Avs Weekly Mailbag: Looking back at the deadline, Nichushkin, Jost, and summer moves

Welcome to the weekly Avs mailbag, where we answer whatever Avs questions you have on your mind. If you have any questions for the mailbag, leave them for Evan Rawal on twitter or respond in the comments.

In your opinion, how likely was it that Lundqvist was going to Colorado had Shesterkin not been in a car accident? Was there any other goalie on the market besides Hutchinson the Avs should have looked at?

— Grant Beery (@voteforgrant) February 24, 2020

I don’t think it there was much discussion regarding Lundqvist to Colorado. The Avs seemed pretty intent on just picking up a depth goaltender, and with Grubauer and now Francouz signed into next season, there would be no room for Lundqvist either. It would have been pretty cool to see a legend like Lundqvist in Colorado, but I don’t think there was a whole lot of legs to that story. The Avs just wanted a depth body to keep around and start a game or two so they could get the Miska/Werner tandem back with the Eagles.

Well, the obvious question: did you think something big was going to happen? Did you hear real rumours that Sakic was gonna go big?

— 🇮🇱 JoWerDo 🇺🇦 (@jowerdo) February 24, 2020

Montreal and their upper management were hanging around in Denver for a reason. Sure, Bergevin has a kid who goes to CU, but Scott Mellanby tagged along for two games as well. That’s not normal activity. There were some real legs to the talks with the Habs, but like a lot of deals that get talked about, nothing came to fruition. I don’t believe the focus was on Drouin, but more on a guy like Tatar and seeing what the price may be on Max Domi. Adding a top six forward like that would have absolutely been a big move and would have been pricey, as Tatar is under contract for another season, while Domi would still be a restricted free agent this summer. Ultimately, nothing came from it, but they were talking, for sure.

I do think the Avs did their homework on Chris Kreider as well, but seemed like he was happy to stay in New York. Seeing as how he would have been the top rental on the market, I don’t think the Avs were prepared to give up what New York was asking for with him. I actually don’t have much of a problem with the money on the contract Kreider signed, but the seven-year term is too much for me.

Everyone was talking about Jost but Sakic usually makes a move in the AHL similar to the Graves deal. Are you surprised they didn't move AJ Greer?

— Nutthouse (@jtthenutt) February 24, 2020

I actually was extremely surprised that a minor league deal to get Greer a fresh start did not happen. That was one I was ready to take to the bank. It’s clear he’s not in the organization’s plans, as there have been multiple call-ups this year to get into games, and he has not been one of them. He’s been up with the Avs but hasn’t actually suited up for a game. He’s a good AHL player but he’s been passed up by a few guys and I don’t see a future for him here, so yes, I was surprised he wasn’t dealt.

https://twitter.com/hammer_db/status/1232107047212154880?s=20

I think the most obvious guy is Nikita Zadorov. Bowen Byram is coming, and for all we know, may show up in the postseason. Zadorov’s bouts with inconsistency just have not gone away, and I don’t see the organization willing to commit both term and money to him at this point. Ryan Graves has stepped up and essentially taken his job, and with Byram (and Timmins) on the way, someone’s got to go to make room. All signs point to Zadorov being the odd man out. Things can obviously change down the stretch, as that’s usually when Zadorov plays his best, but that would be my prediction on defense.

Up front, Kamenev has been stuck on the bubble all year long and I don’t see the team having room for him. I could also see him wanting an opportunity elsewhere. We’ll get to the other guy who I think is on the bubble to get moved this summer a little later…

In an ideal world where everyone is healthy, including Wilson (because why not), what do the ideal lines look like now?

— Jacob (@AColoradoHokie) February 25, 2020

Well, I’ll say that I’d be surprised if Wilson 1) came back and 2) found a way back into the lineup. This is a guy who missed a good chunk of camp, and pretty much all year. It’s tough to throw someone like that into the lineup.

Assuming everyone else is healthy, I would expect…

Landeskog – MacKinnon – Rantanen

Burakovsky – Kadri – Nichushkin

Namestnikov – Compher – Donskoi

Calvert – Bellemare – Nieto

I really think the Avs are coming around to the idea of Nichushkin in the top six. He does a lot of dirty work, and is very smart defensively, which that second line could use. That also allows them to spread out the scoring a little bit.

any thoughts on if the Avs will extend Nichushkin and what that contract might look like?

— Chris Dangerjonez21.Bsky.social (@DangerJonez21) February 24, 2020

I would be absolutely stunned if Nichushkin was not extended. He’s a restricted free agent, so they don’t have to do anything until this summer if they don’t want too, but he’s been good. It’s kind of odd to think about, but the Rocco Grimaldi two years, four million dollar extension seems like it could be a good base to work with. They have similar numbers and have both kind of surprised. Either way, I think he’s going to be with the Avs for a little bit. The staff loves him and he’s been very dependable.

With Jost not traded, what does his future look like – both short and long term?

— Micila (@micila77) February 24, 2020

Well, let’s start with the short term. For now, he’s on the second line, and the staff has started to use him on the penalty kill. I think he’s looked good there, and Bednar said as much as well. I don’t know why it’s taken so long to try him there, but hopefully, this is a start. When everyone gets back healthy (if that ever happens), he would seem to be the odd man out, BUT…if he can prove he can kill penalties well, that may give him a fighting chance to stay in the lineup. He hasn’t scored in several months, but he’s working hard and the staff is happy with what he’s doing outside of scoring. It will just be tough to keep him in the lineup when everyone is healthy.

Long term, that’s where things get interesting. Where does the staff see him? Is he a center or a winger? He seems to play better at center, but he’s pretty bad at face-offs. To go with that, the Avs already have a billion centers, and Jost hasn’t done anything to really stand out in this fight. His entry-level deal is up this summer. There’s no way he’s going to cost that much money, but if you’re the Avs, and you don’t see a future with him here, wouldn’t you try to trade him and get some value out of it before it’s too late? For all we know, it may already be too late, but that’s where I see this heading.

Jost is a hard worker, is popular in the locker room, and has not complained at all about what’s gone on. I don’t think the Avs would have any issues finding a suitor, but really not sure how much value there is in a guy who is struggling to produce. Even then, for as much as he’s struggling to produce, his advanced metrics are actually pretty good, and some teams will value that. That’s how the Avs ended up with Burakovsky. I’m not saying he’ll go on and put up 20+ goals on a different team, but teams will look at that and try to mold him into something else. I think his best bet to a long term career is focusing on the defensive side of the game with penalty killing. I think the Avs may have waited too long to try him out in a role like that.

Ultimately, I think this ends in divorce this summer, mostly because I think the Avs should try to get something out of an asset that they probably just don’t need anymore. It’s disappointing because of how high Jost was drafted, but it’s the reality of the situation, and with the Avs being as deep as they’ve been in several years, they have other options.

With the TDL past, how many call ups do we have? Can we hold more players on the roster (over 23)? When healthy, who doesnt play/line combos would to you like 6o see

— Luke Hocking (@JCLCommodities) February 24, 2020

By my count, the Avs used three of their call-ups on Monday in paper transactions to make sure Kaut, Hutchinson, and O’Connor were eligible for the AHL playoffs. That gives them one more that is not of the emergency variety for the rest of the season. If Nieto and Burakovsky cannot play on Wednesday, the Avs may have to use it up.