You might well be disappointed. Just on the goaltending alone i don’t see Skinner outdueling Bob.

I don’t know who in the NHL would decide, but my guess is the team would advocate against reinstatement and union for. Another question would be can the contract be voided, but the player still allowed to be in the league?

I think either way, taking a gamble on Nichushkin brings little risk. Utah is supposed to have around $40M in cap space. They could definitely afford him.

Pfft… I’d rather see McDavid win it than anyone named Tkachuk ever.

Well stated Glendon. Back to the proverbial question if Nuke returns to Players Assistance and is gone for a year, is it solely up to the Av’s whether his contract can be terminated or does the PA still enter into deciding whether his contract can be terminated? I’m really wondering how onerous an agreement the teams made with the PA.

Kovalenko may be small but he’s a relentless hitter. He’s like a mini version of wood but not as fast lol.

I’m telling you they should trade manson.
Somehow trade with Florida to get Rodrigues and mikkola. Sign kulikov to 2 year deal

The same goes with the forwards. Kovalenko and Foudy seem to be the next logical additions and both are again on the smaller side. Keeping someone like Trenin as 4C or getting another big center is needed.

Rodrigues is one that got away and it was because of the Landeskog’s uncertainty. Nichushkin and Landeskog both bring uncertainties, but for different reasons. The uncertainty with Nichushkin is his relationship with the team. When he does return, the team knows exactly what kind of player they will get. What is unknown is how the team around him reacts. If the Avs decide that they no longer want him on the team, they will find someone to take him. The thought that he is damaged goods is not reality. If Nichushkin returns to Player Assistance, any team that has him will be off the hook for his pay for at least a year and maybe is contract forever. To a team with no cap restraints, he would either deliver or be gone. It really isn’t a risk.

Landeskog is the real unknown. Will he return by the start of the season and if he does, what kind of player will he be? Just like the past two years, Landeskog’s looming cap hit has driven the Avs personal. Can they replace him until next year’s playoffs or do they have to account for his salary from day one? When he returns, will he perform as a top 6 forward or a bottom 6? If he can quickly return to near his old self, then his salary would be worth it, but if it is more of a bottom 6 or aging forward, then his salary will hamstring the team.

The decision about both is what will drive the teams future and any free agent signings. The team needs to decide on whether to keep Nichushkin or make a deal during the offseason to rid him once he returns. You then plan now for using his cap hit elsewhere. The same needs to be determined about Landeskog. The team needs to know this summer if it is reasonable that Landeskog returns and at what level of play to expect. Will he be a 2nd or 3rd liner and plan their lineup accordingly.

Screw Dallas for knocking us out, & screw Edmonton for imitating the Avs style (top heavy, speed team etc), oh & for MacKinnon’s sake, would be nice for McDavid to stay at ZERO cups. Since McDavid hogs all the regular season trophies.

The Avs are in “Cap Hell,” and will be for the foreseeable future until the Landeskog and Nichushkin situations are resolved. The “Val” suspension is much worse. Stuck with a guy who abandoned the team twice during the playoffs. That’s gotta be a record. The NHL PAP will hamstring any team with multiple offenders. You gotta wait until “three strikes you’re out” and even then, a team is bound by the current player contract IF the player is accepted back again. Looks like the owners will have to wait until 2026 for any changes to the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement. Perhaps they can develop a “Val Rule” to cover situations like this.