OffThePost.org

No huge surprises, Avs qualify nearly all their RFAs.

Sakic has intimated that Colorado will not be a big player in free agency this year, and I'm not at all surprised.

Somewhat disappointed that players who clearly don't have a future with the organization were not moved before or during the draft. Tyson Jost and Nikita Zadorov are clearly not in the organization's plans, so why not flip them for some picks? Anyway, Joe is usually pretty conservative so we'll see how this goes.

As for the draft, Avs go against the grain that all the mocks had them pegged for and picked D Justin Barron with their first rounder. RHD with speed, size, and skill. Sounds like a better-skating Erik Johnson. Had a blood clot that cut his previous season short, so that's a concern, but otherwise this looks like a solid pick.

Colorado didn't have a 2nd rounder so in the 3rd they take Liam's little brother Jean-Luc Foudy. From what I understand he's even faster than Liam, but not quite as gritty. Perfectly fine 3rd rounder.

They took a couple other kids, I won't bore you with the details but consensus is that they did okay. No home runs but that's to be expected when, for the first time in a long time, you're not picking in the high end or middle of the draft.

I think Taylor Hall wants to play for a team like the Avalanche, so we'll see if his agent can successfully drag Sakic into the conversation.

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Good god, how would you like to be a defenseman against Hall and Mackinnon together?

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Thanks Chuck, E.L. and Harmy!

For what it's worth someone at Score and a betting website says Hall to COL on a short-term deal.

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None of the usual insiders have said anything to that effect so I'm taking that with a piece of salt as big as the giant round boulder that chased down Indiana Jones after he got the Idol.

Any word on Colin Wilson's health?

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Running (and morbid) joke in Avs HF is that he’s dead.

Seriously though, I don’t know. Had groin surgery and even after the extended break still wasn’t good enough to play. He may be done.

Joe Sakic and the Avs quietly taking care of business.

Sign a whole lot of depth for the AHL club up in Loveland.

Sign both Nichushkin and Burakovsky to two-year deals respectively.

Trade RFA defenseman Nikita Zadorov for Brandon Saad, which is such a ridiculously lopsided trade it's not even worth analyzing. AND he convinced Stanley C. Bowman to retain salary on the deal!!!!!

I don't think they're done quite yet, but even if they were this is incredible that they've lined themselves up so nicely.

AJ Greer for Kyle Burroughs. Thoughts?

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

I was in the middle of crafting a response in the Isles forum when my in-laws came over. Now they’re gone so I’ll head over there and finish it.

Thanks! I have nothing to say about Burroughs, other than he doesn't stand out to my memory at all, and I like/pay attention to Bridgeport. Sorry.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

Really, Colorado didn't offer Hall a better chance on a one year deal? Something seems super fishy.

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Three year extension for Ryan Graves, 3.16M AAV.

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What a top 6: Makar, Girard, Graves, Johnson, Toews, Cole

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Wow, all that talent acquired and Sakic still didn’t give up a prospect of any value nor did he lose a first rounder.

Toews most definitely takes that top pairing spot next to Makar. That bumps Graves down to the third pairing where he belongs, and incidentally if they can get Conor Timmins to finally stay healthy, they’ll have quality talent EVERYWHERE on defense. That’s amazing.

Now...not everything is perfect of course. JT Compher is still the third line center (and that’s not nearly good enough) and there are still obviously questions in goal. But man, if this team isn’t one of the top squads in the league then that will be a major disappointment.

I was buying the hype last year but I see little outward significance on any of these signings to the as is roster, outside of Toews (an under rated pickup). I guess Saad may be good for 20 so there's that.

This light treading seems to indicate that Sakic is confident in what he has which I find interesting.

I guess it remains to be seen if the fanbase feels the same way or feels like the organization is wasting the time it has with Mackinnon.

Can they stay healthy seems to be the biggest question.

Expectations should start to be real with this team. To me this upcoming year is a SHOW ME year from the players and from management. Anything less than WCF should be a disappointment.

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No AI has been used in the making of this post

Some positives to expect from Toews- jumping up into the offense for scoring chances. He's fast. Very good first passes.
Some negatives to expect- does NOT play physically. Hates to be hit. And he ices the puck all the fucking time, from like 3' behind the red line, and then acts surprised when it gets called. Maybe he learned his lesson after the Hedman goal in the ECFs. I'd hope so. But he used to do it all the time.

Lou said he had a very difficult conversation with him when he informed Toews of the trade, because he said Toews is a great person. He was also married- 2 days before the trade. Ouch. Hope he hadn't just bought a house on Long Island.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

While I usually like players with a bit of swagger, I wasn't a fan of him mocking Kuznetsov's bird celebration. Pretty sure he learned his lesson from that one though.

He'll be loosened up a bit under Bednar's system, and he's already likely penciled in to be on the top pairing alongside Cale Makar--a fairly substantial improvement from Graves. We'll see if the unforced icings (Avs fans are used to that from when Patrik Nemeth was on the team) improve any.

I started writing about the Kuznetsov mocking and deleted it, because he did seem to learn from that. I think the entire Isles team and fan base were furious with him over that.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

Tyson Jost signs his qualifying offer, so he'll make near-league minimum for next season. That's about the best he can hope for. Unfortunately dude is really nothing more than a marginal 4th liner, which is not what you want from a 10th overall pick. Ultimately he's a bust the team will eventually move on from. A shame really as he's by all accounts a good guy and a good story, unfortunately he just doesn't have NHL-level skating, and it's killing everything else that's good about his game.

All that's left is signing Toews and the Avs will be good to go. I'd really love it if they somehow pulled off a deal to secure a good-ish 3rd line center, but otherwise they're loaded for bear.