Question from Walter Nieuwlandt<\/p>\n
Is Pavel Zacha a good third line target?<\/p>\n
Aarif\u2019s Response<\/p>\n
This would honestly be an excellent pickup, but I just don\u2019t 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\u2019s good enough to play 2C if injuries arise or if Brock Nelson struggles at any point.<\/p>\n
Basically, he would play the Ross Colton role with more offensive upside and as a more natural centerman. He\u2019s also a big body, listed as 6\u20193, 206 lbs, and kills penalties. At only $4.75 million and 28 years old, I\u2019d take that all day.<\/p>\n
But again, I\u2019m not entirely sure what Colorado could offer that would make sense for the Bruins.<\/p>\n
Question from Sasha Landprecht<\/p>\n
Are there any players the Avs will target for PTO?<\/p>\n
Aarif\u2019s Response<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t 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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d imagine it\u2019ll be guys lower down the list of remaining free agents.<\/p>\n
Question from Doug<\/p>\n
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?<\/p>\n
Aarif\u2019s Response<\/p>\n
In the flat cap era, it was easier for these teams to flex that advantage. And there\u2019s 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).<\/p>\n
But with the cap rising, I just don\u2019t think it\u2019s 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\u2019ll actually have the cap space to do so.<\/p>\n
The problem is, the damage was already done to help some of these teams. I don\u2019t 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\u2019s Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul signed. Those aren\u2019t the types of deals you\u2019re getting in Colorado. If the Avs had a no-state advantage, it could\u2019ve possibly helped them keep Nazem Kadri in 2022, for example.<\/p>\n
So even though I don\u2019t think it\u2019ll be as big of an advantage moving forward, it doesn\u2019t take away from the fact that Ekblad, Reinhart, and Hagel are still playing out those contracts while in their primes.<\/p>\n
I do think this general conversation will slowly go away over the next five years.<\/p>\n
Question from Henri<\/p>\n
What can we expect from the Avs 30th anniversary season announcement coming within the next week or two?<\/p>\n
Aarif\u2019s Response<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve all see the reports that they\u2019re planning on bringing back the Nordiques sweater, so that\u2019s something I\u2019d expect to be announced then (if it\u2019s true).<\/p>\n
But I also wish they\u2019d play a few games in the diagonal \u2018Colorado\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
I just hope it\u2019s a little bit different this time around, and we can see some of those faces we haven\u2019t seen in years. Perhaps a visit from Ray Bourque around the trade deadline would be fun. He was acquired on March 6, 2000.<\/p>\n
Honestly, I\u2019d even do something with Kariya and Selanne even if their time here wasn\u2019t the best for either of them.<\/p>\n
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?<\/p>\n
Question from Reece<\/p>\n
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?<\/p>\n
Aarif\u2019s Response<\/p>\n
Honestly? I do believe it will.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
This year should put a lot of pressure on both the head coach and GM. I\u2019m 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\u2019t keep wasting his prime years.<\/p>\n
If this talented Avs roster doesn\u2019t 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\u2019s still a fireable offense for not getting better playoff positioning.<\/p>\n
And if they do finish first or second in the Central, and get upset by the lower seed, I think that\u2019s also a fireable offense for both of them.<\/p>\n
Unless something completely crazy happens. Like I\u2019m talking season-ending injuries to Cale Makar and MacKinnon, I can\u2019t find a reason that would excuse another first-round loss. Potentially even a second-round loss (if it\u2019s to Dallas again).<\/p>\n
Question from Rudy Volz<\/p>\n
Who is the best Joe Pavelski puck deflector on the Avs that can help point shooters?<\/p>\n
Aarif\u2019s Response<\/p>\n
It\u2019s either Landeskog or Nichushkin. Having both of them fully healthy at the same time again will be fun.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t love Landeskog playing in different spots on the PP after his return in the postseason, but Ray Bennett is gone, so I imagine that\u2019ll somewhat change.<\/p>\n
Question from Jeffrey Anderson<\/p>\n
Who do you have on your bingo card for 3C, assuming it\u2019s not Drury? I think he needs time at 4C to develop his game.<\/p>\n
Aarif\u2019s Response<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
What if Avs decide to let Jack Drury start the season at 3C to see what they have? And what if it doesn\u2019t go as well as you\u2019d want? Then you\u2019re back to scouring the trade market for someone else.<\/p>\n
What if the security blanket is Ross Colton, and putting him back at center if Drury doesn\u2019t do well there? I don\u2019t love that idea, but that could be a possibility.<\/p>\n
In the end, I think they\u2019ll have a different 3C after the trade deadline, I just don\u2019t know when they\u2019ll get that guy.<\/p>\n
But I also really don\u2019t want to rule out the idea of Drury developing into that role. It\u2019s not the sexy option, but it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Question from Jeffrey Anderson<\/p>\n
The Avs also need a LD, or two of them, if they trade Samuel Girard. Who\u2019s a good fit and available? I know Mario Ferraro may be.<\/p>\n
Aarif\u2019s Response<\/p>\n
Ferraro is a reasonable option.<\/p>\n
I honestly wouldn\u2019t mind Matt Grzelcyk on the third pair. But only if you\u2019re trading Girard for someone else to beef up the left side on one of the pairs. Grzelcyk is also a UFA, so you wouldn\u2019t have to give up assets to get him.<\/p>\n
If they trade Girard, I\u2019d love to see them acquire a solid No. 3 option. I\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n
Ivan Provorov could\u2019ve been a UFA target, but he was way overpaid by Columbus. K\u2019Andre Miller as a trade target would\u2019ve made sense. Perhaps Bowen Byram could still be an option, albeit he\u2019s not the big, beefy defenseman that would fit the bill.<\/p>\n
What about one of Seattle\u2019s towering blue liners? They have Vince Dunn, Jamie Oleksiak, and Ryan Lindgren all on the left side. Maybe they\u2019ll make Oleksiak available.<\/p>\n
An off-the-radar type of guy for me would also be Alex Vlasic from Chicago. But I can\u2019t think of any reason why they\u2019d trade him. I would like to see them find a way to bring in someone younger like that, though.<\/p>\n
Question from Karl Keen<\/p>\n
You posted on the Avs\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
Aarif\u2019s Response<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think that\u2019s happening. The logo might be outdated to some but it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not entirely sure why they defaulted to the \u2018unipron\u2019 that Reebok offered, but I\u2019m glad those days are long gone.<\/p>\n
Anyway, I just can\u2019t see them changing the logo anytime soon.<\/p>\n
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