[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by formulate

Disagree with the bolded.

If defense (top end, especially) was so easy to acquire, why is it still an issue for many teams across the league?

Free agency lists look great the year or two before, always. A good portion of the best free agents class of 2015, 2016, etc, will be signed before they actually become UFAs. In addition, we've seen that top-end free agents are often handed contracts that can make creating a well-rounded team quite difficult.

Varlamov played like a top 3 goaltender last year. So did Andrew Raycroft for the Bruins in '03-04. Until he plays like that consistently (year before last he had a .903 SV%), I wouldn't bank on him being a stalwart.

The Avs certainly have a lot of offensive talent, and I do hope they can grow together as a group. The potential is there, but for right now I don't see them in that top echelon in the West. In year 3 of Iggy's contract? I guess we'll see.

yup. If anyone thinks this is going to be solution, they are dead wrong.