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

Brandon Pirri:

Position: Centre     2015-16 Team(s): Florida Panthers/Anaheim Ducks  Goals: 11/3

Age: 25                     Games Played: 52/9                                                             Assists: 13/2

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• Colorado Avalanche rookie face-off tournament roster

Its pretty rare for an NHL player who has had a 20 goal season to hit unrestricted free agency at the age of 25, which begs the question: why hasn’t a team signed him? That along with Florida trading him to Anaheim for the low price of a 6th round pick seems to indicate that he’s valued pretty poorly around the league.

This probably is because he somehow only had 2 assists during his 22 goal campaign in 2014-15. It’s worth asking whether or not he was just supremely unlucky that year, or if he just isn’t as good as his goal total would suggest.

Just like Downie the bigger issues I have with Pirri is that his possession stats are pedestrian at best. He’s almost the opposite of Downie in that his shot suppression is poor whereas his shot generation is respectable.

Verdict: 1 year offer

I wouldn’t mind at all if the Avs offered him a 1 year deal for ~1 million. His history of goal scoring alone makes it a smart investment. Playing with a talented guy like Duchene could potentially even revive his career.

Next: Jiri Hudler