This very likely will be the final week of tenure with the Colorado Avalanche for a regular player or two, if what I’ve been hearing over the last 24-48 hours or so develops as seems likely. Simply put, Avs trade talks are heating up in this, the week where the NHL draft and free agency will take place.
As I said the other day, though: it may well be toward the end of the week, or the weekend, before we see a deal or two be completed. I’m hearing that talks are fast and furious throughout the league, but that much of it depends on what shakes out with teams’ plans/expectations/hopes with free agency.
Teams with ample cap room, a group that includes the Avalanche, can be a bit more choosy before pulling the trigger on a trade or two, because they may solve some of their problems on free-agent day. If the Avs have a goalie they really want on the free-agent market (Braden Holtby, Jacob Markstrom, maybe a Henrik Lundqvist or Anton Khudobin?) but strike out in getting them, then the trade route is next. But if the Avs really want a goalie who isn’t a free agent (but they know is available via trade like, say, a Marc-Andre Fleury or a Tuukka Rask or a Matt Murray) then the time to make a deal is sooner rather than later.
The name I keep hearing most to be on the move from Denver is defenseman Nikita Zadorov. His contract is up, yet he’s a restricted free agent, so the Avs can move him for something in return still. I’m hearing that there have been no talks toward a new contract with the Avs.
Tyson Jost’s name, one might suspect, is heavily involved in trade talks. But I’m actually not hearing too much on him. That could be because his market value just isn’t very high right now. What team is going to want to give up a lot for him alone, based on his career performance thus far? He definitely didn’t help his value with a playoffs that concluded with zero goals in the final 10 games. In 12 postseason games, Jost had one point, 19 shots on net and a minus-2.
If Jost is dealt, it is most likely he’d be included in some big package deal involving other players.
Another name I’ve heard some of late: Valeri Nichushkin. While I think the Avs want him back, there is some concern about what he wants in his next deal, and about what an arbitrator might potentially award him based on his 2019-20 season. If the Avs are worried an arbitrator might award something, in their minds, crazy, then he might be dealt away.
If I’m Nichushkin’s agent, I could easily argue something like $3 million per is his next contract value. He had 13 goals and was a plus-26 last season. His puck-possession numbers were very good. Arbitrators just base most of their decisions on similar stats for guys making similar money, and there are many guys in the NHL with similar or lesser stats that made $3 million last year. Nichushkin made $850,000 for the Avs on his one-year, prove-it contract, and his agent is going to say “We proved it, now pay us.”
If the Avs think they can get a Taylor Hall or a Mike Hoffman in free agency, then I think you can kiss a guy like Nichushkin goodbye. The Avs would almost certainly trade him rather than pay him and a Hall. While I think Big Val played pretty well at the end of the Dallas series, his playoff performance as a whole was mostly average or just under that. It might have hurt his chances of getting a longer-term offer on a new deal with the Avs.
The other names to keep an eye on this week: the goalies, Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz. While I take Joe Sakic at his word that he’s “happy” with his goaltending situation, I don’t believe for a second that he isn’t thinking long and hard about possibly upgrading the talent at the position. If the Avs do get another goalie, either by trade or free agency, one of the two guys is going to be on the move somehow.
Sakic would be a fool not to seriously consider acquiring one of the many names that are said to be available at the right price.
Let’s conclude this speculation-palooza with some quick looks at some other things around the league:
- The signing of Robin Lehner to a five-year, $25 million contract almost certainly means Fleury will be traded by Vegas. I have not heard much in the way of him coming to Colorado, though, mostly because of his contract. He’s still got two years at $7 million per, and I just don’t think the Avs want to go that high on a goalie contract – especially at Fleury’s age. Fact is, Fleury wasn’t all that great for Vegas this past season either. But you never know – maybe Vegas or another team in a three-way deal would retain some of his salary to make a deal more palatable (Vegas Hockey Now)
- It’s looking like Matt Murray might wind up in Chicago (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)
- Here’s Craig Button’s first-round mock draft, which includes his pick for Colorado at No. 25 (TSN)
- This would be a surprise to me, but Boston reportedly might be looking to deal Jake DeBrusk. I think he’d be a nice addition to the Avs personally. (Boston Hockey Now)
- RIP to Bobby Miller, who played for the Bruins from 1977-81 and was always a personal favorite of mine because he played his college hockey at New Hampshire. Miller also played for the Colorado Rockies (Boston Globe)
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October 05, 2020 at 12:40PM
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Dater's Daily: Avs trade talks heating up - Colorado Hockey Now
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