Not bad, not bad at all.

Walking Zadorov straight to UFA doesn't seem prudent though...

I'm in

Correct me if im wrong but I thought he would still be an RFA if he signed for 1 year? He will only be 26 in the summer of 2021 and will only have 6 seasons of 40+ games

you're right. he's only accrued 5 full seasons so far. i dont like the idea of bringing him back only to scratch him at $3.2m

Don't you dare touch Pius Suter! He must come to Edmonton!

He wouldnt be scratched the whole season, he would be a great replacement D if someone is injured and even when the D is perfectly healthy he could rotate games with Cole or even Byram if he needs a break. They could even run 11F 7D if they wanted. Its not ideal to have someone like him benched but going into the playoffs you can never have too many NHL defensemen. A 1 year deal gives the Avs tons of options on D:
If Byram and Timmins arent ready for the NHL - no problem, Zadorov fills in so they still have 6 quality NHL D
If one of Byram and Timmins are ready - no problem, he can rotate with Cole or serve as injury replacement
If both Byram and Timmins are ready - no problem, he can either be traded at the deadline or kept to be part of a crazy deep D core for the playoffs

hehehe

Sakic has this team in a good spot with their roster, cap, and prospect pool. There are few other contenders with the depth and flexibility that Colorado has, especially in the flat cap environment.

With that in mind, I would consider it a pretty big disappointment if they don't add to the roster in order to maximize their chances during the remainder of MacKinnon's contract. The top 9 is the most obvious spot they can add to (imo). I think Joe has a similar view, but that's just my opinion.

All this is to say get ready for Hall in an Avs sweater folks. It's happening!

I could see a small move involving picks to add a forward but I really do not want Hall on a long term deal. If he is willing to sign for 1 year then sure, but I dont think Sakic should offer him any more term.

COL has the most 5v5 goals for in the league and the 3rd least 5v5 goals against, so they dont really need to add anywhere. imo the best course of action is to not do much during the offseason to save cap space and then maybe trade for a rental at the deadline if we face some injuries or if we find a weakness. If we go out and get Hall or another big name F and then find out halfway through the season that our defense is struggling or injury-plagued we wont have any cap space to fix it at the deadline

I get why you may have concerns, but I'm not on the same page here. Scoring a ton of goals can make up for injuries on defense for a while. Hall is also very good defensively, so he helps in more than just the scoring department. The team would also gain cap space via LTIR if things are bad. so it's not like there is no flexibility. In the end though, if injuries are that significant, then you're probably screwed either way.

I don't get the one year thing either, unless you are timid that it might not be a success. But even then I don't get it. If the team signs him to a 6 year deal and it doesn't work out, I guarantee someone wants to trade for him. The bigger issue is what you do if it's a success. They aren't just going to let him walk and will end up having to pay him more to stay.

Ahhhhh thanks for pointing this out. I somehow overlooked the fact that his first season with the Avs was below 40, since he has already played 60 games the previous season with Buffalo.

This changes the picture quite a bit then, and a 1 year contract makes A LOT more sense. The expansion draft would still a concern of course, but if he's an RFA again in 2021 that could certainly increase his trade value compared to if he was an UFA.

I can certainly see the benefit of rolling into camp with Zadorov on the roster still. That provides some insulation for Byram/Timmins, and since it's probably going to be a shortened season there's less chance of him getting disgruntled if he's not playing as much (as compared to if he had to endure a full 82 game season as our 7D).

I'm actually also gradually becoming more ok with the idea of Seattle picking Zadorov. Sure, it's not ideal to lose an asset, but if it's not him then it'll be one of Jost/Compher/Nichuskin/Donskoi/Francouz, and we should be pretty pleased if he's the only piece we lose since he's not really going to be a key player by then anyways. Zadorov also has roughly the same trade value as those forwards so it wouldn't make much material difference to us.

I think like you, that the likeliest outcome is that Sakic makes a trade for someone under-valued by the market (eg. Killorn/Palat) using one or two non-1st round picks. We could improve the PK and so a good PK forward would help the team.

As for adding players at the deadline, as long as we keep like $1m open during most of the season we should have plenty of space to add a rental, due to how cap accrual works.

Players like hall usually don't age well. He relies on speed and offensive ability more than anything else which is usually the first thing to go as he gets older. Also look at the injury history - that doesn't look like a bet I want to take long term. With a flat cap we have to be super careful of how we use cap space, if we can make it work for 1 year then it minimizes the risk and we won't be screwed for the next 7 years.

Also I'm not convinced that another team would trade for him if he doesn't work out in COL. How many teams would want to give up assets to bring in a guy being paid a ton of money during a flat cap who has underperformed the past 2 seasons and gets injured a lot? My guess is none.

Maybe he would work out in COL, but the downside is ruining a good situation the Avs already have. They have a very good young team with a great cap situation. There's no need to risk their future to try to add one guy long term

I think every team would love to have Hall. He's one of the better players in the league. I also have little doubt that substituting Hall for say Donskoi takes the team to another level. Hall, Kadri, Burakovsky would be a hell of a line.

Yes he'll probably decline after a few years, but it's worth taking the shot if the only longer term pieces that are lost are Donskoi, Z, and Compher. Two of them are gone anyway, and all of their replacements are already in the system. I'm much more scared of not going for it while the core guys are in their prime than I am of any contract implications.

I would bet that if Hall were already on the team folks wouldn't have the same reservations about keeping him. You don't let a player like that walk, and if you get a chance to add one you do it.

I agree that he has huge upside. The risk is too big if its a long term deal though.

For the point in bold: Why not both? Avs can still go for it and not risk their future cap to do it. Namely, by doing a 1 year deal

He did say he wasn't interested in a one or two year deal, so there is that (although maybe it has changed). But also that if it's a success for that single year I can't for the life of me see letting him walk after that year.

I think his style fits really well with this team, and his numbers indicate he would likely live up to his contract on a good team that doesn't play a Yotes type game. I'd love to get him for like 4-5 years. I would go 6 though and maybe even 7 if that's what it takes. I'm gonna make a bold prediction that he signs with the Avs at 8.75x6 or so and that this team will steamroll next year. I'd personally love it.

I got it. A one year deal at $11.5M with a wink wink agreement that (assuming it's a fit) he signs for another 5 years at $8.5M per. That's the same as a 6 year deal at $9M with more up front too. Everyone wins. Might get a call from the league but they can't prove anything. Lol.