No way they do this...(Right?)

Nikita Kucherov just sent the NHL into a frenzy. He has requested a trade away from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Is this an opportunity for Trader Joe to get his hands on one of the best wingers in the NHL? Welcome to Avalanche Digest, I'm Copeland Jones, and as always, don't forget to subscribe. We're going to dive right into this one right away because there's a lot of things to cover. Is there even a possible scenario where the Avs could feasibly make something like this work? And is there also another world where we could possibly extend him to get him to stay? Is he a rental? Is he going to be a long-term commitment? What are we going to have to give up in change for Kucherov? Well, we'll get into that as we go. All right, Nikita Kucherov opens the trade question for the Avs. He is going to be a big player that this team could definitely use. He is a winger where the Avs have some winger, uh, somewhat the wingers on the Avs are probably our weakest point when it comes to our offense. Our centers are pretty great. Martin Hachis and Lekkinen are pretty good. But other than that, it very much drops off very significantly. And Nikita Kucherov is also a left-handed shot. He could be the winger and the left-handed shot that could fix the power play, and he could make that top line absolutely lethal. Most lethal in the league, no question about it. And then we could possibly even have the most lethal power play. Kucherov has always been really good on the power play in years past with Tampa Bay. As of right now, their power play isn't doing too hot, but it happens every now and then. Sometimes you start slow, but you work your way back. Alrighty, so this was listed. Kucherov has made it clear that he is not happy at this time and prefers another path. Tampa Bay has no intention of trading him, but Kucherov may force their hands. We've seen this with players like Hellebuck and Dylan Larkin. Kucherov, I don't think, will go down the route where he starts getting suspended without pay like Larkin. I don't think the Avs have any interest in Larkin due to their overwhelming amount of centers on their team. His agent responded and said Nikita has spoken to all parties involved and there's nothing else to add at the time. But Kucherov, as of right now, this is what his contract looks like right now. $9.5 million for a former Hart Trophy winner for the rest of the season. After that, he would need an extension. Now, this is the possibility where the Avs might go rental or they might go for... Possibly an extension. Now, there's many different ways we could go about this, but another thing that the Avs have that's pretty tough right now. Josh Manson is a player that could have possibly been traded. We do pay him $3.9 million per season. He is a tough guy, and he possibly could have been traded, and that's why I highlighted this comment, because of the video we made the other day announcing that Manson is out for eight weeks. It's not likely they're going to want an injured player as of right now, because another thing we do have to talk about is Tampa Bay is in no mood for rebuilding. I don't think... They want to rebuild. Their cup window is still very much open. They've still been a very good team, but they have just had a couple of first-round exits. This team is still a team that wants to be very competitive, so they're going to want a competitive return. I'd imagine that would be some players that could play for them now rather than just a bunch of draft picks for Kucherov. All righty, so Colorado is going to... This is what a full-salary deal could possibly look like. So here is a trade proposal that was cooked up on the Digest desk. Now, this is just thinking of getting rid of all of our players with current expiring contracts. So this would be three rentals for one rental. Scott Wedgewood, Nick Waugh, and Arturi Lekkinen. I know a lot of people want to extend Arturi Lekkinen. I'm among that boat. But if this is just offloading contracts that we're going to have expiring after the season and possibly have to re-sign and make... Bigger contracts eventually, if both sides are going to end up being rentals, then there is a possibility that this could possibly work. So $9.5 million from Kucherov's salary. This is if we retain the full salary as well. For Arturi Lekkinen, Nick Waugh, Scott Wedgewood, there are players we could pull from from the AHL that could fill these empty spots. We've got Novakov that could play as the backup goalie or even Trent Miner as long as he's healthy. Or Novoselov, if he starts playing a little bit better. Then we can call up a couple of wingers. LaRue is expected to come back at some point. Then we have Gavin Brindley as well, who could play center, covering Nick Waugh. It's not exactly the best option, but this would absolutely define the Avs' top two lines as the best top six forwards in the NHL. Full point, stop. Like, Nathan MacKinnon, Kucherov, Natchez, that three combo right there. I think that overpowers McDavid and Draisaitl by just a little bit of an edge. McDavid and Draisaitl are two big powerhouses themselves, but I think if you add that third of Natchez on top, then there's a possibility. Now, there is a world where we could possibly trade Natchez to make this work, but at the same time, he's got a no-movement clause, so I don't exactly know how that would even work for us there. So Lekkinen is on $4.5 million, Waugh is on $3 million, and... Wedgewood is on two and a half million. I know a lot of people don't want to get rid of Wedgewood. I'd actually like to extend him for another season or two, but these are just what our expiring contracts look like. So this is what our roster would look like if we were to acquire Nikita Kucherov. Putting him in at right wing on that top line, Kucherov, MacKinnon, and Naitchus, Landeskog, Nelson, and Schwartz, Parker, Kelly, Kadri, TJ Hughes on the third line, Larue, Svechkov, and Logan O'Connor. Then you've got Taves, Makar, Kulak, Malinsky, Manson, and Burns. This is a fully healthy team, by the way. If you don't have Manson there for trade purposes, then Noah Julson will fit in right there, or Alex Gagne will fit in right there if he gets called up from the Eagles. And we've got Blackwood, and I forgot to take Wedgwood out of there, but instead of Wedgwood, it would be Nabokov, Trent Miner, or Novoselov, or just anybody else that the Avs may have in their system that can pull up at that point. But not exactly a guarantee itself. Tampa could refuse this because two or three expiring veterans may miss Tampa's goals. Distant first is a starting offer, so we could possibly throw in our 2029 first round pick. Premium prospect could be the real price, and I wouldn't like to see. Any big prospect of ours go down. I mean, it could be a good price to trade. We could go for a prospect sending their way. But the Avs also, we know, don't have the best prospect pool to pick from. So they may choose one of the only few lifelines we feel like we're holding on to for the future. And Leckanin's trade protection must be cleared. So Leckanin probably, I don't know if he would want to go to Tampa Bay. That's going to be a whole thing. There's a lot of hurdles that the Avs will have to jump through. And cap clearance is still required, so we have to reconcile the live payroll and roster budget for the replacement roster spot and arrange an additional salary out if need be. So here's another route the Avs could go. The Avs could go salary retention route, and that's a possible way that it could work for them now. So here's Kucherov on special teams so far this year. Only five power play points with one power play goal. Tampa Bay's power play is 16.3%, and the penalty kill is 78.1%. Not too great for them there. But he is still very lethal on that power play. Don't get me wrong. So, route number two. Ask Tampa to retain half of it. Choose which outgoing forward to sacrifice and pay for retention with better futures and complete a live cap reconciliation. Now, I think this would involve the first-round pick that was aforementioned. This would also involve convincing one of the Avs better forwards to waive their no-trade clause, that being Nazem Kadri, that being... With Brock Nelson, that being Martin Hatačka, we'd have to trade one of those bigger ticket players, but that could possibly get Tampa to retain half. So we'd only be paying $4.75 million for a Nikita Kucherov, the former reigning Hart Trophy champion. If there was a way to make that work, I'd love to find that way. Honestly, there's a chance that that could work, but not a probability. Alright, here is route number three. A third team could help this situation. A third team absorbs the salary from Colorado. Colorado pays that team separately. Tampa could still require its own return and check every player's destination restriction. So that is another big thing, is we've got to hop through a lot of hurdles to make something like this work. We've got two, three, four, five, possibly like five or six players, different no-trade clauses, no-movement clauses, or trade restriction. Like, locations to be jumping through, and that's why I personally think it's not going to be feasible for us, but I'm just dreaming here, so just let me dream. But think about it, Nathan McKinnon, Nikita Kucherov, that combo could be lethal. Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov, Martin Hatačka, that would definitely be the fastest and most powerful top line in the NHL, with a back line of Toews and Makar, that would be incredible. So, keeping Kucherov would be... Really hard for the Avs. One of the biggest issues the Avs would have to worry about is the Cale Makar contract jumping up next season. That is $11.5 million that we are jumping up from his current $9 million for Cale Makar to $20.4 million. If we were to keep Kucherov on top of that, Kucherov just won the Hart Trophy. The Hart Trophy probably deserves $20 million as well. He's going to want a contract that's pretty similar, maybe even more. He may want a higher AAV. Of course, he can only sign for seven years, so it wouldn't be longer. It wouldn't be more as like a full term. But imagine having two $20-plus million contracts on your payroll. Your team would feel the hurt for the first couple of years, and I don't think it would keep us at a championship winning level, but there's the possibility that we would be just considering that we would have Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov, and Cale Makar. You never know. That's a variable that can keep the window open. But having two $20 million contracts, taking up 30% of your cap space from two players, that would hurt the team tremendously. And that's something that I don't think the Avs could afford in any way, shape, or form. And that's just tough right there. So here's Nathan MacKinnon's contract. If we could get him to waive his no-movement clause for a possibility of this trade, even though I know a lot of players, or a lot of Avs fans really want to move Nate, I don't really agree. I don't get what the hate with Nate is. I know he's a little bit of an absent performer in the playoffs every now and then, but it will come with the more playoff experience. 11.5 million for a player that's going to score 100 points on the season. I think it's completely worth it. Don't get me wrong. Nathan MacKinnon was barely a 100-point player. We signed him to a $12.6 million contract before he even hit his first 100-point season, and Nate just hit his first 100-point season, so I think Nate is worth the 11.5, especially considering we have until 2030, 2031, 11.5 will seem like nothing in the end. So, Nate being moved. I don't really get it. A lot of fans want him moved, and I understand that they can be frustrated with the playoff success from him. Same with Brock Nelson. Him and Brock Nelson are kind of on the same boat, but Brock Nelson has fallen a bit cold as of late. But, quote from Joe Sakic, you can't win without superstars. And though the Avs do already have a handful of superstars, adding another one could be the recipe to another championship for the Avs. All right, so is this a rental or a long-term commitment, if possible? Retention ends with the existing contract. An extension requires a separate budget. Protecting enough depth for a cup run and setting the asset ceiling before bidding. The abs are definitely going to have to set their priorities before even fishing for an offer. Order of preference, explore every single retention with salary out, test full salary only with further clearance, or use a third team to clear salary if justified. If none of that is to our liking, walk away. The roster cost defeats 15. Now, Nikita Kucherov would be an absolute dream to see in burgundy and blue. Is it possible? Absolutely. Is it probable? Absolutely not. I, for one, think we can get along just fine without Kucherov, but there's also the possibility that he goes to another contender. I could definitely see a team like Dallas or Winnipeg or Minnesota trying to get their mitts on them. I don't understand how Minnesota would make it work, considering they would have the Quinn Hughes extension that they already have to worry about over there. Then Dallas already has Mikko Rantanen on wing, so Kucherov and Rantanen would be fighting with, and they'd have Robertson as well to be dealing with over there, and Wyatt Johnston to be dealing with over there. I don't know, we just, I just rather would see them in burgundy and blue than in any of our rival teams. They could, Nikita Kucherov can definitely be the difference for a lot of teams and could possibly even win a cup with another team this season. But also, I don't think Tampa Bay is willing to let him go that easily. I think he's going to be one of the most expensive trades that we have seen in the NHL in a long time. This could be absolutely NHL breaking stuff. We could see a super team being formed. I don't know. There's a lot of possibilities. It's still early on. Anyways, thank you very much for watching. Happy Halloween. If you want to, go ahead and comment what you're going to be for Halloween if you're interested in that. If not, let's just talk about Kucherov and the Avs as a possibility. Thank you very much for watching. Don't forget, this is completely hypothetical. And all hopes and prayers that Nikita Kucherov could possibly come to Colorado because that would be a match made in heaven for Kucherov Nathan, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar. That would be fantastic. Thank you very much.