That probably means they take Harley instead of Newhook too

So, I'm an Avs fan second and I have to say, I love Colorado's defense. It can rule the west for years, but yes currently there's a weird log-jam and one of them has to go and a 3C needs to come back for sure.
First off, Erik Johnson is going nowhere unless the AVS retain cap because his contract is crap.
Makar, Girard and Toews are the future 1,2,3 of this team, and I personally think if Byram can have a decent season, Graves will be moved. He's the most attractive piece, with 2 years remaining on a good contract and PP player.
Timmins is also going to be great imo.

I was the opposite when Chicago took Dach. He's the guy I wanted. I also really liked Newhook though and didn't think he'd be there at 16. If I had known he'd be available it would have made the Byram pick more appealing in the moment.

Give it another year. Once Newhook goes pro the depth at C is going to look just fine. Jost is coming around on draws and other aspects important to the position too, so I think he'll be a great as a 3C or at worst 4C. I wish Kadri was a year or too younger, but that's really the only problem I see long term.

That said, they do need a few more guys in the system. With LD already stocked and RD not far behind (Barron is looking great), hopefully we see some high picks used on the position.

If Chicago takes Byram, I don't think they take trade Saad for Zadorov.

The thing that is good for the Avs with their D depth is that, if and when it comes to it, there are lots of GM's willing to pay a good price for a solid D so knowing they can't keep all of those guys long-term, they can use them as trade chips to acquire more scoring up front and even help at C. For example: in two years, when Toews only has one year left on his deal, is nearing 30 and would be due for a raise but Byram has further developed and is ready to be Cale's full-time partner (and would also be in need of a new contract, BTW), they can trade Toews for a really good asset or two up front to a team that has a surplus of scoring wings or centers but needs top-4 D help. So, while Dach would be great to have, the glass is more than half-full with what the Avs have on the back-end.

Maybe, maybe not. Even with Byram they're still in a rebuild just like they are with Dach.

They probably still do, but they probably don’t trade Barrie for kadri days after the draft IMO

Preds have a roster full of 3C's if you want one. Johansen, Duchene, Sissons, Haula, Jarnkrok, haha.

Hmm I wouldn't be so sure about that. Avs were extremely high on Newhook at the draft and even tried moving up for him. Video of the Avs draft table at the time of the pick shows our Sakic asking our head of scouting Alan Hepple if Newhook is the right pick and Hepple was like "slam dunk".

I agree they would still be in rebuild mode. I didnt like the trade for Zadorov anyway and if they add Byram I think the block some of the young D with Zadorov.

I don't think any of our Dman have to go. It's a luxury the Avs can afford, and we also have Newhook and Bowers in the pipeline to fill the 3C spot soon. In the meantime we'll just have to get by with a deadline rental 3C, no biggie.

Regarding Johnson, Avs would gladly retain $2m if that's what it takes to move him. The alternative would be to buy him out but that would leave $2m against the cap for 4 years. Retaining $2m in a trade only counts for 2 years.

Jost is winning 46.8% of his draws which is a bit improvement, but on the PK he's still struggling, having won only 3 of 14 draws shorthanded where it matters most.

Stan Bowman said in an interview that he had his eyes on Zadorov for a couple of years, so he was clearly a guy he was targetting. Chicago also needed cap relief and as a pending UFA Saad made sense.

Yeah I agree. That Toews contract seems to have been structured the way it has specifically to make him very tradeable in 2023 when capspace becomes tight and the team needs a retool. Toews should fetch a decent haul one would imagine, especially as a 3 time stanley cup champion

Haha, good one.

I have a sneaky suspicion that Haula will be Sakic's target. He ticks the playoff experience box (having gone to the cup final with Vegas), and likely also fits into the price range Sakic tends to go for with deadline rentals (i.e. 3rd round picks).

Failing that I'd take Johansen 50% retained

Ok, but which Deadline rental, potentially speaking? Not sure who the AVS could get this spring,, and who knows about next year.
As for EJ, phhh. I don't know man. If I look around at other contracts and the way the position has been affected by the flat cap, I mean...look at what Toews just signed for with the AVS. I'd be shocked if a team took Erik Johnson for $4M against their cap, without taking a prospect in return. Maybe I'm pessimistic.
As for Bowers and Newhook, if only they were playing a real amount of hockey this year . Oh well, maybe next fall camp they'll surprise

There will likely be a good number of 3C's available at the deadline, though exactly which ones are available will depend on which teams are in the playoffs spots at that point obviously.

Potentially some of these guys will be available: Haula, Bonino, Cizikas, Zajac, Acciari, Wennberg, Staal, Tierney, Jenner, Copp, Lowry, Stastny, Bjugstad, Johansson, Danault, Backlund, Laughton, McCann, Eller.

Erik Johnson is a tough one. Even with retention of $2m it might still take a decent asset attached to him to move him as you said. That's tough to do though given that he has a 12 team no trade list. Avs might just buy him out and then resign him at a cheaper caphit. Time will tell.

It will come. Just watching him he seems much stronger in that area. And with the way he forces the action on the pk, even losing the draw (unless it's clean) isn't the worst thing. I have been extremely happy with his defensive play thus far and modestly happy with his improvement on faceoffs. If only he could score...

Good point. Bednar was also veyr positive about Jost in his post game interview last game. He loves his dedication to details and hard work, and even specifically mentioned improvements on draws.

I didn't see it but that's good to know. I noticed Bednar has been more willing to put him out for dzone faceoffs though. It's going to be important if Jost wants more ice time.

We'll certainly take Sissons off your hands.

Yea, I am just saying if the Blackhawks dont have Dach and instead you have Boqvist, Mitchell, Byram, Beaudin, Walyuk and more I think you revaluate where depth of your organization is. I just think the importance of getting Zadorov is much different if you have Byram in the pipeline.