Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen several professional tryouts get signed around the league.
Milan Lucic is joining the St. Louis Blues for training camp. Former Avalanche defenseman Jack Johnson will attend Minnesota Wild’s camp, along with recent PTO signing Brett Leason.
The Hurricanes are bringing in Givani Smith and Oliver Kylington, while the New Jersey Devils will have Luke Glendening, Kevin Rooney, Adam Scheel, and Georgi Romanov on PTOs.
Brendan Smith will also be at Columbus’ camp.
With this recent wave of PTOs, I thought I’d look at what’s left on the market, and guys that could make sense for the Avalanche to invite to training camp.
Leason would’ve been an intriguing add before he was snapped up by Minnesota.
Evgeny Kuznetsov
If the Avs are still in the business of finding potential hidden gems, Kuznetsov is the most obvious choice. I just don’t know if he’s willing to accept a PTO.
But the fact that he’s still on the market is interesting. Kuznetsov has made it known that he’s interested in returning to the league after a one-year stint in the KHL. When he’s on his game and bought in, he’s as talented a player as there is in the NHL. But he’s also not been as focused as he should be for several years now. And there’s always a possibility for off-ice issues with this player.
Should the Avalanche take a risk on bringing him in?
Tyler Motte
I’m still a firm believer that depth matters, and it should be a bigger focus for this front office than it has been in recent years. You can’t always plan for the worst, but with Logan O’Connor already expected to miss the start of the season, the Avs are already dipping into their inexperienced and less established pool of AHL forwards for one of them to fill in as a full-time roster player.
What happens if someone is injured on opening night? Or the team has two more players go down before O’Connor returns? These are very realistic scenarios and have happened to this team on several occasions over the last handful of years.
With that being said, someone like Tyler Motte would be a great camp addition. He’s a hard-working depth forward that can play fourth-line minutes and kill penalties.
Still just 30 years old, Motte is coming off a nine-point season in 55 games with the Red Wings. He’s played at least 50 games in each of the last four seasons and has 44 games of playoff experience.
Ryan Suter
The Avalanche have a lot of defense depth already, and Erik Johnson still wants in. Ryan Suter is one of two remaining active blueliners in the league who are 40 years old. The other is Brent Burns, who is already on the team.
All of these are reasons why this wouldn’t make sense. But Suter is still a solid defenseman and I’m surprised nobody has picked him up. I had to include him for that reason alone. Plus, the team could use the extra left-shot help.
Jon Merrill
Speaking of left-shot defensemen, how about a 6’3, 204 lb defender that has years of experience as a third pair guy, kills penalties, and uses his size? Merrill does all the things the Avs should want in a depth defenseman. More so than Suter, I’m genuinely surprised he’s still available.
He would fit really well on that third pair, whether he’s with Burns or Josh Manson. (Speaking of which, I still have no idea how Sam Malinski fits in this lineup).
Robby Fabbri
Still just 29 years old, Fabbri is one of those guys that could have untapped potential and the ability to be very low risk but high reward. Is he worth a look at camp? He can play center or wing, and produced at a 30-point pace in 44 games last year.
