What is the most pressing issue which needs resolved this off-season?

[MarkT]

I'm going to second everyone here saying focusing on getting a 2C from outside the organization for next season is not the best route. When most of your current crop of young forwards are natural centers, you don't sign someone (unless it's a star like Tavares) to stand in their way on the depth chart. I honestly don't understand why there's so little faith here that one of Jost, Kerfoot or Compher won't be ready to be that guy next season, and even if you don't believe in those three why can't Soda be that guy for just one season? I think too many people on here see Jost and Compher as wingers now even though they've been centers their entire career until much of this season. And Kerfoot put up 43 points as rookie. Granted his shooting percentage is unsustainable at 23.5%, but he's more of a playmaker anyway - is it completely unrealistic that he'd increase his point totals next season to provide some genuine secondary scoring?

This is a team full of young players, and one thing that's great about young players is you never know when one will suddenly emerge as a star.

Now where that isn't true is in goal. I voted that young player development is the top priority (because it should be with a team this young) but my second choice is in goal, where I really hope Sakic is already working on finding a good young goalie to trade for within the next year or two. It's not an absolutely pressing need, but the process of finding the next guy is hopefully already under way.

 

[AnimalMother73]

Sakic's season's end comments about getting even younger suggests we are not going to be adding much unless its by trade. Unless Tavares wants to come here I think they'll stay the course, maybe add a depth forward who's good at face offs. Agreed w/ others though Goalie depth in the system is alarmingly shallow and should be an off season focus.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

This offseason? It’s gotta be secondary scoring. JT coming at market value would be amazing. It’s what this team needs most going into next year.

Going forward I still think goaltending is the biggest issue. For all we know Tyson Jost could develop into a ROR type. We could be gifted with a top line caliber player centering our second line. I don’t think that happens, but the possibility is there. We don’t have any of those types of possibilities for goaltenders based on what we have going on internally. Varly could pull a miracle and Putnam in a healthy season but he’s still not a long term solution.

 

[Perratrooper]

Hey Gigantor The Goalie what do you think of Eric Comrie as a trade target

 

[S E P H]

Yeah a second line center is my wish

Not sure I agree, this team can significantly take the next step if they're able to get a good faceoff guy who can put up some good numbers and play a decent shutdown game. I am not expecting a two-way guy of Toews level, but Stastny wouldn't be bad here even if my main target would be Anisimov via trade.

I do get that Jost or Compher or Beaudin could eventually become our seconder of the future, but I think this team could use a stop gap such as Paul or Artyom who we can eventually move down the line up when they get older and our prospect become more experienced.

If I was going to say what our biggest need is, I think getting a top caliber winger on free agency is important. However, I would consider getting another #3-4 is even more important since defence wins championships. The biggest pressing need is having another solid year of drafting to ultimately add to our team down the line. Teams as we've seen like Penguins have won Cups due to the strength of the depth they added from solid draft choices as Murry in the 3rd, Guentzel in the 3rd, Kuhnhackl in the 4th, Rust in the 3rd, Sheary as a free agent, and Simon in the 5th rounds'. I am not saying that our draft picks need to be as good as these players because some of them are great, but finding players like Rust and Sheary will go long way not only as depth, but as potential trade pieces.

 

[Bubba Thudd]

Gotta be the masseuses

 

[JoeSakic13]

Pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence

 

[agentblack]

Anything that can be done easily

 

[S E P H]

Pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence

We should just hire Burke since he left the Flames to accomplish this as to much satisfaction and jubilation we would see from @Hasbro.

 

[Murzu]

Short term? Second line forwards, especially 2C.

Longer term? We're going to be having serious goalie problems soon. It has to be fixed ASAP. This is what I voted.

 

[Hesher]

Getting a scoring winger would be nice.

 

[Hasbro]

We should just hire Burke since he left the Flames to accomplish this as to much satisfaction and jubilation we would see from @Hasbro.

You think Burke would take a post in a city with so little hockey media as Denver? He would literally wither in to dust.

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

If you can get a top talent, in John Tavares, for 7 years, at $10M, you absolutely do it. Jost, JTC, Kerfoot, Kamenev, and Bowers will be good players, but none of them are (or will be) JT.

 

[Bubba Thudd]

You think Burke would take a post in a city with so little hockey media as Denver? He would literally wither in to dust.

Might be worth sacrificing a season for...

 

[shadow1]

Forwards, for sure.

• The defense is perfectly fine, for the time being; maybe Sakic switches out Barberio, but no major changes here. Based on Sakic's last presser, sounds like Connor Timmins will have a real shot in camp to crack the club.
• Goaltending needs to be addressed at some point, but Sakic probably won't do anything major in this area until Varlamov's contract expires next summer. I expect the club to bring in another "1B" type goalie this summer.

Which brings us back to the forward group. Clearly, this team is still trying to fill the second line hole left by Matt Duchene's departure; the first line + Tyson Barrie were the only guys who were producing on a nightly basis.

Personally I hope they swing for the fences and bring in John Tavares. His addition would (obviously) make it extremely difficult to shut down the Avalanche's offense (think Crosby/Making, Sakic/Forsberg, Yzerman/Fedorov).

Of course, that's unlikely to happen, but there are other free agents worth looking at too.

Either way, something needs to be done. I do expect Tyson Jost to improve in the near future, but that won't be enough. Colorado is a one line team right now and everyone in the NHL knows it.

 

[Alex Jones]

I disagree to a level that the Avs need is a second line center, because the Avs have a second line center in Soda. If we are talking purely in terms of offensive production, Kerfoot is going to give you at least good second/third line tweener production.

At the end of the day, when we talk about secondary scoring the bigger problem is that we have no shooters outside of the top line. If you gave Kerfoot-Jost or Soda-Nieto a 20-25 goal scorer that changes the dynamic of those lines immediately. If we brought in a center they would still be stuck playing with the Ghetto's and JTC's of the world. Fine players. but really players that need upgraded in a top six.

 

[CobraAcesS]

I disagree to a level that the Avs need is a second line center, because the Avs have a second line center in Soda. If we are talking purely in terms of offensive production, Kerfoot is going to give you at least good second/third line tweener production.

At the end of the day, when we talk about secondary scoring the bigger problem is that we have no shooters outside of the top line. If you gave Kerfoot-Jost or Soda-Nieto a 20-25 goal scorer that changes the dynamic of those lines immediately. If we brought in a center they would still be stuck playing with the Ghetto's and JTC's of the world. Fine players. but really players that need upgraded in a top six.

Ghetto is better than both Kerfoot and Compher IMO, but giving Soda better wingers could be a short term fix if everything else falls through.

 

[Brett44]

I already said but for a better secondary it's not only a second line. If a third line is more offense and we sign a guy as Stastny (one of a better example for the future of Jost)

Third line
Andrighetto-Soderberg-Compher
Andrighetto > Nieto
Compher> Comeau
Second line
Jost-Stastny-Kerfoot (or trade for roughness guy or sniper)
Fourth line
Nieto-Toni-Kamenev or Bourque.

 

[Brett44]

If you can get a top talent, in John Tavares, for 7 years, at $10M, you absolutely do it. Jost, JTC, Kerfoot, Kamenev, and Bowers will be good players, but none of them are (or will be) JT.

Probably 11M even 12M.

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

Hey Gigantor The Goalie what do you think of Eric Comrie as a trade target

Would be nice though unlikely. Eric Comrie is currently the Jets golden goalie prospect and as soon as Steve Mason's contract is up Comrie will be first in line for the back-up spot behind Hellebuyck. Comrie has improved every year he's been in the AHL and isn't waiver eligible until the 2019/20 season. He'd be nice but unavailable baring an overpayment that wouldn't be worth it.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

I think Winnipeg would trade Comrie. Don't think that organization cares for him as much as everyone else does. Helle was the best goaltending prospect in the world for a few years and is already one of the best goalies in the NHL. He's been the guy the Jets have put their work into. I'm sure it's nice to have a decent goaltending prospect like Comrie in their system but Winnipeg's goaltending plans was 100% based around Hellebuyck since his second season in the NCAA where he proved season 1 wasn't a fluke.

I personally wouldn't care for the Avalanche to go after Comrie anyway. I don't think he's that good. But if they wanted to I'm sure he could be had for the right price.

Speaking of Winnipeg's goaltenders, I'd be signing Hutch as a UFA if Bernier goes elsewhere. Hutchinson and Hutton are the three most intriguing free agent goalies IMO. I prefer all three to Mrazek.

 

[Tweaky]

I said developing young players. And not just the NHL level ones. Timmins, Beaudin, Greer, Meloche, etc. Some of whom may move up, but we will have a whole AHL team to roster up, so lots of minutes to go around. Yeah, that could fall under prospect depth as well, but aside from UDFAs, the only way to add to that would be trade off assets that we seem to want to keep for now, or draft them....which will happen regardless.

I think next year, Greer is a full time NHLer, and Bourque and Yak are allowed to walk. Re-sign Comeau for ONE year, and Neito for whatever he is worth, and that gives us 14 forwards. As of now, the AHL forward group is totally up in the air. Only 7 signed right now, plus 2 RFAs.

For the D, Meloche and Timmins both see some Avs games, but mainly split the 1RD duties in Loveland, with Graham or Alt? on the 3rd pairing. Warsofsky, Seimens?, Lindholm, and Boikov will be fighting for 7th D in Denver and the others will be in Loveland, with Anderson, Graves? and Geertsen?

In goal, Martin should be the Eagles starter, and either get him a solid vet backup (kinda like the Avs need as well), or bring over one of the Euro goalies. I wont get my hopes up for a sneaky signing of a good UFA G prospect, though I am sure GtG could point out a candidate or two.

One thing I do not want them to do is load the Eagles up with a bunch of older vets that a coach will "have to rely on" at the expense of development time for the kids.

 

[Pokecheque]

The most immediate need is not the greatest need, but they can address secondary scoring and improve on faceoffs fairly easily if they opt to bring Paul Stastny back. I'm not saying it's a no-brainer but that add just makes sense to me.

Overall though they need to get better defensively, this team still doesn't have true shutdown guys up front and on the blueline, that is a definite need. Whether that gets solved internally or not I can't say for certain, but that's the biggest need that needs to be addressed before we can start calling these guys contenders.

Oh, and y'know, figuring out who's gonna be the goaltender after 2019 is a pretty big deal too.

 

[Sea Eagles]

Hmmm tough question, but good question, and everyone makes good points. For mine:

X Continued development of guys like: Greer, Compher, Jost, Timmins, Makar, Girard, Zadorov, Kerfoot, Kamenev & Rantanen (and many others)
X Health/Injury Management: Varlamov, EJ, Bernier (who I hope returns).
X Re-signing: Comeau (1 year), Nieto (2 years), Yakupov (for depth - 1 year), Borque (1 year), Nemeth (2 years), Barberio (1 year), Bernier (1 year)
X Focus on the draft

* I wouldn't be making big changes. Jost can play 2C, and we have Kerfoot / Ghetto who can play with him if necessary

Stay the course, we are doing well. Next season, I'd expect Kamenev to get decent minutes, and be the surprise packet. Also expecting Meloche to push for a spot.

 

[GirardSpinorama]

We need an impact forward. Someone who drives the 2nd line or can replace landy on the top line so he can do that job. Im perfectly fine with bringing back barberio, nemeth and a depth guy.