Hey AVS fans, do you think you guys are more likely to move Girard or Toews?
More likely to move Toews. Not because we WANT to or NEED to; just because he will have such a high demand in the market. We are squeezed this upcoming year with Landeskog out (Nichuschkin who knows what?), a poor UFA pool to fill our needs and a lack of other assets to move. So we will end up at (or near) the 2024 trade deadline; treading water as a "good but not great" team (unless Alex Newhook turns into a 60+ point pace #2 Center and we have a 30-year old Devon Toews (a true #1 stud blueliner) on the last year of his contract (on a really affordable deal $4.1 mil AAV; especially come TDL). The following season we will have Rantanen and Georgiev contract extensions so getting Toews extended and under the cap over the next few seasons (despite expected increases) will be really difficult.
Not sure why Toews would ever be traded. He's one of the best value contracts in the entire league for next season. Avs are not rebuilding. You don't trade top pair D's just because they're easier to move than a bottom pair D on a bad contract. I fully expect Sakic will extend Toews long term this summer. Even if Girard is dealt at a loss, it's still better than trading one of their best players. They have their 1st rounders and they have the cap to add offense with Landy on LTIR.