2011 Avalanche Blogger Roundtable (3.)
Eurolanche fanclub has joined the discussion between blogs and websites about the Colorado Avalanche. Here is the third part of twelve.3. Since the start of the 2010-2011 season, Avalanche GM Greg Sherman has made 8 separate deals, bringing in players like Erik Johnson, Semyon Varlamov and Ryan O'Byrne. Which one was his best and which was his worst deal?
David Driscoll-Carignan, Mile High Hockey: I liked several of the deals Sherman made last year,
but my favorite so far is the trade of Michael Bournival for
Ryan O'Byrne. Although the squad is much bigger on the back-end now, at the
time of the trade O'Byrne brought some much needed size and feistiness on the
blueline for what seems like a very reasonable price.
Stephen Crociata, Mile High Sticking and SBNation New York: I believe the best move Sherman has made in his short tenure is the deal
for Ryan O'Byrne. He was able to get O'Byrne for one prospect, Michael
Bournival, who the Avalanche didn't view as an impact prospect.
Norbert from Austria, Eurolanche: The things we had to give up for O'Byrne make this
deal definitely the best one, as Ryan is eating up quality minutes.
Sean Payton, Anyone But Detroit: Bournival for O'Byrne. We won't know how this trade
really looks until Bournival develops, but O'Byrne was brought in to fill a
team need (defensive size) and he did that and was re-signed.
Mike @ MHH, Mile High Hockey: I liked the ROB deal at the time and still do.
Angélique Murray, Colorado Avalanche Prospects, Mile High Hockey & Chicks Who Give A Puck: While I like Michael Bournival as a prospect, the fact is the Avs
already have similar players to him within their farm system. What the Avs
needed to add was size to their defense. O'Bryne proved to be a solid contributor.
Mike Verminski, Put It On Ice: Picking his best move is a bit difficult because for
me, but I guess I'll say brining in O'Byrne. We didn't give up much and he
stepped in and played an important part in our defensive corps for the
remainder of the season.
Ryan Boulding, The Avalanche Guild: You can argue that two picks for Semyon Varlamov's
rights was a risky move but either way it was worth shedding Peter Budaj and Brian Elliott and
planning for the long term goaltending future. Therefore Varlamov could turn
out to be Sherman's greatest move. I would be one to make that argument but,
seeing as how he hasn't suited up in Colorado just yet, I'll say Ryan O'Byrne
was a pretty smart move. Seeing as how Tomas Fleischmann, who
had a million points in just a handful of games last season, couldn't sustain
an ongoing relationship here with his lingering health problems, O'Byrne is
easily one of the smartest trades. He is big, tall, strong, smart, and
young(ish). Listed as 6'5" and weighing in at 234 pounds, O'Byrne fits
into the Avs new defensive mantra: bigger and stronger. Last season was
O'Byrne's longest in the NHL and he will be looking to not only improve but to
shoulder the leadership responsibilities as well.
Adrian Dater, Denver Post: Tomas Fleischmann for Scott Hannan. Too bad for Sherman and the Avs they only got 22
games out of Flash. Who knows what might have happened had he stayed healthy?
But for an old, slow D-man making a lot of money, he got 21 points in those 22
games from Flash.
Austin Snow, Avs Chill Zone: Although it's a moot point now, I think the Fleischmann
trade was Sherman's best. It was a solid hockey trade, player for player, which
worked wonders for the Avalanche. It's ironic that neither player is
still on the team they were traded to, but one can only imagine what the
Avalanche roster would look like had Flash stayed healthy. Perhaps the Stewart
trade wouldn't have gone down, or perhaps the team would have been more
successful down the stretch and he would likely have signed a multi-year deal.
Brett Shumway, Mile High Hockey: My favorite deal was Hannan for Fleischmann. I never
thought Hannan was worth the price tag, and Flash was an instant upgrade and
timely reminder of the value of highly skilled wings.
Cheryl Bradley, Mile High Hockey & Avalanche Breakaway:
Although the trade's price was high, Sherman's best deal was acquiring Erik
Johnson. With players like Stefan Elliott and Tyson Barrie in
the pipeline, the team could afford to lose Kevin Shattenkirk despite
the fact he's set to become one of the best defensemen in the league. Chris
Stewart will continue to be a top-line power forward, but that kind of player
is easier to find than a cornerstone defenseman.
Johnson brings all of the things the Avalanche seems to
covet: top-level skill, strong leadership, youth, and solid work ethic. There
are those out there who are proclaiming that the young defenseman is a draft
bust; however, they seem to forget that he's only had one bad season
offensively (2010-2011). He also began to turn that around when he joined the
Avalanche, upping his PPG production to nearly 0.50. It should not be a shock
to anyone next season when he shows why he was drafted first overall. Johnson
will be the rock of the Avalanche defense for many years.
Matt Muzia, SBN Denver: Best deal? Erik Johnson, and not because of the
actual talent return. I think it signified a serious shift in the long term
direction of the franchise, and the sheer guts required to pull off such a
trade still boggles my mind. It was a bold step, and one I heartily applaud.
Aaron Musick, HockeyBuzz: His best deal is Erik Johnson. Brining in a solid top
pairing defenseman to anchor the Avalanche for years was brilliant. Johnson is
only 23 and entering his prime development stage. The price of Stewart and
Shattenkirk was hefty but Johnson was a great piece to add. Include the fact
that the Avs also goDuncan Siemens, the absolute perfect fit for the Avalanche, and that
is a trade that both teams win and neither team loses.
AJ Haefele, Mile High Hockey: Going with the Erik Johnson trade. We gave up quite a
bit but if you look at it the pieces we already gave up have already been
(theoretically) replaced. The big power forward in Stewart is gone and in his
place is Gabriel Landeskog and
Shattenkirk was the first of several talented offensive-minded defenders we
have coming up through the ranks, led by Stefan Elliott. We got a caliber of
defenseman we didn't have on the roster or anywhere in sight in Erik Johnson
and just as he's likely to come into his prime, too. Jay McClement makes any PK better and the added bonus of Duncan
Siemens makes this trade look like a no-brainer great move. The only one I
think could top it is the Varlamov deal.
David from Slovakia, Eurolanche: The best could be Varlamov´s trade, but only the
next season will show if he was worth the first round pick. He could be hero,
but also one big disaster.
Mike Chambers, Denver Post: Getting Varlamov (and JS Giguere) might solidify the
nets for at least a couple years, and I don't mind getting a young but
experienced former No. 1 draft pick (Varlamov) for an 18-year-old No. 1 draft pick
who likely won't be NHL-ready for 2-3 years.
Nic Zamora, Avaholics Anonymous: If they pan out, the Johnson and Varlamov deals will
hands down be his best deals. You don't win in this league without a number 1
defenseman and a top goaltender.
Geoff Rosenthal, The Avs Factor: It's hard to judge any of Greg Sherman's activities
as Avalanche GM because so much has been left up to chance. Will Erik Johnson
blossom into a consistent, rock solid, number one defenseman? Can Semyon
Varlamov stay healthy and help the Avs avoid handing the Maple Leafs a top-ten pick? Will Jay McClement do anything
noteworthy in the next year? Or ten?
That said, Sherman's best
move was the decision to keep #1a center, Paul Stastny. The NHL is a center's
league, and it's not a coincidence that the Colorado Avalanche franchise was at its best when they had Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg down the middle (Patrick Roy
also helped). Stastny has yet to really shine, but when he does, the Avs will
be a force to be reckoned with.
Ryan Boulding, The Avalanche Guild: Let's start with his worst decision: Trading Colby Cohen for Matt Hunwick. It is
possible that someone in the system said "Hey, this kid isn't going to
develop so we should ditch him quick!" but that just seems unlikely.
Hunwick has tough shoes to fill this season or he goes down in history as one
of the weakest decisions that the franchise has made.
Mike Verminski, Put It On Ice: Picking his worst move is simple. Trading Colby Cohen
for Matt Hunwick was incredibly stupid in my opinon. I understand why he did it
with the amount of defensive prospects coming up in the system, but I would
have liked to see Cohen stick around longer.
Geoff Rosenthal, The Avs Factor: I absolutely despise the Colby Cohen for Matt
Hunwick trade. It still makes no sense.
David Driscoll-Carignan, Mile High Hockey: I doubt I'll be alone when I say the worst deal last
year was the acquisition of Matt Hunwick (for prospect Colby Cohen). While I
think Hunwick is better than he showed us last year, the Avalanche already had
a number of players on the roster and in the system with a comparable skillset.
Indeed, it's tough to picture where Hunwick will fit in next year. It seems
like a dubious move to jettison a prospect like Cohen for a player that didn't
really fill a gaping hole.
Cheryl Bradley, Mile High Hockey & Avalanche Breakaway:
The worst deal is a little harder to pin down. The obvious answer would be
giving up Colby Cohen for Matt Hunwick. When this first happened, I was
incredibly angry and thought it was a huge mistake. Since then I've
reconsidered. I don't think it was a good trade by any means. However, I'm not
convinced Cohen is going to be as good as I originally thought. In the end, I
would call it an unnecessary and shortsighted trade. Hunwick does not bring
anything to the team, and Cohen's potential is still unknown. I still wonder,
however, if there were reasons beyond on-ice performance that sent Colby
packin'. Obviously, we'll never know. Regardless, the other deals made -
Johnson, O'Byrne, O'Brien, Hejda - make Cohen expendable anyway. I also don't
expect Hunwick to be top-6 on the blueline. Worst deal? I guess you could call
it that. I'd call it more of a wash.
Mike @ MHH, Mile High Hockey: I think the Hunwick deal was made out of necessity not
desire and doesn't look good (depth due to injury was terrible at the time on
the blueline and I think they reached a little and overvalued both Hunwick and
what the team looked like for the rest of the season.)
Mike Chambers, Denver Post: Didn't like the Colby Cohen for Matt Hunwick trade or
the Scott Hannan for Tomas Fleischmann trade, the latter because the blood-clot
history was known.
Aaron Musick, HockeyBuzz: Sherman's worst is not Varlamov, as a lot of people
were saying. Varlamov has talent and now is driven to prove himself. That's
good if you're an Avs fan. Sherman's biggest mistake was Colby Cohen for Matt
Hunwick. The only reason that trade went through is because the Avalanche were
too close to the cap floor to make the Hannan-for-Fleischmann trade. Cohen is a
perfect bottom four defenseman with skill and grit. Hunwick is a small
defenseman who commits a lot of turnovers. In no equation does that equat. Now,
if Washington gets Nail Yakupov with that pick, that could change but as for
value and return, the Hunwick deal is the worst.
AJ Haefele, Mile High Hockey: The worst trade has to be the acquisition of Matt
Hunwick. Regardless of how you feel about Colby Cohen's chances to become an
NHL regular, this trade never made any sense to me on any level. In terms of
size/style, he was redundant to our best d-man last season (Liles) and top
prospect moving forward (Elliott) but with far less upside. Hunwick is the only
reclamation project that looks like a complete bust right now.
Austin, Avs Chill Zone: His worst was easily the Anderson deal. Many will
say the Hunwick deal, but he may prove to still have some value to him this
year. Sherman got NOTHING for Anderson. Sure, he was having a down year, but
after the previous season, he should have been able to get something, even a
lower draft pick for Andy. I remember that not much was thought of Anderson at
the time the trade was made, so I'm sure Sherman's hands were tied. But it's
hard not to feel like we just gave Anderson away. Any chance we could have
thrown him into a different package to Washington for Varlamov...?
Norbert from Austria, Eurolanche: Craig Anderson for Brian Elliott. Definitely the worst
one as Elliott was just a bust. Comparing the numbers of Anderson and Elliott
after the trade, it was like a "Gretzky for a bag of pucks" trade. Of
course defense plays an important role too when it comes to the numbers of a
goalie, but still: this was just a bust.
Jaye Horbay, Mile High Sticking: Even though we don't know the full extent of the
situation that evoked the trade, I would have to say the Craig Anderson for
Brian Elliott deal was Sherman's worst to date. Yes, Andy was a shell of what
he was a season before, and the team was going downhill anyways, but I think
that particular trade signaled a ‘fuck it' attitude and the team seemed to take
it on the rest of the season. We all know how that turned out.
Brett Shumway, Mile High Hockey: The handling of Craig Anderson was atrocious. I agree
that they should have jettisoned him once Andy decided he wanted out, but it
never should have gotten to that point. And Liles is worth more than a
second rounder. Trade fail.
Adrian Dater, Denver Post: To be determined. It may be a copout, but we just
can't judge his biggest deals yet. We need more time to judge the
Johnson-Stewart, Varlamov-1st rounder deals still. But if I had to name a deal
that's already played out, it's probably the one I named Monday - the
Anderson-Elliott deal.
Angélique Murray, Colorado Avalanche Prospects, Mile High Hockey & Chicks Who Give A Puck: I think it's easy to beat up on Greg Sherman for the Matt Hunwick for
Colby Cohen trade, but until Cohen is a consistent NHL player, I can't put that
transaction in the loss column. It's too early to judge the Johnson and
Varlamov trades; though the latter carries greater risk. So excluding those deals,
I pick the O'Byrne trade as the best and the Anderson deal as the worst.
Perhaps the most stunning story of the 2010-11 season
was the sudden fall from grace for Craig Anderson. I will not profess to know
exactly what happened between Anderson and the Avalanche, but clearly something
was rotten. Anderson was cast away for a bad Brian Elliott. Perhaps the trade
itself wasn't terrible, but the same cannot be said for the deterioration of
the relationship between the Avs and Anderson
Matt Muzia, SBN Denver: Worst deal? I know most are going to say Matt
Hunwick, but I don't think that was a bad deal at all. Not receiving even a
draft pick for Craig Anderson is very disappointing. I know he wanted out of
town, but Brian Elliot is simply not a suitable return. Thankfully it's not a
long term damaging deal, but I'm still disappointed.
David Puchovsky, Slovakia, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
15/09/2011 - 11:05
