That's an overpay by Colorado. The difference between Montour and Zadorov isn't a 2nd, if anything at all. I'm not even sure I'd even do a straight swap. Zadorov brings something different to Colorado, whereas Montour is just more of what we already have (puck mover in transition), and would also come at a higher cap hit and likely block Timmins.

Yup. I was gonna say the same thing but you beat me to it

We’re gonna pin our playoff hopes to Turris at 2C ???
Bad idea
Bye bye Eichel

Bracco won't cost a 4th, probably not even a 5th.

That Nashville trade makes absolutely no sense for Buffalo. Okposo and Turris put up about the same points (Okposo more of a goal scorer) except Turris has one more year You have to pay than Okposo. So all you’re doing by making this trade is basically pay Okposo for another year than you have to, which is obviously stupid. Also, even if their contracts were the same, Okposo is more valuable to this team than Turris for what he does in the lockerroom and how he plays the game. Horrible trade.

Oh, and also, you’re retaining a mil on the deal. So not only are you paying $6mil for a bad player for one more year longer than you have to, but your cap hip for this albatross contract you have to carry every year went up from $6 mil to $7 and you added a year of it lol 😂

I don't think Montour will be much more expensive than Zadorov probably about 300k-400k more.

Zadorov is only playing 17 minutes a night and he's playing on his off side. Plus is production is lower than Montour's.

Add on top of that Byram will likely get time in the league next year. Zadorov likely becomes the team's 7th D.

On the other hand I think Montour can beat Cole out for the 3rd pairing job and maybe even push Johnson down into the 3rd pairing role as a mentor for Byram.

First off they don't have the same number of points. Turris = 31 points; Okposo = 19 points.

Secondly, Okposo has been trending downward for the last 3 seasons now whereas Turris has been starting to look better this season. I believe that Turris has a legitimate chance of bouncing back and becoming a 40-50 point player in the league with a change in scenery.

Okposo played in less games and had less ice time on a lower line. That’s why you can’t just look at points. A better comparison is points per min played and they are basically identical, and Okposo is doing it on a 4th checking line.

Horrible trade.

I do like Montour as a partner for Cole, as Cole gets lots of defensive zone starts and Montour would be perfect next to him given his excellent transition game.

That said, a Montour/Cole pairing would entail that both Timmins and Byram don't make the roster which I think is unlikely. If we're adding Byram or Timmins to the roster (both puckmoving Dmen) then I think Montrou's skills are a bit redundant, and we'd need Cole's defense and/or Zadorov's physicality more than we need Montour's puckmoving.

As for Montour pushing Johnson out of the top 4, I think that's reasonable suggestion quality-wise, but I don't see the feasibility of doing that as Girard (who is paired with Johnson) needs someone on his line to clear the net and go to the corners, and Montour isn't that guy.

If I'm Buffalo I would seriously consider acquiring Zadorov and pairing him with Montour. There's two Dmen who can dominate in transition - Montour with zone exits and puckmoving, and Zadorov with big hits and defense in transition. I would consider that myself if it weren't for the fact that we had Byram and Timmins on the cusp.

Zadorov doesn't have as much value as most Avs fans think because his QO is too high for what he provides. I think his next contract should be 2.5Mx2 but his QO forces teams to sign him for at least 3.2M and more if they want term.

I think the same thing about Montour. He's a solid D man but his next contract is probably gonna be too much for what he provides a team. He should be around 3Mx2 but his QO forces teams to sign him for at least 3.5M.

Avs want to move out Zadorov and Buffalo wants to move out Montour so I thought this could be a win-win trade. I can't see Buffalo giving the Avs the value they'd want on Zadorov. The most they would give is like Johansson (1M retained) + their 4th round pick.

If Zadorov is signed to his QO he's absolutely fine. The problem is only if you get closer to $4m. He also has 2 more years of RFA which gives a team acquiring him the opportunity to sign QO him for the first year before deciding what to offer long-term.

Buffalo need LHD and have 1 too many RHD's, and Avs maybe need RHD, so there's a potential fit. That said, the thing with acquiring Montour is that it either blocks Byram and Timmins, or it pushes Cole out of the lineup which would be a waste of $4.25m capspace; Cole might be a better fit on the 3rd pairing too given that he takes dZS's and PK minutes. We'd also looking at exposing Montour in the ED which isn't a good use of assets.

As for Johansson, Avs have no interest in him. We need a top 6 forward, not another middle 6 guy at $3.5m-4.5m.

Zadorov (a bottom 4 D) isn't gonna get you a top 6 forward. That's why I suggested Montour.

But Montour > Zadorov so picks need to be added. Colorado probably finishes near the top of the league so a low 2nd seemed fair.

I've been looking a bit closer at Johansson. It's an somewhat interesting idea. I think we can do better, but he does at least have wheels and playmaking ability. I think Zadorov is more valuable than him though, due to lower caphit and being a RFA rather than pending UFA.

Johansson + 3rd for Zadorov would make sense to me, unless there's retention (but Colorado doesn't need retention coming back). Since Buffalo don't have a 3rd round pick in 2020 or 2021 I think swapping 2nd for 3rd to compensate would make sense. See my AGM here: https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/1783020

The problem with giving up a 2nd round pick is that it will almost be in the 1st round.

I agree it should be about a 3rd but a high 4th is closer to a 3rd than a high 2nd.

Getting a 3rd in return compensates for the fact that it's a high 2nd rather than a 3rd though.