Well you are right about a couple things. Avs aren't hurting for a center. Gagner plays wing as well. Also Statsny is a terrible player and your team may now officially have the worst d in the league.

However you do have the right players to land Vanek. Like Edmonton you have young skilled prospects. I don't think you would like the cost though. Odds are Buffalo is going to hang onto him for so long that they get less than they are being offered now. Teams aren't going to give them 2 top 6 players for a guy with a 1 year contract that makes 10% of a teams overall budget unless that player rhymes with mamkos or lovechkin.
- Hall Fan

Saying Statsny is a terrible player is entirely inaccurate. Is he worth the 7 mill he makes..of course not. But when he was paired with good wingers he was fantastic. The past few years he has played with players like Hejduk(old and ineffective), Jones(crap), Porter(playing in the AHL now I believe), Kobasew(see hejduk).
On top of that we traded away the only winger he had chemistry with in his later years.(Stewart) This season I think Stazz will play with Landeskog and Tanguay...and I do think he will succeed. Come the trade deadline I think Stazz will be one of the most sought after targets.

Not trying to be a homer and over value my teams players but he had played with joke wingers who aren't with the team anymore. If he doesn't score at least 60 points this year with the linemates he has then I will eat my words and take off my Statsny goggles.

Stamkos- Crosby- Nash
Hall- Giroux- Tavares
Duchene- Toews- Getzlaf
E. Staal- Bergeron- Couture
Xtra: Benn, Eberle, Burns

Subban- Weber
Keith- Seabrook
Letang- Pietrangelo
Xtra: Hamhuis, Doughty

Goaltending will all depend upon who's performing the best. Crawford, Luongo, Price, Ward, Dubnyk, etc will likely all be in the running. For all we know, Steve Mason could tear it up in Philly and end up as the starter!
- MaximumBone

doughty's a starter. I'd take him over Letang. Also that's 5 RH D man

Gagner and Smid for Duchene is the biggest joke I've ever heard. That's trading a franchise center man for a 2nd line center and 3/4 dman. Something like this would be more reasonable:

To EDM:
Statsny
2nd rounder

To COL:
Gagner(who the avs wouldn't want anyways with Duchene, Mackinnon, and O'Reilly at center)
Smid

That being said RNH and Duchene up the center would(IMO) be the second best center tandem in the league behind Pittsburgh.
Good write up but I hope the avs land Vanek somehow!
- goavsgo10

Stastny is not better than Gags, get paid too much, and is a year from UFA

You do know that O'Reilly is going to start on the wing this year with Duchene right? Thats the plan going into training camp
- DDM-Coga

Yes I do, but who knows how that is long to work. And is gags gonna be our 3rd line center? Don't see that working out at all.

Or until MacKinnon shows himself to be the dominant force he is. I'd say run it Crosby-Malkin style and keep both, but the Avs literally only have 1 true NHL dman with Johnson. I'm surprised they haven't just gone after Murray and some other UFA dmen, because literally anything they add would be an upgrade to what they have now.
- JAKEw1234

Outside of Johnson and Hedja, the rest of the D has question marks.
Wilson is a very serviceable Dman, but is playing top 4 minutes when he is a 5-6 man on a playoff team.

Sarich is old and slow, but he might help with just anchoring the D by just being a leader.

Barrie and Elliot are the wild cards. They have so much promise and have shown flashes of greatness in games, and then get bullied the next game by more veteran line ups. Also I blame Sacco for their inconsistency. Have a great game and then get sent down to the AHL bc O'Brien or Zanon are back, etc etc. They never been settled in a AHL or NHL lineup in 2 seasons.

If the Kids actually play well, it could be a surprising balanced Dcore, and could just do the job to fight for playoff position in a tough new division.

Stastny is not better than Gags, get paid too much, and is a year from UFA
- TheNugeIsHuge

It's close but hard to compare. Gags has played with better wingers though.

Stastny is not better than Gags, get paid too much, and is a year from UFA
- TheNugeIsHuge

Gagner is solid and under rated bc all he gets is hate from Leafs, Canucks, and Flames fans. He is a 1B centre in my mind. Stastny is now a good 2C

It's close but hard to compare. Gags has played with better wingers though.
- goavsgo10

true. I'll actually say Stastny's better, but the gap is very small

Gagner is solid and under rated bc all he gets is hate from Leafs, Canucks, and Flames fans. He is a 1B centre in my mind. Stastny is now a good 2C
- DDM-Coga

yea, I don't understand it. He was tied 34th in league scoring this year n this PHI troll told me he wasn't a top 6F.

I think Stastny just needs some better wingers. Did he not play with Stewart when he was there? bad contract n year off UFA is what turns me off from him

Outside of Johnson and Hedja, the rest of the D has question marks.
Wilson is a very serviceable Dman, but is playing top 4 minutes when he is a 5-6 man on a playoff team.

Sarich is old and slow, but he might help with just anchoring the D by just being a leader.

Barrie and Elliot are the wild cards. They have so much promise and have shown flashes of greatness in games, and then get bullied the next game by more veteran line ups. Also I blame Sacco for their inconsistency. Have a great game and then get sent down to the AHL bc O'Brien or Zanon are back, etc etc. They never been settled in a AHL or NHL lineup in 2 seasons.

If the Kids actually play well, it could be a surprising balanced Dcore, and could just do the job to fight for playoff position in a tough new division.
- DDM-Coga

Spot on here. Sacco was brutal to those kids and Roy will be much better at teaching defense so Varly doesn't get hung up to dry.

true. I'll actually say Stastny's better, but the gap is very small
- TheNugeIsHuge

I will give the node to Gagner though, just is a bit more versatile and just shows up and competes every night (well from the games I have watched). Stastny is just has too many games in recent years of being invisible, however could have to do with being under utilized with Sacco system and line mates.

Outside of Johnson and Hedja, the rest of the D has question marks.
Wilson is a very serviceable Dman, but is playing top 4 minutes when he is a 5-6 man on a playoff team.

Sarich is old and slow, but he might help with just anchoring the D by just being a leader.

Barrie and Elliot are the wild cards. They have so much promise and have shown flashes of greatness in games, and then get bullied the next game by more veteran line ups. Also I blame Sacco for their inconsistency. Have a great game and then get sent down to the AHL bc O'Brien or Zanon are back, etc etc. They never been settled in a AHL or NHL lineup in 2 seasons.

If the Kids actually play well, it could be a surprising balanced Dcore, and could just do the job to fight for playoff position in a tough new division.
- DDM-Coga

amazing how similar COL and EDM are.

hall, nuge, ebs, yak, schultz, klefbom, nurse - duchene, landeskog, mackinnon, o'reilly, barrie, elliott

perron, gagner - parenteau, stastny

Spot on here. Sacco was brutal to those kids and Roy will be much better at teaching defense so Varly doesn't get hung up to dry.
- goavsgo10

Having a goalie coach for the first time since moving to Denver and having Foote as a D Coach will do wonders as well. Actually investing in a coaching staff with a very young line up is a step in the right direction.

I will give the node to Gagner though, just is a bit more versatile and just shows up and competes every night (well from the games I have watched). Stastny is just has too many games in recent years of being invisible, however could have to do with being under utilized with Sacco system and line mates.
- DDM-Coga

stasny's also had 3 70+ point seasons. What is it keeping his production down lately? Sacco? Injury? Linemates?

amazing how similar COL and EDM are.

hall, nuge, ebs, yak, schultz, klefbom, nurse - duchene, landeskog, mackinnon, o'reilly, barrie, elliott

perron, gagner - parenteau, stastny
- TheNugeIsHuge

our prize D prospect is Seimens, but they already said he wont crack the line up this season unless he just is clear and cut above the best player at training camp.

He will be playing in the AHL to start the season to further be groomed, we be the first big call up if the D gets too banged up.

stasny's also had 3 70+ point seasons. What is it keeping his production down lately? Sacco? Injury? Linemates?
- TheNugeIsHuge

It was a combo of all that. Lines mates, chemistry, Saccos dump and chase system. tough for a pure set up man to develop chemistry with anyone if they have let so many talented wingers walk, like Mueller, Stewart, and Fleischmann then try and fill those spots with guys like Porter and Mitchell (at no point should any of these guys get PP time or Top 6 minutes)

true. I'll actually say Stastny's better, but the gap is very small
- TheNugeIsHuge

They just need to trade him and take back half his salary for a year.

amazing how similar COL and EDM are.

hall, nuge, ebs, yak, schultz, klefbom, nurse - duchene, landeskog, mackinnon, o'reilly, barrie, elliott

perron, gagner - parenteau, stastny
- TheNugeIsHuge

I was just thinking same thing. Plus Varly and Dubby are similar in the sense that they are young and neither team knows how good their tendy is because of poor defense.

It was a combo of all that. Lines mates, chemistry, Saccos dump and chase system. tough for a pure set up man to develop chemistry with anyone if they have let so many talented wingers walk, like Mueller, Stewart, and Fleischmann then try and fill those spots with guys like Porter and Mitchell (at no point should any of these guys get PP time or Top 6 minutes)
- DDM-Coga

who plays with McGinn? i thought that was a great trade for COL last year, McGinn is a great depth forward. Slide up n down the lineup n fit in

who plays with McGinn? i thought that was a great trade for COL last year, McGinn is a great depth forward. Slide up n down the lineup n fit in
- TheNugeIsHuge

when he first showed up, McGinn was on fire with Stastny, last season he played with Duchene, now he is going to play with Downie and MacKinnon on the 3rd line.

Sunday come and gone, another Eklund rumor down the toilet.

Spot on here. Sacco was brutal to those kids and Roy will be much better at teaching defense so Varly doesn't get hung up to dry.
- goavsgo10

Niskanen is available.

doughty's a starter. I'd take him over Letang. Also that's 5 RH D man
- TheNugeIsHuge

Are you freaking kidding me - Dubynk will NOT be in any running for the team, come on now.

You can talk about his stats all you want, he will NOT be part of the team.

Are you freaking kidding me - Dubynk will NOT be in any running for the team, come on now.

You can talk about his stats all you want, he will NOT be part of the team.
- newmy

lol he said doughty not dubnyk

Are you freaking kidding me - Dubynk will NOT be in any running for the team, come on now.

You can talk about his stats all you want, he will NOT be part of the team.
- newmy

huh?

u missed the boat on this one