Nazem Kadri found himself hoisting the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in June, 2022, but months later he was a Calgary Flame due to his former team having to juggle other cap commitments (most notably; Nathan MacKinnon’s extension). The Avalanche then spent much of last season searching for an internal solution at second-line center, and in the end it was J.T. Compher who rose to the occasion.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar originally slotted 22-year-old Alex Newhook into the 2-hole, however it became clear that was too much responsibility too soon for the St. Johns native. Bednar also experimented with other options like Evan Rodrigues and even shifting all-star winger Mikko Rantanen from wing to center at times before settling on Compher. The 28-year-old posted 17 goals and 52 points in 2022-23, the latter mark is a career high while the former is just one goal off his single season best. Compher’s elevated role saw him average 20:32 time-on-ice (TOI), which is 3 minutes more than any past season. Compher’s breakout campaign can be attributed to an increased willingness to shoot (154 shots in 2022-23, a career high) which compensated for his moderate shooting percentage of 11%. Over 7 seasons in the NHL, Compher has scored on 12.8% of his shots on goal, giving reason to believe this past season was no fluke and he could be a 15-20 goal scorer for the foreseeable future. Defensively, Compher was entrusted with a number of responsibilities. He led the team in faceoffs taken at 1,665 which is nearly 500 more than any other Avalanche. He also led all Colorado forwards in shorthanded TOI per game at 2:08.
There are several contracts signed in recent years that one can use to approximate Compher’s next deal, such as Andrew Copp ($5.625 million x 5 years in 2022), Ryan Strome ($5 million x 5 years in 2022) and Charlie Coyle ($5.25 million x 6 years in 2019). Based on these figures, it seems likely that Compher is in line for roughly $5 million annually on 4 to 6 years of term.
Compher’s ability to play down the middle and on special teams makes him a true plug-and-play forward that can fit on almost any roster. He’s perhaps best suited as a third-line center that can play wing when needed or replace an injured second-line center in a pinch. with Colorado’s acquisition of center Ryan Johansen from the Nashville Predators, one has to wonder if just like Kadri previously, Compher finds himself playing for a new team in the fall.
Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago is about to introduce a phenom to their roster in Connor Bedard, the consensus first-overall pick of this year’s NHL entry draft. Bedard projects to be a center but perhaps he’s better suited on the wing to begin his professional career and Compher is an ideal candidate to slot alongside Bedard. Chicago acquired Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno in a trade with the Boston Bruins just days ago, yet they still possess $27 million in cap space to fill out the depth of their NHL roster. A line composed of Hall-Compher-Bedard might be attractive to all parties involved.
Winnipeg Jets
Like many of other General Managers in Canada, Kevin Cheveldayoff has his work cut out for him this summer. Having just completed a blockbuster deal to send Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Los Angeles Kings, Cheveldayoff is now tasked with finding new homes for forwards Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler and vezina-caliber netminder Connor Hellebuyck. When the smoke clears, there will be several holes to fill on the Jets roster, including down the middle. It’s too early to say how much cap space Cheveldayoff will be working with come July 1st, but there’s more than enough reason to believe he’ll be actively searching out pieces to replace the core that he’s in the process of dismantling.
Buffalo Sabres
Just like Compher, the Sabres as a whole performed admirably this past season and expectations are higher going forward. The Sabres third-line center is currently Peyton Krebs while their second-line right wing is Jack Quinn, these players are 22 and 21 years old respectively. While Krebs and Quinn certainly have pedigree, it could make sense for the Sabres to push one of them slightly down the lineup if they wish to compete for a playoff spot as soon as this coming season. The Sabres are $14.5 million away from the cap ceiling, meaning they likely have one big move in them this summer before stashing away some of that extra space for a rainy day (i.e. Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power extensions).
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