Avalanche Mailbag: Defensive pairs, hockey experiences, MacKinnon extension, and more

Is there anything new to really discuss when it comes to the Avs? No, not really. But that doesn’t stop me from taking some more of your questions for another edition of the Monday mailbag.

From DB Hammer: Do you think Bowen Byram pushes Toews down to a “second pair” role? Do you think Mikko Rantanen has the two-way ability to be a great 2nd C? – not questioning his skill or offense at all.

Let’s start at the beginning there. Do I think Byram could “push” Toews down to the second pair? Absolutely. However, I don’t think it’s a “push” as much as the Avs might want to mess around with the pairs during the year to see what works and make it a point not to wear Toews and Makar out by having them play 27-28 minutes a night. With Byram and a healthy Girard, there’s no reason to. As the team is currently built, the defense is their greatest strength, and it’s not just due to the high-end talent, but the talent one through six.

Byram got a fair bit of time with Makar in the playoffs, so they’re not afraid to put those two together, and the regular season is the time to experiment with a lot of these things. Most people will remember how good Toews and Girard were as a pair during the weird Covid year. We also know that Nolan Pratt will not be afraid to mix and match pairs during games based on game situations. Long answer short, the Avs will have options, and if the defense is healthy, I anticipate a fair bit of mixing and matching.

As for Rantanen as a great second-line center, I think he certainly has the skill set to do it, but making the transition from being a winger to a full-time center is not easy. I could understand why the Avs wouldn’t be interested in doing that. It’s one thing to fill in here and there, it’s another to do it over the course of an entire season. We’ve seen Rantanen play really well defensively in spurts, but at center, he would need to be a lot more consistent in that area.

Training camp and the first month of the season are the perfect time to experiment with an idea like this, but who knows if the Avs have interest in that. I’m not opposed to it myself, but acknowledge that it’s a tough thing to ask a guy to do at this stage in his career. There are a lot of unknowns about how the middle six of the forward group is going to be built, and we aren’t going to get many answers on that until training camp starts.

From Kevin: What’s the crew’s favorite piece of Avalanche or hockey memorabilia they own? Any memorable experiences playing the game rather than watching as fans?

I’m not a big memorabilia guy, but one thing I did collect growing up was Valeri Kamensky cards. I didn’t care about anyone else, but I believe I collected upwards of 30 cards on Kamensky alone. As far as I know, those cards are still sitting in my parents basement too.

I’ve played against the Avs alumni group a handful of times through charity events and tournaments. Hejduk can still wheel and deal, and Turgeon is a troll on the ice with his skill. One memory I have growing up was participating in the Avs skills event. They don’t do it anymore, but back in the early 2000’s, the Avs used to hold their own skills challenge like they do at the All-Star games, and they’d let fans come watch.

I was one of the kids who tried out and got picked to skate with them (this was 2001). I was picked for a breakaway challenge, and Ville Nieminen was giving kids advice on what to do. I distinctly remember him telling me “NO DEKE, JUST SHOOT” before I went in for my chance. Naturally, I ignored him and deked the goalie to put it through his legs and score. Nieminen was not happy with me when I skated back to center ice. I wasn’t going to listen to an NHL player. Get real.

From Jackie Kay: When is it time to stop assuming the MacKinnon contract negotiations are easy?

I will admit to being a little bit surprised it’s not done by now, but the Avs have always been a team that has a structure on how they want to build their team in terms of the cap, and maybe they’re having to adjust things on the fly with this negotiation. I’m not concerned that it isn’t going to get done, but I’m sure the Avs have been looking to keep that number closer to $10-11M per year as opposed to over $12M. There’s all this talk of the cap going up in the coming years that will make some of these contracts look like steals, but there are no guarantees, and I still think we’re a season or two away from that happening, so budgets are a little tighter. Either way, I think it gets done. I would only really be concerned if we got past the halfway point of the season and nothing was signed. In an ideal world, this gets done before the season starts.

From Cody: Do you think EJ re-signs a super team-friendly deal to finish his career with the Avs as a third pairing d-man (similar to Gio in Toronto)?

I would hope so if he doesn’t retire after this season as is. It seems pretty clear he doesn’t want to play anywhere else, and he’s also a pretty honest guy with himself and understands that his current value doesn’t necessarily match up with his salary hit. If he does plan to continue playing beyond this next season, a team-friendly deal to keep him around seems like it would be pretty easy to accomplish.

From Justin: Are there any realistic moves/transactions you see happening before training camp?

PTOs, PTOs and maybe a few more PTOs. Nobody has cap space, and PTOs seem to be becoming more and more common in recent years. I would guess the Avs have more than one PTO at camp coming in to earn a contract, particularly on defense as the depth could use some help after the top six. Beyond that, I still just have such a hard time seeing the Avs enter the year with the forward group as it’s currently constructed. There’s a clear need for a middle six forward (find a second line center at this point seems difficult), and there are still good skaters out there on the market.

From Bill Flanagan: What would be a good package for Girard? Feels like $11M on the third pair can’t last and he’s the most valuable/least essential.

I take offense to calling Girard the least essential player on the defense. He didn’t have his best year, and the Avs obviously went on to win the Cup without him, but this guy eats minutes like it’s nothing and has done so for several years now. The transition game with him in the lineup is significantly better.

As for a good package, it has to be for a top-six forward, OR, a cheap, young forward who has the ability to be a top-six player. The defense is set, and the big reason why you would be moving Girard is to help the top six up front. If you aren’t getting anyone who can help do that, I fail to see what the point of trading him is. Just keep him, have the best defense in the NHL for another year, and go from there. No reason to take anything that’s going to be lesser value.

From Zach: Reasons why we, the fans, should buy 100% into the tandem of Georgiev and Francouz with full confidence and no hesitation

The biggest reason would be the team in front of them, and particularly, the defense. The Avs don’t give up a ton of chances and are built to make their goalies’ lives a lot easier. The goalie just has to make a few big saves here and there but for the most part, stop the pucks they’re expected to stop. Beyond that, I think fans have a lot of reason to be less than confident in the goaltending tandem until shown otherwise. Neither one of these guys has proven to be a starting goaltender, so it’s a big roll of the dice for the defending Cup champs to hand the crease over to them.

I imagine a lot of the teams around the league are watching too. If this works for the Avs, what’s the point of paying big money for a goaltender if you can build up the rest of your team and get by with cheap goalies who do “just enough”? Unless you can find yourself a Vasilevsky who is consistent from year to year, the position is pretty volatile. The Avs are going to be an interesting test subject that teams around the league will keep a close eye on.