Doyle Hargraves wrote: ↑Wed Jan 22, 2020 2:02 pm
The Brown Wizard wrote: ↑Wed Jan 22, 2020 1:59 pm
Chef Boi RD wrote: ↑Wed Jan 22, 2020 1:39 pm
Doyle Hargraves wrote: ↑Wed Jan 22, 2020 1:21 pm
Chef Boi RD wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2020 5:14 pm
A lot of chatter out there today that Benning is a strong candidate for GM of the Year if the team keeps it up
Canucks HF would implode into itself. Like a reverse Big Bang, if that were to happen
Where was the chatter coming from?
No love for Joe Sakic?
Are they (Avs) exceeding “expectations”?
If its about exceeding expectations(which is usually the case) then absolutely Benning is the favorite in my eyes
I wasn’t aware that was the only criteria
I would think "exceeding expectations" is a bit more relevant for the Jack Adams. How it comes into MVGM is if those exceeding-expectation players are the result of difficult GM decisions -- contract extensions that were questionable ex ante, trades, etc. But really the metric isn't expectations, but how is this team now compared to last year? People were buillish on the Avalanche this year *because* of what Sakic did in the offseason.
Sakic's management of the Avalanche has been sublime. From the 10,000 foot level, he took a team that squeaked into the playoffs on a late season kick, remade the cast that supports the core, became less butter-soft, and now have the second most points in the conference with the best goal differential in the conference. The improved performance is barely less dramatic than the Canucks: the Avs are on a pace to end the season with 13 more points than a year ago; the Canucks are on a pace to add 16 points to last season's totals.
At the on-the-ground level, he got rid of a serviceable 34 year old with a decent paycheck (Soderberg) and with a year left on his deal for a pick and a defensive injury insurance (Connaughton). He traded a scrap (a guy playing in europe with no realistic hope of the NHL) to get a reclamation project that worked (Burakovsky). He made a decision that Barrie was not part of the core (or wasn't gonna sign within Sakic's long term plan) and packaged him with a player coming of an ELC who is & plays small (Kerfoot) but has the numbers to satisfy arbitrators for a 200 foot center who is a pest, works hard, and gets points (Kadri), giving the Avalanche a true #2 center who is under contract for 3 years at a good cap hit per value ($4.5 M -- same as Soderberg!). He was able to trade Barrie because he properly evaluated what he had in Makar and properly evaluated Barrie's overall value for this season and likelihood of resigning him in the context of who else will be getting paid in Colorado in future years. Replacing Kerfoot, he signed a more experienced and more complete player but still young UFA (Doonskoi) for a just a little more than Kerfoot's RFA contract. He didn't blink on Rantanen.
For those keeping track: Kadri>>>Soderberg, Doonskoi>>Kerfoot, Makar>>Barrie, Burakovsky >> than whoever else they were trotting out as a second line winger last year -- and that player is still on the team adding value.
What's more, the team has the second lowest cap hit in the league. It has the money to keep/expand a core and make a move. It also has the assets, having collected draft picks over the past few years. Imagine you could say this to your boss: hey, I'll get you a team that has a shot at the Cup but save you $5-7 million compared to other contenders.
In many ways, one could do the same thing with the Canuck upgrades; Hughes >>>>>>>>> Hutton, etc. And hats off to GMJB for that; he had a good offseason (or it certainly looks that way).
But Sakic CREATED future flexibility while simultaneously improving his team just as much (its probably easier to go from mediocre to good than good to very good) *and* holding on to his first rounder. And he did it by taking bold moves. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that the Canucks needed to upgrade their D or they were toast and it doesn't take exceptional GM skills to get the best defenseman on the UFA market (once Karlsson was gone) by giving him $$. But it does take intelligence, foresight, and courage to do what Sakic did. Most GMs would have said, "Barrie's really good, we have to have him part of our core!" Most GMs would say, Soderberg's got another year of value, he's a good player, we'll move him at the deadline if we are out of it (the "loser" mentality). Most GM's would say, we can't survive with ELCs making half our blueline! Most GM's would say, Kerfoot has matched our expectations, let's keep him in the fold.
But Joe Sakic isn't most GM's. Joe Sakic is GM of the year. And it isn't even close.
