Eurolanche

A new hope

Yes, we're full of hope here, in Avs land. Why is that, an outsider might ask. Because we're fooling ourselves. Ha, ha. No, that's not it. It's because we see huge stars in every guy wearing the A on the chest. But let's break it down a little and see if we really are as good as we think. First of all, we have to admit that rebuilding is over. If it isn't, why would you give a 1st and 2nd round picks for a goalie? A goalie that was third in line in Washington. By the way, the Capitals GM was quoted saying that he was surprised by how much Sherman offered for Varly. That must have been embarrassing for ol' Greg. But we should be fair with him. The Varly-Giggy pair could be very good. Anyway, it's better than what we had last year. And I'm not using words like "abomination" to describe what happened in goal last season because I'm a good guy.

So the goalie situation is better, but the price was high.

Defensively, things could also be described as improved. They got some bigger guys, Hejda was a nice addition, plus he says Colorado was his first choice, but he probably would've said that even if he went to Siberia. Do you really believe a NHL player really chooses the second to last team in the league? Wouldn't he want to play for a contender? So let's not drink the kool-aid just yet.

The bone I have to pick regarding the defense has one name: Hunwick. He's still here, as you may know. And people can explain it to me till they're blue in the face. I don't get it. Why do they need him? For his cap hit? Why not use Liles cap hit? Because they didn't want to loose him for free? They lost Anderson for free (basically), they lost Liles for what will probably be a very late 2nd round pick. My guess is Sherman wants to prove it was a legitimate trade. Guess what? It wasn't. So swallow your pride and let him go. Take whatever is offered for him. The proverbial bucket of pucks? Sure, I'd take it. Even half empty.

Yes, I'm still bitter for losing Liles. And Stewart. So Johnson better be REALLY good. And by that I don't mean a good talker. Okay, he talks the talk but so far that was about it. He was good because the Avs D was horrid. Let's see him this season. And can all that "EJ is the next captain" talks stop, please? He's been in the team for about 15 minutes. How about proving he deserves it first?

Okay... Offense. As I said earlier, they lost their biggest weapon from last year, Chris Stewart. They added some new names, the biggest hope is Landeskog but he'll probably be put on the third line. Meanwhile, the apparent new first line winger is Kobasew... Really, Mr. Sacco? Chuck Kobasew, the guy with 30 points in 105 games, in the last two seasons? That's the first line solution on the wing for a team that wants to make the playoffs? Me thinks not. Of course, I could be wrong and somebody else will take his place. Maybe Lindstrom, the SEL points leader last year. Not likely, I know.

So we really don't know how this season will unfold. Personally, I'm a pessimist. I usually am, but this time I have reasons to be. The biggest one is that Sacco is still here. He should've been shown the door last year, when the Avs had something like 5 win in 30 games. That's unacceptable and Sacco proved he's at the bottom of his bag of tricks when he started punishing players left and right, benching Liles because of one mistake, sending guys to Lake Erie, but always, always making sure Hunwick is getting enough play time. I heard the argument that the Avs made the playoffs in Sacco's first year in Denver, so he had one good year and one bad one, this season being the deciding one. About that good year... Take Anderson out of the equation and let's see how good Sacco's year would've been. He rode Andy's career season all the way to the Shark's series. At this moment, I'd rather have David Quinn, from the Monsters, instead of Sacco. He's doing good things in Lake Erie, certainly better than what Sacco did. So if Kroenke is too cheap to pay for a proven coach, at least make a change from within.

Anyways, there's a big reason to anxiously wait the start of the season and it's  a bitter-sweet one. The great Forsberg, Foppa, will see his jersey retired by the Avs. Before a game against the Redwings, none the less! That is a guy that gave it his all to hockey. He tried to the bitter end to play the game he loves so much and he gave it one more shot with the team where he had his best memories. The Avs received him with open arms but it wasn't to be. At least he ended it knowing he gave it his best shot. So the Great Three, Sakic, Roy, Forsberg, will have their jersey up on the rafters at Pepsi Center.

The memories are nice, but now it's time for the young guns to prove they're worthy of their predecessors.