![NHL – The One That Got Away From The Avalanche NHL – The One That Got Away From The Avalanche](https://i0.wp.com/coloradohockeynow.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/11/AP_22328143760970-scaled-e1673281751372-1000x600.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1)
Every summer, a general manager has to make tough decisions when it comes to building his roster. Chris MacFarland certainly has his hands full with the Avalanche this offseason, handcuffed by the Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin situations.
Last summer, the Avalanche had some clarity on what they could do heading into the offseason and they made a lot of changes. One of those changes was letting Evan Rodrigues go in free agency. Whether due to his contract demands or the Avalanche seeking a trade, Rodrigues left and signed an extremely reasonable contract with the Florida Panthers, where he is just four games away from a Stanley Cup.
And right now, he feels like the one who ran away to Colorado.
“He can basically do it all,” Sasha Barkov told Florida Hockey Now. “He can play defense very well, he plays offense very well, he makes matchups, you can put him in any situation on the ice. Off the ice, he’s a great guy. He can date anyone and be a great guy with anyone, so it’s a really good thing to have as a person and I’ve been really impressed with him from day 1.”
None of this should surprise Colorado fans. That’s what Rodrigues was like for them last year. Sure, he was inconsistent offensively, which is probably why he didn’t get a bigger contract over the summer, but he was someone you could put on any line and feel comfortable with what he could provide. He is adaptable to any role the coaching staff assigns him. That’s extremely valuable in this league.
In practice, he was Nathan MacKinnon’s running mate and did many of the same things Jonathan Drouin did with the Avalanche superstar this year. He got along early with MacKinnon and they both stayed on the ice late, working on various things. In games, the two had chemistry and worked very well with each other. The offense was there on the ice and in the locker room, but Colorado ultimately went another direction.
Rodrigues signed a four-year deal with the Panthers on July 2 for just $12 million, giving him a cap hit of $3 million. It’s unknown if he would have taken that deal in Colorado, but I imagine he was looking for some term after what happened to him the previous summer. Florida has no state taxes, so players take home a little more than they earn, and since he signed that deal on the second day of free agency, the big deals probably weren’t there on the first day.
Just looking at the contracts signed in free agency by the Avalanche, it appears that most of the money Rodrigues received went to Miles Wood. I thought Wood had a good first year in Colorado, excelling on penalties, but he’s a pretty clear bottom-six forward. Would Colorado have been better off spending a little more money to keep the versatile Rodrigues? It’s hard to say because sacrifices would have had to be made elsewhere, but every statistic would indicate that Rodrigues is the more effective player.
Just like he did in Colorado, Rodrigues has excelled with multiple linemates on the Panthers. He started the year with Barkov on the first line, spent time on the third line with Anton Lundell and is currently on the second line with Matthew Tkachuk. That kind of versatility is crucial if you want to win in this league and could certainly have helped the Avalanche this season.
It’s in the past and there’s nothing you can do about it right now, but it definitely looks like Rodrigues was the one who escaped the Avalanche.
The Panthers are benefiting because of it.
Keynote USA
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