Holtz and Kovacevic with Gravy on Top

Forums/Armchair-GM

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Created by: Anus_McLeod

Team: 2024-25 Colorado Avalanche

Initial Creation Date: Apr. 17, 2024

Published: Apr. 17, 2024

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Description

I'm pretty sold on the Holtz and Kovacevic moves that have been discussed before (sorry NJD and Habs fans to make you keep clicking on the same ol same ol). As such, I'm keeping those for this one. The trades can be tweaked a bit if needed (I especially know that some Devils fans put a higher value on Holtz).

I'm bringing in Behrens, who they really need to sign, for this one too. 3LD could be a position they look to upgrade at the TDL, but it makes sense to me to give him experience during the year.

I'm moving out Manson for a couple reasons. The first is to get the pick for Kovacevic. The second is to bring back Graves (more on that below).

Makar and Toews are obviously one of the best pairings in the league (though they have struggled a bit this season compared to years past). But if you look back and check out some stats, Makar and Graves were up there as well. Not as good as Toews/Makar, but still near the top of the league. And when Girard and Toews were together, they also put up very strong results. This spreads the skill a bit better through the top four imo, and it's locked for three more years. Plenty of time to see if guys like Behrens, Malinski, and Gulyayev can push for a role (or larger role) before deciding who, if anyone, needs to go.

I suspect Toews and Makar would still play together a fair amount (since each plays 25 min per game), even in this scenario, so it's not entirely the death of that pairing.

Free Agent Signings

RESERVE LIST		YEARS	CAP HIT
Behrens, Sean		2	$950,000
Ritchie, Calum		3	$950,000

RFA		YEARS	CAP HIT
Mittelstadt, Casey		4	$5,500,000

UFA		YEARS	CAP HIT
Drouin, Jonathan		2	$3,000,000

Trades

COL

Holtz, Alexander

NJD

Colton, Ross

COL

2024 3rd round pick (BUF)
2025 3rd round pick (BUF)

BUF

Manson, Josh

COL

Kovacevic, Johnathan

MTL

2025 3rd round pick (BUF)

COL

Graves, Ryan

PIT

2024 3rd round pick (BUF)

Draft	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7
2024
2025
2026

ROSTER

LONG-TERM OUTLOOK

EMBED

TEXT-EMBED

ROSTER SIZE	SALARY CAP	CAP HIT	OVERAGES	BONUSES	CAP SPACE
22	$87,700,000	$87,667,084	$0	$907,500	$32,916

Left Wing	Centre	Right Wing
Drouin, Jonathan $3,000,000$3,000,000 LW, RW UFA	MacKinnon, Nathan $12,600,000$12,600,000 C NMC UFA - 7	Nichushkin, Valeri $6,125,000$6,125,000 RW, LW NMC UFA - 6
Lehkonen, Artturi $4,500,000$4,500,000 LW, RW M-NTC UFA - 3	Mittelstadt, Casey $5,500,000$5,500,000 LW, C RFA	Rantanen, Mikko $9,250,000$9,250,000 RW, C M-NTC UFA - 1
Landeskog, Gabriel $7,000,000$7,000,000 LW, C NMC UFA - 5	Ritchie, Calum $950,000$950,000 C RFA	Holtz, Alexander $894,167$894,167 ($850,000$850K) RW, LW RFA - 1
Wood, Miles $2,500,000$2,500,000 LW M-NTC UFA - 5	Kovalenko, Nikolai $896,250$896,250 ($57,500$58K) RW RFA - 1	O'Connor, Logan $1,050,000$1,050,000 RW, LW UFA - 1

Left Defense	Right Defense	Goaltender
Graves, Ryan $4,500,000$4,500,000 LD M-NTC UFA - 5	Makar, Cale $9,000,000$9,000,000 RD UFA - 3	Georgiev, Alexandar $3,400,000$3,400,000 G UFA - 1
Toews, Devon $7,250,000$7,250,000 LD NMC UFA - 7	Girard, Samuel $5,000,000$5,000,000 LD/RD M-NTC UFA - 3	Annunen, Justus $837,500$837,500 G RFA - 2
Behrens, Sean $950,000$950,000 LD RFA - 3	Kovacevic, Johnathan $766,667$766,667 RD UFA - 1

Scratches	Injured Reserve (IR)	Long Term IR (LTIR)
Malinski, Sam $850,000$850,000 RD RFA - 1
Foudy, Jean-Luc $847,500$847,500 C RFA - 1

Apr. 17 at 12:52 p.m.

Smitty426

Joined: May 2016

Posts: 6,842

Likes: 1,980

Colton for a couple picks sure, not Holtz

Anus_McLeod liked this.

Apr. 17 at 12:56 p.m.

Rew77

Joined: May 2017

Posts: 260

Likes: 103

The penguins should accept. Graves is a good defenseman but for some reason doesn't fit well with the penguins.

gpmack95 and Anus_McLeod liked this.

Apr. 17 at 12:58 p.m.

BUFF36

Joined: Apr. 2020

Posts: 5,715

Likes: 4,783

Rather just give Montreal the 3rd myself for Kovacevic, and stay away from Manson

Anus_McLeod liked this.

Apr. 17 at 1:04 p.m.

Anus_McLeod

Thread Starter

Joined: Apr. 2020

Posts: 3,584

Likes: 3,444

Quoting: Smitty426

Colton for a couple picks sure, not Holtz

I get where you're coming from. Your fan base is pretty split on that though, and I'm taking the optimistic side from my perspective.

Smitty426, dgibb10, TJTwolf and 1 other person liked this.

Apr. 17 at 1:06 p.m.

Anus_McLeod

Thread Starter

Joined: Apr. 2020

Posts: 3,584

Likes: 3,444

Quoting: BUFF36

Rather just give Montreal the 3rd myself for Kovacevic, and stay away from Manson

I think Manson would be a nice fit there. I have seen other Sabres fans trade for him and like how the lineup looks with him added in.

Personally I think Manson's experience would be more beneficial to the Sabres than another young (or at least less experienced) player in Kovacevic.

Rew77, BUFF36, TJTwolf and 1 other person liked this.

Apr. 17 at 1:11 p.m.

Pens3lieve

Hockey IQ

Joined: May 2019

Posts: 3,024

Likes: 1,492

Quoting: Rew77

The penguins should accept. Graves is a good defenseman but for some reason doesn't fit well with the penguins.

Pit accepts, lol we would give more than a third to get rid of him after the season he just had

Rew77, Anus_McLeod and HockeyManiac95 liked this.

Apr. 17 at 1:24 p.m.

BUFF36

Joined: Apr. 2020

Posts: 5,715

Likes: 4,783

Quoting: Anus_McLeod

Rather go after someone better than Manson myself and there should be opportunities for that in the offseason. Think Kovacevic is a cheap decent option depending on what happens with Joker and Bryson.

Anus_McLeod and TJTwolf liked this.

Apr. 17 at 1:29 p.m.

Smitty426

Joined: May 2016

Posts: 6,842

Likes: 1,980

Quoting: Anus_McLeod

I get where you're coming from. Your fan base is pretty split on that though, and I'm taking the optimistic side from my perspective.

No, I get it.
Its mostly because Holtz is hated by our GM, current coach, Lindy Ruff! Holtz is not getting a fair shake and should. He's been stuck with plug-ish type line mates and not done bad at all.
I think its a good fit because it seems like there is bit of a cash crunch in CO and a need for some heavier help in Jersey. If I remember correctly you guys gave up a 2nd to get him from Tampa?
So we can get something done, but where is that sweet spot?

Anus_McLeod, TJTwolf and HockeyManiac95 liked this.

Apr. 17 at 2:13 p.m.

AntiAnalytics

Joined: Jul. 2023

Posts: 5,616

Likes: 3,745

Quoting: Anus_McLeod

Manson is also old & doesn’t really fit our timeline
And does he even waive to come here???

Anus_McLeod and HockeyManiac95 liked this.

Apr. 17 at 2:19 p.m.

#10

Anus_McLeod

Thread Starter

Joined: Apr. 2020

Posts: 3,584

Likes: 3,444

Quoting: AntiAnalytics

Manson is also old & doesn’t really fit our timeline
And does he even waive to come here???

At some point you need those bridge guys to help drag youngsters to the playoffs and show them the way. Manson fits the bill imo.

As to his NTC, he only marks 12 teams he won't go to after this year. Buffalo could be on that list, but I don't think its a slam dunk.

TJTwolf and HockeyManiac95 liked this.

Apr. 17 at 2:20 p.m.

#11

AntiAnalytics

Joined: Jul. 2023

Posts: 5,616

Likes: 3,745

Quoting: Anus_McLeod

I’ll believe it when it happens
Seems doubtful to me

Apr. 17 at 3:29 p.m.

#12

Xqb15a

Joined: Aug. 2020

Posts: 11,432

Likes: 9,064

Bringing Graves back on that contract would be disastrous. No way no how would I do that. And unless there is a deep playoff run you can’t run Georgiev back no with how he has played in 24.

TJTwolf and HockeyManiac95 liked this.

Apr. 17 at 4:36 p.m.

#13

LimeyBarsteward

Avs rule

Joined: Mar. 2024

Posts: 81

Likes: 83

To be honest I don’t think any of this is necessary except trading Colton.
Manson is better than Graves
Kovie the tank jr projects as a 3RW not really a center.
If Richie is ready to go next season he’s probably a 4c but I love Landy being there to teach him how to be a pro so 3c is ok.
Behrens will probably need a year in the ahl but I’m happy to consider he shows up at camp and earns the spot.
It just comes down to Malinski vs kova as to who you like better. I’m in the malinski camp but he didn’t do as well as I would have liked in the ahl this year. Soo 🤷‍♀️

Apr. 17 at 5:02 p.m.

#14

TJTwolf

Joined: Jan. 2017

Posts: 9,599

Likes: 4,580

Tbh I'd skip the whole Graves/Manson part as unnecessary in this scenario. Ritchie I don't think will be ready but we can hope. The Colton/Holtz trade I'm starting to get behind.

Anus_McLeod and HockeyManiac95 liked this.

Apr. 17 at 5:59 p.m.

#15

Anus_McLeod

Thread Starter

Joined: Apr. 2020

Posts: 3,584

Likes: 3,444

Quoting: TJTwolf

Tbh I'd skip the whole Graves/Manson part as unnecessary in this scenario. Ritchie I don't think will be ready but we can hope. The Colton/Holtz trade I'm starting to get behind.

Graves has shown he can complement Makar. That's why he's better for this team in my eyes. If he can come back and play at the same level as when he was here, I think that's a better top four.

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