The Avalanche pulled their worst move yet this offseason last night when they traded star forward Ryan Smyth to the Los Angeles Kings. In return, they get defensemen Kyle Quincey and Tom Preissing, and a 5th round draft pick.
Quincey appears to be a good two-way defenseman, and had 38 points last season. Preissing has a $2.7 million contract, so he'd better be good. (he was limited to only a handful of games last season due to injuries, and was a disappointing -7 when he did play) A 5th round pick may or may not turn out well. It's a late pick, but the Avs also have had a good history with late picks.
The Kings have won this trade, however. Ryan Smyth was another one of the Avs' heart and soul players. He was a leader, and brought energy and character to the game. Smyth, called "Captain Canada", was a hard-working, gritty forward that played a smart and physical game, and put up good points. He'll be sorely missed, not just as a player, but as a person. He was another one of my favorite Avs. Last season he refused to waive his no-trade clause, but apparently now he's changed his mind. Thanks for the memories Smytty. We'll really miss you. Have fun in LA, and may God bless your efforts in all that you do, and whatever you do, do it unto Him. Here's hoping you'll play with us again someday.
As far as the Avs are concerned, I think it's getting worse all the time. Even if Joey (Joe Sakic) comes back, we are starting to look worse than we did last year. Here's a little breakdown:
-The worst GM in Avs history (Greg Sherman) is gutting us, probably with our repulsive owner Stan Kronke pulling the strings. (your money may be really important to you, but I've got news for you Kronke, the more you gut our team, THE LESS PEOPLE THAT'LL COME TO YOUR GAMES!! You're only going to money this way!)
-An unproven head coach (Joe Sacco) who has never coached in the NHL, and had a mediocre couple previous seasons in the .
-Avs lose key player Ian Laperriere, and try to fill in with former Lightning winger David Koci. I don't know whether to laugh or shout in anger.
-Avs trade away star player Ryan Smyth for a late round draft pick and a couple decent defensemen.
-Avs sign goaltender Craig Anderson, choosing good over great (they passed up Swedish goalie Jonas Gustavsson, who still has yet to make a decision. While it may have been good not to chance him signing elsewhere and getting caught with our pants down, even right now there are still some good goalies left, such as Biron, that, while not great, would've been a decent backup plan). Anderson has had great numbers for a bad team that allows I think the most shots of any team in the league. However, he is still unproven as an NHL starter, and he's coming into his prime, so time will tell if this was a failed attempt.
-Avs core Joe Sakic may or may not return this season. (we should know next week at the earliest)
-Avs have a great draft, but we still don't know for sure if potential superstar Matt Duchene will play with the Avs this year. (my guess is he will, but it's still an unknown at this point)
Not far into the offseason and already there are so many negatives, and they certainly at this point out do the positives. I don't want to be pessimistic, but the sad reality is management (or more likely ownership) is killing our team. It begs the question, what's next? Is anyone on our team safe? Are we even going to have a real hockey team next season? I hope things get better from here, I really do, but so far there's nothing giving me the hope that they will.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
A disappointing first day of NHL free agency
Free agency opened in the NHL today, but the Avs' decisions were ones that will hurt them in the long run.
-The Avalanche let heart and soul winger Ian Laperriere leave and sign with the Flyers. He will make $1.23 million this season, a mere $0.8 million increase from his salary with the Avs last season. The Avs still have around $10 million to spend in cap space. Why then, did we let Ian go, a player who gave his all every night and was one of the team's core players? This one will hurt majorly, in almost every field, from leadership, to inspiration, to shot-blocking, to that key goal the team needs to get a jump. Not to mention, Avs management, this will hurt fan attendance. I know you want money, so why did you do this if it will only hurt attendance? Lappy was one of Colorado fans' favorite players, including one of mine.
-The Avs signed winger David Koci. He had a mere 2 points in 32 games last season, and a whopping 141 penalty minutes. That's what we need, a guy who can't score, but will take plenty of stupid penalties for us so we can get scored on. Are you trying to lose games for us, management? If this is your idea of "filling in" for Lappy, you need your heads examined.
-The Avs signed goaltender Craig Anderson. While Anderson has some notably good potential (and wanted to play with the Avs), this destroys our hopes of landing Swedish goalie Jonas Gustavsson. I knew the Avs management would have no patience, but it's still just as frustrating. Why take a good goalie when you could've had an excellent one? He would've come cheaper than Anderson, and has the potential to be the next star goalie in the NHL. You just blew it for yourselves.
It's looking like the Avs are going to have another horrible season. I hope things pick up from here, and that I'm wrong and we have a great year. But I'm not holding my breath.
-The Avalanche let heart and soul winger Ian Laperriere leave and sign with the Flyers. He will make $1.23 million this season, a mere $0.8 million increase from his salary with the Avs last season. The Avs still have around $10 million to spend in cap space. Why then, did we let Ian go, a player who gave his all every night and was one of the team's core players? This one will hurt majorly, in almost every field, from leadership, to inspiration, to shot-blocking, to that key goal the team needs to get a jump. Not to mention, Avs management, this will hurt fan attendance. I know you want money, so why did you do this if it will only hurt attendance? Lappy was one of Colorado fans' favorite players, including one of mine.
-The Avs signed winger David Koci. He had a mere 2 points in 32 games last season, and a whopping 141 penalty minutes. That's what we need, a guy who can't score, but will take plenty of stupid penalties for us so we can get scored on. Are you trying to lose games for us, management? If this is your idea of "filling in" for Lappy, you need your heads examined.
-The Avs signed goaltender Craig Anderson. While Anderson has some notably good potential (and wanted to play with the Avs), this destroys our hopes of landing Swedish goalie Jonas Gustavsson. I knew the Avs management would have no patience, but it's still just as frustrating. Why take a good goalie when you could've had an excellent one? He would've come cheaper than Anderson, and has the potential to be the next star goalie in the NHL. You just blew it for yourselves.
It's looking like the Avs are going to have another horrible season. I hope things pick up from here, and that I'm wrong and we have a great year. But I'm not holding my breath.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Avs fire Granato!!
Yahoo!! Finally, the Colorado Avalanche has fired head coach Tony Granato, whom I believe is the most to blame for the Avs' awful season this past year. Several others changes were also made, including the firing of goalie coach Jeff Hackett, another move I am extremely happy with. Here's the story:
Now it's time to bring back Bob Hartley! Not sure about hiring assistant GM Greg Sherman as new team general manager, someone's who's never been a chief GM before. Still, he sounds like he wants to do his best (we'll see how much of that's just being diplomatic), he's been with the organization 13 years (including 7 as assistant GM), and Lacroix will be mentoring him. Let's just hope he turns out better than Francois Giguere, who, while not bad in my opinion, still made a lot of bad moves.
Now, outside of the draft and re-signing our important current players (Sakic and Laperriere anyone?), we need to look at goaltending. Though I'd love to see Budaj back as a backup goalie, he hasn't proven he has what it takes to be our starting netminder.
The man I want is Jonas Gustavsson, the Swedish phenom who is called one of the best goalies in the world not currently playing in the NHL. Just watch these videos. He has what we need.
We already made the sad mistake of letting go of possible superstar Vitaly Kolesnik a few years ago. We need to nab this guy, and hold onto him. He has everything we need - speed, size, agility, determination, hockey sense, lateral movement, you name it. Besides, the guy's only 24, and should only get better. All he lacks is NHL experience. He put up incredible numbers in the Swedish league, and has narrowed his search for an NHL team down to four teams, and the Avs are one of them. He's made it clear he's jumping to the NHL this year, and the Avs need to do everything they can to make sure they're the city he lands in. Also note that, since he'd be a rookie and unproven in the NHL, he'd command a small salary, which is all too important for the Avs, who aren't far under the cap ceiling already. Let's get on it, Avs! You have a new GM, now get to work!
Now it's time to bring back Bob Hartley! Not sure about hiring assistant GM Greg Sherman as new team general manager, someone's who's never been a chief GM before. Still, he sounds like he wants to do his best (we'll see how much of that's just being diplomatic), he's been with the organization 13 years (including 7 as assistant GM), and Lacroix will be mentoring him. Let's just hope he turns out better than Francois Giguere, who, while not bad in my opinion, still made a lot of bad moves.
Now, outside of the draft and re-signing our important current players (Sakic and Laperriere anyone?), we need to look at goaltending. Though I'd love to see Budaj back as a backup goalie, he hasn't proven he has what it takes to be our starting netminder.
The man I want is Jonas Gustavsson, the Swedish phenom who is called one of the best goalies in the world not currently playing in the NHL. Just watch these videos. He has what we need.
We already made the sad mistake of letting go of possible superstar Vitaly Kolesnik a few years ago. We need to nab this guy, and hold onto him. He has everything we need - speed, size, agility, determination, hockey sense, lateral movement, you name it. Besides, the guy's only 24, and should only get better. All he lacks is NHL experience. He put up incredible numbers in the Swedish league, and has narrowed his search for an NHL team down to four teams, and the Avs are one of them. He's made it clear he's jumping to the NHL this year, and the Avs need to do everything they can to make sure they're the city he lands in. Also note that, since he'd be a rookie and unproven in the NHL, he'd command a small salary, which is all too important for the Avs, who aren't far under the cap ceiling already. Let's get on it, Avs! You have a new GM, now get to work!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Mort!
*steps onto a soapbox* For anyone else who hates how poor little Mort gets picked on in the Madagascar movies and primarily the Penguins of Madagascar show, here's my salute of support. Go Mort! ^^
Aflac!
http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?pi=0&ps=20&sf=&sa=0&sq=&dm=0&p=E6C36D7FDF4145BC
These are hilarious! I just wish I could find the one where super hero Aflac duck tries to save a woman on a railroad track.
These are hilarious! I just wish I could find the one where super hero Aflac duck tries to save a woman on a railroad track.
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