2 years ago
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Avalanche wide manager Joe Sakic is good with 11th-hour re-signings of escaped agents this year, and he’s not opposed to bringing them backmost aft the last hour.
After all, allowing a subordinate to speech to different squad doesn’t mean that subordinate volition permission Colorado.
So, if the wage cap-strapped Avs don’t hold to presumption with near helping Gabe Landeskog and/or goalie Philipp Grubauer, among others, by 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sakic said it won’t mean that they’ve moved connected from them.
“There’s been a batch of escaped agents that person tested the marketplace and past travel backmost to their teams. So we’ll spot wherever that goes,” Sakic said. “Both Philipp and Gabe, evidently our captain, we’re hopeful we tin travel to presumption and person them signed. (But) I won’t remark connected the negotiations. Still going on. Still a batch of time. They’re some unrestricted escaped agents truthful they’ll astir apt look astatine wherever they are successful the marketplace and they person to marque that decision.”
Landeskog, based connected his enactment and lockerroom influence, is astir apt the team’s precedence heading into Wednesday. But a squad can’t triumph the Stanley Cup without bully goaltending. Grubauer, 29, wants a handsome rise aft becoming a Vezina Trophy finalist for the archetypal time. He undoubtedly wants much than the $2.75 cardinal basal wage ($.3.3 cardinal headdress hit) helium made past season.
The Avs are astir apt offering astir $5 cardinal annually successful a 4-or-5-year contract. If Grubauer wants $6 cardinal annually, the Avs volition astir apt look to escaped bureau oregon a commercialized to capable his spot arsenic the No. 1A goalie beside Pavel Francouz, who missed each of past play aft undergoing hep surgery.
Some of the apical unrestricted free-agent goalies see Tuukka Rask (2.28 goals-against average, .913 prevention percent with Boston past season), Petr Mrázek (2.06, .923 with Carolina) and erstwhile Av Jonathan Bernier (2.99, .914 with Detroit). Possible trades for a goalie presently nether declaration are extensive.
Colorado could besides fto Grubauer walk, anoint Francouz the No. 1 guy, and enactment much religion successful a imaginable arsenic his backup. The nine precocious re-signed Jonas Johansson, 25, and besides has 2 drafted prospects successful Adam Werner, 24 (restricted escaped agent), and Justus Annunen, 21.
The Avs are not conscionable looking for a top-six near helping and goaltending successful escaped bureau oregon trades. They besides person to regenerate expansion-draft-loss guardant Joonas Donskoi, positive apt UFA-departing forwards Brandon Saad and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and UFA defenseman Patrik Nemeth. Also, oft-injured guardant Matt Calvert retired.
A fistful of young Avalanche prospects with entry-level contracts could measurement into those roles. But Sakic volition inactive person to adhd pieces to implicit his NHL roster arsenic good arsenic the AHL’s Colorado Eagles.
“We’d similar to know, archetypal of all, where’s Grubauer? Where’s Landeskog? Hopefully, they’re back, and past we’re going to person to spot what we tin acceptable in,” Sakic said. “As our apical guys are getting much costly we’re going to person to complement that with less-expensive guys.
“If it happens to beryllium our young guys stepping successful and taking implicit those roles, that would beryllium a large thing. We conscionable don’t privation to enactment excessively overmuch unit connected them to marque the leap if they’re not ready.”
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