Schwartz Watch Has Run Out of Road

Jaden Schwartz signed July 1. It is now early August. He has not played. I've written two notes on this already, and the situation hasn't moved — which is itself the update.

The problem is the context. Colorado signed Schwartz specifically to address the depth scoring that unraveled in the playoffs, the same group that went 29 shots without a goal in the final ten games of the second round. Merkulov came aboard July 21 as another option, but neither he nor anyone else currently on the roster has established themselves as a reliable answer at that level. The front office built this offseason around shoring up the secondary scoring behind MacKinnon and Necas. Schwartz was supposed to be the steadiest piece of that plan.

With training camp approaching, the waiting game is over by default. Colorado has to prepare as though Schwartz may not be ready for opening night, which means the contingency is no longer theoretical — it's the actual plan. My read is that Merkulov and the other forward additions become the working depth group until Schwartz proves otherwise, and the front office should be honest with itself about whether another move is still available to make.

The three-year commitment isn't going anywhere. But a month of silence before camp opens is not a minor footnote on a team that already knows what happens when the depth forwards can't finish.