Personally I think finding a serviceable 3rd G is more important than another depth F.
Id resign Hutch for 1yr before going and getting a Sheary when it bumps out guys like Jost, LOC and Kaut

I think they are ok on depth. Between LOC, Dries, Solamaki, Timmins, Gilbert, etc. they look pretty good with respect to call up options.

Agree with the above on goalies. With only Werner signed, that is the one pending move that is definitely happening.

you have Kaut, Jost and LOC for the 12th/13th forward mix, and they traded for Gilbert and Burroughs for a reason while still having Timmins Byram and Cole as guys who to make up spots 6 thru 8 on the D chart. There is a thing of doing too much,

You dont need to sign a 12th forward or 7th Dman...avs built up one of the best prospect pipelines for this reason, you can promote internally to fill roles.

I agree with McRanteskog, looking for a 3rd goalie with some NHL experience is a move they should explore.

Hammond isnt the worst idea for a 3rd goalie, his AHL numbers have been respectable the past 2 seasons.

I'd be fine with that. Or they can try for a guy like Montembeault who wasn't great but has time to put it together. I think it's likely they lean toward more experience but figured it's worth mentioning.

FORWARD

Fair points on not really needing a depth forward. That said I kinda feel like it would be a missed opportunity to not take advantage of this cheap market by adding a cheap forward who can give us incredibly strong depth.

Another factor to consider is that Kaut and O'Connor should ideally be playing regular hockey rather than eating nachos, so they might be better served starting the year in the AHL and being called up when there's a longer injury to someone. The 13th forward can either be Jost or someone a bit more experienced.

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DEFENCE

Same thing on D. Unless Timmins or Byram take the No.6 spot from Cole then it doesn't really make sense for them to be the No.7 nacho eater. They'd be better served getting regular game time. That said I think it would be important to maintain flexibility to allow them to have the opportunity to stake a claim for that No.6 spot, which is why I signed a guy like Connauton here, who is someone that can get sent to the AHL with no hassle to make room for Byram/Timmins (and bump Cole to 7D).

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GOALTENDER

Sakic spoke highly of Werner and wants to give him an opportunity to play a lot this year. His 2.92 GAA and .909 SV% actually doesn't accurately reflect the quality of goaltender he is. If you look closer at his numbers you'll see a huge discrepancy in games when he's rested, and games when he's playing B2B's:

Games with at least one day of rest: 2.59 GAA, .924 SV%
Second games of B2B when he played both games: 4.87 GAA, .802 SV%

Adding a guy like Hutchinson would stifle opportunities Werner has to develop and be the main man there. If needed we could also always trade for someone like Hutchinson after the season has started if Werner isn't locking it down well enough.

That said, depending on how Werner does I do think it would be prudent to acquire a 3rd goalie with NHL experience at the deadline, just to insulate Grubauer and Francouz a bit more (especially on the back of what happened this year). But until then just give Werner a shot and roll with Grubauer/Francouz.

They wouldn't keep Timmins or Kaut as the healthy scratch. Guys like Dries, Solamaki, or Gilbert will do that and probably be fine with it due to the higher paycheck. That doesn't mean they're first in line though. It's possible that if, say, Calvert goes down, LOC gets called up and Dries just stays the 13th forward. Similar with Timmins.

That said, I'd be fine with getting Barberio v 2.0. I just don't think it's necessary, especially at forward.

How about adding Zdeno Chara on a 1 year $1m contract?

Toews --- Makar
Girard --- Johnson
Graves --- Chara
Cole

or

Graves --- Makar
Girard ---- Toews
Chara ---- Johnson
Cole

Basically give him 70% DZ starts and let him anchor the first PK unit with Johnson. That would be a really savvy pickup, though I'm not privy to how ready Byram is so it's a bit hard to know how close he is to making it.

I would take him if he wanted to join the team. It's hard to imagine him leaving Boston, but maybe he would.

Oh god... really dude... Chara?
A. he wouldnt accept even if we wanted him.
B. hes another year older, slower, the decline is coming.. he would be 44 by time of playoffs

please delete that take

There's not much to not like about adding a guy like him as a 6/7D for pure PK/Dzone minutes. He can still be extremely effective on the PK.

The only downside really would be if Byram is ready, hence I caveated my suggestion saying that I don't know how ready Byram is.