The Shape Of Things To Come

In less than two short hours (here on the west coast at least), it will be July 1st, the start of the NHL's free agency period. Depending on how your team ended last season and their current roster/contract situation, this can be a highly anticipated or incredibly dreaded day in the life of a hockey fan. As a life-long Avs fan, I don't know if I can face this season's 'special day' with excitement or total and complete dread.

As of about an hour ago, based on east-coast time, Joe Sakic is no longer "ours". Now, fellow Avs fans, let that thought sink in for a bit. How absolutely terrifying is that thought? I have been a fan of the Nordiques/Avalanche since 1992, and he has never been this close to not belonging to us, unless you count that near-debacle in '97 where the Rangers did their best to court our beloved leader, captain, and, let's face it, our entire franchise to the east coast. Luckily, Joe has remained ours for the next ten years since then, but now, where does he stand with us? At this point, he still remains undecided as to whether or not he will return to the NHL and our team this fall, and who knows when we will get a decision from him. I, as I'm sure all of you were as well, was hoping that he would announce his return, or in the end-of-the-world situation, his decision to "r-word" (yes, I refuse to use that word when talking about Joe until we get an official statement from him).

Now what happens if he doesn't return? As much as I love each and every member of this team, we will lose almost everything in Joe Sakic. Well, maybe I'm over-exaggerating a bit. Perhaps, it will not be nearly as catastrophic as I and every other Avs fan will make it seem. But in my mind and heart, nothing could be worse. The name Joe Sakic is synonymous with the entire Colorado Avalanche franchise and image. If he decides that hanging 'em up is the best decision for him and his family, I will fully respect it as there is no one on this planet that I respect more. But I can't promise that I won't cry for days, weeks, months, or years if we no longer have #19 leading the way. Honestly, a little (but probably closer to ginormous) piece of me will die inside and I might not be able to ever fully recover from this devastation.

But hey, he could still be back! :)


As far as I can tell, Andrew Brunette, Jeff Finger, Kurt Sauer, and Jose Theodore will not be returning next season. I would love to see Finger back, but I don't know how much ice-time he would see as the 7th d-man on our roster, though with Leopold's injury problem, he could potentially play nearly the entire season! If we don't have room for Finger, we definitely don't have room for Sauer, which I am not too happy about either. I feel he was a bit under-rated by our coaching staff and fans, but I guess there's no place for him left in our organization. Hopefully he can get a fresh start somewhere and make a fool out of everyone in Denver who constantly bad-mouthed him. I am somewhat indifferent about the Theodore situation. I would like to see him back, but not at the inflated price that he's asking for. If we could get him back for the $3mil a year that we reportedly offered him, I would have no problem bringing him back for next season and beyond. The Andrew Brunette situation is beyond my comprehension. I cannot understand what would keep FG from bringing him back. He has arguably been our most consistent player over the last three seasons, and is criminally under-rated by the rest of the league. The way I see it, esepecially with the impending doom from Joe's decision, Bruno should be re-signed at all costs. Whatever he asked for, we should give him. Rumors are he will be returning to the Wild which would break my heart, because I refuse to root for that team and really wanted to follow him to his next destination if he left us as I did with Brett McLean and the Panthers last year.

Tomorrow should be a very interesting day for our organization. I don't see us signing any d-men as we already have a pretty solid squad set up for the season, but a couple minor forward signings wouldn't surprise me at all. Personally, I wouldn't mind bringing in a veteran forward or two (as we did with Brunette a few years back), because I am not yet sold on the abilities of T.J. Hensick or David Jones yet. I assume a goalie will be signed as well. I would love to see someone like Ty Conklin come in to back up Budaj.

Free agent signings can begin at 9am PST tomorrow morning, and I will undoubtedly be glued to my television with the NHL network on, and constantly refreshing every hockey website I know of to stay on top of the latest moves. Expect updates with every Avs related signing tomorrow.