DENVER (AP) - To accompany the new look Pepsi Center next October, the Avs have made a massive overhaul which saw over a third of the roster that finished the 2012-13 season out of the playoffs ousted by the management.
On Saturday, June 8, the Avs made the first move of the offseason by acquiring veteran shutdown defenseman Jan Hejda from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a fifth round draft selection. Hejda is a consistent defensive presence that will likely see playing time as the sixth or seventh defenseman, depending on the opponent and injuries.
Two days later on Monday, June 10, the Avs and Penguins hooked up for the first blockbuster trade of the offseason, a trade which saw rookie standout Filip Forsberg, defenseman John-Michael Liles and a second round pick go to Pittsburgh in exchange for six foot nine Zdeno Chara, offensive defenseman Ryan Whitney, and shutdown forward J.T. Miller, all of whom were coming off a Stanley Cup title season. As the first move to improve the defense core, the Avs sacraficed a promising prospect in Forsberg in order to get two big pieces to the blueline in Chara and Whitney, both of whom are capable of top pairing minutes.
A week after the Chara trade, the Avs made another move to fill the void left by Forsberg at the right wing slot, acquiring Nikita Gusev from the Washington Capitals along with third line centerman Jarret Stoll and grinder Taylor Pyatt in exchange for Wojtek Wolski, prospect Stefan Elliott, and two draft picks. Wolski, who was acquired earlier in the season from Tampa Bay, has now been moved twice from the Avs. Gusev, who has developed into an offensive player that makes only $600,000 this season, is expected to get top line minutes alongside Matt Duchene. Jarret Stoll fills a desperate need for a checking centerman which likely cost the Avs games last season.
As hall-of-fame goaltender Martin Brodeur retired, the Avs also lost a few other pieces to free agency including the aging Andy McDonald, long time Av Marek Svatos, and newly acquired Daniel Paille who arrived late in the season from the Columbus Blue Jackets. To replace those parts, the Avs signed veteran goaltender Niklas Backstrom, who represents the best goaltender to suit up in burgundy since 33, to a three-year, $15.45 million dollar contract. Also acquired in free agency was grinder Steve Downie, who signed a five-year, $5.5 million dollar contract.
The fourth annual EHEC Entry Draft saw the Avs add four players to the prospect pool. Goaltender Juuse Saros, a 5 foot 10 goaltender out of Finland, thus guaranteed to be good, projects to be a Craig Anderson type backup goaltender who can perform consistently. Centerman Nic Petan, 5 foot 9 out of the Portland Winterhawks, has already been offered his entry level contract and is expected to play with the Lake Erie Monsters in the upcoming season as an underager. Petan projects to be a similar player to Alexei Ponikarovsky who is much faster and more consistent, but is less physical. Winger Jackson Houck is 6 foot 0 out of the Vancouver Giants. He will be expected to produce at the AHL level. Defenseman Miles Liberati, the seventh round selection, is 6 foot 1 out of the London Knights. He could develop into a serviceable defensive defenseman.
To summarize the moves made in the past month:
Out:
G Martin Brodeur (retired)
R Filip Forsberg (traded to PIT)
C Wojtek Wolski (traded to WSH)
D John-Michael Liles (traded to PIT)
C Andy McDonald (UFA)
C Marek Svatos (UFA)
C Daniel Paille (UFA)
In:
G Niklas Backstrom (UFA)
D Zdeno Chara (from PIT)
D Ryan Whitney (from PIT)
L J.T. Miller (from PIT)
R Nikita Gusev (from WSH)
C Jarret Stoll (from WSH)
D Jan Hejda (from TB)
R Steve Downie (UFA)
L Taylor Pyatt (from WSH)
G Juuse Saros (drafted)
C Nicolas Petan (drafted)
R Jackson Houck (drafted)
D Miles Liberati (drafted)
These moves were made possible by the Avs taking on contracts that were all set to expire at the end of the last season. The current twenty man roster which includes returning Avs Matt Duchene, Gabe Landeskog, Oskar Osala, Brandon Saad, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Milan Hejduk, Ryan O'Reilly, Scottie Upshall, Drew Doughty, Dougie Hamilton, Kevin Klein, Dennis Wideman, and Ben Bishop, is at a comfortable $6,409,375 below the salary cap. This salary cap space means more moves can still be made, particularly to add depth to the bottom six.
With depth players including forwards Jamie McGinn and Steve Downie, one of whom will replace Ryan O'Reilly after his annual six month injury, defenseman Jan Hejda and goaltender Craig Anderson, all of which except for Hejda can be sent to the American Hockey League if necessary, the Avs remain close to $1,000,000 below the salary cap with 24 players. It is likely Steve Downie could be the odd man out for the maximum 23 player roster until an injury occurs. In terms of overall ratings, the new-look Avs depth chart shapes up as follows.
Gabe Landeskog / Matt Duchene / Nikita Gusev
J.T. Miller / Jarret Stoll / Milan Hejduk
Alexei Ponikarovsky / Oskar Osala / Brandon Saad
Jamie McGinn / Ryan O'Reilly / Steve Downie
Taylor Pyatt / ------- / Scottie Upshall
Drew Doughty / Zdeno Chara
Ryan Whitney / Kevin Klein
Dougie Hamilton / Dennis Wideman
Jan Hejda / -------
Niklas Backstrom
Ben Bishop
Craig Anderson