I don’t know about that trade but Ranta is sure trying to force his way onto the roster he was beast tonight.

Why do you not like the trade? Imo that would be a great trade, giving us a legit top 6 forward who performs in the playoffs and can drive his own line, at the cost of a bottom 6 forward; a struggling prospect; and a mid-round pick. I suspect that it would cost more than that though given that there would be a $4m difference in real dollars in Colorado's favour (along with another $3.5m in Compher's last year).

Agree on Ranta, he took over the game in the last 30 minutes, starting with the trademark goal. That sequence before Olausson's goal was awesome as well. I also liked his tenacity on the forecheck and his work on the PK which will certainly endear him to Bednar.

I just don’t think Kessel is a good fit. Roughly 50% of his points are coming of the power play the last 3 years, he has as much interest in defense as Allen Iverson had in practice. The value imo is very fair, but the fact TOR, BOS AND PIT all moved on from him makes me wonder especially considering they did it in his prime not at the tail end of his career. I could warm to the idea though that’s why I said idk.

They may have moved on from him but I imagine some of that was cost. He did, after all, win two Cups in PIT, and has a knack for scoring goals and you need goals to win. Everyone knows he doesn't really play D but that isn't why you bring him in. It's really tempting, with the new blood the Avs have coming in, to go after a rental like Kessel at the cost of JTC, a prospect that probably needs a new opportunity and a 3rd. In terms of where you put him, I'd think he could slide in next to Newhook to give him a legit scorer for the third line. If Nuke is moving to the 2nd line, I think a Jost-Newhook-Kessel line could give them a lot of added scoring depth while still having two defensively responsible guys there so they don't become a liability.

All that being said, I'd much rather have a Forsberg or Hertl but that is going to cost considerably more, probably at least one top prospect and a 1st just to start. Also, I can't imagine either of those players being available until the TDL while Kessel is probably available now. Now, if I'm Sakic, I see Kessel as a straight-up rental while I'd need to be sure I could re-sign Forsberg or Hertl so that is also a factor.