Kuemper is gonzo. I like the move. Kuemper was good enough to help us get a Cup, but you can't give a guy who lets in the type of softies that Kuemper lets in a long-term big money deal. Especially with his age factored in. But some team surely will, and I'd expect it to go about as well as Grubauer in Seattle - not good.

Sounds like any "attitude problems" Georgiev is supposed to have revolved around not getting the playing time he wanted. Playing time is kind of tough to get when you're behind Shesterkin. I trust Sakic, this is the kind of deal he likes to make. Hopefully it opens some space to re-sign some combination of Nuke, Kadri, Manson, and/or Burakovsky.

The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that the team has acquired goaltender Alexandar Georgiev from the New York Rangers in exchange for Colorado’s third-round and fifth-round selections in the 2022 NHL Draft and a fifth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.#GoAvsGo

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) July 7, 2022

[Reply]

Yeah, Sakic has always been good at selling high and he's just too much of a risk between health and not being amazing (outside of not seeing the puck well)... they'll see what they have with the two they've got now and if Frankie's ready for a larger role.


Saw the Blackhawks traded DeBrincat, which is interesting with Toews' and Kane's ridiculous contracts coming off the books after this next season. They have a TON to work on contract-wise in the next couple seasons, but you'd think they could have held onto him at least. Wonder if they plan on going full tank then and letting those two go.
[Reply]

Blues draft Snuffleupagus with Yurov and Lambert still on the board.

Okay - I get being scared of the Russian. But how do you take a lesser version of Jake Neighbors when Lambert is still there?

Ugh.
[Reply]

And he's still on the board, too.
[Reply]

Not sure I've ever seen someone buy a jersey for a player before they were drafted...


[Reply]

Sakic got promoted, but have to assume he'll be heavily involved in getting MacKinnon locked down.

Nichushkin signed for 8 years and ~$6mm/year. Surprised by the 8 years, but if this past season wasn't a one time thing, it'll end up being a bargain in the long run.
[Reply]

Yeah, that's a longer contract than I would have expected for Nichushkin. I like Nichushkin though. Wonder if that means Kadri is gonna walk? I've heard talks of that. After trading for one goalie and drafting another, it sounds like Kuemper might be gonzo.
[Reply]

Yeah, Kuemper's gone, especially with Georgiev's contract at $3.5/year and I think Kuemper was making $4.5 and I'm sure will want more.

I really don't mind letting Kadri go, just not sure who they'll get at 2C... can we have O'Reilly back now? :-)
[Reply]

The Avs have signed Valeri Nichushkin to an eight-year, $6.125M contract. Woot.
[Reply]

Kuemper to the Caps, as rumored. Manson resigned with the Avalanche.
[Reply]

Lehkonen signs for 5 years!
[Reply]

So who is he?

Because that's a lot to give to the guy he was for the first 3/4 of his career. Probably a little light to give for the guy he was last season.

There's some risk there for sure. But nothing has worked out poorly from a player development standpoint in 5 years for the Avs so he'll probably score 40 next year.
[Reply]

The Avs haven't made a secret of the fact that they pay a lot of attention to analytics these days, and Nuke is a fancy stats monster. I worry that this is going to hamstring us in the later years, but 1) hopefully the cap will spike by then and 2) our window will likely be closing by then anyway.
[Reply]

Burakovsky signs with Seattle. 5 years at $5.5 mil Aav.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) July 13, 2022

[Reply]

Honestly, getting Lehky, Manson, and Nuke back was better than I thought we'd do. Very happy about all 3.

That's a pretty hefty price tag Seattle paid for Burakovsky. He's very good when he's on, but he's not very physical and you could make a case for him being injury-prone. Good for him though, he helped us win a Cup (except for the games where he was injured or a healthy scratch).

Now we just need to sign a couple vets on the cheap who are hungry for a Cup and we're good.
[Reply]