FanPost

Help Wanted: Top-4 Defenseman

Are you looking for a fast paced work environment in a beautiful city where your contributions will be broadly recognized, but where you can walk the streets in comfortable anonymity? Are you looking for leaders who have been where you are trying to go and know the way? Do you want co-workers who are talented, enthusiastic, and ready to take the next big step in a team-oriented environment? Maybe we should talk.

The Colorado Avalanche is seeking applicants for an opening on their blue line. The successful candidate will possess poise, experience, mental toughness, and a combination of skill and intuition to achieve greatness at both ends of the ice.

Musts:

  • 2-7 years NHL experience
  • Demonstrated ability to both score and stop opponents from scoring
  • Excellent mobility
  • Good communication skills
  • Willingness to "pay the price"
  • Willingness to make the opponent "pay the price"
  • Accurate first pass out of the zone

Preferred:

  • Left hand shot
  • Physical stature over 6'-2" and 210 lbs
  • No concussion history
  • Excellent offensive production
  • Aversion to golf carts and snowblowers

Send resume and highlight reel to:

Colorado Avalanche
1000 Chopper Circle
Denver, CO 80204 USA
Attn: Joe and Patrick

So, who might be worth going after? We'll start with the Unrestricted Free Agents.

UFA

· Ron Hainsey

· Michal Rozsival

· Andrew Ference

  • 2012-13 salary: $2.25M
  • 2012-13 cap hit: $2.25M
  • Age: 34
  • Shoots: L
  • Current Team: BOS ($5.8M cap space, 18 players)
  • Hockey News Scouting Report: http://forecaster.thehockeynews.com/hockeynews/hockey/player.php?1376
  • Notable teammates up for new contracts: Nathan Horton, Tuukka Rask
  • Probability of reaching FA: Very High
  • Salary SWAG: $3M x 3 years
  • Notes: Rask is getting the majority of the remaining cap. Boston will need to dump some bigger salaries in order to get a full roster. Not protected, but not exactly thrown to the wolves with 50% O-zone starts.

RFA

It looks like the market for RFA defensemen was set by St. Louis with Kevin Shattenkirk at $4.25M x 4 years as of reports from SBNation. Capgeek is also showing him to be off the market.

I believe that Roy is aggressive enough to try to Feaster-bomb another team to pick up a player he needs. Sakic has been on the other end of an offer sheet. Does that mean he'll be more or less willing to play that game?

· Alex Pietrangelo

  • 2012-13 salary: $0.788M
  • 2012-13 cap hit: $3.17M
  • Age: 23
  • Shoots: R
  • Current Team: STL ($20M cap space, 18 players)
  • Hockey News Scouting Report: http://forecaster.thehockeynews.com/hockeynews/hockey/player.php?6590
  • Notable teammates up for new contracts: Kevin Shattenkirk, Kris Russell, Chris Stewart
  • Salary SWAG: $5.5M x 4 years
  • Notes: It's going to take a Feaster++ offer sheet to get St. Louis to back down. But, Roy is known for audacity. Here would be a great opportunity to put a crimp into the plans of a new Division III rival.

· Ryan McDonagh

  • 2012-13 salary: $0.88M
  • 2012-13 cap hit: $1.3M
  • Age: 24
  • Shoots: L
  • Current Team: NYR ($14M cap space, 17 players)
  • Hockey News Scouting Report: http://forecaster.thehockeynews.com/hockeynews/hockey/player.php?6209
  • Notable teammates up for new contracts: Ryane Clowe, Derek Stepan, Carl Hagelin, Matts Zuccarello
  • Salary SWAG: $5M x 4 years
  • Notes: McDonagh can be had. The Rangers have limited cap space (until they buy Richards out) and need 6 (or 7 after Richards) players to fill the roster. Hagelin and Stepan will command a good price. The right offer sheet could put New York in a bind. Would it not be ironic if it's the Avs and Joe Sakic that put an offer sheet in front of a young Rangers star?

· Zach Bogosian

  • 2012-13 salary: $0.875M
  • 2012-13 cap hit: $2.5M
  • Age: 22
  • Shoots: R
  • Current Team: WPG ($28.3M cap space, 12 players)
  • Hockey News Scouting Report: http://forecaster.thehockeynews.com/hockeynews/hockey/player.php?6587
  • Notable teammates up for new contracts: Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Alex Burmistrov, Eric Tangradi, Ron Hainsey
  • Salary SWAG: $3.5M x 3
  • Notes: Lots of upside to Bogosian's game. Winnipeg has tons of cap space but only half a team signed for next year. Here's another chance to score some off-ice points on a new Division III rival.

· Nick Leddy

  • 2012-13 salary: $0.9M
  • 2012-13 cap hit: $1.12M
  • Age: 22
  • Shoots: L
  • Current Team: CHI ($2M cap space, 21 players)
  • Hockey News Scouting Report: http://forecaster.thehockeynews.com/hockeynews/hockey/player.php?7464
  • Notable teammates up for new contracts: Michael Rosival, Viktor Stalberg
  • Salary SWAG: $2M x 3 years
  • Notes: Leddy played a solid game through the playoffs, and has been consistently improving with Chicago. The Hawks have most of their team locked in, but will need to figure out how to pack 2 more players into $2M. Yet another Division III rival to mess with.

· Karl Alzner

· Travis Hamonic

  • 2012-13 salary: $0.88M
  • 2012-13 cap hit: $0.88M
  • Age: 22
  • Shoots: R
  • Current Team: NYI ($29.2M cap space, 15 players)
  • Hockey News Scouting Report: http://forecaster.thehockeynews.com/hockeynews/hockey/player.php?6722
  • Notable teammates up for new contracts: Josh Bailey, Evgeni Nabokov, Brad Boyes
  • Salary SWAG: $2.5M x 4 years
  • Notes: Lots of minutes and limited O-zone starts (46%) for a young defenseman. Hamonic is also second on the team in PK time. He's under the radar here in the West, but may be a sneaky-good pick-up. The Islanders have the cap to match anything the Avs can throw at them, but they are way short on the roster. Will Wang want to spend the money now that the end of Nassau is approaching?

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