Contract situation keeps Kaut in limbo despite strong start

It’s difficult for a young player to come up in a stretch run and earn the trust of an NHL head coach.

How is Martin Kaut making it look so easy, then?

The 20-year-old Czech native has only been up with the Avs for a week, but he’s already earning ice time due to his hard work and intelligence on the ice.

In the Avs 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night, Martin Kaut found himself on the ice in the final minute of regulation, tasked with the job of playing smart to get the game into overtime or, if possible, produce the game-winner.

That doesn’t happen to most players in their first week in the NHL. Maybe that’s why Kaut was caught so off guard.

“I was so surprised,” Kaut told DNVR after practice on Tuesday. “He just told me to go on the ice. I wasn’t nervous, though. It was good for me.”

In each of his three games, Kaut has seen his ice time go up, from 7:47 to 10:33 to 10:38. Bednar remarked there would have been more ice in the last game, if not for all the penalties in the second period. That’s the type of trust you want to see in a talented young player. In his near 26 minutes of even strength time, the Avs have controlled 57.45% of the shot attempts, and have outshot the opposition 14 to 7. Not bad.

So far, Bednar has been impressed.

“I would say yes,” Bednar said when asked if Kaut is earning his trust. “I haven’t seen any major breakdowns in his game. I think he’s been highly competitive. He’s finding a way to create a scoring chance or help create a scoring chance or two a night.”

None of this should be a major surprise. After a slow start with the Eagles, Kaut picked up 16 points in his next 21 games and did so while playing smart defensively and killing penalties. So far, his game has translated to the NHL.

“Talking to (Eagles head coach Greg Cronin) down there that he’s been a responsible guy, pretty good with the structure,” Bednar said. “If you’re not giving up anything on the defensive side, your puck touches are good, and you’re disciplined with your decisions, then you have a good chance of earning my trust, and keep you’ll getting more ice time.”

Right now, the Avs are decimated with injuries. With Andre Burakovsky and Matt Nieto doubtful for Wednesdays’ game (Kaut indicated to me he thinks Nieto will play), they’re down five of their regular forwards. That’s almost half the forward group. The Avs don’t expect Calvert, Rantanen, and Kadri back until mid-March. That gives Kaut plenty of time to make his mark.

That is, unless, his contract situation gets in the way.

Kaut is in a rare position where if he plays less than 10 NHL games this season, his entry-level contract will slide another year, essentially turning a standard three-year entry-level deal into five years. It has to be tempting for the Avs to take advantage of that, given they will have to pay guys like Makar, Landeskog, and Grubauer soon.

Kaut is all too aware of the situation.

“I don’t know if I will get 10 or more games here,” Kaut said, unprovoked, after practice. “We will see after nine games if they send me back to the Eagles or I stay here. It doesn’t matter, I just want to enjoy every game here.”

Caught a little off-guard that he seemed so aware of the contract situation, I asked him if that’s what he was referring too.

“Yeah, exactly. I don’t know what their plan is with me, so we’ll see.”

Kaut has already played in three games with the Avs. If he stays in the lineup, his ninth game would be on March 6 against Vancouver. Given the Avs aren’t expecting some of their injured players to return until the middle of March, there’s a very real chance we see this situation come to a head. If Kaut continues to play smart and effective hockey, he may leave the Avs with no choice.

Until then, he knows exactly what he needs to do, with the help of some coaching from his veteran center Pierre Edouard-Bellemare.

“I just try to play physical and play fast,” Kaut said. “If I do something wrong on a shift, he’ll show me on the iPad on the bench. He’s a good teacher for me.”

Everyone loves a good teacher and Kaut, so far, looks like the perfect student.