Colorado Avalanche: August Free Agents Could Bolster Offense

The Colorado Avalanche need to inject more offense into their forward corps.

The month of August is not exactly considered a prime time for landing big name free agents, nevertheless its when many of the best value deals are struck. Most impact players have long since signed expensive (and potentially franchise crippling) deals, while unsigned players are desperately trying to stay in the league.

Last summer we saw some quality players reluctantly accept Professional Try Outs (PTOs) as the salary cap has forced frugality across the league. The Avalanche gave out three PTOs last year, but ended up only signing Jack Skille.

This season the Avs have an obvious hole in their forward group and are tight against the cap ceiling with only ~$1.5 million in space. Ideally, I would like to see the roster look like this by mid-season (Rantanen is almost guaranteed to start on the 3rd line).

Landeskog – MacKinnon – Rantanen

Grigorenko – Duchene – ???????

Comeau – Soderberg – Colborne

McLeod – Mitchell – Iginla

Playing Iginla in the top 6 should not be an option this year. He creates a significant drag on his teammates and is atrocious defensively. Slotting him in the 4th line may be overly optimistic, but you never know with a new head coach. The point is there is an obvious lack of firepower in the top 6, especially if the Avs want to play Soderberg on the 3rd line.

It’s for these reasons that Joe Sakic should be courting players with either a PTO or a cheap, short term deal.

Next: Steve Downie

Steve Downie

Position: Right Wing                      2015-16 Team(s): Arizona Coyotes        Goals: 3

Age: 29                                               Games Played: 26                                       Assists: 3

I can feel people rolling their eyes at the mere suggestion of Downie, but give me a chance to explain. During his tenure with the Colorado Avalanche, Downie put up a respectable 8 points in 13 games. Admittedly, the sample size is way too small to make definitive conclusions but it’s cause for cautious optimism, especially since he showed chemistry on Duchene’s right.

That being said there are some legitimate concerns with bringing back Downie:

1. Is he still the same player since his concussion?
2. Does he really take issue with Landeskog? Or did emotions just boil over at practice one day?
3. How much truth was there to the rumours about him and Varlamov’s girlfriend?
4. Penalties. A lot of them.

I would be willing to overlook his tendency for spending time in the penalty box if he made a similar impact to when he first arrived in Denver. That is unfortunately the biggest issue. His production of late is extremely concerning: 6 total points and a demotion to the AHL on a bad Arizona team is by no means encouraging. Furthermore, his possession stats (courtesy of pucklytics.com) have fallen steeply. I’ve graphed them below in comparison to Colorado’s theoretical 3rd line.

His shot suppression (which I’ve reversed on the graph) is still respectable, but he’s a black hole in when it comes to shot generation. On a team that already struggles with possession adding Downie doesn’t seem like a great idea.

Verdict: PTO

In my opinion the concerns outweigh the potential benefits. I would stay away from him if there are other options available, BUT if the Avs strike out he’s probably worth a look on a PTO. Unfortunately, they won’t be able to gauge whether his chemistry with Duchene has survived as the latter will be playing for Canada in the World Cup of Hockey.

Next: Brandon Pirri

Jiri Hudler:

Position: Centre     2015-16 Team(s): Calgary Flames/Florida Panthers     Goals: 10/6

Age: 32                     Games Played: 53/19                                                           Assists: 25/5

Honestly I have no clue why a team hasn’t signed Hudler yet. The fact that one of the best even strength scorers in the league remains a free agent in August is pretty incredible. Skeptics will point out that the Avalanche already have a glut of ageing veterans, so why should they sign another guy on the wrong side of 30?

First of all I’m not suggesting that the Avs sign Hudler to a 4 year deal. To give Hudler anything more than a 1 year deal would be very risky as his point total fell dramatically from 2014-15. However, whichever team ends up taking a chance on Hudler could be looking at huge dividends. He had 76 points 2 years ago! Hudler also puts up good possession statistics.

Verdict: 1 year offer

Next: Colorado Avalanche: Patrick Roy Exit Interview

Its easy for me to say the Avalanche should sign Hudler to a 1 year deal from my couch. If it was that simple I’d probably be a general manager, but its never that straightforward. I highly doubt Hudler wants to sign a 1 year deal and that’s probably the reason he’s still on the market. His holdout doesn’t appear to be working, but I doubt that means he’ll sign for peanuts. If the Avs make a serious push towards signing Hudler they will need to make more space. Trading John Mitchell would likely free up enough space, but whether they can move him is a different issue entirely.