Not too bad of an off-season. Just my opinions but I would change a few things:

1. No Nemeth, especially three years. You could sign someone like Greg Pateryn who has a better Corsi and is more physical.
2. I like the James Neal signing, he has experience and provides secondary scoring but from what Sakic said, they want to stay young so I'd probably knock off a couple of years on his contact. Not sure he'd sign a shorter deal so someone like Evander Kane or JVR could be a good direction.
3. I wouldn't bring Bernier back. I agree with Dater, I think he had a hot streak right after the holidays that he's not likely to repeat. I like Hutton for one year at a slightly cheaper price.
4. You might see if you could trade Barrie for someone like Josh Manson of the Ducks. Girard and Makar are younger versions of Barrie (both could quite possibly be better) and Manson is an absolute beast on the blue line, quick to the puck and is another physical defenseman that they badly need.

I love the Grabner deal and bringing back an energy guy like Bourque for depth is smart. Not sure where Alt and Siemens fit especially with their replacements close behind but it doesn't hurt with one year, cheap deals. I saw some good things from Alt; he played with grit when called upon to fill in.

I suspect De Haan would want longer term, and he's another one I'm kinda 'meh' on. I don't see as he improves the Avs D all that much, as he didn't impress me much when I've seen him play, but have to admit to not having seen all that much of him. Personally I'd bring back Comeau for a couple of years if you're keeping Soderberg & Nieto and just keep that line together as it has good chemistry and produces if you count it as a third line, even if Soderberg is expensive.



1. Nemeth was arguably Colorado's best D for much of the season.
2. Neal is a bad idea, and as you point out, Sakic wants to stay young. Kane is the best fit on that score but I don't like the idea of another potential cancer in the dressing room after the likes of Stewart, Downie, O'Reilly & Duchene (I realise with Duchene it was more the situation than the player but it still undoubtedly needed excising) so I'd go for JVR if any.
3. I disagree with Dater (and therefore you) as he talks a load of crap most of the time. If the Avs can bring back Bernier at a cheap enough deal, even if longer term then I would. I'd ship Varly out, who I think is done for consistency now with all the injuries, for whatever half decent deal I could. Bernier & Hammond would be a decent, cheap tandem while the Avs develop a younger goalie which they'd have to try and find from a trade as there is bugger all in the pipeline really. Thinking Jon Gillies's or Zach Fucale's RFA rights or another decent 22/23'ish goalie on the verge of the NHL in a team that's stacked with G prospects. Spencer Martin isn't going to make it from what I've seen of him. Goaltending is actually, imho, the Avs biggest organisational weakness right now.
4. I like the idea of acquiring someone like Manson for size and toughness, and it worries me the Avs are going to be tiny in hockey terms in a few years with Makar, Barrie, Girard & Timmins. Barrie & Girard got pushed around big time against the Predators. That said, I can't see the Ducks fitting Barrie in too easily although Bieksa is unlikely to be re-signed by the Ducks I would imagine, so not impossible. If the Avs could pick up Terry as well in that trade I'd be absolutely in favour. Manson & Zadorov would be beasts to play against!

Grabner is ok but he's another veteran and I'd still rather keep the chemistry with Comeau and Comeau should be cheaper, Bourque coming back is good, I liked his energy and effort, and I think Alt & Siemens both deserve a new contract even though they would only be for cover/AHL duties.

This would be nice

That's the problem though, Nemeth should not be considered one of your best defenseman (if he was one of your best, you have serious problems on your defense); he was absolutely horrible in the third period of every playoff game and he can't make a pass out of the Avs zone to save his life. Nemeth was also -168 for Corsi +/- and shows no aggression towards skaters when they're coming across the blue line near the wall. He gets passed like a pylon leaving our backup goalies high and dry. Neal isn't a bad idea if you can get him for a two year contract but if I had it my way, I'd sign JVR. Da Haan has been a solid guy for the Islanders and was +11 on a team that underachieved big time last season.

The biggest thing here though is the goalie situation you speak of. I'm sorry but if our goalies are Hammond and Bernier, we damn well better go out and massively improve the defense or else you'll see quite a bit more of situations like game 6 vs Nashville. I'll vouch for Timmons though, he's a bigger body especially when he adds some NHL weight and I've actually seen Makar play solid defense but you won't see Makar until the end of next season since he's staying another year at UMass. Girard is Tyson Barrie, trade Barrie while you can get value there. But back to the goalies, if you want to make it back to the playoffs and considering all the youth that's there, it might be smart to trade for Grubauer. Again, if you just roll with Nemeth, Alt, Siemens, Barberio, Johnson, Barrie and Girard then having two backup goalies in net means the Avalanche take a step back once again and we're playing golf by the second week of April.

For sure, you're taking a gamble with Bernier & Hammond, but you're also going to be acquiring a goalie to develop who is close to NHL ready if you go that route, or you wouldn't take it. Like it or not the Avs are still rebuilding. Varly isn't the future and the consistency is no longer there as well as the injuries. Beyond that the Avs have Martin, Werner, Kvaca and Pajpach on the depth charts. Nothing really to get excited about. I agree the D still needs to improve and I seriously like your idea of getting Manson, but if you're still building your D and reinforcing and growing your forwards then why not do that in goal as well with acquiring a guy who is almost NHL ready? Is losing in the first round again, or even not making the playoffs, a big issue in that sense? I say not. I'd rather they missed for a year or even two to build a team that is capable of competing for a decent window, rather than a blip like this year (I think they're still a bubble team at best at the moment) or the previous one under Roy. Bernier and Hammond would merely be to hold the fort whilst (insert 22/23 year old goalie here) comes into the frame.

I agree it's not great that Nemeth was often our best D but I think you're being harsher than the reality. He's realistically a third pairing guy as it stands so he certainly shouldn't be the Avs best D, nor should he be expected to be. Timmins, I realise, is a bit bigger than the others, and he looked pretty comfortable in pre-season this year so the future is bright for him. He's still not a BIG body though, and yes Makar certainly looks more capable defensively than Barrie (as does Girard but then so does a pylon or a Nemeth lol). By the way you missed Zadorov from the list at the end there. As for De Haan being +11, Nemeth was +27 if we're using the plus/minus stat. Simple truth is that as I said, the Avs are still in a rebuild and the goaltending, the D, and the forwards for that matter, all still need to improve.

One final thought....why is it always golf in April for ice hockey players? Surely they can find something better to do than ruin a good walk!!!

I did forget about big Z which is my fault. He's obviously the future cornerstone of the defense considering EJ isn't getting any younger (or healthier). The one thing I'll say about the +/- difference between De Haan and Nemeth is that Nemeth actually got to log quite a bit of ice time with the studs of Mac, Mikko and Landy and they were one of the best units in all of hockey. The Avs to add to that, were +20 in scoring differential thanks to that ridiculous stretch they went on to start the new year so Nemeth got a lot of that tacked onto his +/-. The NYI were -32 overall in scoring differential and De Haan still figured in as a plus guy.

As far as making the playoffs again, I think it's extremely important. This organization has taken an "it's okay to miss the playoffs in the name of development" attitude enough. Getting playoff experience for the young guys was huge but missing next year and maybe the year after that can be hard on a team, just look at Buffalo and how down in the dumps they are mentally. You can add a few guys like JVR, Perron, Ian Cole, Manson (get rid of Barrie, Ducks need scoring badly and we need D), hell even Patrick Maroon, and the Avalanche will make the playoffs while guys like Jost, Compher, Kerfoot, Mikko, Girard, Kamenev, Toninato and Zadorov continue to get better with the help of talent around them.

My defense would look like this:
Manson - Zadorov
Girard - EJ
De Haan - Cole
Pateryn (healthy scratch)
Timmons develops in the AHL and Makar joins the Avs in time for their playoff push.

Kudos on the funny by the way haha!

Don't get me wrong, if they make the playoffs whilst developing then all the better. I just don't think it's essential at the moment and getting thumped in the first round each year could be just as damaging mentally, and at present that's the limit for the Avs. Now is actually the time to take the philosophy of it's ok to miss to take the pressure off imho. Previously they've done it whilst not deciding to fully rebuild, rather a re-tooling (and boy did they sign some tools!) Manson, Zadorov, EJ & Girard I like, I'd still take Nemeth as one of my third pair though. I don't see a need for De Haan as a third pairing guy, especially not at about 4 mil, and Cole just blocks other guys from potentially developing. Maybe take a punt at getting TVR's RFA rights from Carolina in order to tempt his brother into signing if they're close to each other. I agree on Timmins getting AHL time and maybe some call ups. Makar maybe needs a little longer. Siemens, Alt, Graves etc could round out the 7th and 8th D. I'd be comfortable with Bernier & Hammond behind that D with someone like Gillies to push Hammond for the back up role and as a future starter. Big problem with adding the likes of JVR & Perron is how much money you're tying up when it comes to signing Rantanen, Zadorov, Compher & Kerfoot, but admittedly a bit will have been trimmed if Barrie and Varly are gone. One thing I think we can agree on, if not everything, is that the future does appear bright in Colorado, it's good to talk hockey.....oh, and cheers for the kudos!

No idea why but I somehow dbl posted there lol.

?‍♂️ lol. Yes it is good to talk hockey and the fact that the Avs have a future! It seems like Sakic is learning how to be a GM and I’ll take that. You’re gonna have to change your picture on here since they did something haha.

Hahahaha, indeed I must!

Yes i like Manson a lot but Ducks too pretty sure , and Barrie is BF with Mack ....and with Meloche/Timmins/Makar plus EJ /Barrie/Alt the Right side is full .....Pateryn is a RD and slow ....CDH is only 26 and want to prove he is good with a good young team like Avs why not and he skate well ,was hurt this yr.....Grabner is younger and better scorer than Comeau and play well only this yr w/Avs .....with Kane you need a good veteran team like SJ,DUcks or Pens i dont see a fit here team is so young .....JVR is slow don’t fit Avs style.....anyway the future looks bright now