I think Habs say yes

Half retained will need a 3rd. But yeah no retention = probably a 4th

A reasonable comparable is Nemeth who at 50% retained ($3m caphit down to $1.5m) only got a 4th last year. Kulak would require less money and cap retained than that. Not to mention that this is shaping up to be a buyers market. Keep in mind that retention isn't really something special in deadline trades anymore, it's pretty standard practice given that most contenders are at the cap ceiling or into LTIR already.

That said thank you for commenting and offering some feedback.

Oh no doubts on that. Just feel like a sub 1m Kulak will fetch quite an interest in the league. 30ish 4th rounders will get beaten so if the Avs want him they will probably have to give their 3rd instead just to beat the other teams. Kulak isn't anything flashy but is a solid mobile 6th D on a 3rd pair. Only thing that can play against him is that there are plenty of depth LHD on the market compared to RHD (Lyubushkin kind of return)

Is Clutterbuck really such an upgrade over NAK that it warrants moving Jost?

That's an interesting way to look at it. I wouldn't necessarily see it like Clutterbuck being an upgrade on NAK, though I suppose that's what it looks like with this roster. Bear in mind that you wouldn't need to play MacDermid every game, meaning that you can have a NAK-Maltsev-Clutterbuck line which is also a handful physically. Also, injuries happen so there's every likelihood that NAK would be playing most games anyways despite being listed here as the 13th forward. Playoff depth is incredibly important, and I'd rather have 2 of NAK/Helm/MacDermid to draw into the lineup as 12th forward than unproven rookies like last year.

Also worth noting that the return on Clutterbuck here includes a 3rd, which would allow us to build up some capital for the draft given that we only have one pick in the first 4 rounds. Not that collecting picks is the most important thing for a contender obviously, but if you can upgrade the 4th line for this run while also having an eye on the future that would be solid asset management. Granted, there would need to be a plan for 3C next year with Jost gone, because we'd be rolling with Newhook as the only middle 6 C on the team going into next season.

If the Avs have to pony up a 3rd for Kulak then I think Sakic looks elsewhere, or just offers a lesser prospect as a throw-in with a 4th. Maybe that offer would be beat (especially since it's a 2024 pick) but so be it, there will be plenty of Dmen available and someone will blink at the last second, just like Yzerman with Nemeth and Dorion with Namestnikov (both for 4th's).

Maltsev as the 4C going into the playoffs is not what I would call a comfortable position to be in.

Why not? The guy does everything you want from a 4C except PK but that seems to be more of a trust thing due to his newness to the team rather than ability.

Some stats to note:

- 1st on the Avs in hits/60 at 5v5;
- 1st in takeaways/60 at 5v5;
- Corsi of 56%
- over 57% on faceoffs;
- 6'3'' so can handle himself against big opponents;

His scoring hasn't been great obviously (0 points in 18) and you'd like that to be higher, but it's worth noting that his on-ice shot% is super low at 2.60% and his PDO is 92.5, both of which indicate that he's been unlucky. He's scoring at near-PPG pace in the AHL (28 points in 34 games) which suggests that there's plenty of skill there to contribute on the scoreboard at the NHL level more than he's done so far.

In my opinion he's outperformed Helm and possibly one or two others and he would already be a regular if it weren't for the fact that he's waiver exempt. I suspect that his performance thus far this season will enable Sakic to entertain moving Jost at the deadline, because as far as the metrics (and my admittedly imperfect eye-test) suggest he's absolutely ready to take that 4C job. The data is a small sample size though (i.e. 18 games), so that does add some risk admittedly.

I don't know much about NAK, but Clutterbuck has been a regular PKer over the last several years. He's a good guy to have on a playoff run where you don't expect him to score, but you want him to do everything else right (which he does).

I would do this for NYI. Jost is a nice add to this team and I don't mind retaining on an expiring contract. It basically becomes a 3rd for Jost while losing out on the assets you'd receive for just trading Clutterbuck by himself. I think that's fair. Jost playing both center and wing is helpful too, we could use more guys like that.