Thread: THE official Colorado Avalanche/NHL thread!!!

Originally Posted by SeeingRed

They may not be good, but they're not bottom feeders by any means. Their best two players were out for the majority of the season. Their defense wasn't anything great and as a result the goaltending suffered. They had a bad year. And Hejduk is NOT over paid. I don't think Smyth is too over paid either. Yeah, they sucked last year, but one year doesn't define an organization. Your argument has no relevance to why or why not Monster would want to play for Colorado, by the way.

Ryan Smyth makes $6.25 million a year, for his production he's overpaid, and most of Canada feels is overrated as well. Also if you mean Sakic as one of their best players being hurt all year then your arguement is a weak one. Joe used to be great, now he's 40 years old and hurt. If he's still one of their best players and the Avs are counting on him then they'll be picking top 5 once again. Let's change the words "bottom feeder" to - "one of the worst teams in the league on the ice". Is that better?

As for my arguement about Jonas - I was responding to an earlier post about him not wanting to sign with a "shit" team. Right now the Avs are "not very good" so why would he sign there. I wouldn't neccesarily call their front office or coaching staff that great either but the jury is still out on that.

Originally Posted by Flatinum

Ryan Smyth makes $6.25 million a year, for his production he's overpaid, and most of Canada feels is overrated as well. Also if you mean Sakic as one of their best players being hurt all year then your arguement is a weak one. Joe used to be great, now he's 40 years old and hurt. If he's still one of their best players and the Avs are counting on him then they'll be picking top 5 once again. Let's change the words "bottom feeder" to - "one of the worst teams in the league on the ice". Is that better?

As for my arguement about Jonas - I was responding to an earlier post about him not wanting to sign with a "shit" team. Right now the Avs are "not very good" so why would he sign there. I wouldn't neccesarily call their front office or coaching staff that great either but the jury is still out on that.

Joe Sakic is still a point per game player dude. You're off the reservation. Not worth arguing with.

Originally Posted by SeeingRed

Joe Sakic is still a point per game player dude. You're off the reservation. Not worth arguing with.

Last 2 years - 59 games played - 52 points. For a homer that may be a point of game but statistically he's not a point a game guy any more. But you'll tell me that it's close enought to call it a point a game.

Add to that the fact that he's 40 and not healthy which makes any team that's going to rely on a guy like Joe in serious trouble.

The Avs are bottom 5 in talent in the NHL - there's no arguing that. But help is coming, Duchene is a very solid player and will be a star in the league sooner than layer.

When you play 59 games out of 164 in two years you don't have a chance to set in to a rhythm or develop any kind of chemistry with your line mates who are used to playing with another center. His last full season he had 100 points in 82 games. Joe Sakic still is a point per game player, regardless of what you think. Statsny will also be a point per game player. Talent wise, all the Avs need to be a contender are some help in the net, one solid, stud defenseman, and (assuming they draft Duchene and he works out) a stud winger away.

And for the record, I'm not a "homer". I'll defend the teams that I'm a fan of when it's needed, but I call a spade a spade. In this case you're just talking out of your ass.

Matt Duchene
Center - Brampton (OHL)
First Round, 3rd Overall
5-11, 200 lbs – Shoots Left
Duchene is the highest draft pick for the Avalanche since the team moved to Colorado in 1995…Ranked No. 2 among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s Final Rankings…Recently completed his second season with Brampton, finishing third on the club with 79 points (31g/48a) in 57 games…Ranked second on the team in assists, third in goals and plus/minus (+32) and tied for the team lead in both power-play goals (12) and short-handed goals (4)…Added 26 points (14g/12a) in 21 playoff games, including a league-high six game-winning goals…Participated in the 2009 OHL All-Star Classic and the CHL Top Prospects Game…Voted the “Best Playmaker” and “Best Stickhandler” in the OHL’s Eastern Conference Coaches Poll…Also won gold medals with Team Canada at the Under-18 Ivan Hlinka Tournament (where he served as captain) and the 2008 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.

What They’re Saying About Duchene
Rick Pracey, Avalanche Director of Amateur Scouting
“Matt is a very skilled, two-way player. We are very excited about adding him to our organization.”

Cameron Gaunce, fellow Avalanche prospect and Duchene’s OHL opponent
“Duchene is a tough player to go up against. He’s fast, can stickhandle and is very shifty. He scored a lot of goals this year that nobody else would have been able to score.”

He Said It
“This doesn’t even feel real. I don’t even know what’s going on right now.The Colorado Avalanche was my favorite team growing up and to be drafted by them is just unbelievable.”

Avalanche Draft Board:
http://avalanche.nhl.com/team/app?ar...e&service=page

I'm stoked about the Duchene pick. I think he fits Colorado's brand of hockey better than Tavares would have. Just watching clips of him online he is strong with the puck, handles really well in tight spaces, has a great wrist shot with a quick release, and is a really good two-way player.

It would be nice if we sent him back to the OHL for this year though. I'd hate to try to rush his development. At 18 he's far from a matured hockey player. He could stand to gain a bit of size (maybe 5-10lbs of muscle). If Joe comes back for one more year, that's a good opportunity for Duchene to mature for one more year in the minors and work on some things. If Joe hangs 'em up, then obviously the coaching staff are going to be a little more hard pressed to try to speed up Duchene's development to fill the void left by Super Joe.

Overall, I couldn't be any happier with our first pick. Should be a great player. He and Stats should make a great 1-2 punch for many years.

This is a terrible and classless article by my absolute least favorite sports writer in Denver.

It's time to say goodbye, Joe Sakic.

This town isn't big enough for you and Matt Duchene, an 18-year-old wunderkind the Avalanche desperately needs to be the fresh, new face of an NHL franchise whose golden reputation has turned old and gray.

When a boy who grew up idolizing a framed Sakic jersey is old enough to be counted on to save the local pro hockey team, that can be regarded as a sign it's time for Captain Joe to go.

So I called Sakic on Saturday to say thanks for the memories.

And the telephone rang . . .

Two times, as a reminder of the Stanley Cups he brought to Denver.

Why do Sakic and the Avs keep us hanging on, waiting for a definitive answer regarding his retirement?

This is silly. His friends in the game and the whispers at the NHL draft say the same thing: Sakic appears to be done.

With the eighth ring of the phone, I thought about Sakic's lofty standing on the league's all-time scoring list, between the revered names of Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr.

Nobody picked up at the Sakic home.

Seventeen, 18 rings, and No. 19 did not answer.

New Avalanche general manager Greg Sherman said he has met with Sakic and has been informed by the greatest player in team history that the decision on his future has been made, but an announcement must wait until later in the summer.

OK, we can all live with those conditions. No hurry. Sakic should be allowed to say goodbye on his own terms.

But here's the problem.

After 20 NHL seasons of service to a single hockey franchise, the Avalanche cannot really afford to have Sakic hang around any longer.

The No. 1 order of business for the Avs has ceased to be chasing the Cup.

Colorado is pinching pennies.

The new frugality can have an affect on everything the Avalanche does, from trimming the team's publicity department payroll to Pierre Lacroix's unsuccessful pursuit of Patrick Roy as coach.

While Sakic keeps us waiting for the word on when he will retire, this much we know for certain.
Challenged to reshape a roster burdened with too many bad contracts while looking for a worthy free-agent goalie and stay under the league salary cap of $56.8 million, the Avalanche really cannot afford to keep Sakic, whose Hall of Fame talent has been diminished by age and injury.

It might be unseemly to think Sakic is being pushed out the door, but the numerous management mistakes of recently dismissed general manager Francois Giguere mean the team cannot possibly again pay a $6 million salary to a 39-year- old center whose weight-room injury and snowblower accident kept him from being on the ice for more than 15 games last season.

So what is Sakic supposed to do, give such a big hometown discount to the Avs that he's paid like a mucker or grinder?

If Duchene shows he is ready to hold down a job in the NHL as a teenager, should we expect Sakic to be a third-line center?

When a hotshot propsect named Peter Forsberg joined Sakic in Quebec 15 years ago, the Nordiques made room for their new young center by trading Mats Sundin.

Although Sakic could opt for free agency, the Avs assure me that he would never play hockey for any NHL franchise except the one that has been his home for an entire career.

There is almost never a perfect ending in sports, because nobody likes to go home so long as it's still fun.

We all hate to think about the Avs without Sakic, who brought everything you could hope for in a teammate or a neighbor. This figures to be the first three- hankie retirement party in Denver sports since John Elway left the Broncos.
Sakic celebrates a landmark birthday on July 7.

As Captain Joe looks at 40, there is nothing left for him to do in hockey.

It's time for Sakic to get on with the rest of his life.

http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/ci_12705751

how did i know that was kiszla before i even clicked the link? he's such a weaselly little bitch-- he should get punched in the mouth every day just on general principles. . . .

What a complete JERK!!! Weaselly is a great description Dog, heck punch him in the mouth twice a day and rotten milk poured on him every other day.

Why are people so eager to get rid of players, every time you open a paper or click on a message board, people are talking about how the team is better off without this guy or that guy.

So willing to pin the hopes of the team on players that have never done a damn thing for that team, but the Joe Sakic's have over-stayed their welcome? Pure bullshit.

The NHL is not like any other sport, 40-year-olds can contribute as much or more as rookies, so if Joe Sakic wants to play, he'll play, if he wants to delay his retirement announcement, he can do that too.......whether Mark Kizla likes it or not.......

For one of the first times in my life, I completely agree with Mark Kiszla.

Sakic is holding the franchise back. I love the guy, he's been one of my favorite athletes for a long time and his contributions to the team and community can't be understated, but he's old, injury prone and he makes too much money. His salary combined with his injuries (and complete carelessness in sticking his hand in a freaking snow blower a couple weeks before he was scheduled to come back from his back injury) contributed to the Avs hitting rock bottom last year.

This is the age of the salary cap. I'll take him back at a huge reduction, but he's not worth what he made last year unfortunately.

Buffy, how could you?????

Now it's no surprise that I'm a major Joe fan. Trust me when I tell you that no one was more upset about the snow blower than Joe. At the end though is was not the hand that kept him off the ice. That surgery went really well and he had the pins out before the end of the season and it was ready to go, but the surgery from his back took longer than he thought it would.

They kept putting off the back surgery hoping it would heal on it's own, but it didn't. So when they did do the surgery it just took time. Also Joe would not get on the ice unless he could perform at "Joe's" level. So I have to believe that he will do what ever is best for the Avs, that's just the type of guy he is.

Buff you better behave because Dog comes over here and no telling what he'll do to ya.....

Originally Posted by Buff

For one of the first times in my life, I completely agree with Mark Kiszla.

i think that alone is grounds for a punch in the mouth. . . .

Kizla could have said that a million times better than he did. That being said, I agree that if Joe comes back, he should take a pay cut and play the mentor role. I love Joe, but I hate to see players keep going when their tank is empty. If he can continue to play at a high level and can stay off the DL, I wan't him in Burgandy and Blue.