Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek on the 32 Thoughts: The Podcast – Putting the C in Calgary on the Colorado Avalanche and defenseman Devon Toews.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Marek: “We know there is going to be an interesting free agent class should they get there this offseason for blue liners, and that might be headlined by Devon Toews.
What’s the latest there with Colorado?”
Friedman: “The Avalanche are tight. The agent here, Ross Gurney, has been tight. They’re in the middle of this. They’re trying to see if they can get something done.
Toews himself has indicated that he doesn’t necessarily want it to go on during the season. And I’ve said many times now, my history with that is if it’s going well, the player says keep talking. If it’s not going well the player says, stop. And right now as far as I can tell, they’re still talking.
So, someone said to me, and I was talking to, these are non-Colorado, non-Toews agent people. And they really believe that the number here, that is the problem in this negotiation, is 30. And that is what Toews will turn in February. And they said that, an organization like Colorado, he guarantees, it’s a Charles Barkley guarantee, and Barkley’s guarantees are always wrong, so I hope his is better than that and I think it’s right. They think the Avalanche, who are really are a really smart organization, don’t want to go long-term.
And this is kind of the industry thought around the NHL, is that the Avalanche don’t want to go more than five years if they can avoid it. And the problem with that is, is that, if you’re Toews, and let’s just say for argument’s sake you’re willing to take a three or five-year deal, three, four, five, maybe six-year deal, Jeff, that’s a big number.
Marek: “Yes it it.”
Friedman: “That is a really, really big number. Like if you’re Toews, you know, and again, I want to be very clear about this, this is not coming from either of the two camps here. You call around and you try to figure out what people are thinking.
Like you gotta think that Toews is thinking, what, let’s just say lower-end 8x$7 (million), 7x$8 (million), something like that right?
Marek: “Yep, just below (Cale) Makar.
Friedman: “Yeah, below Makar. Like the guy is the best defenseman in the NHL. I think everybody understands that.
Okay, so let’s just say you’re signing a five-year deal, let’s just say, like how do you do that if you’re Toews and Colorado?
So what other teams believe the issue is here knowing the way Colorado operates, is term. Because the lower the term, the higher the AAV and that’s going to be really hard for Colorado to get there. And that’s what people believe the issue is here, is they’re not convinced because Toews is gonna be 30, that Colorado wants to do max term.
Marek: “Well, I mean the ummm, one of the challenges that they’re gonna have, not necessarily next season but the season after that when (Mikko) Rantanen’s done. When that contract is up. Like, they’re projecting out and I know we still have a few more years of Cale Makar too, eventually, we keep waiting for this, eventually, something has to give on this blue line, doesn’t it?
Toews is due this big raise. (Bowen) Byram the way he’s progressing is going to be up in a few years, one more after this season. Don’t you get the feeling here that eventually to give? There is only so high the salary cap is going to go up.”
Friedman: “Yeah, you have to make your choices right? And look, I hope this all works out for Colorado and Toews. Like he’s been great for them and they’ve been great for him. It’s one of the best defensive pairs in the NHL, probably the best defensive pair in the NHL. And I really love watching them play together.
I have no doubt that in a perfect world everybody wants to make this marriage continue, but you know, you just ask around what the big challenge is, I think that’s what it is.
And you know, watch, we’ll drop this podcast and he’ll sign 8×8 and everybody, you’re a moron. Don’t guess.”
Marek: “Dom, take it out.”
Friedman: “No Dom, leave it in and make me look dumb.
Again, you try to call around to ask what’s everybody thinking here and I think teams who kind of understand how the Avalanche work, that’s what they think that is the biggest question here.”