDermid (maybe wishful thinking, but if he stays vet minimum deal)
Bura (he's going to want more than his 4.9, I say he's worth 4 so let him walk)
Cogliano (maybe circle back with him pre-camp to see if he wants back at vet minimum)
Helm (surely there are other 1m or lower vets who can play 4th line and PK)
JJ (he's been better than our low expectations, but he's probably got a surer role elsewhere for a little more money so they should thank him and let him go)

Bring up 2 forwards from Loveland (Kaut, Ranta, Sikura, etc) and/or maybe sign another veteran forward to a PTO that leads to a contract and you're at the cap. If more space is needed get rid of Compher's contract. With just one season left on it shouldn't require giving much up, just won't get anything of value back. Or keep him around until TDL and move him then for a better return if the cap works.

Every single player outside of Lehkonen is severly underpaid in your scenario.

Sturm turned down 2.75M X 4...you have him at 1.3M X 2???

Manson at 2.2M X 2? What the hell is going on here?

 

[willy702]

Every single player outside of Lehkonen is severly underpaid in your scenario.

Sturm turned down 2.75M X 4...you have him at 1.3M X 2???

Manson at 2.2M X 2? What the hell is going on here?

Let Manson go then. Didn't realize Sturm got that high of an offer, that seems way too high for a 3/4 C. They have the money for any of these guys, it just reduces the FA money to replace Bura with a better fit.

As for the rest, who is the comparable that they can point to saying they would be severely underpaid? Kuemper might want more money, but his age and injury history say he's not going to get even Grubauer money. Manson is meh for me, fills a need but he's not worth his current deal considering the decline he's about to see.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

Every single player outside of Lehkonen is severly underpaid in your scenario.

Sturm turned down 2.75M X 4...you have him at 1.3M X 2???

Manson at 2.2M X 2? What the hell is going on here?

How much do you expect Sturm to get?

He’s on pace for a 24 point season. Tyson Jost got 2X2 for a similar year while having the clout of being a top-10 pick.

 

[Balthazar]

How much do you expect Sturm to get?

He’s on pace for a 24 point season. Tyson Jost got 2X2 for a similar year while having the clout of being a top-10 pick.

Since he turned down 2.75M X 4, he's not going to sign with us. I don't know how much he's going to get.

Manson should get easily 4 X 4.

Kuemper will get the Markstrom and Grubauer contract, which means 6 years.

 

[Richard88]

Since he turned down 2.75M X 4, he's not going to sign with us. I don't know how much he's going to get.

Manson should get easily 4 X 4.

Kuemper will get the Markstrom and Grubauer contract, which means 6 years.

Kuemper is older than both Markstrom and Grubauer were when they hit UFA, so he might not get the same 6 year term they did. He'll probably have a good case for $6m+ though.

One thing that can potentially work in the Avs favour with Kuemper is that Grubauer has struggled this year after Sakic said in the off-season that "he helped us, but we helped him too", essentially indicating that the Avs system does prop-up goalies a bit.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

Since he turned down 2.75M X 4, he's not going to sign with us. I don't know how much he's going to get.

Manson should get easily 4 X 4.

Kuemper will get the Markstrom and Grubauer contract, which means 6 years.

I could definitely see Sturm going elsewhere. He’s the kind of player the Avs would draw a hard line similar to what they did with Grubauer and Saad. I’d be pretty surprised if he got 3+ on a medium term deal though.

Manson is interesting. If he really balls out in the playoffs I could see him getting that 4X4.

 

[willy702]

I could definitely see Sturm going elsewhere. He’s the kind of player the Avs would draw a hard line similar to what they did with Grubauer and Saad. I’d be pretty surprised if he got 3+ on a medium term deal though.

Manson is interesting. If he really balls out in the playoffs I could see him getting that 4X4.

If anyone pays him 3m a year then congrats to Nico, good luck elsewhere. That's insanity, pretty much a 2/3 center money when he's never shown that type of game. I get it the cap is going up so players want more, but that would be an overpay and we'd have regrets like we do with Compher.

 

[Balthazar]

If anyone pays him 3m a year then congrats to Nico, good luck elsewhere. That's insanity, pretty much a 2/3 center money when he's never shown that type of game. I get it the cap is going up so players want more, but that would be an overpay and we'd have regrets like we do with Compher.

But 3M isn't 2/3 center money. It's mid to low end 3C money.

If he sees himself as a 3C then asking 3M is perfectly normal. It's just that we can't afford it.

Top tier 3C's are making 5M+ (Danault, Gourde, Pageau...)

 

[willy702]

Since he turned down 2.75M X 4, he's not going to sign with us. I don't know how much he's going to get.

Manson should get easily 4 X 4.

Kuemper will get the Markstrom and Grubauer contract, which means 6 years.

If Manson easily gets 4x4 it will definitely be with another team desperate for D. He's basically a 5th D for the Avs, they can't pay that much, especially someone who might be starting to decline.

 

[willy702]

But 3M isn't 2/3 center money. It's mid to low end 3C money.

If he sees himself as a 3C then asking 3M is perfectly normal. It's just that we can't afford it.

Agreed then, if they give him that money and overpay Manson they are writing in Lehk as the 2nd line winger with nothing more than minimum money for free agents.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Kuemper at ~5M is pretty realistic IMO. Even he himself has commented a couple times this year about the difference playing behind the best team in hockey compared to Arizona before that...


I think he'll take a discount to stick it out here with us and continue trying to win cups. Not a huge discount(He doesn't get 6M IMO), but a small one.


If it were me I'd expect:


- Kuemper 5x5M
- Nuke 6x4.5M(I think you have to give him a 6th, maybe even 7th year to get him under 5M but I'd do it for sure)
- Lehkonen 4x3.5M(And ideally we move JTC this summer so he basically takes over JTC money going forward)
- Sturm 3x3M(But I think he'll sign elsewhere)
- NAK 1x1.0M
- Maltsev 1x800k
- Johnson 1x800k


If the Avs play things right, move on from EJ and trade Compher for a draft pick at the draft... They could have ~17M left in cap space to fill out that roster at that point. With 9 Forwards, 5D and 2 Goalies signed.


In other words, they could have ~12M in cap space to add a couple Top 6 forwards via UFA or trade(Which is why it was so important IMO that we held onto our 2023 1st rounder).

 

[redandyellowcametobe]

Kuemper at ~5M is pretty realistic IMO. Even he himself has commented a couple times this year about the difference playing behind the best team in hockey compared to Arizona before that...


I think he'll take a discount to stick it out here with us and continue trying to win cups. Not a huge discount(He doesn't get 6M IMO), but a small one.


If it were me I'd expect:


- Kuemper 5x5M
- Nuke 6x4.5M(I think you have to give him a 6th, maybe even 7th year to get him under 5M but I'd do it for sure)
- Lehkonen 4x3.5M(And ideally we move JTC this summer so he basically takes over JTC money going forward)
- Sturm 3x3M(But I think he'll sign elsewhere)
- NAK 1x1.0M
- Maltsev 1x800k
- Johnson 1x800k


If the Avs play things right, move on from EJ and trade Compher for a draft pick at the draft... They could have ~17M left in cap space to fill out that roster at that point. With 9 Forwards, 5D and 2 Goalies signed.


In other words, they could have ~12M in cap space to add a couple Top 6 forwards via UFA or trade(Which is why it was so important IMO that we held onto our 2023 1st rounder).

I’ll believe it when I see it. EJ has been a great leader for this team but for the Avs to stay competitive next year, SOMETHING has to be done in regards to his contract.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

I’ll believe it when I see it. EJ has been a great leader for this team but for the Avs to stay competitive next year, SOMETHING has to be done in regards to his contract.

Yeah I'm really not convinced they move it either. Perhaps he goes on LTIR or something which would also be an acceptable outcome.


But I agree they're going to have a very hard time being competitive next year if the EJ money stays on the books. Just not enough money leftover at that point to build a 2nd line with.

 

[willy702]

Yeah I'm really not convinced they move it either. Perhaps he goes on LTIR or something which would also be an acceptable outcome.


But I agree they're going to have a very hard time being competitive next year if the EJ money stays on the books. Just not enough money leftover at that point to build a 2nd line with.

Would be fantastic if they can clear up some EJ money. I'm thinking 5-6m could get Palat for the 2nd line. A Palat-Hook-Nuke 2nd line won't score like Kadri's line this year but isn't that big a drop off. Or if they really were crazy enough to spend 3m on Sturm then he better be centering this, a real shutdown line.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Would be fantastic if they can clear up some EJ money. I'm thinking 5-6m could get Palat for the 2nd line. A Palat-Hook-Nuke 2nd line won't score like Kadri's line this year but isn't that big a drop off. Or if they really were crazy enough to spend 3m on Sturm then he better be centering this, a real shutdown line.

I like Palat but I dont like his age and what that next contract would look like. If we could get him on a 3 year deal in the 5-6M range I'd probably be down with that.


But I also dont want anything to do with Newhook as the 2C next year. The last year of Mack's 6.3M deal means for me its the last year where we are truly the top cup contender team in the league. I dont want to waste that year on the gamble that Newhook can handle 2C duties, especially considering I haven't seen anything yet this year that suggests he's ready for that role either.


Personally I want Trocheck in free agency or I want to trade for Miller/Horvat from Vancouver.



Depending on the Defense situation I also still think a Girard+ for Scheifele+ trade could happen in the summer. Especially if the rumors out of Winnipeg are true with him.