Season reflections.

Today marks the one week anniversary of the end of the most unbearable, miserable, downright difficult to watch season in Colorado Avalanche history (years in Quebec not withstanding). I was lucky enough (or unlucky, based on the performances I witnessed) to attend the final three home games of the season at good ol' Pepsi Center. The Avs got two of a possible six points in those three games, but managed to be shutout in the final two. In all, I was able to be at seven regular season games, and one pre-season game, with the Avs record being 2-4-2 overall (one of the wins, being pre-season, and the only other win coming at Staples Center here in LA). Should I ever return to Pepsi Center after seeing the team get a total of two points in the six games I attended? I'd like to say that I wouldn't, but I don't know what could really keep me away from there in the future.

On the Avs message board, there was a thread where people listed the "Avs Awards" for the 2008-2009 season. Here's a quick rundown of my picks..

Best forward: Milan Hejduk, Ryan Smyth
For the most part, these two came to play every night, which is more than can be said for a good part of the roster this season. If the whole team had stayed healthy, I'm sure these two would've been able to put up more than a team-leading 59 pts a piece this season. The bright spot for these two this season was scoring their 300th career goals on the same night back in January.
Best D-man: John-Michael Liles
Though we saw 13 different players suit up on the blue-line this season, I feel Liles was the most consistent D-man the Avs had during the season. In the past, he was known more for his offense than his defensive play, but he really picked it up this season and was a physical presence in the corners and behind the net, which was never one of his strong suits. While improving defensively, he also managed to bring his point total up to 39 from 32 last season, playing in seven less games in the process (including six more goals).
Best goalie: Peter Budaj
This is a tough one, as I don't feel either goalie had a great season. This was Peter's year, once again, to prove himself as the #1 goalie on the Avs, but he just couldn't find the consistency in his game to secure that spot for himself. As with the past couple years under Quenneville's reign, the two goalies were interchanged on a near game-by-game basis, which must make it really tough on a goalie's confidence and psyche to keep their play at a high level night in, night out. Though he had some extremely rough streaks during the season, Budaj also had some flashes of brilliance that we've seen from him in the past, including a hot streak to end the season giving up just five goals in his last four games (including three overtime periods). While I don't feel that he is the long-term answer for the team in net, I'd like to see him back on the roster next year behind a veteran that the team brings in. When he's on his game, he's nearly unbeatable.
Biggest surprise: Cody McLeod
What a season by Cody McLeod! Dubbed by some as a life-long AHL'er, he came out this year and had an absolutely spectacular season for someone known more for his big hits than his knack for finding the back of the net. Before the season, who would've thought that Cody would find himself in third place in goals scored on the Avs? Though injuries depleted the rest of the team's top-line forwards, there's no denying that Cody had one hell of a season scoring 15 goals and five assists (up from 4g5a last season), while dropping the mitts 10 times this season. He is currently un-signed, and I think it would be a Bruno-esque blunder to not bring him back next season.
Biggest disappointment: Darcy Tucker
What really needs to be said about this guy? He was bought out by Toronto, and then signed by the Avs to a 2yr/$4.5mil contract. For that kind of money, you expect to get someone who cares about the team and attempts to help the team on the ice. But not this guy. For seven straight years, he put up a more than respectable average of 43 pts per season, which is on the top end of the list of the mucker-and-grinder type player that Darcy is known as. So after scoring a big contract this season, you would think he would come out with the fire and passion that he was known for during his time with the Leafs, right? Not this guy. Darcy put up a miserable eight goals and eight assists this season, and at times couldn't even stand up on his own two skates. He is worth about half of the contract, if that, that Giguere gave him last summer, and one can only hope that he will become the first player in NHL history to be bought out in two straight seasons, as he is not needed on this team going forward.
Best leader: Ian Lapperiere
Once again, what really needs to be said about our beloved Lappy? Heart, determination, passion, and any synonym of those words could be used to describe him. He's one of the few in the entire NHL who never takes a shift off and sacrifices his body, no matter what the situation or cost. He is also currently un-signed, and losing him this season would be far worse than what happened when the team let Bruno walk to a division rival last summer. Lappy is the kind of player that nearly every team in the NHL would be interested in signing, and it would be absolutely horrific to see him finish out his career anywhere else.
Best rookie: Chris Stewart
Prior to this season, a lot of bad things have been said about Chris since he had been drafted 18th overall by the Avs in 2006. He was supposedly known for laziness on the ice and a lack of work ethic and drive to improve off the ice, and thankfully he proved everyone wrong this year as being the complete opposite of that after being called up in December. He totalled 11 goals and eight assists in his first year in the NHL, and had eight fights to go with those production numbers. I see a very bright future for Chris. If not a top-six forward, he would definitely make a great third-line right wing who not only has the skills to put the puck in the net, but has a very physical aspect to his game as well.
Best Av for 08-09: Cody McLeod
This is a tough one, as I feel that anyone listed above (save for Budaj and Tucker) could be the winner of this award. In the end, I have to go with Cody McLeod, as no one expected the kind of play that he gave the team this season. Congrats Cody, I've been calling you the MVP since day one, and you really lived up to all the hype and praise I had given you early this season.


What's next, you ask? Who knows. Last Monday, Francois Giguere was "relieved of his duties" by former GM Pierre Lacroix. This is the first step in what might be a long re-building process over the next few years, but it's definitely a step in the right direction. Who will succeed Giguere is unknown at the moment, but he will need to do a lot to bring this team back from the trenches. The team holds the third overall pick in the upcoming 2009 entry draft, and is most likely looking at C Matt Duchene, who grew up following the Avs. Also, waiting in the wings is Ryan Stoa, who is projected to make the roster as well this coming season. On a third happy note, we have most likely seen the last of Tyler Arnason in the burgandy and blue. REJOICE!!!

To those of you Avs fans who struggled to watch but stood by the team through all 82 games of this dismal season, I salute you, as this is the type of season that thins out the bandwagoners from the tried and true fans. As far as I see it, things can only go up from here, as in all honesty they can't get much worse.

Game #65 Preview

Today, the Avs travel to the Chi to take on the Blackhawks. The Avs current losing streak sits at six games, and unfortunately, I doubt it will be snapped today. Although the Avs actually showed some bits of life against the Wings on Wednesday, I just don't think they'll be able to pull off a win against a playoff-hungry team like the Hawks when the season is nothing short of a lost cause for our boys in burgandy at this point. Also, my Hart Trophy choice, Cody McLeod, will be out of the line-up today due to a shoulder injury suffered against the Wings. This will be his first time out of the line-up since being called up in December of 2007. Let's hope this doesn't hurt his MVP stock..





P.S. Ray from over at SchoolYourPool has notified me of an interview they have posted with up-and-coming Avs prospect Kevin Shattenkirk. I have very high hopes for this kid, so do yourself a favor and read up on your soon-to-be favorite Avs defensemen!

#300

Before the game recap, I want to give a gigantic, avalanche-sized congratulations to both Ryan Smyth and Milan Hejduk, who both netted career goals #300 in Sunday's win against the Flames. The majority of Smyth's goals came while playing with Edmonton, but all 300 of Hejduk's came for the good guys. What an accomplishment!

Now, onto the game! The Avs came out stronger on offense than the previous 45 games this year, but it appeared Flames' backup Curtis McElhinney was up for the challenge as he came up with big save after big save, but only managed to keep the Avs off the board for 16 minutes before Marek Svatos was able to bang home a rebound in the crease on the powerplay. Less than two minutes later, Salei hit Stewart with a homerun pass for a breakaway, and Stewey made no mistake in finding the back of the net for his fifth goal of the year. By the end of the first, the Avs were leading the shots on goal margin by a total of 20-8. I could be wrong, but I think that's the biggest one period shot differential in favor of the Avs this season.

Ten minutes into the second period, the game seemed to be turning to an all-too-familiar direction as Cammalerri notched his 20th goal of the season on a perfect cross-ice feed on the powerplay, closing the Flames deficit to only one goal. Less than two minutes later, Ruslan Salei took his second straight penalty, giving the red-hot Flames' powerplay a chance to even the score. BUT never fear, Ben Guite is here! After a big save by Budaj, Smyth took the puck up ice with Guite not too far behind creating a two-on-one chance for the Avs. The Flames were obviously SO terrified of how good Ben is as they left Ryan Smyth alone to take the shot of his choice and he buried career goal #300 in the back of the net. Teammate Milan Hejduk was also sitting at 299 career goals coming into the game, and I guess he figured that since Smytty scored #300, he couldn't be left behind with a mere 299 goals! About five minutes later, he was able to score big #300 as well on a powerplay feed from JML. Haynes' goal calls of "NUMBER 300!!!" were nearly identical, but I loved every second of it.

The Flames cut the score to 4-2 early in the third, but the Avs wouldn't let that last for long as they scored two goals in the final five minutes of the period, courtesy of Salei and MVP Cody McLeod. McLeod's TENTH (yes, you read that right) goal of the season came with less than one second left on the clock, and was the proverbial cherry on the top for all Avs fans, and the proverbial slap in the face for all Flames fans. Budaj had a great comeback game after a recent dry-spell of sorts, stopping 39 of 41 Flames shots.

After the game, Budaj was announced as the third star. Then, Alan Roach announced that there would be no second star of the game, as there were two FIRST STARS. Of course, he was referring to Smyth and Hejduk. It would've been special enough for each of them to reach the milestone at some point during this season, but too accomplish it together on the same night made it that much better. I think the saying "a picture is worth one thousand words" applies well here, as the size of their smiles in the picture above says all you need to know about how special that moment was. Hats off to you, Ryan and Milan. Congratulations.

I'm starting to really dislike the Jackets..

Over the years, the Avs have never had a problem with the Jackets. Never, ever, ever! But now, the Avs have acquired zero out of a possible six points this season against the only club in the NHL who has never made the playoffs. What is going on here?! Yes, I know the Jackets have gained a lot of young talent over the years through the draft, but shouldn't the Avs at least be able to keep up?! Frustration at it's finest, ladies and gentlemen.

Personally, I figured this game to be a 2-1 final, with the winner possibly coming in OT or even a shootout, based on how the two starting goaltenders had been playing recently. Through two periods, I was ready to crown myself victorious in predicting the final.. until all hell broke loose. In a span of 3:41, five pucks (in order: CBJ, COL, CBJ, CBJ, COL) found the back of the net to give the Jackets a 4-3 lead, which also ended up being the final score. I couldn't really tell what brought on this offensive onslaught by both clubs, but it was definitely the last thing I was expecting.

JML had what I would consider his best game defensivly, as he was constantly out-muscling bigger forwards in the corners to strip them of the puck. This is the kind of play we need from him after his big contract signing this past summer. Let's hope it's here to stay. Marek Svatos scored his first goal in who knows how long, and one could only hope that he has figured out what he's been doing wrong this season and add the offensive firepower the team has gotten from him in the past. If Liles was the team's best player on defense, Chris Stewart was hands down the best on the offensive side of the ice. Not only did he notch an assist on Svatos' goal; not only did he score his own goal in the third to tie the game at two, but he also was credited with four hits in the game as well, and they weren't exactly small little shoves. Stewey was throwing his body around out there like there was no tomorrow, as he should with that size, and is definitely making a case to stay on the team once the injury bug leaves. Also, congrats to one of my favorite players, Cody McLeod. Although he didn't continue his MVP campaign by getting on the scoresheet, he was registered with five hits and three blocked shots. That, my friends, is how you earn a roster spot.

One more thing. I've just about had enough with Darcy Tucker. I've never been one to dislike players on the teams that I live and breathe for, but he's making a case to be the first of his kind. His bonehead move at the end of the Minnesota game last week definitely sticks out in my mind, but a lot of the time he does his best Tyler Arnason impression and just seems completely lost out there. I do not understand Granato throwing him out there with one minute left in a one goal game, but I guess he had his reasons. Unless his play and bonehead penalty-taking change in the second half of the season, I'll be hoping he receives his second contract buy-out in as many years. Good luck Tuck.

Game #3 Recap

Another game, another loss. I don't know about you guys but I'm not exactly fond of this trend, and there's still 79 games left to play. For the third straight game, the Avs were tied going into the 3rd period, SCORED A GOAL in the third period, but managed to let in not one, but TWO goals in the 3rd and were never able to overcome that deficit in any of the three games.

As with last year, the Avs biggest problem seems to be the PK unit. Last year, the team finished 28th in the league on the penalty kill. As of right now, even though the season is only a week old, the Avalanche are ranked dead last in the league with a 58.3% Penalty Killing percentage. The Flames came into this game 0 for 13 on the powerplay on the season, yet somehow managed to overcome their previous shortcomings and burn Budaj for THREE powerplay goals against. I don't know what it is about this group that has so much trouble killing penalties, though I'm pretty sure that David Jones isn't the answer to this team's problems. He somehow racked up 2:17 of ice time on the penalty kill last night, but, at least to me, remained pretty much non-existent out there, as he has during even strength situations as well so far this season.

In my opinion, at least for now, David Jones should be riding the bench in favor of Cody McCormick as he had an excellent game out there last night, racking up an assist on the first goal of the game scored by his fellow Cody Mac, a +1 rating on the night, and a fight against Jarome Iginla, who was so scared of him that he wouldn't even remove his helmet with a visor. Talk about a baby! I think Cody made an extremely solid effort out there last night to try and convince Granato that he's worthy of a roster spot each game, and to be honest, I hope Granato rewards him with that.

As for the rest of the game, the Avs powerplay unit has been looking better than last year already, scoring two goals last night on six chances, leaving them with a 21.4% powerplay conversion percentage to start the year. Not too shabby, if you ask me. However, I still strongly believe that Sakic needs to be moved off of the point once and for all. No goalie is going to be scared of a Sakic slapshot from the point. But put him on his off-wing side by the net and goalie's league-wide will be shaking in their skates in fear of that deadly wrister that he's so famous for. If this was my team, my first powerplay unit would consist of Hejduk, Stastny, and Sakic up front, with Liles and Leopold manning the points. Someone please pass this along to Tony so maybe we can finally see this in action!

Tomorrow is Game #4 against our old friend Ossi Vaananen and the Philadelphia Flyers. I will have a quick pre-game write-up at some point before the game tomorrow so be on the lookout for that.

One more thing, Cody McLeod scored YET AGAIN (and received the Mike Haynes call of the year thus far, "THE CODY'S DID IT!"), putting him on pace for a whopping 55 goals on the year. MVP! MVP! MVP!

Game #1 Recap

So the season, and home opener, has come and gone, and has left us with a loss. Starting the season 0-1 is never the way you hope for, but with 81 games remaining, an 81-1 record for a 98.7 winning percentage is still possible.. pretty good in my books. While there are many question marks on the back-end with the defensemen and Budaj giving up five goals (I'd only put the blame on him for two of them, however), we can take many positives from the team's offensive production from this game. Coach G wasn't lying when he said that he would bring an up-tempo offense to our team this season, as opposed to Q's dump and chase method. The team seemed to be buzzing in the offensive zone for a good portion of the night, and fired off 39 shots on goal, compared to only 20 for the Bruins. Looking at that stat only, you'd almost guarantee a victory, but alas we could not put the cat in the hat, as the coach on the NHL network commercials would say. It's always nice to see d-men getting involved offensively, and we seemed to have a great night on that front as Liles had two assists, Leopold had a goal, and Salei added an assist as well. All in all, we can take a lot of good and a lot of bad from this game. I think the team knows what they need to do and will be able to make the necessary adjustments to pull out the first win of the season tonight in Edmonton.


Also, Cody McLeod is currently on pace for 82 goals this season. Hart trophy anyone???

McCormick Signs!!!!!

And with the signing of Cody McCormick (Cody1), we have our McCody's back in place and I, for one, am extremely excited. Though, I have a feeling that only McLeod will make the team at the start of the season. I've always been a fan of Cody1 since he's been with the organization as I get to see him every pre-season at Frozen Fury, but it seems that McLeod fell more into the liking of the coaches last season. McLeod wasn't scratched from a game since being recalled in December, while McCormick was a healthy scratch a number of times. They both have the same offensive 'capabilities' with McLeod maybe getting the slight edge for his stick-handling, but McLeod also became a lot more solid in the defensive zone as the season went on, even being used in PK situations.

In other Avs signing news, the Avs have brought back Brian Willsie. This is our first off-season signing that I am completely baffled by. Nothing against Willsie, but if he steals a roster spot from one of our 3rd/4th liners or one of the up-and-coming guys like Hensick or Jones, I will not be a happy Adam. Keep him in Lake Erie, please. Thanks.

McLeod Signs!

That's right folks, our favorite redhead will be back in burgundy and blue next season. Today, Cody Mcleod, or Cody2 as I like to call him since McCormick (Cody1) was around first, re-signed with our wonderful club for one year, at a price of $522,500. For those of you readers who actually know me, you already know of my total man-crush for Cody2. I love everything this man brings to the ice each and every night. I was at the first game that he suited up for warm-ups for our team back in December at Staples Center, though he didn't actually crack the until the following game. Once seeing his style of play, I immediately fell in love. Yes, he does take stupid penalties at times, but the rest of his excellent play allows me to see right past that. He is one of those guys that gives 110% every single shift, no matter what the score. He even became a decent penalty killer by the end of the year, and was used in key defensive-shutdown situations late in games. I can't wait to see the McLeod-Guite-Lappy line back in full force this season.

In other signing news, the Avs signed six other predictably AHL caliber players today, forwards Philippe Dupuis and Nathan Smith, defensemen Darcy Campbell and Aaron MacKenzie, and goaltenders Jason Bacashihua and Tyler Weiman. I don't really expect any of these players, except for possibly Weiman, to crack the Avs lineup this season, but these all seem to be solid additions/re-signings for our AHL affiliate in Cleveland. Dupuis and Campbell came over from Columbus in the Rycroft trade last season. Nathan Smith put up pretty good numbers for the Penguins AHL club, but didn't do much when brought up to Pittsburgh for 13 games. I've never heard of Aaron MacKenzie before today, but he's a DU boy so I like him already. Most of you should know Weiman and Bacashihua by now as Weiman has been with the club for a few years now, and Bacashihua spent most of last season with the Monsters as well, though neither really put up spectacular numbers. I like Weiman though, on a personal level. The last two years at Frozen Fury in Vegas, he's hung around the fans after leaving the ice, talking to whoever had interest in him and giving away his sticks to some lucky fans. I hope for nothing but success for the guy in the future, and hopefully it will be with our team!

This past weekend, the Avs held their annual Development camp in Centennial, with a record 29 players in attendance. I obviously wasn't there, but spectators have been commenting on how great David Jones has looked out there. Other players receiving a bit of fan-recognition have been T.J. Hensick, Nigel Williams, Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk. Jones and Hensick seem to be locks to make the team this year, while I expect Williams and Shattenkirk to still need a year or two of grooming in the minors. Stewart seems to be a bubble player right now. Some people have been commenting on how great he looks out there, while others seem to feel the exact opposite. He's got size and talent, we know that, he's just got to learn to put them together properly for the NHL's style of play. I also have a special bond with him because we are friends on facebook, aka BFF!

No news on Sakic yet, Forsberg apparently won't be ready 'til Christmas, if he'll ever be ready at all, and the coaching staff is now complete with former NHL-er Dave Barr filling TG's assistant coaching vacancy behind the bench.

The Big Three.

Last week, Francois Giguere, or FG as he's lovingly (or despisingly) referred to by the Avalanche faithful, made his first signing of the off-season. And to be honest, this was the last person of our free-agents whom I expected to receive a contract extension. Yes, Scott Parker, The Sheriff, will be lacing 'em up for another year as part of the Colorado Avalanche. For the most part, this signing seemed to be met with a lot of disdain from Avs fans. Most cannot understand why we would spend the money and a roster spot on a guy who rarely dresses for games, and when he does, plays less than five minutes per contest. I, for one, do not mind this signing in the least. Scott obviously never lived up to his original potential, as he was drafted 20th overall in 1998. But the stats do not lie. Since we re-acquired him from San Jose at the 2007 trade deadline, we have a record of 25-6-4 when he is in the lineup. Even though he doesn't do much on the ice, I suppose FG found that stat too appealing to overlook.

Last night, TSN reported two signings by the Avs which were confirmed today on the Avs website. Adam Foote for 2yrs/$6mil, and John-Michael Liles for 4yrs/$16mil. I honestly couldn't be happier by these signings. Along with everyone else in Avalanche nation, I am a huge fan of Footer and feel he should end his career with the organization he was so successful with, so I am not very surprised with him returning to us. On the other hand, I am absolutely shocked that we retained JM Liles. All the rumors claimed he was all but gone, and I really didn't see FG shelling out the money to keep both him and Footer around. With four free-agent defensemen, including two big-name guys, I figured that FG would sign one of the top two guys (either Foote or Liles), and one of the others (Finger or Sauer). But FG proved that he has a few tricks up his sleeve and shocked us all by signing both, which unfortunately will most likely mean that Finger and Sauer will be leaving us as we now have six defensemen plus Kyle Cumiskey waiting in the wings.

This past week, the Avs gave offer sheets to four players who were restricted free-agents; Cody McCormick, Cody McLeod, Marek Svatos, and Wojtek Wolski. I am very excited to most likely have all four of these guys back with us next year, and I assume that the contracts will be hammered out within the next few days.