Let’s just straight into it today.
Conor Timmins is an exciting young prospect on defense with a bright future ahead of him. He’s weathered the storm of concussions that cost him an entire season of development and is coming off a strong debut season in pro hockey.
In a normal organization under normal circumstances, it would be a straight line to the NHL for him without much second thought. But the Avalanche find themselves in a unique position where they already have six NHL-caliber defensemen on the roster and the best prospect not already in pro hockey in Bowen Byram.
That leaves Timmins in kind of an odd position, especially with other young players such as Ryan Graves and Nikita Zadorov already in the NHL.
This is where we get to today’s topic: What happens next with Conor Timmins?
AJ: The more thought I’ve given this, the more I think the potential for bizarre scheduling could really benefit Timmins. If the AHL gets going sometime in the fall with the NHL roughly slated for a December-January start, Timmins would be in regular-season form when NHL training camp rolls around. With Bowen Byram probably leapfrogging him for an immediate NHL job, it might not be enough for Timmins to make the team a second straight year out of camp. That’s okay.
Where it could really benefit Timmins is if the AHL schedule finishes up and he can freely join the Avs during the second half of the season. Even if he’s not playing regularly, being part of another playoff run (assuming he’s part of the 28-skater roster that will compete for the 19-20 Stanley Cup) sets him up to transition to the NHL after that. It’s a longer development track than originally expected, but it might just be what was needed after his first pro season was derailed with the concussion.
Evan: I just have a hard time seeing Timmins outright winning a spot next year with a healthy blueline, even with Zadorov potentially out the door. Injuries can happen, but I don’t see it. I think the Avs will look at next year as being a huge developmental year for Timmins where he gets a little more ice time in the AHL, maybe a few call-ups for injuries, and steps in the year after when Cole’s deal expires. The Avs have been nothing but patient with Timmins, and I see that continuing.
Rudo: What happens immediately next? He sits around on the Avs 28 man roster and likely doesn’t play at all during the playoffs. After that is where the conversation begins.
With Zadorov already having one foot out the door in Colorado to make room for Byram, Timmins’s primary competition for the NHL roster next season is Ian Cole and Ryan Graves. In a perfect world, Timmins crushes training camp and earns an opening night roster spot as an aging Cole transitions into a 7th defenseman role. More realistic is Timmins splitting time with the Eagles giving the Avs another chance to take advantage of the close proximity of their AHL team on home stands. Timmins needs to get NHL games next year it’s just a question of how many can they give him and how many does he earn. Some form of a rotation with Cole and Graves is probably ideal with Timmins getting the lion’s share in the second half of the year if he plays well. That’s my hope but that may even be a bit optimistic; we may not see Timmins really transition into an NHL player until the 2021-22 season.
0 Comments (3 conversations)
briggs1628
Most of that is going to be up to him and how well he plays coming out of camp and through the season. Personally, I think you trade Z at the draft and get max return there and open up one of the needed slots while hopefully getting a second round pick. Then I would hope that the 20-21 season doesn’t get started until mid-late January so that Byram can start the year out in Vancouver and then crush the WJC again before joining the Avs full of confidence. Next we need to figure out what to do for the 7-10 slots on the depth chart, and for this I would not be opposed to resigning Barberio as that #8 guy in the locker room who rarely plays, but provides really good depth at that slot as well as leadership and a veteran presence for the youngsters. Probably one more two way contract for depth to go along with MacDonald, Lindholm, and the others with the Eagles but also an option if things need shaking up in Denver. Thus in an ideal world they would start the season out something like this.
Graves/Makar
Girard/Timmins
Byram/Johnson
Cole/Barberio
That gives you your solid top pair, and then pairs the rookies with a vet while still maintaining the righty/lefty mix that coaches love. It gives you two really solid vets backing them up that you can rotate in at will while providing top quality mentoring and leadership in the room. You could even choose your sub depending on which guy you want sitting with the rookie in the press box for an observation game. Anyway, that’s the way I would start things and roll through the first 20-30 games before making any major changes unless it all blows up of course.
EZephyr
Off the Timmins topic but here goes:
NHL Draft Lottery: Now the Red Wings know how we felt x2. Ha ha.
NHL Draft Lottery: Senators. Ha ha.
NHL Draft Lottery: Was there a worse outcome? Now one of the “play-in” playoff losers gets Lafrenière #1 overall. This could be Edmonton: imagine Lafrenière, McDavid, and Draisaitl together until they couldn’t afford them anymore. Or Toronto: Lafrenière, Matthews, and Tavares.
NHL Draft Lottery: What happens if the pandemic forces them to abandon the 2019-2020 playins and playoffs? Is there already an agreement that each of them would move up one spot giving Lafrenière to the LA Kings? Or would they need another negotiation or lottery to figure out what to do?
mladen
I hope Z isn’t out the door. Even with the mistakes, he brings what no other Av can bring.