24: Colorado Avalanche Edition

In the show 24, Jack Bauer saves a town, a city, a state, or sometimes the entire United States in 24 hours. He never seems to sleep, eat, or even go to the bathroom, but he always gets the job done.

In the Colorado Avalanche 24, Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic reload and retool an entire hockey team in 24 hours. They might’ve slept, they probably ate, and I really hope they went to the bathroom.

Events Occur In Real Mountain Time

June 30 (12:12 PM) – Colorado Avalanche acquire Daniel Briere from Montreal Canadiens for P.A. Parenteau and 2015 5th round pick

Initial Recation: A good hockey trade. Parenteau wasn’t working in Roy’s system and the Avs wanted a proven playoff performer.

In-Depth Reaction: Still a good hockey trade. Parenteau wasn’t working in Roy’s system and, if everything went well in free agency, Parenteau could be a third line player on the Avalanche and he’s pretty useless as a third line player. Briere is a much better fit on the third line because he relies less on talent and more on work. Plus, he’s a proven playoff performer, the money is the same, and Briere’s contract ends one year earlier.

July 1 (10:16 AM) – Jesse Winchester signs 2 year, $1.8 million dollar contract with Colorado Avalanche

Initial Reaction: A minimal contract for a fourth line player

In-Depth Reaction: Marc-Andre Cliche‘s replacement and a good upgrade to the fourth line. Cliche worked hard for the Avs last season, but the numbers don’t lie: he wasn’t a good player. He didn’t contribute offensively and looked lost at times defensively. Winchester isn’t going to put up a ton of points, but he’s a much more responsible two-way player who will work just as hard as Cliche did last season. Only the results shouldn’t be as bad.

July 1 (10:35 AM) – Paul Stastny signs 4 year, $28 million dollar contract with St. Louis Blues 

Initial Reaction: It sucks to lose Stastny to a division rival, but the Avs simply weren’t going to pay him $7 million per season. Hopefully the Avs have a back-up plan.

In-Depth Reaction: It sucks to lose Stastny to a division rival, but the Avs smartly didn’t pay him $7 million per season. Remember one year ago, when the Avs were drafting Nathan MacKinnon and most fans wanted Stastny to be traded because $6.6 million was too much for a guy who simply wasn’t producing? He’s coming off a good season, but was that one season worth a significant raise? I don’t think so. The Avs have Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon to soften the blow at center and had Stastny stayed, it could’ve stunted the growth of both players at their natural position. It also could’ve hurt Stastny, and the Avalanche, in the long run as they would’ve eventually pushed Stastny aside. The Blues got the guy they wanted and even though the Avs lost a key piece to last year’s team, it’s a piece that would hopefully be replaced. Of course if he wasn’t replaced, this loss becomes much tougher to deal with.

July 1 (10:41 AM) – Brad Malone signs 2 year, $1.3 million dollar contract with Carolina Hurricanes

Initial Reaction: Good for Brad Malone

In-Depth Reaction: No real loss for the Avs, but congratulates to Malone for earning himself a contract in minimal action last season. He’s a hard worker who throws his weight around, but he doesn’t have much upside and was never going to see a lot of ice time with the Avs unless injuries took their toll. In Carolina, he at least has a chance to play a decent role on a team searching for an identity.

July 1 (10:42 AM) – Colorado Avalanche acquire Brad Stuart from San Jose Sharks for 2016 2nd round pick and 2017 6th round pick

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Initial Reaction

: A solid defensive acquisition for a team that needed a big upgrade on defense.

In-Depth Reaction: Obviously the Avs needed to upgrade their defense and their options in the free agency market were limited to Matt Niskanen, Anton Stralman, and Christian Ehrhoff. Ehrhoff was off the board early as the Pittsburgh Penguins signed him to a 1 year, $4 million dollar deal, Stralman went to the Tampa Bay Lightning on a 5 year deal at $4.5 million per season and the Washington Capitals gave Niskanen a 7 year deal worth $4.75 million per season. Ehrhoff’s deal isn’t bad, but he’s not the type of player the Avs needed. The flaw in signing Stralman and Niskanen would’ve been term and money. The Avs get Stuart on the last year of a $3.6 million dollar contract and he’s the type of psychical defenseman that can a hurting on opposing players. If it doesn’t work out, the Avs simply let him walk at the end of the season and turn their attention to Marc Staal, who is a free agent in 2015.

July 1 (11:58 AM – Nick Holden signs 3 year, $4.95 million dollar extension with Colorado Avalanche

Initial Reaction: Well deserved extension and cheap at that.

In-Depth Reaction: This could be a steal for the Avs if Holden performs like he did last season or even improves his game. He can play all situations for the Avs and might even crack their top-four next year along with Stuart, Erik Johnson, and Tyson Barrie.

July 1 (11:58 AM) – Bruno Gervais signs 1 year, $650,000 dollar contract with Colorado Avalanche

Initial Reaction: Max Talbot is a happy camper.

In-Depth Reaction: A good depth signing. It’s pretty clear what the Avs are trying to do here. They picked up scrap pieces like Nate Guenin and Nick Holden last year and both guys contributed throughout the season before Holden became a key part of the team. The Avs picked up Gervais with the same thought in mind. If it works out, great. If not, he can play a solid role on the AHL team.

July 1 (12:22 PM) – Jarome Iginla signs 3 year, $16 million dollar contract with Colorado Avalanche

Initial Reaction: The loss of Stastny has essentially disappeared and the Avs add a veteran power forward who is hungry to win. Even though he’s 37, he’s still producing at a high level so the terms of the deal aren’t that bad.

In-Depth Thoughts: Iginla, who had more goals and points than Stastny last season, signs a shorter term deal for $1.5 million less. That sounds like a win for the Avs. Yes, Iginla is older, but he’s showed no signs of slowing down and can still put the puck in the net. The Avs needed a big body in front of the net for their power play, and now they’ve got him. He’s also going to benefit a lot from playing alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Alex Tanguay. He’ll free up space for them to create and they both have exceptional vision to find him when he gets open. Iginla rounds out the Avs top six forwards and gives them a lot of flexibility with their third and fourth lines.

July 1 (12:40 PM) – Zach Redmond signs 2 year, $1.5 million dollar contract with Colorado Avalanche

Initial Reaction: A potential steal

In-Depth Reaction: Same thoughts as the Gervais signing, although I like Redmond’s chances of succeeding much more than I like Gervais’s. Redmond has a lot of offensive upside and could definitely challenge for that sixth or seventh defenseman slot in training camp. It’s another low-cost, potentially rewarding deal for the Avs.

July 1 (12:56 PM) – Ben Street signs 2 year, $1.3 million dollar contract with Colorado Avalanche

Initial Reaction: Never heard of him

In-Depth Reaction: Nothing more than an AHL signing. He’ll get his shot in training camp, but I don’t suspect that he’ll last long given the Avs talent up front.

(ok, so it took a little more than 24 hours)

Losses: 3 Players, 3 Draft Picks. Gains: 7 Players

Initial Reaction: The player losses were minimized by the player gains. Giving up another second round pick is a bit worrisome.

In-Depth Reaction: It’s clear what the Avs are trying to do. Not only for this season, but the future as well. Last season, critics said that the Avs were too young, too small, gave up too many shots, and didn’t possess the puck enough. Even though the Avs finished 3rd in the league, all of those were fair criticisms. The Avs address all of those needs, without breaking the bank for the future. The core up front is still intact, and like it or not, Stastny was not part of the core. Duchene, Landeskog, MacKinnon and O’Reilly are the core. The Avs have taken care of the first two, will definitely take care of the third, and will hopefully take care of the fourth in the coming weeks. They didn’t overspend, they didn’t hand out any bad long term contracts, and they did improve the team. Sounds like Sakic and Roy succeeded.