what the hell Joe???? maybe coming back this year wasn’t such a great idea, huh? seems like all the forces in the universe are coming together to stop you from playing … IT DIDN’T EVEN SNOW ENOUGH TO REQUIRE A SNOWBLOWER … dummy.idiot. it’s not like he doesn’t have direct access to the zamboni driver.
Joe, you can still play. Don’t retire because you cant keep your hands out of a snowblower.
it’s show time.
Sigh, we looked like the same team we were last year. Shaky goaltending, defensive lapses, poor puck possession, and unable to finish on the copious offensive chances we get. If this team can’t get some discipline it’s gonna be a long year.
While I don’t mention it that much on this tumblog anyone who knows me knows that I’m obsessed with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. The NHL’s season is about to start up with a few teams playing in Prague and Stockholm as publicity stunts. The rest of the league starts up mid next week.
Unlike last season, the Avalanche are considered be one of the poorer teams in the league. Last season the Avalanche were the darlings of many pundits. This season the Avalanche lost goaltender Jose Theodore and Andrew Brunette. Combine that with the strongest Western Conference in recent history and the Avalanche have a lot stacked against them.
Jose Theodore is an interesting story in the league. The last goaltender to win the Heart trophy (league’s MVP) fell from grace which resulted in a trade from the Montreal Canadians in the first year after the lockout. In the trade the Avalanche did not have to give up any significant players but they did have to eat Theodore’s pre-lockout salary. When he joined the Avalanche Theodore still had several years left on an extremely expensive contract. For the first two years Theodore played with the Avalanche he proved to be the shaky goaltender that left Montreal. Halfway though last season Theodore seemed to find his play again. He was playing like the goaltender the Avalanche had hoped they’d get.
Andrew Brunette, once the person to hand Patrick Roy a loss in the final game of his career, became a silent mainstay of the team. Last season he was quietly the second leading scorer on the team.
The Western Conference features a dominant Red Wings team which only got stronger, a young Blackhawks, and a focused Sharks team. The strong Western Conference that only got stronger will pose a significant hurdle to the Avalanche’s progress. The one upside is that the new schedule has more games against the Eastern Conference. Another upside is that the Northwest Division is the weakest it’s been in years. For a long time the Northwest Division was the hardest in the conference, if not the league.
Most of the Avalanche’s detractors believe their weakness is in goaltending. Peter Budaj has been the starter or backup for two seasons now. He has proven himself to be a good goaltender, not a great goaltender, but a good goaltender. Budaj is consistent and is unlikely to cost a team the game. On the other hand, Budaj is unlikely to steal a game either. The Red Wings last season proved that with a strong team in front of them a goaltender doesn’t need to be great. Which brings me to my next point…
Defense. The Avalanche’s defense is one of the most underrated corps in the league. They feature a top six with players that can be considered top in the league in scoring, toughness, and quarterbacking the power play. The Avalanche have never been known as a defensive team, but for the first time in their existence, and probably the franchise’s, their defense is stronger then their offense.
Special teams is going to be one of the determining factors of this team’s success. Last season the Avalanche fought with the Blues to have the worst power play in the league. For the first time ever, the Avalanche did not finish in the top 5 in the league on the power play. All Avalanche fans pray that we can regain our former prowess.
If the Avalanche can stay healthy, a major problem for them last year, and become decent on the power play then they can be a surprising team in the league. With a weaker division it’s possible to either win the division or get a seed between 5 and 6. I doubt the Avs can make the top two seeds, or even the fourth seed, but I would be surprised if the Avs fail to make the playoffs.
As for Jose Theodore, the Benedict Arnold routine he pulled on the Avs surprised me. He left the Avs over $1 million a year in salary, in a two-year deal.
A million dollars a year is a lot of money, you say, and you would be right. But is it a lot of money to a guy who was paid $11.5 million by the Avalanche the last two years, and a lot before that in his many years in Montreal?
And, should a million dollars have been enough to make Theodore bolt a team that
1) Stuck by him when he was at his lowest, giving him another chance in 2007-08, after a god-awful season the year before?
2) Spent a LOT of time and expense in helping him get his groove back.
The Avs hired Jeff Hackett as a full-time goalie coach, upping his salary to the point where he could get a place here in Denver and devote all his time to making the goalies better. Most teams don’t have full-time, traveling goalie coaches, but the Avs did, largely to let Hackett work his Goalie Whisperer - Mike Evans from the Fan’s line, not mine -routine on Jose.Why didn’t the Avs compromise, you ask, and split the difference with Jose over what they offered (two years, $7 million) and what he got (two years, $9 million)?
It’s a good question, and one we hope to get Francois Giguere addresss at some point soon - he isn’t talking right now, by the way.
But it’s also a good question to Jose and his agent, Don Meehan, which I hope they answer. And to me, it was Jose’s turn to compromise, not the Avs.
This is a pretty good article on Theodore’s departure from the Avs, as well as why it pisses me off. I was a staunch defender of Theo’s and now he fucks over the Avs. The only thing that irritates me is that since I’m also a Caps fan I can’t just have unyielding hatred for him, I have to support him to some degree. (via Adrian Dater)
Clips from the greatest rivalry in all of sports. I’m half hoping it’s renewed tonight. The Avs face the Wings tonight at 7:30pm EST. I’d suggest everyone watches!
Woohoo, the avs win 3-2 to take a 3-2 lead in the series. Paul Stastny finally had a goal and it was a BEAUTIFUL. But even that was put to shame by Theodore’s play. The wild had 32 shots to the avs 12 in the first two periods, and the avs only managed 3 shots in the 3rd (scored on 2 of them).
Unfortunately game 5 here in colorado is in the middle of our Passover seder on saturday. I’ll have to try and figure something out.
Boy did I pick the wrong game to go to. The Avs crushed the Wild 5-1 in a fight filled game.
Lets hope we win on Thursday so we can win the series here at home on saturday. Unfortunately the tickets for Sat are already sold out :(
The Avs win game 1 in overtime!!! They had a really impressive offense most of the 3rd period and I really think we can take this series.
This is a photo of Sauer getting the first goal of the game. It was a beautiful goal coming from a defensemen who scored one goal all season.
Theodore ROBS Penner
This was such a great game and it’s nice to see that the avs are playing well with heart. I hope we can do well on the road!
I’m going to the game on saturday. I got some dirt cheap lower level tickets and I’m really hoping Forsberg’s back for the game.
