Pitt declines

Can’t see Winnipeg considering that. Not nearly enough quality

Won a cup with Kuemper not running at full speed why not just save the prospects and re-sign him for less than Helly?

I really like Girard, but I’m not sure if the Canes trade Necas for him.

I've seen guesstimates all over the place for him. Seen him in a bunch of JT Miller trades but also off-loaded for a 3rd? Any ideas what's a realistic proposal? a 3rd?

In the description I said that it's a thin FA market and some team pays more than we can afford/are willing, so we go big fish hunting on the trade market again. I personally really like Darcy and want him back but playing around with a dream scenario to get Helly.

I'm not sure either. They have a lot of guys to resign as well, including Trocheck, Niederreiter, Domi... and they likely are trying to find ways to bolster their offensive output after that playoff showing. Maybe include a pick or mid-level prospect with Sam?

What would you think a realistic Avs package would have to be to pull it off?

For an elite goaltender I’m sure they ask for something great in value. Has to involve like Newhook or another top young player at least

Fair enough. I'm sure everyone that trades with the Avs is going to ask for Byram or Newhook. Was trying to do it with blue chip prospects and draft picks. Maybe add a second 1st rounder? Av might just not be a fit for a good trade partner since i doubt Joe would be willing to part with either of the young studs.

The Avs adding isn’t really the problem here. The Canes already have Slavin and Skjei as their 1-2 punch on LD, and Pesce plays with Skjei on the second pairing. TDA I would assume gets resigned unless he starts asking for more money than what is on offer. And unfortunately the Canes FO has a history of trying to lowball guys, and it seems it’s happening again this year as well. I’m not sure how good Girard is on his off side, and I highly doubt he would accept being played as the 3LD, because right now, he doesn’t beat out Skjei and nobody beats out Slavin. The trade doesn’t make sense for the Canes positionally, whereas if it was a package for a goal scoring LW, Canes would be more likely to make a move like that. All I know is that it seems like it will be another off-season of change for the Canes, because we haven’t had enough of that the past couple of years.

Yeah, makes sense. IIRC, Sam has played very well on the right side in previous years and was perfectly comfortable there. I believe he played on the right side any time he was paired with Toews, Graves, Cole, Byram, etc the past few years. It's actually more important to find him a solid defender to pair him with so he's free to go wheeling about a little bit, and since he's obviously on the smaller side. Appreciate you sharing the insights. I was honestly more scared of facing the Canes in the Finals than any other team from the East, TB included. That's a hell of a group and I wouldn't be surprised to see them in the Finals next year if you can keep it together.

Olausson is the only decent prospect given here who projects as a middle six winger. Others are fringe nhlers really.

I had the same feeling if the Canes made the finals. It’s also because of how the Canes are built. They are the exact opposite of teams like Edmonton, Toronto, and Florida. They don’t have that true goal scorer yet, but they are built on balance and defense. Yeah, and keeping it together will be tough when FO is trying to lowball players. I just hope the Canes can improve their roster with that 1 extra piece to make it all come together.

I think Girard could do so well on the right side if he was paired with Slavin, but I would rather just resign TDA instead, mainly because of his bite and he has better offensive capabilities than Girard. Plus, Girard seems a bit injury prone, and the Canes already have enough of that as is.

I recognize that I'm going to have a bit of fan bias since I actually follow the prospects in the Avs system, but either I'd say we're gonna have to agree to disagree, or maybe we just have different definitions of "fringe NHLers". Annunen and Ranta are both absolutely "prospects" and have more developing to do to be ready for the NHL. They aren't sure things, but few prospects are and neither of them are anywhere close to reaching their ceiling yet. Both are only 22. Maybe we're getting spoiled by all the things Cale has accomplished at 23, but it isn't the norm for players to have that kind of success this early. Both of them have been entrenched in the Avs top-10 prospects list the past few years, including the years when that group included Byram and Newhook and had that Avs prospect pool ranking towards the top of the league.

Ranta has always taken a while to acclimate to a new level, but he's a hard worker and has a lot of the high-end tools you want in a current NHL winger. He looked a little lost during his cup of coffee this year, but no one who knows prospects expected him to stay with the Avs this year. You can see the physical tools but he's going to need some time to catch up to the speed of the game at the NHL level. That's not unusual, and big wingers typically take a little longer to develop anyways. He needs to learn how to play defense and away from puck at this level, and needs to build up his confidence, but the tools are there for him to be a middle-6 guy.

Annunen has prototypical size for what teams want in NHL goalies these days, and he has a quiet, controlled game like Frankie. He's dominated Liiga as a teenager, which is no joke. He's a big kid and has dealt with some injuries and conditioning problems the past couple of years, but when he's healthy and able to stay in shape he has potential to be a top netminder. If the pandemic hadn't derailed a couple seasons for him, he may very well be ready for the league. You may not have noticed, but Justus was our 3rd goaltender in the playoffs ahead of actual "fringe NHLer" Miska.

Yes, they are still developing and unrealized potential. Both of them have a ton of upside, but could also end up being busts. That's the name of the game with prospects. If they aren't traded I'm pretty excited to see both in Avs sweaters in the coming years and see what they can do for the Avs. I may be slightly over-valuing them cause i like our home-grown guys, but I also think you're underestimating their value and I wasn't just including them as toss-ins.

Helle is an Elite top 5 goalie in the league on a great team friendly contract, no way they take this, would need to include Newhook or Byram, even Avs 1sts arent very valuable with the calibre of the team