The second half of the August Mailbag is here.
READ MORE:Â Avalanche Mailbag 1.0: Gambling with Necas, EJ and Kiviranta Updates, Goaltending Tandem, & More
Question from Walter Nieuwlandt
Is Pavel Zacha a good third line target?
Aarif’s Response
This would honestly be an excellent pickup, but I just don’t think the Avs have the assets needed to acquire him. To me, Zacha is a perfect third line center that can also play up the lineup as needed. He’s good enough to play 2C if injuries arise or if Brock Nelson struggles at any point.
Basically, he would play the Ross Colton role with more offensive upside and as a more natural centerman. He’s also a big body, listed as 6’3, 206 lbs, and kills penalties. At only $4.75 million and 28 years old, I’d take that all day.
But again, I’m not entirely sure what Colorado could offer that would make sense for the Bruins.
Question from Sasha Landprecht
Are there any players the Avs will target for PTO?
Aarif’s Response
I can’t say who specifically, but you can expect at least one PTO at training camp this year. The Avs love inviting veterans to camp on tryouts to see if anyone can play their way onto the roster. We saw it last year with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, albeit that didn’t end in a contract. But in the past, guys like Joel Kiviranta, Jack Johnson and if you go way back, Jack Skille have gained contracts after successful training camp PTOs.
I’d imagine it’ll be guys lower down the list of remaining free agents.
Question from Doug
Are the Avs at a disadvantage from a state income tax perspective? Should we expect Nevada, Texas, and Florida teams to always be a little better than they might otherwise be?
Aarif’s Response
In the flat cap era, it was easier for these teams to flex that advantage. And there’s a reason why five of the last six Stanley Cup champions are teams in Florida or Nevada. (Kudos to the Avs for being the one outlier).
But with the cap rising, I just don’t think it’s going to matter as much since more than half the league will likely have a cap surplus. You can finally entice a player with an overpayment to keep him away from a no-tax state because you’ll actually have the cap space to do so.
The problem is, the damage was already done to help some of these teams. I don’t believe being in Florida helps attract free agents. But I do believe it helps keep the guys you already have. Look at the contracts Sam Reinhart, Aaron Ekblad, and Tampa’s Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul signed. Those aren’t the types of deals you’re getting in Colorado. If the Avs had a no-state advantage, it could’ve possibly helped them keep Nazem Kadri in 2022, for example.
So even though I don’t think it’ll be as big of an advantage moving forward, it doesn’t take away from the fact that Ekblad, Reinhart, and Hagel are still playing out those contracts while in their primes.
I do think this general conversation will slowly go away over the next five years.
Question from Henri
What can we expect from the Avs 30th anniversary season announcement coming within the next week or two?
Aarif’s Response
We’ve all see the reports that they’re planning on bringing back the Nordiques sweater, so that’s something I’d expect to be announced then (if it’s true).
But I also wish they’d play a few games in the diagonal ‘Colorado’ word mark burgundy third jersey from the early 2000s. That was the first alternate sweater they ever had, and it was worn by Patrick Roy, Joe Sakic, Rob Blake, Adam Foote, Peter Forsberg, Paul Kariya, and Teemu Selanne. A lot of legends donned that sweater. Bring it back.
Also, I would like to see some of those legends come back for pre-game ceremonies throughout the season to honor past accomplishments and moments over the past 30 years.
Maybe when the Islanders are in town on Nov. 17, they can do a pregame ceremony remembering the day Roy passed Terry Sawchuk in wins.
When the Canucks are in town, we can do a flashback to a great Foote moment. And on other days, we can celebrate the other legends. When did Bob Hartley win his 100th game as head coach? Bring him back around that day to celebrate the anniversary. Thirty years is a long time. This team has a ton of history worth remembering.
I just hope it’s a little bit different this time around, and we can see some of those faces we haven’t seen in years. Perhaps a visit from Ray Bourque around the trade deadline would be fun. He was acquired on March 6, 2000.
Honestly, I’d even do something with Kariya and Selanne even if their time here wasn’t the best for either of them.
But I would like to see them celebrate moments from after the lockout too. Can we get Jose Theodore here for something? How about Jarome Iginla, recalling is 600th goal. Maybe a Ryan Smyth appearance? Or even Paul Stastny?
Question from Reece
Does another first round exit spell the end for Jared Bednar and does another failed experiment (example: Brock Nelson) mean the end for Chris MacFarland?
Aarif’s Response
Honestly? I do believe it will.
We all understand the loss to Seattle in 2023 and how gutted that roster was, on top of the Gabe Landeskog injury and Valeri Nichushkin suspension. But the next two years were a giant bummer. Losing to Dallas twice was a tough look. Especially since the Avs won Game 1 both times.
This year should put a lot of pressure on both the head coach and GM. I’m a big fan of Bednar, but results are all that matter now. Nathan MacKinnon will be 30 years old this upcoming season, and you can’t keep wasting his prime years.
If this talented Avs roster doesn’t play well enough in the regular season to win the division or at least have home-ice advantage, then that could lead to a tough first-round opponent, and potentially a loss. That’s still a fireable offense for not getting better playoff positioning.
And if they do finish first or second in the Central, and get upset by the lower seed, I think that’s also a fireable offense for both of them.
Unless something completely crazy happens. Like I’m talking season-ending injuries to Cale Makar and MacKinnon, I can’t find a reason that would excuse another first-round loss. Potentially even a second-round loss (if it’s to Dallas again).
Question from Rudy Volz
Who is the best Joe Pavelski puck deflector on the Avs that can help point shooters?
Aarif’s Response
It’s either Landeskog or Nichushkin. Having both of them fully healthy at the same time again will be fun.
I didn’t love Landeskog playing in different spots on the PP after his return in the postseason, but Ray Bennett is gone, so I imagine that’ll somewhat change.
Question from Jeffrey Anderson
Who do you have on your bingo card for 3C, assuming it’s not Drury? I think he needs time at 4C to develop his game.
Aarif’s Response
I’ve talking about choices like J.T. Compher (with salary retained) in the past. But I honestly have no idea what they do here anymore. I can see so many different scenarios play out.
What if during training camp, another team has a young center earn a roster spot and it makes a veteran expendable? Avs could probably trade for whoever that guy is.
What if Avs decide to let Jack Drury start the season at 3C to see what they have? And what if it doesn’t go as well as you’d want? Then you’re back to scouring the trade market for someone else.
What if the security blanket is Ross Colton, and putting him back at center if Drury doesn’t do well there? I don’t love that idea, but that could be a possibility.
In the end, I think they’ll have a different 3C after the trade deadline, I just don’t know when they’ll get that guy.
But I also really don’t want to rule out the idea of Drury developing into that role. It’s not the sexy option, but it’s still very possible. Drury is 25 and entering only his third full NHL season. How he plays this year will probably say a lot about how the rest of his career will look.
Question from Jeffrey Anderson
The Avs also need a LD, or two of them, if they trade Samuel Girard. Who’s a good fit and available? I know Mario Ferraro may be.
Aarif’s Response
Ferraro is a reasonable option.
I honestly wouldn’t mind Matt Grzelcyk on the third pair. But only if you’re trading Girard for someone else to beef up the left side on one of the pairs. Grzelcyk is also a UFA, so you wouldn’t have to give up assets to get him.
If they trade Girard, I’d love to see them acquire a solid No. 3 option. I’ve written about it before, but I always loved how the prime Chicago Blackhawks had Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and Nik Hjalmarsson as their three-headed monster on defense. And then there would be a drop-off for the remaining three guys.
Ivan Provorov could’ve been a UFA target, but he was way overpaid by Columbus. K’Andre Miller as a trade target would’ve made sense. Perhaps Bowen Byram could still be an option, albeit he’s not the big, beefy defenseman that would fit the bill.
What about one of Seattle’s towering blue liners? They have Vince Dunn, Jamie Oleksiak, and Ryan Lindgren all on the left side. Maybe they’ll make Oleksiak available.
An off-the-radar type of guy for me would also be Alex Vlasic from Chicago. But I can’t think of any reason why they’d trade him. I would like to see them find a way to bring in someone younger like that, though.
Question from Karl Keen
You posted on the Avs’ Nordiques jersey rumor. But given it is an anniversary season, any inkling that the Avs would just update their home and road jerseys, including altering the logo a bit? I feel like the jerseys are pretty outdated at this point in time.
Aarif’s Response
I don’t think that’s happening. The logo might be outdated to some but it’s a classic for this franchise. The Avs have rarely altered their jersey designs in general since 1995-96, let alone the logo. When Adidas took over in 2017, they pretty much went back to the same design before Reebok in 2007.
I’m not entirely sure why they defaulted to the ‘unipron’ that Reebok offered, but I’m glad those days are long gone.
Anyway, I just can’t see them changing the logo anytime soon.
