I like Hertls

To make this ideal, trade Compher, even if a bit of retention is needed, and use the money to sign Nichuskin and Francouz. Hertl is the guy though. He would be a great fit in Colorado.

I was going to write a comment but this sums up my thoughts perfectly

A Sharks fan told me that Hertl has, shockingly, expressed interest in re-signing but that could just be talk. If Sakic can get him at the TDL, he should do it and then re-sign him. Having him this year down the stretch and in the playoffs would be huge. He would cost a lot though, in terms of assets but it if he does hit UFA, he might cost a lot more than $7.5M although I've been surprised by the reasonable deals many guys have signed recently.

Hertl is apparently one of the guys in SJ's lockerroom who are most disappointed that SJ haven't been able to get rid of the Kane circus. I'm sure he'd probably be more happy on a team that's a contender and also doesn't have that distraction.

I can understand that. To be so talented and dedicated only to have a guy like Kane dragging you down? I wouldn't be able to live with that.

I am sure Compher and EJ will not be on the team by 22/23 season. Both will have 1 year remaining on their deals and we can do small retentions on both and free up like 7 of the 9.5 million which would be put to good use.

I wouldn't be so sure about that, especially with Compher. His analytics like GAR, WAR, etc are fine, and the Avs organization love their analytics. There will also likely be a lot of turnover on the forward side in 2022 with Nichuskin, Kadri, Burakovsky, and Helm hitting UFA at the same time, along with numerous RFA's including O'Connor, Maltsev, and Bowers. I wouldn't mind Compher being traded to optimise that capspace a bit more (he's overpaid by around $1m-1.5m), but I think Sakic will prefer to keep him around for some continuity in the lockerroom. That is assuming that he doesn't have another terrible season in which case it becomes more logical to trade him.