WTF is happening here?!

It all started yesterday with the goalie swap.

I understand that Craig Anderson wasn't performing the sort of Superman heroics this season as he did last season. But does that mean he's not a number one goaltender? No, it doesn't. I maintain that there were a few factors in Anderson's less than stellar season. The first are the knee and groin injuries he had early on in the season. I just don't think he fully regained his timing after coming back. The other thing that I think most people forget is that we have a new goaltending coach this season. Not that I know much about Kirk McLean, but I don't think it's coincidence that we change goaltending coaches and both of our goalies go to hell. I also think that coaching decisions overall played a hand in the turn around. Last year, Sacco would let Anderson work himself out of those situations and Anderson was better for it. This year, Sacco just didn't seem to trust that Anderson could do it.

Not that Peter Budaj is a terrible goaltender, and I don't know enough about Brian Elliot, because the Senators are admittedly a team that I don't follow and truthfully don't care to follow (part of it goes to being a Leafs fan), to know whether or not he's an adequate replacement for Craig Anderson. What I do know is that the last time the Avalanche relied on Peter Budaj to be the number one goaltender, we drafted Matt Duchene 3rd overall and went out and found Craig Anderson. And I still don't care what Joe Sacco says - Peter Budaj is not a number one goaltender and he DOES NOT give that team the best chance to win on any given night. Despite his struggles, Craig Anderson was at least able to make clutch saves when he needed to to either keep the Avalanche in the game or allow them to keep a lead.

As for the Chris Stewart, Kevin Shattenkirk trade ... I'm still trying to decide what I think of this. I understand you have to give up something of value to get something of value, but I'm just not sure that Erik Johnson and Jay McLement are worth a former number 1 draft pick in Stewart and a promising defenseman in Shattenkirk. Although, I suppose the conditional first rounder in either 2011 or 2012 is a good toss in.

It wasn't a surprise that one of Liles, Cumiskey, Hunwick, or Shattenkirk was going to be moved. Cumiskey, by sheer virtue of being injured is guaranteed to stick around through the end of the year. Hunwick hasn't done anything since coming over from Boston that would endear teams to wanting to give anything up for him. And Liles, with his salary and partial no trade clause, makes Shatty sort of the odd man out on that. It sucks to lose both Shatty and Colby Cohen to trade this year, but we do still have a decent crop of defensemen coming up in the system. It's also still possible that another one of our defenseman is moved before the trade deadline. Personally, I think I'm about ready to put John-Michael Liles on lock down.

Needless to say, the next couple of months are going to be long here in Denver, and it's going to be an even longer summer. I'm just hoping that the management, led by yet another accountant turned GM, figure out what they're doing, because right now, it doesn't seem as though they have a plan at all, and if they do, it seems they are grossly over estimating how much guys they are interested in are worth.

My Bloody Valentine

I think next year, the Avalanche is going to skip Valentine's Day.

First, Forsberg retires. Then, about ten seconds into the game Calgary scores from the point. Matt Duchene goes down with a hand injury at the end of the 2nd, then in the 3rd, rookie defenseman Cameron Gaunce takes a puck off the foot (depleting an already depleted defense corps). And, oh yeah, while all this is going on, Craig Anderson replaces Budaj, who replaces Craig Anderson, who replaces Budaj and the Flames just keep scoring.

9-1. For their 8th straight loss. And while Iginla helps my fantasy team, he could have picked another game to be his usual awesome self.

There are a lot of perks to having such a young and inexperienced team. That 'why not us?' attitude that they had earlier in the year was one of them. But somewhere over the last couple of months, they went from a pretty cohesive unit with a why not us mentality to a group of 20 individual guys who are so damn afraid to make mistakes that mistakes are all they make.

I will say this, though (and I can't believe I'm going to). Watching the post-game tonight, and seeing Paul Stastny interviewed (which I gotta give him and JM Liles props for; I can't imagine they actually wanted to talk to anyone, let alone a guy with a mic and a camera in their face), I was shocked at just how honest he was. These were exact phrases he used: Unacceptable, embarrasing, every guy who put on that jersey ...

This from the guy who never sounds as though someone ran over his dog in interviews following losses (that is usually JM Liles and Matt Duchene). That doesn't mean I like the guy now, he has to be better, and if he wants to be the cornerstone of this team like he's been made to be, he has to start putting the team on his shoulders, saying screw it, and getting things done on his own. He doesn't do that on the ice. But for him to step up and call each and every one of those guys out, himself included, earned him some kudos.

Hopefully, though, tomorrow comes with a 'reset' button. For everyone.

Goodbye, it's the saddest thing to say

Peter Forsberg officially announced his retirement this morning.

I know that when he first announced that he was going to skate with the Avalanche to determine if a comeback was possible, I was a bit harsh in my feelings, and those feelings haven't gone away. But despite Forsberg not being my favorite Avalanche player (that honor, admittedly, goes to Joe Sakic), I would be remiss to not appreciate his career with the Avalanche.

I don't know the numbers off the top of my head, but I do know that having Forsberg in the lineup almost guaranteed you a win, and more often than not, if he had a point, the Avalanche did win. And before groin, abdominal, and ankle injuries derailed his career, Forsberg was a force to be reckoned with.

He could split an opponent's defense at will, and he wasn't afraid to hit and be hit, and his hockey sense was unequaled by almost anyone but Joe Sakic. Which is perhaps why Sakic and Forsberg made not only a terrific duo at center, but as a tandem no opponent wanted to play against when they did pair up on the same line. I remember one play in particular in the 2004 playoffs. It was game five against San Jose, in overtime, and Forsberg dug the puck out of the corner and made a blind pass behind him that landed perfectly on Sakic's tape for the OT game winner. It was a beautiful play.

Two Olympic gold medals, two Stanley Cups, a Calder, Hart, and Art Ross trophy to his name ... that is what Forsberg's legacy should be. It should be those plays where Forsberg just knew where the puck needed to go. It should be that shootout goal that earned him the honor of being immortalized on a Swedish postage stamp.

I can't say that know exactly how Forsberg felt when he announced his retirement, but after repeated attempts to make a comeback, I can imagine how hard it had to be for Peter to finally admit defeat. That will to win, that will to battle made him the player that he was.

Now all that is left is for the Avalanche to set the date for Peter's number to be retired. And while he wasn't my favorite, and he could frustrate the absolute hell out of me, you can bet that I'll be there.

Peter will be missed. But Avs fans, even this one, will always have plenty of memories of a player who had so many gifts and who brought so much to this game.

Boy of the Day - 1/27/11

Here we are with the new and improved BotD! Today's boy is Matt Duchene of the Colorado Avalanche. He is a big favorite of Chucker Megan and I have to admit that I have taken quite a liking to the boy.

Matt is a young Canadian lad who hails from Haliburton, Ontario; which also happens to be the hometown of Canucks prospect Cody Hodgson as well as retired players Ron Stackhouse and Bernie Nicholls.

After playing two seasons with the Brampton Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League, he was drafted third in the 2009 draft by the Avs. It was a dream come true for our boy because despite growing up in a Ontario tourist town, Matt was a Avs fanboy from the word go, especially for his idol Joe Sakic.

It didn't take long before the powers that be in Denver decided to keep him on the roster for the 2009-10 season after scoring an assist and a goal in his first month with the team. And since then, he's been a steady force centering his line; and last night, he scored his 100th career point which made him the youngest 100 point scorer in franchise history.

Anyway, I think Matty is going to have a wonderful career and I'll be watching him this weekend in the All-Star game.

And here are a few shots of the BotD...

A screencap from a post-draft interview showing his bedroom, and the clip of that interview. The bedroom shot is about the 5:00 mark...





Posing in his sweater from the CHL Top Prospects Game...



Draft night photoshoot where he's trying so hard to control the squee...



A funny shot from pre-game warm ups...



and all dressed up at the NHL Awards...

The Epic Saga

No, not Twilight. It's the Peter Forsberg saga, and it's not over.

Earlier today, Terry Frei of The Denver Post tweeted that the Avalanche would be making an announcement about Peter Forsberg. So, silly me, I think that Forsberg is announcing that he is finally hanging 'em up.

I should know better, I really should.

The headline, from The Denver Post: Forsberg to skate with Avs, mulls possible comeback

I realize that I'm at risk of losing my Avaholic card over what I'm about to say, but ... really?

Over the last few years, we've seen a two-time Stanley Cup champion, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Calder, Hart, and Art Ross trophy winner go from being one of the elite, most sought after players in the NHL, to a guy riddled with the same foot injury that has either crippled a comeback or made a comeback impractical. He hasn't played at all for MODO in the Swedish Elite League at all this year, but he wants to measure where he is physically against the likes of professional NHL players, not only much younger than he is, but who are also at their prime.

As an Avalanche fan, these repeated, failed comeback attempts sadden me. They really do. It's a shame that when Peter does finally hang up his skates, he won't necessarily be known for his shootout winner in the 1994 Lillehammer games, or for how he made splitting an opponent's defense look effortless, or how when he had a point, the Avalanche were almost guaranteed a win.

But as an Avalanche fan, who has been with the team through the best and the worst of times, I don't want to keep looking to the past for answers. While Adam Foote is the current link to the past, present, and future of the Avalanche, the glory days from the mid 90s to the early 2000s are gone, and in their place we have a young, exciting, upstart team with a "Why not us" mentality, and I just don't see where Peter Forsberg fits into that.

I can't imagine being in Forsberg's place, where your heart says yes and your body says no. It can't be easy for any athlete. But others, like Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman, made that difficult decision because they could no longer physically play at the level they expected.

I wish Peter the best, I do, and if it works out, it works out. But I have to be a realist when I say that Forsberg doesn't have it in him to skate with and compete with this younger, faster NHL. Not with his injury history.

Good news, and bad news

So we have good news and bad news.

The good news: Ryan O'Reilly will only be out a couple of weeks for the Avs, with his shoulder injury not requiring surgery. (Mike Chambers' article can be found at the Denver Post's website here.)

The bad news: Ryan O'Reilly will be out a couple of weeks for the Avs.

Why is this bad? Because O'Reilly is staple on the Avalanche penalty kill, and I shudder to think how bad it can get without O'Reilly. It's already not the greatest.

More good news - Jonathan Toews scored career goal number 100 tonight against the Preds. 100 goals in 266 career NHL games ain't too shabby. Congrats Captain Serious.

Ouchie

Wow, scary second period for the Avs in Minny tonight when Ryan O'Reilly lost an edge and went awkwardly into the boards, head and neck first. He was taken off on a stretcher and then to the hospital for precautionary reasons, and he's moving his extremities, so very, very good news from the Avs' camp.

And I'm throwing this out there because, well, it's true. The Avalanche were stupid to let Andrew Brunette walk away. He kills penalties, works down low, and has been a general thorn in the Avalanche's side since he went back to Minnesota. There have been a lot of guys come and go, either by free agency or trade, but Andrew Brunette is the one I wish was still in the burgundy and blue. (And as I wrote this, Brunette scored to make it 3-1 Avalanche in the third, further proving my point).

Let's talk about sights for sore eyes: both Chris Stewart and Cody McLeod returned to the Avs' lineup tonight, and man, have they made a difference. They've given the Avalanche what they have been seriously lacking over the past few weeks - energy. The Avalanche are young and exciting, yes. But it's those times where the game just sort of plateaus where Stewie and Cody Mac can liven things up.

Alright, I need a little fantasy help: I have one roster spot open for tomorrow, my utility spot. So who do I play? Grabovski or Tanguay?

Introductions and other things

I should be at work, but instead I'm sitting in the waiting area of a hospital as I wait for a co-worker/friend to finish having an ultrasound. She didn't have a car today, so I brought her to the appointment. If you wouldn't mind sending some good thoughts out Erin's way, I'd appreciate it.

Anywho, being the new writer on the block, allow me to introduce myself. Lisa affectionately refers to me as Nutmeg, hockey and the Colorado Avalanche are my life, and that's pretty much me in a nutshell.

So, to hockey related matters. Look, I get that the Avs played a terrible game last night against the Blackhawks, but color me baffled if that surprised you.

The Avs embarrassed the defending champs in the first two games of the series with comeback wins; one in OT and the other in the final minutes of what was a crazy, fun, exciting game. And then, in the third game, the Avs dominated. Tell me you expected the Hawks to come out and let it happen again. The Hawks came out prepared last night and completely took away the Avalanche's game.

Here's what bugs me though. I'm reading the Denver Post's website today and one of the footnotes in one of the articles was that John-Michael Liles was a -3 on the night. (Full disclosure, I like Liles and I think he's ridiculously underrated.)

I'll have to go back and look, but I am pretty damn sure that not one single player on that roster for the Avs last night was even. And if Liles was a -3, my logic says that Ryan O'Byrne was at a -3 as well.

Here's what I also didn't see. Where is the article that asks where Paul Stastny is? While no one was effective last night, I shouldn't have to ask whether or not the Avs' $6 million man ever touched the ice. The guy making that much money should be a little more influential in a game like that. Because, while I like guys like Galiardi, it's sad when I notice them more than #26.

And brilliant move to start Budaj again, Sacco. My memory is a bit fuzzy, but that would bring the number of consecutive games in which Budaj has given up at least 4 to how many again?

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