If we do play Makar i just hope EJ waives his NMC for the expansion draft. Losing one of Barrie/Girard/Makar would be a huge blow

Do you think Bednar sticks with the same lineup tomorrow or puts Makar in?

Depending on Girard's injury I think Makar could be in the lineup in game 3. Probably the same forward lines as the 2nd half of game 2 with Rantanen on the top line again. Not sure if the Avs have practice today but that also might affect the Makar decision. Bednar probably wouldnt put him on the ice before getting a practice in first

Why dont play him? I'm pretty sure playoffs dont count towards the 9 games.

Play barberio or nemeth if you have to

Or zadorov

I didn’t catch what happened to Girard?

Bennett hit him and it looked like he hurt his left arm

yes but to a lesser extent

Oh darn.

Avs are playing great, should be an exciting rest of the series.

Good luck to you and your team!

theres still a lot of confusion about this but Friedman tweeted that if Makar plays just 1 game that he would be eligible for the expansion draft

Oh wow. Didnt know that. Then I 1000% agree.

nemeth is already playing and graves would probably be put in over barberio.

Im ok with Makar playing as long as Sakic has a plan for the expansion draft (ie Johnson agrees to waive NMC, Barrie trade, plan to make a deal with Seattle, etc)

If I'm Colorado I don't play him. He's not the deciding factor whether they'll beat Calgary or not. Also, he hasn't played with the team all year, there's no reason to believe he'll be the difference maker.

I get that he's probably the best college player but should they lose, they'll have to protect him regardless.

Avs can beat the Flames..game 1 smith bailed them out big time, game 2 Avs dominated them for almost a full 60 mins. Makar can put them over the edge and take a 3-1 lead. Blood is in the water

Its a calculated risk but in reality you never know how many or if you have playoff chances guaranteed going forward. And if you have a chance to load up for Game 3 with Makar, that is big showing your Stars like MacKinnon, Rants, Landy, etc that this org is serious about winning and not just happy to be there.

I agree with you,

If they do play him who do they protect?
Mack
Rants
Landy
Jost
Compher

Johnson
Girard
Makar

Grubs

That seems about right, and if Zads and Kerfoot are still part of the team by then, you can always do side deals to ensure they are not selected, its not the end of the world

I’m staying away from side deals if I’m a GM for the next expansion draft. You can replace the 8th or Oth best player on your roster. You can get yourself in trouble if you’re sacrificing significant futures to protect those guys (Columbus, Minnesota, Florida, etc.)

Problem is I want to keep all the young dmen, including zadorov, I'd give Seattle a 2nd rounder to select some UFA forward

oh yeah for sure, I would try to protect Zads if I could. In an ideal work EJ waives his NMC to protect another Dman, and chances are he wouldnt be selected by Seattle or you just like you said give a 2nd to take some other forward

I like EJ but I think he's the one to be traded. You have to ask him his list: there are 19 teams where he can be traded. So you can have a good pick or prospect and it would be perfect. And you can re-sign Barrie. And no stress with the Seattle expansion draft.