Colorado Avalanche And Jeff Skinner?
Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey NOW: Trying to take a shot at Jeff Skinner could be worth it for the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado needs goal scoring and Skinner can score. Is he fully healthy? Can he overcome his late season struggles?
Skinner simply is overpaid. He does have 92 goals in his last three seasons and might have more with a higher functioning offense. That is the thought process and hope anyway.
Yes, the big difference between Skinner and someone like Jonathan Drouin is that Skinner will never be magically proficient on the defensive side of the ledger. Hey, this avenue worked out with Matt Duchene. It could for Skinner and the Avalanche.
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This will become quite interesting. Does Kevyn Adams use a first buyout window or even second? Again, we have to wait and see what might happen. Clearly, Colorado and its management are keeping an eye on things.
Consider how up in the air the Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin situations are. The Avalanche may have little choice in taking that shot on Skinner provided he hits the market
A Colorado Avalanche Window Of Opportunity?
Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey NOW: Anytime a Colorado Avalanche team has a window of opportunity, they should take it, right? Josh Manson had a full no-trade clause for the first two years of his four-year deal. That time has now past. Manson can only provide a 12-team no-trade list.
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Now, Manson stayed healthy and was able to chip in 25 points last season. That was his most productive campaign in six years. The opportunity to move Manson may never be better.
On the surface, Colorado needs defensemen. Every team does. However, Manson will be 33 this October and age often has a way of degrading skills quickly. Injury concerns due to his style of play are troubling.
With options on the free agent market that may come cheaper than $4.5 million, Colorado could take a chance on players like Dmitry Kulikov and Brenden Dillon among others.
