Avs mid-season report
As the Avs near the mid-way point of their season, everyone in Colorado is pleasantly surprised to see the team seated in sixth position in the Howe, carrying some momentum into the Christmas break with a 6-3-1 record over the past 10 games.
The Avalanche were initially viewing 07-08 as a rebuiding year. They moved some big names, like Rob Blake and Alexei Yashin, and while they tried their best to maximize their return on those players, their roster certainly took a major hit.
The Avs have their depth to thank for their success. While you won’t find an Avalanche forward or defenceman near the top of any major category, they have balanced scoring and a young, inexperienced defence core has been able to hold its own.
Goal:
Undoubtedly, the major reason for the Avs success to date has been the continued outstanding performance of netminder Cristobal Huet. For the second straight year, Huet’s numbers have exceeded his rating. And he’s been worked hard. He leads the league in minutes played. He’s fourth in save percentage and boasts the third best record in the CPHL. Huet is also third in the league in Star points. His contract expires at the end of the season and the Avs will undoubtedly re-sign him, regardless of whether or not his play in Montreal warrants a ratings boost in the off-season.
Defence:
This was the glaring weakness of the Avs, heading into the season. The first pairing was a couple of 74 OV-rated defencemen. That has since gotten even worse with the Avs recently acquiring Frantisek Kaberle (73) for Karlis Skrastins. The first pairing has been a bust…they have +/- ratings of –31 collectively.
However, the young D (Coliacovo, Paetsch and White) have performed better than expected and Patrice Brisebois has probably been our best defender to date with 20 points and a + 12. That young core on D can only get better with time, so the Avs are not too desperate to make upgrades, except on that first pairing.
Forwards:
Moving our top goal scorer in Alexei Yashin was not an easy decision based on our surprisingly strong play. However, Marco Sturm has filled in admirably. He leads the team in goals (16, tied with Sykora) and points (35).
Sykora had a slow start, but has picked up his game and now also boasts 16 goals and 34 points. He is probably the most inquired-about player on the Avs, but they don’t intend to move him at this point. Freddy Modin is earning his $5M and has tallied 32 points. None of these numbers are staggering by any means, but the surprising offensive contributions of our other lines has allowed for balanced scoring.
Derek Armstrong, for instance, proved to be a good UFA signing, notching 20 assists to date. New acquisition Vrbata has also exceeded his expectations. The duo of Colby Armstrong and RJ Umberger – both key off-season signings – have failed to live up to expectations but there are no immediate plans to pull the plug on either forward.
Conclusion:
If the Avs hope to make the playoffs and mount any sort of charge, they will need continued balanced scoring and improved play from their top D pairing. They’ll also need Huet to continue putting up great numbers while playing a lot of minutes. Bacashua has been an adequate back-up, but his 72OV rating does not instill much trust in him from management.
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"Next time you come to Edmonton in June, July, or August, check out the colour of the grass in Calgary before you leave. It's brown and yellow....i.e lack of precipitation," - Sundeep, Feb. 6, 2005
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