Avs Remind Fans How Far Rebuilding Effort Has to Go

Last year, the Avalanche were one of the feel good stories of the NHL year. Having finished dead last in the Western Conference, people were excited to see the once proud franchise making a playoff run. So, when this season started, it seemed natural that expectations should be a bit higher for this team. After all, from one season to another, especially with a team this young, generally you expect improvement from year to year.

Start of this season comes around and things were a bit slower than last year. But you can't expect the kind of fast start that the Avs had last season every year. 20 games go by, 30 games go by, the Avs are right there in the conversation and are hanging with the Canucks. We start thinking, ha! Vancouver who!? We're going to hit our stride and then go flying by those guys.

Only something different happens. More and more games go by, and instead of that energetic, never-say-die team that we had become so used to seeing, we start seeing a team that can't start a game to save their lives, play horrible defense, and can't climb back into games the way they used to. We start to think, well, everybody is thinking "hey, they're bound to hit a slump at some point. They'll rebound."

Well, we're still waiting for that rebound. The Avs dropped another today, this time to the Anaheim Ducks. Another game marked by taking bad penalties, poor defensive zone play, and a lack of offensive intensity. It's something that has marked their play for the last month, or more, of hockey. Then I remembered something.


This Avs team is still rebuilding. This is a team that is still nowhere near their full potential, and will probably take a couple of more years to get there. Last year we experienced something that probably shouldn't have happened. If it wasn't for the insanely amazing play of Craig Anderson, last year's Avs would have been nowhere near the playoffs. The defense was just as inconsistent, the offense experienced similar ups and downs, the big difference was that Anderson was able to make all those insane saves that he had no business making. It's like that guy you play poker with that everybody hates because he goes all in with stupid hands, but wins each time. Eventually, you know that guy is going to run out of luck, it's just a matter of time. It seems that time has happened this year.

So, to all Avs fans, and this is just as much for me as anybody else, yes, the Avs are not a very good team right now. Yes, we're most likely going to miss the playoffs with this type of poor play. Let's all remember, we haven't seen the best that these guys can offer yet. Stewie hasn't shown us a full season of what he will be, neither has Duchene. Neither have a lot of these guys, but their talent is there and they are still learning. Eventually, our front office will help us get bigger and more skilled on defense. Eventually, our goalies won't have to know from the beginning that they have to win the game for us.

Rebuilding is not a fun process for a team, but if you do it right, that time will pay off. Just ask the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks. They both spent a decent amount of time at the bottom of the NHL, and have both recently won Stanley Cups. The Avs will get there, I'm convinced, but we, as a fan base, need to make the trip with them and not give up on our boys.

9 games in, my thoughts on the Avs thus far.

Well, we're nearly 10 games into the NHL regular season, and we are once again seeing some great action from the Colorado Avs. Craig Anderson has been good, although we are now awaiting word on his injury from warm ups in Vancouver (other than it is a knee injury), and the team has its skating legs. But there is definite room for improvement.

First off, bright spots. John Michael Liles has been a HUGE bright spot. 0 goals, but 11 assists in 9 games, with a record setting assist in each game. He's not a big guy, and he doesn't have a huge shot, but he's a very fast skater who can get the puck to the net and let the bigger guys get things done. With 11 points in the first 9 games, you have to think that cracking 40 points will be a no brainer. Could be a career year for Liles.

Daniel Winnik was possibly the best offseason pickup by the Avs this year. This guy is fast, and smart. He's great defensively, and is able to contribute offensively. He logs a bunch of penalty minutes, and may get you 15 goals, great contribution from a 3rd line guy. I have been amazingly impressed by this guy, and won't be surprised to see his ice time continue to go up.

Chris Stewart. Always wonder about a guy who really busts out in a contract year. Wonder if he can put out that same type of effort now that he got a raise. So far, so good. 5 goals, including that amazing bomb (at 33 seconds) that beat the great Martin Brodeur. This guy is the real deal. I'm expecting 30 goals from him.

Minuses.
Special Teams.
As pointed out by several people, such as Adian Dater, have pointed out that the Avs are very undersized on the blue line, which hurts both your special teams. Hard when you don't have a big guy to get a big shot on the PP, and then you also can't keep your crease clear on the PK. Avs PK is located towards the bottom of the league, and the PP has given up 4 short handed goals, which you just can't do. This could be a big deciding factor in whether or not the Avs make the playoffs.

Defense
Again, thus far, the Avs D has looked about the same. Giving up tons of shots against, and just not getting involved enough offensively (with the exception of Liles of course). They're small, and very young. Holos has been a great surprise, and has even helped out the PP a bit, but this team lacks a really big #1 style shut down defensemen that isn't in his 20th year in the league. I love Footer, but that guy is old, and not long for this league.

4th line.
Really, we don't have one. They play, but we really don't get much productivity out of them. And, again, they are small. Our biggest guy, David Koci, is also our most worthless guy. He was a healthy scratch almost all of last season, and when he was on the ice, his job isn't to play, it's to fight. We lack a strong checking, very physical, and intimidating 4th line.

Question marks.

Craig Anderson
Slow down, I love this guy! The question is definitely not about his ability, it's more about whether or not he can handle the same type of load that Joe Sacco gave him last year. He faced more shots than anybody in the NHL, and made more saves, last year. Had 7 shutouts, and was just amazing. I'm more questioning how he will be used, because I think he was tired by the time we were giving up 50 shots each playoff game to the Sharks. He needs help. edit: Of course, now the question has become when is he going to be back for the Avs?! Currently, he is being listed as indefinitely out. This, needless to say, is bad. So now the bigger question is how will Budaj respond, and will we try and make any moves to get another goalie to help shoulder the load?

Matt Duchene
He's playing well, and has decent numbers (2 goal and 6 assists), but he seems like he is trying to do too much at times. He's getting chances, but really looks like he's trying to be too cute sometimes. I think he'll get through it, but you gotta hope that this Calder finalist won't fall victim to the sophomore slump.

All in all, my general assessment of this team is that they are, by and large, exactly the same as last year. Lots of shots, will rely heavily on their goalie and on a bunch of really young players that we aren't totally sure are going to be able to live up to their expectations. I'm not going to write them off yet, but I do believe that the Avs will be fortunate to make the playoffs this year. So here's hoping. GO AVS!