I do love the idea of T. Makar, Ondrej, Behrens, Malinski, and Hanzel coming up, but what about Kovalenko?

I really hope Landy doesn't retire and honestly don't think he will. Toews could walk though, and that alone may be a reason to keep Girard around. And what in the world makes you think that signing Drouin to a $5M contract for 2 years is a good idea?

I mean, if Drouin lights it up with Mac this year I could see a scenario where this happens. Not too likely, but possible.

I would be SHOCKED and amazed if Taylor Makar ends up in the show, let alone in 2024. That would be a huge win for our scouting department.

Yes that is true about Drouin. I'm just in question as to what makes him think that that assumption is a good one now. And in regards to Makar, he has perked up a lot since last year's training camp and can't wait to see what he looks like next year.

It's highly unlikely any of those guys lock down spots with the Avs full-time. It's even more unlikely any of them are better than Girard. And Manson? That dude can't stay healthy and $4.5M is wasteful on a 3rd pair guy; he's the one that should be traded as soon as his full NTC expires.

People need to look at the Avs roster and realize that the Avs are very uninterested in bringing young guys (>24) onto the roster. They should have signed Hanzel and Jedlicka already but they haven't because they don't care. The only chance any young player has at making on the Avs at this point is to absolutely wreck whatever league they're playing in; having a few good weeks then tailing off (Malinski) isn't going to do it. I'd say it maybe happens with Ritchie but he's going to have to have a healthy, very productive year in junior to get a sniff and even then he'll have to go through the AHL and be a PPG guy at that level before they'll even consider it. I know the hope is that Gulyayev is ready by the time Girard goes UFA but that's a long way out.

I'd be pretty (pleasantly) surprised if Drouin spends significant time with Mac and scores more than 40 points

Hey, this Drouin prediction is a lot more realistic than the ones where people have him resigning for another 1 year league minimum deal. If it doesn't work this year, he's definitely gone.

Who hurt you?

They traded an everyday NHL player in Newhook to bring in a guy that is 26 (27 when the season starts) and was way more expensive to sign; Colton hasn't been grossly more productive or effective than Newhook and is unlikely to improve much while Newhook still had room to grow but, here he is. Nobody on the roster is younger than 24; that tells you all you need to know about how much they value youth and getting prospects to the NHL. IMO, the notion that they're going to give any of JLF or OO or Malinski (even if he is over the 24 y/o mark; he isn't an NHL veteran) any real shot at making the roster is unrealistic based on what they've done with the roster and how disinterested they are in getting those guys real NHL minutes.