Which dman should we target as an FA?

[TheStranger]

If the Pens are one of the teams trying to shed salary, does anyone think Orpik might be in play?

This would be my pick if he's available at all.

 

[Frenchy]

I think The Avs will target a player(s), the same way they did with PAP , last year .
They will be smart with their money and make sure that they dont overpay for someone who wont give them what they paid for . Of course, we all expect that that they will try to get help on the D and wont look for a forward , this year .

I'm pretty sure that it will be a Dman that we havent talk about or didnt talk much .

 

[Cypher]

I voted other... aka ... NO ONE

I rather the Avs suck than sign anyone of those bums. Save the money and re-assess next off-season with no crappy contracts on the table.

If anything, I hope the Avs trade Stastny (salary retained)+ Sgarbossa + Hunwick for JayBo. But that seems too perfect to work out.

 

[Rhaego]

Offer sheet Pietragelo

 

[forsbergavs32]

Coburn is my top choice, but if we can't make a trade...hopefully we sign Ballard or Ference to a 2 year deal. I want some extra insurance on the blue line in case of injuries (odds are Wilson will get hurt at least once). We can't expect to go far if we're replacing injured guys with career AHLers or prospects who haven't played much in the NHL yet (I know we aren't gonna be winning a cup this year but insurance is good to contend for a playoff spot)

 

[BusterBluth]

What's the situation with regard roster size (Dater mentioned this)?

Do we have to dump some players in order to bring others on to the roster? Or we can just place Zanon on LEM and that would be sufficient?

 

[RockLobster]

What's the situation with regard roster size (Dater mentioned this)?

Do we have to dump some players in order to bring others on to the roster? Or we can just place Zanon on LEM and that would be sufficient?

From my understanding, we don't have to dump anyone to sign someone tomorrow (if we wanted to sign someone).

A quick count on CapGeek.com shows that the Avs have 43/50 Contracts signed, and that's before they most assuredly sign MacKinnon. So that would place them at 44/50. With Roy saying that Bigras "could surprise and make the team out of Training Camp" let's just count him for argument's sake as well. That's 45/50 contracts signed.

But then this quote from Sakic came out, has me concerned that they won't be doing anything at all tomorrow:

Avalanche executive vice president of hockey operations Joe Sakic and coach Patrick Roy, however, indicated that Friday figures to be an uneventful day around the Pepsi Center.

"You can only have 23 guys signed, but we'll see (if) and where we can improve the club," Sakic said.

The 23 man roster just has to be finalized before the start of the season, that's why team's have training camps and roster cuts, and so on and so forth.

Unless I'm missing some rule I didn't know about, the Avs should be able to sign a player or 2 for the Defense tomorrow to help shore it up. Will they? If they sign anyone, I expect it to be 1 Defenseman.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

From my understanding, we don't have to dump anyone to sign someone tomorrow (if we wanted to sign someone).

A quick count on CapGeek.com shows that the Avs have 43/50 Contracts signed, and that's before they most assuredly sign MacKinnon. So that would place them at 44/50. With Roy saying that Bigras "could surprise and make the team out of Training Camp" let's just count him for argument's sake as well. That's 45/50 contracts signed.

But then this quote from Sakic came out, has me concerned that they won't be doing anything at all tomorrow:



The 23 man roster just has to be finalized before the start of the season, that's why team's have training camps and roster cuts, and so on and so forth.

Unless I'm missing some rule I didn't know about, the Avs should be able to sign a player or 2 for the Defense tomorrow to help shore it up. Will they? If they sign anyone, I expect it to be 1 Defenseman.

I would really hate this. I can't believe they would not upgrade our defense.

 

[Maldini3]

Ference or Hainsey .

 

[CantTouchThis]

I'm on the stay put boat. I don't want us to sign anybody. No good names are available on D... We have tons of money to invest into next year with the likes of Duchene, Landy, ROR, Stastny, Mcginn etc all becoming FA. Why lock yourself into a 3-5 year contract for an overpaid player when we aren't even going to be cup contenders this year. Just go with it and let the young kids play. It's paid off for teams like Ottawa, Mtl etc

 

[Dutchy09*]

If we could come away from this summer with 2 of Ballard/Coburn/Ference/Hainsey/Scuderi then I'd call that a success. If we could manage to get Franson that be a plus too.

 

[Tommy Shelby]

I'm not worried about the number of contracts they have.

Zanon and Hunwick will be bought out, Olver can be shipped off to a cap-strapped team needing depth, one of our goalie prospects can be traded for a pick, etc etc.

We have 22 roster contracts and 17 non-roster contracts, which totals 39.

Add Mack and there's 40.

Vincour is gone, L. Walker is gone. That leaves Connolly, Malone, Chouinard and G Walker as the remaining RFAs. Even if we qualify them all (I doubt all but Malone are locks) that only makes 44 contracts IF they're all qualified, which they won't be. There is no reason to keep Chouinard and Walker around.

 

[RockLobster]

I'm not worried about the number of contracts they have.

Zanon and Hunwick will be bought out, Olver can be shipped off to a cap-strapped team needing depth, one of our goalie prospects can be traded for a pick, etc etc.

We have 22 roster contracts and 17 non-roster contracts, which totals 39.

Add Mack and there's 40.

Vincour is gone, L. Walker is gone. That leaves Connolly, Malone, Chouinard and G Walker as the remaining RFAs. Even if we qualify them all (I doubt all but Malone are locks) that only makes 44 contracts IF they're all qualified, which they won't be. There is no reason to keep Chouinard and Walker around.

The Compliance Buyout period is over isn't it (or is that today?)

The Avs weren't using any compliance buyouts, they indicated that already. And I doubt that they'd use a regular buyout because then they're still feeling the cap on them. What's more likely is that they will send, at the very least, Zanon to Lake Erie, Hunwick may stick as a 7th Defenseman, rotating in and out with Sarich.

***EDIT***

LOL, as I type that, this happens:

Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie 5s
Hal Gill (NSH), Johan Hedberg (NJ) and Greg Zanon (COL) also on unconditional waivers, presumably for buyout purposes.

 

[madman]

Ference gets my vote. Still solid at his age, smart guy, and an awesome presence in the locker room. Exactly what a young team needs. He's a warrior.

 

[Hesher]

I would try to sign Ference , if he doesn't sign the Avs should just sit back and wait. Some teams will be trying to get under the cap and some good players might become available later in the offseason.

 

[Foppa2118]

I don't really want Ballard, but if they decide not to try and address the defensive problem properly, at least Ballard sounds like he's willing to accept a 1 year deal to prove himself. Might be a good option after trying Coburn, Yandle, and Ference. The absolute worse thing they could do is nothing IMO.

Hopefully Ference is willing to take a relatively cheap 2-3 year deal max and contribute instead though if it comes to that.

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

A small voice in my head is telling me to prepare myself for tomorrow. I think it's possible that they'll end up trading for one of the big RFA defenders, using our 2014 1st as bait.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

A small voice in my head is telling me to prepare myself for tomorrow. I think it's possible that they'll end up trading for one of the big RFA defenders, using our 2014 1st as bait.

My dude, you say this like every trade deadline eve/draft eve/free agency eve. I love it.

 

[CobraAcesS]

My dude, you say this like every trade deadline eve/draft eve/free agency eve. I love it.

Personally I like the attitude the team had after we traded our first round pick for Varlamov.

Take it for what it's worth, but not having that fall back of 'drafting high' is a good thing.

I do have a feeling Roy would have no problem using offer-sheets. Pietrangelo is a viable target IMO.

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

My dude, you say this like every trade deadline eve/draft eve/free agency eve. I love it.

It's because I hear a lot of voices. I try listening to the ones that seem like they would be fun.

 

[Averick*]

As many have said, it depends on the terms. It also depends on their skill set and how Roy wants to play. Having said that, someone like Roszival could mentor some of the younger players. But again, it depends on the terms.

It's also a reality that a lot of the teams who are really good now, were once bad for a period of time. So if the Avs struggle this year with younger players and end up with abother high draft pick, getting someone like Eckblad or McKeown wouldnt be the worst thing either.

 

[Avs_19]

McKenzie just said Scuderi has already told teams the only Western conference team he'll play for is the Kings. Take him off your wishlists.

 

[Jayevs]

I'd try to sign Ballard to a 2 year 5 million(2.5AAV) and/or trade minimal assets for meszaros

 

[CobraAcesS]

I'd try to sign Ballard to a 2 year 5 million(2.5AAV) and/or trade minimal assets for meszaros

Wild already signed Ballard, meh anyways.

 

[Jayevs]

Wild already signed Ballard, meh anyways.

Yup don't know how I missed that. Good contract tho I would have tried that from an Avs perspective.