Edited Jul. 23, 2023 at 2:53 p.m.
Quoting: McRanteskog
I’d hope Toews would come in closer to 7.5mil. Manson should be the cap casualty over Girard regardless (UNLESS they get an offer for Girard they can’t refuse).
Quoting: Anus_McLeod
I'd say Toews comes in closer to 7.5 if they also give him lots of trade protection. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but I just really think his age will work against him.
Quoting: Xqb15a
Toews at that number is a thank you for your service kind of deal, and move on. If Byram takes the steps he should, would COL do the unthinkable and move Toews for a haul considering what dmen have gone for at the deadline, not likely but an interesting thought.
I think Toews gets at least $8M if the term is 6 years or less, whether it’s from the Avs or another team. He would be the top defenseman on half the teams in the NHL. Maybe Colorado could bring the AAV down by going longer on term, but at age 30 I’d hesitate to go more than 5 or 6 years.
Two recent comps are Dmirty Orlov (2x$7.75M) and Vince Dunn (4x$7.35M). I’m biased, but I would prefer Toews over either of those players. There will also be more clarity on how much the cap will continue to rise after this coming season.
I would also hesitate a little bit on big time trade protection if they offer max term, at least in the later years of the deal. There’s been some research about how late bloomers (like Toews) also tend to decline faster. I think his skating and IQ will help his longevity, but still have to be careful when signing a guy into his mid-/late-30s.
I’d imagine the ship has sailed on trading Toews. That probably would have been a decision they made early this summer, if at all. Even if they don’t think they can keep him come trade deadline, he would be their “own rental” (assuming the season hasn’t completely gone off the rails).
Quoting: swissmontana
Kovalenko might get more. I think he'll only sign a 1-year RFA after the KHL season to come join the Avs for the playoffs, which would burn his last RFA year. If he's anywhere near as productive in the playoffs as he is in the KHL, he could be closer to Miles Wood money in UFA. There's a possibility that the Avs sign him to a longer RFA deal that gives him a tad more money (and since he'd join in April, his cap hit would be very minimal anyway), but if they manage to get him to sign for longer than just the 1-year, it would probably have to be at least $2. Otherwise, he should bet on himself.
Kovalenko has to sign an entry level contract, and because of his age (23) it has to be a 2-year deal with a max AAV if $925k (plus performance bonuses). Evan Rawal put out an article this weekend about how Kovalenko may be signing with the Avs this summer, be loaned back to Torpedo to fulfill the last year of his KHL contract, and then come over to North America this spring. I think he would be eligible to play in the NHL playoffs, as long as he’s on the Avs roster before the trade deadline. If that’s the case, his entry level contract would expire at the end of the 24-25 season and he would be an RFA.