If he stays in the NHL, I think they should look at Puljujarvi assuming he goes unqualified.

This is pretty good but Meyers is weak defensively - I think they should try to find another 4C. Like the Clifton signing. Are we sure O'Reilly will be able to keep up with the rest of the team? The concern with him seems to be a loss of foot speed as he's aged. I do like the value pickups of Monahan and Patches. And putting Newhook up on 1LW is interesting - maybe playing with Mac and Rants helps him break out.

Canes have already said he won't be qualified. Avs could take a flyer on him and see if they can't at least get him to be a shutdown player.

Meyers makes mistakes, but I don't think he's weak defensively. He has the lowest xGA/60 on the entire team in terms of regulars/semi regulars and the best xGF% of all forwards. And he did that with pretty heavy done starts. Plus he had a good FO%.

He's one of those cases where the eye test doesn't match up with the numbers. I think he could be a good 4C.

I'm fine with that but it was outside the scope of this acgm.

The FA market is pretty thin this year, for the Avs ROR is the east #1 target but I definitely think they kick the tires on Drouin. Him and MacK are still buddies, he has proven he can be a 50pt guy already and I would assume he has dealt with some of his demons. Throw in he gets to play in a less pressure environment and not be the guy I’d love to see the Avs do a prove it deal with him. Pacciorety would be interesting but dudes achilles has blown up twice. Monahan stylistically isn’t great fit and dude hasn’t produced in years.

Meyers issue was finishing wide open chances. I thought he did fine for a bottom line rookie.
Playing Newhook with Mack AND Rants, is probably the worst thing you can do for Newhook's development. I think Rants should be away from Mack and Newhook should be away from both of them to start. Newhook has an excellent shot but overthinks it and needs to trust his scoring touch. When he plays with veteran goal scorers, he defaults to passing, even on plays where the ebst chance of a goal is him shooting. Put him on the 3rd line with a good playmaker and a speedy grinder and I think we will like what we see. If Newhook has the confidence to want the puck, moving him up in the line up is cool by me.

Clifton, Schenn and Gustafsson would all be good reinforcements for the blue line should we need them (i.e. Toews or Girard gone) and I think Donato & ZAR would be worth a look too for the bottom 6. There are options out there no matter how weak people say this class of UFAs is.

Meyers is far from weak defensively. He had some of the best underlying numbers on the team for forwards outside of MacK and Mikko. He should definitely be our 4C. I am hoping he finds some scoring touch and turns into a solid 3C for us. But worst case scenario for him is a solid 4th liner at this point as he develops. If you look at any of the ACGM's I've done recently, I'm a pretty strong proponent of giving him the LOC 3x1.05 contract as I see his floor being LOC with the added ability of being good in the faceoff circle.

Drouin-Newhook-Puljujarvi? With Drouin's default always being to playmaker and JP being shot shy as well, it could force Newhook and JP into shooting more. Or else they'll be a great possession line with little prodcution to show for it lol.

Wouldn't mind this. The line would be solid defensively just based on the fact they could keep the puck in the o-zone until one of the top lines can get on the ice.

I'm fully aboard the ROR train. He'd be a great add and cost nothing more than a short-term contract. Not totally sold on Drouin, but I'm not totally against it either. Mainly it would need to be a cheap deal, because if he can't hang in the top 6 then I see him as pretty detrimental in the bottom six.

Agree on Monahan. He's my least favorite add in here, and I also have big time reservations on Pacioretty. I'm willing to give the latter a shot at that AAV, as he'll either play or hit LTIR again, in which case he can be replaced.

Running it as a cheap third line with two reclamation projects would be a gamble but it would take pressure off JD and JP to be the guys they were drafted to be. JP is solid defensively anyway and AN isn't bad. JD could also potentially see some PP time to boost his TOI and see if any of that chemistry everyone talks about is still there with MacK.

His playmaking ability might make him a solid fit to replace what Kadri was as the bumper. Makar-MacK-Mikko-Val-Drouin is a pretty good PP1 in theory.

There's added beauty in that too, in that your 2C isn't on the PP1 and strengthens your PP2. Whilst we know the PP1 can handle it, it might be nice to rest them occasionally rather than have them play almost all of the powerplay.

Drouin is too soft/fragile to play the bumper spot. We can't expect Drouin to become something he has never been able to be.

I like it, and JLF/College f.a can get some shifts when Drouin is out with an injury.

Possibly. But also possibly a case of adapt to survive. Either way I'm sure there is a way to accommodate him there and put the skills he does have to use. Lehky or Val might be better in the bumper and Drouin more roaming? Open ice would allow him to do what he does best one would think?

Based on his time in MTL, he was usually on the left. But he's not bumping MacK or Mikko out of their spots on the outside. And he's not going in front of the net. He would have to play bumper or move to PP2 IMO. He's got the skill to play bumper, question is durability.

I agree he isn't likely bumping out MacK or Mikko from the outside bar in the case of injury. There are other options in how to play the powerplay though. I'm not suggesting wholesale changes to accommodate Drouin but another option in how they set up has potential, dependent on who they're up against. We kind of get set a bit too rigidly on things as fans sometimes imo. A bit like people not understanding that although on paper Girard is the 3LD, he is never really deployed as that because the Avs D doesn't run on traditional pairings that way. Same with forward lines, same with special teams.

You know who would be awesome in the bumper spot and taking draws? That Jonathan Toews guy .

Another guy I wouldn't hate giving a 1 year deal at the right dollar amount.

I love it but @TJTwolf and I have disagreed on that point ad nauseum. So I'm trolling a bit.

Is it asking to much to get Toews, Drouin, and JP for 6M combined and for them all to outplay their cap figure? I'm probably dreaming.

My problem with Toews is that firstly I think he's pretty much done, and secondly if he isn't he'll cost more than he's worth on 'past glories'. Third issue is his reputation as a so called leader is tarnished for me. If Toews were signing a Cogliano type deal I could probably get past it but I think he'll be asking way more on that, you little rock troll, you!