Avalanche Offseason
With Ehlers Reportedly in Sight, Avalanche Smartly Play the Waiting Game
Free agency wasn’t as chaotic as last year, and for the Avalanche, it was for the better.
Colorado has spent years building its team through the trade market for good reason. Because the contracts handed out on July 1 are often for a touch too much, or for a little too long. And you rarely ever get a needle mover.
The Vegas Golden Knights landed the big fish in Mitch Marner. But to make space for him, they’re losing top blueliner Alex Pietrangelo to LTIR while trading Nic Roy to Toronto in the Marner sign-and-trade, and Nic Hague to Nashville for two other depth pieces.
Read More: Jonathan Drouin Lands Big Two-Year Contract With Islanders
Aside from Marner, almost every other big free agent opted to re-sign with his club. You can thank the Florida Panthers for ultimately eliminating a lot of the intrigue. Florida didn’t just re-sign the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Sam Bennett. They also landed deals with Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand at the eleventh hour.
Without them, without Brock Boeser, who re-signed in Vancouver, or Ivan Provorov, who opted to stay with Columbus, the market ultimately lost almost all the talent at the top.
The Rangers signed Vladislav Gavrikov, arguably the best UFA defenseman remaining, but they traded K’Andre Miller to make the money work.
The last remaining high-profile player left is Nikolaj Ehlers. And, the Avs are reportedly interested. It would explain why they did basically nothing (Parker Kelly extension aside). It would also explain why they haven’t yet resorted to making trades.
Read More: Report: Avalanche One of Many Teams Interested in Nikolaj Ehlers
It seems like general manager Chris MacFarland identified his target, and was willing to risk losing out on the next tier of players if Ehlers chooses another suitor. But that’s fine. They weren’t missing much.
I have a sense the L.A. Kings might quickly regret the big money deals they handed to Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin on the blueline. The Ducks have cap space, but is Mikael Granlund for three years at $7 million the best way to utilize it?
For some teams, striking out on July 1 might be a cause for concern. But it shouldn’t be for the Avs, or their fans.
Sticking it out to see if you can land a sizable piece in Ehlers is worthy of being patient. If not? That’s fine too. It just means you have another year without a notable UFA signing. Another year of extending a streak of seven offseasons in a row without a UFA signed for more than a $4 million AAV.
Read More: Ryan Lindgren Departs Avalanche For New Deal in Seattle
MacFarland and Joe Sakic built the 2022 Stanley Cup championship roster via trades. They remade last year’s mess of a lineup by wheeling and dealing throughout the regular season. After dealing Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to clear space and recoup some assets, they still can, and likely will, shift to the trade market to achieve what they wanted.
It starts with waiting it out to see if Ehlers signs. After already sitting out a market that just wasn’t favorable for most Stanley Cup contending teams
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Are we sure it’s Ehlers or could they be working on some other big trade/trades?
It’s maybe Crosby.
A player that has repeatedly said he wants to be a Pen for life? Somehow, I don’t think so but, maybe he’s softening his stance on that front.
Every player says that until they are traded. What if Crosby said he wouldn’t mind playing for another team then it never happens? It’d put a slight tarnish on the Pen for life thing.
That’s another possibility, hopefully!I don’t understand the fascination with Ehlers. One of my barometers for judging a player is how much do you notice them on the ice. All of the games the Avs have played against Winnipeg over the last number of years. I’ve never once walked away from any game & thought “wow that Ehlers, what a player”! I also don’t understand how you could watch the postseason this year, including your own team. And think if you’re CMac “you know what we need, another soft forward who is oft injured & who plays on the perimeter”! If… Read more »
He’s a reliable 20+ goal-scorer and, if Nečas isn’t going to re-sign or wants more than the Avs are willing to pay, then they need a plan.
I’m not about them paying Ehlers 8 million a year. And definitely not about paying Necas 10 million a year. If the plan is to sign Ehlers to save 2 million plus against the cap after this year. That’s just dumb & you’re gambling Ehlers who is almost 30 is going to start to be healthy/available more often? Honestly even though I’m not a huge Drouin guy. Considering Ehlers is a 60 – 65 pt guy. And Necas is too expensive & has still only cracked 70 pts twice. They would’ve been better off & had more flexibility to add… Read more »
So, let’s imagine you’re the GM. You don’t want Ehlers or Nečas so who do you realistically trade for? As in, who would want Nečas and be willing to give you the player you want? Who is the not-“powderpuff” wing you want?
I’m chiming in here but my answer to that would be Tuch. No idea if the Avs could swing that since it’s been said Necas doesn’t want to play there. May need a third team involved. Would be nice anyway.
If we’re talking trading Necas for another forward? Off hand, I love Enzo’s suggestion of Tuch (and he’s cheaper at least this year). But that was kind of my point. You didn’t necessarily have to trade him for a forward. If the plan was to get a cheaper option. Then they should’ve just signed Drouin. He had 56 pts in 79 games 2 years ago. Ehlers best season was 64 all the way back in 16 – 17. So why pay 8 for him. Or 10 plus for Necas? They sign Drouin at 4.5 or whatnot to match NY. You… Read more »
What’s the story with Attard? Is he purely an AHL signee, or does the team plan to give him an opportunity to get the 3rd pairing RD spot? That’s assuming Manson is traded and Malinski is elevated to the 2nd pairing, of course. Also, any news on EJ, and either a plan to retire or for us to bring him back on a 1-year minimum deal?
It’s pretty predictable that the Avs don’t get overly involved in the UFA market; as you say, they’d rather conduct business via the trade market plus, they just don’t have the cap space to overpay all these guys that are getting bonkers contracts (even in a rising cap environment).
This infatuation with Crosby is ridicules. Stop
already …unless he is willing to sign a 1 yr deal
for 2 mil plus incentives.. no
Crosby already has a contract for the next two seasons at $8.7m AAV. The only way to get him close to 2 mil would be to have Pitt retain half and then a third team to retain another 25%. Either way, Sidney Crosby will never be an Av and I like it that way.
Crosby for 2 mill…. You’re joking or trolling right? He is still a 90+ point center that has a championship pedigree. How could you not want that on your team? 8.7 is as team friendly as it gets for a player like Crosby.
A good example of “Because the contracts handed out on July 1 are often for a touch too much, or for a little too long.” is 24 year old Kaedan Korczak. Vegas gave him a 4 year $13M contract. 1 career goal, 20 assists +25. 77 NHL games since 2021.
Roslovic is best fit for AVS for me … Play 3C , skate fast , could score and win F/O , and could jump on 2c or top LW , versatile player and only 28 …. Probably a team with lots of cap Space could pay him more but a 4x4m for him could be perfect if he want to win 👍