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.

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.

Lineup changes for Thursday night

The Avs travel to Tampa tomorrow and they will have both Darcy Tucker and BEN GUITE (!!!) back in the lineup. Philippe Dupuis has already been sent back, and I assume either Hensick or Cody1 (McCormick) will be the other forward scratched because I feel Stewart has been outplaying the both of them. In other, more controversial news, Andrew Raycroft will be getting the start in net over Peter Budaj. Raycroft played a hell of a game on Monday, but I don't think Peter deserves a benching after a flukey goal or two last night.

GUITE!!!!!

From the Avs site:

Darcy Tucker (knee) and Ben Guite (ribs) were both on the ice this morning, sporting bright orange non-contact jerseys. Both players joined the team when it embarked on its road trip this afternoon.

“I think they’ll both be able to play on the trip…I would doubt tomorrow night,” said Avalanche head coach Tony Granato.

Stop the presses! The best player in NHL history is making his return this week!

2008 Free Agency, Day One

The big day has come and gone. So far, the Avs have signed three new players, and have lost four. I will start with the new guys:


Per Ledin
-1yr/undisclosed amount
-Played nearly his whole career in his native Sweden, most recently for HV71 (yes, that is a team name), a team I am somewhat familiar with from hockey video games.
-It doesn't seem that much is known about him, much like the Hlinka signing last year, but based on his stats and the minimal amount of information I could dig up on him, I think a decent comparison to an NHL player would be Darcy Tucker, a comparison I made to my father earlier this morning. His job is to piss people off as the 'agitator', but he also has a nice scoring touch it seems.
-I assume the contract will not be worth much, so this is a small risk/big reward possibility that I fully support.


Andrew Raycroft
-1yr/$800k
-Has had a very up and down career.
-Won rookie of the year in 03-04 with the Bruins.
-Great year in Toronto in 06-07. Horrible year in Toronto in 07-08 (in a backup role).
-Like the Ledin signing, it's a small contract so there's not too much risk involved. I think this is a good signing because it will bring some competition into training camp for the goalie position which will hopefully cause Budaj to step up his game a bit. In a perfect world, Raycroft will develop into a solid backup goalie and a nice compliment to Budaj on his nights off.


Darcy Tucker
-2yr/$4.5M
-Our biggest/most well-known signing of the day.
-The type of player that you love to play with, but hate to play against.
-Similar style of play to Lappy, except he possesses more of a scoring touch.
-Per Ledin = Darcy Tucker Jr. You heard it here first, folks!
-I love this signing. He's the kind of guy that you love to have on your team because he gives his all on every single shift. We will be a better team this season because of his presence.



Here are the guys we lost to free-agency today:


As many have speculated recently, Andrew Brunette has returned to the Wild, with a contract of 3yr/$7M. I cannot even begin to express my disgust with the fact that we let him walk and sign with a division rival for such a small amount. Bruno has been our most consistent player over the last three years on our roster and is criminally under-rated by nearly the entire league. I would've been more than content to keep him at $4M a season, so seeing him sign elsewhere (especially with rival Minnesota) for less than $2.5M per year broke my heart. I will never understand FG's reasoning behind this and may not ever forgive him for this. In my eyes, this is the worst decision that the franchise has ever made.
Thanks for the memories Bruno. You will be missed more than you know.
It is hard for me to pick a favorite Brunette moment from the last three years. His series clinching goal against the Stars in the first round of the playoffs three years ago would probably be my favorite, but close behind is complete undressing of Luongo on a goal this past season (you all know which one I'm talking about).


It seems I am one of the few Kurt Sauer fans out there these days, so I am sad to see him go. However, I am more than satisfied with him going to Phoenix because I somewhat follow the Coyotes and don't completely despise them, as I do with Bruno's new/old team. Sauer got a contract of 4yr/$7M, and I couldn't be happier for the guy. Do I think he's worth that much? Not really, but I really hope he gets the ice-time he deserves down in the desert and I will be cheering for him to succeed on each and every shift. He is one of the nicest guys I've ever met in the hockey world and he will be missed in Denver. Not that he will ever read this, but thank you Kurt for telling me when practice was at Frozen Fury last year!
My favorite Sauer moment other than getting the chance to talk to him a bit this past fall at Frozen Fury would have to be his tip-in goal from Sakic in game one of the playoffs this year against the Wild. He was the last person on our roster that I would expect that from, but he came through when it counted.


In one of the more ludicrous contracts signed today, Jeff Finger has signed with Toronto for 4yr/$14M. It seemed like he was very well-loved in the Avalanche community, and as much as I love the guy, I cannot justify a team spending that much money on him and I'm sure most of you are in the same boat as I am on this one. He played very well for us last year, a lot better than most of us could've expected. Our most physical d-man and also our defensive leader in goals last year was sure to demand more than his $475k salary of last year on the open market, but I never thought it would end up being that much. The organization was in a tough spot with him. FG seemed to genuinely be interested in bringing him back, but he would've been the 7th d-man on our roster and would see significantly less ice-time than if he were to sign as a top-six guy somewhere else. I'm glad to see him go somewhere where he'll get the playing time he deserves. Although they overpaid for him, they will get a solid game on both ends of the ice each and every night from Jeff and a lot of Avs fans will be bittersweet about the fact that he's no longer ours.
Besides all the big hits Jeff threw for us the last couple years, my favorite moment of his came at Frozen Fury a number of years ago when he fought Sean Avery and killed him, for lack of a better term. From that day forward, I was always rooting for him to make the roster and I'm glad I got to see him play for us, even though it didn't last very long


The Avs community will be torn on this one as Jose Theodore has signed with the Capitals for 2yr/$9M. As an Avs fan, you either loved or hated Theo. To be honest, I absolutely HATED the trade originally as I loved Abby and Theo seemed to have lost his trophy-winning form by that point. But somehow, this season he started to regain his previous form as the season went on, and I was soon cheering for him every night. Theo haters, let's face it.. he was the reason we won that series against Minnesota back in April. Yes, SuperJoe was Mr. Clutch as usual, yes Bruno had some key goals, yes Footer and Sauer shut down Gaborik, but the backbone to our wins was Mr. Jose Theodore. That said, he completely fell apart once again in the Detroit series and we once again couldn't win a second-round game with him in net. I would've been fine with him coming back for around $3M/yr, but I would've been very disappointed in FG if he gave him the $4.5M/yr that Washington did. Good luck in Washington Theo. Thanks for one round of good games!
As far a favorite Theo moment, just look at how he shut down the Wild in the first round of the playoffs this year. He seemed to be back in Vezina form and the Avs nation was rallying around him like never before, only to see him revert to the Theo we expected in the next round.



Final Day One Thoughts:
There were seven Avs-related moves today, involving Ledin, Raycroft, Tucker, Brunette, Sauer, Finger, and Theodore. Based on contracts and the like, I will give FG a plus/minus for each player gained or lost:

+Ledin
+Raycroft
+Tucker
-Brunette
+Sauer
+Finger
+Theodore.

While I would've loved having Sauer and Finger back in the mix, FG did the right thing by letting them go somewhere where they would earn more money and be able to play more so I respect his decision on those two. Overall, FG earned a +5 on day one of 2008 free agency. Looks like maybe we should be adding FG to the roster with that plus/minus rating from just one game (day), eh?


Also, I'd like to give a shout-out to ex-Av Ossi Vaananen as he is back in the NHL playing for the Flyers. Hopefully he gets some solid ice-time there and can stay in our league for many years to come.

Here is a picture of me and Vaany at Frozen Fury '06:


Good luck, Ossi!