What the hell happened? It was only 12 months ago when the Colorado Avalanche were coming off a 95 point season, 2nd place finish in the Northwest Division and an opening round win against the Minnesota Wild in the playoffs. Fast forward one calendar year—they have the highest draft pick since they’ve moved to the Rockies and their stars look like they just got OLD over night. They have young guys that may or may not stick at the NHL level and a goaltender that looks like he’s allergic to the puck at times. Joe Sakic can’t be worth 26 points in the standings by himself, can he?
Apparently, the Avalanche management thought there were bigger problems than just Sakic and his dysfunctional snowblowing abilities. Francois Giguere was fired a day after the season ended. The entire organization began flirting with Patrick Roy like a kid in Junior High—only to have Patrick Roy announce that he’d rather stay with the Quebec Remparts instead of leading his former team. Mercifully, lame-duck-to-be head coach Tony Granato was given the boot in favor of their AHL affiliate’s head coach Joe Sacco. Lake Erie’s loss is Denver’s gain.
We wanted to get an idea of where the Colorado Avalanche organization stood going into this year’s NHL Draft. Graciously, David over at Mile High Hockey was kind enough to re-open some of the wounds from last season and give us some insight into the Avs. Where do they stand? How will they move forward? Here’s what David had to say!
Maybe the Avs should bring back Paul's Dad Peter Stastny to help out. Does Paul have any brothers that could help out?
1. What was the biggest strength for the Avalanche last season?
Uh, that it was only 82 games? I can’t think of anything really positive about last year, except that it got the coaching staff fired.
2. What was the biggest weakness last season?
Lots and lots of issues. You could say goaltending, defense, speacial teams or coaching and it would be hard to argue with you. For me, it was the lack of offense – we were shut out 12 freaking times.
3. What is the biggest strength of the pipeline/young players?
The Avalanche have a pretty good crop of defensemen – Kevin Shattenkirk, Colby Cohen, Nigel Williams, Cameron Gaunce, Kyle Cumiskey, Derek Peltier, Ray Macias, Michael Vernace. Most of the better prospects are a little ways away, but it’s certainly an area of strength in the organization.
4. Where are the biggest holes in the pipeline/young players?
Goaltending. There’s a few intriguing names – Trevor Cann, Peter Delmas – but no surefire candidates (and no one really close to the NHL). Tyler Weiman and Jason Bacashihua both played well in the AHL next year, but both are free agents this summer and their future with the team is unclear.
5. Who do you think your GM will pick?
Matt Duchene.
6. Who do you think your team SHOULD pick?
Duchene would seem to be a nice fit for the Avs and he’s likely the guy who will be there with the 3rd pick, but the team should pick whichever of the big 3 – Tavares, Hedman or Duchene – is available.
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Unless something drastically unexpected happens with the first 2 picks, the Avalanche are going to be sitting at #3 with the opportunity to pick up Matt Duchene. It’s nice that he’s playing at DU and all—but the guy brings in some serious talent at center that the Avalanche could use going forward.
Three picks down and 8 more to go for our NHL Draft Preview. Tomorrow brings us to the ATL, home of the Atlanta Thrashers, the #4 overall pick, and formerly the Freaknik. Here’s a schedule of the teams we’ll be looking at in the days leading up to the draft, as well as the teams that we’ve already covered. We’ll see you tomorrow!
If you want to get a little deeper into the Colorado Avalanche or you just love what David had to say, you can check him out over at Mile High Hockey or follow him on Twitter at @MileHighHockey. If you’re curious about the Avs, there are very few places that have better information or insight!
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