- Team Outlook from McKeen’s Hockey Guide:
For the third straight season, the Avalanche missed the playoffs and this time it wasn’t even close. Their 16-25-7 record was the worst in the Western Conference – with their most memorable win of 2013 coming during the draft lottery.
Getting the top pick and using it on Nathan MacKinnon would be reason enough for most fan-base’s to be upbeat about the future. As it happens, the Avalanche ownership provided onlookers with additional grounds for optimism.
They brought in Joe Sakic to serve as the team’s executive vice president of hockey operations, who in turn hired Patrick Roy as a vice president and the team’s head coach. Having the two hockey legends on board changes the atmosphere in Colorado, although they still have much to prove in their new roles.
One of Roy’s early challenges will be to see if he can help Semyon Varlamov live up to his potential after being inconsistent at best since heading to Colorado in the summer of 2011. It helps that Roy was able to lure Francois Allaire to serve as the team’s goaltending coach. Allaire helped Roy out early in his playing career and will provide Varlamov with yet another wealth of information to learn on.
Naturally Roy’s task is far greater than that. From Varlamov to MacKinnon to Gabriel Landeskog to Matt Duchene, the Avalanche have the potential makings of a strong team. Roy’s abilities as an NHL coach will be judged on whether or not he can turn that promise into success within the next few seasons.
- Team Fantasy Outlook from Dobber Hockey’s 2013-14 Fantasy Guide – Over a 150 pages of fantasy goodness:
Dobber’s lowdown on: Paul Stastny – It’s been three seasons of mediocrity, with no real explanation as to why. Stastny was a surprise rookie in 2006-07 (not a surprise to you guys, since I pumped him up in his very Guide in 2006) with 78 points. He topped 70 in three of his first four seasons, in fact. But has been a shadow of himself ever since. The strange thing is that he is just now entering his prime at 27 years old. So was the best behind him by the age of 25? No. I think he has played through a handful of nagging injuries over the last three years. And while that could continue throughout his career, it also could stop. But at this point, Stastny may have worn out his welcome in Colorado. As soon as he is traded to another team, voila, I think the Stastny of old will be back. He’s in a contract year, so it’s highly likely he’ll be on the move. As such, you should move him up your draft list a little. You don’t want to be scrambling to acquire him 10 minutes after a trade is announced.
Landeskog saw time with each of the three main centermen, but clicked the least with Stastny. When Landeskog was out of the lineup, Stastny had 10 points in 12 games (but 14 points in 28 games otherwise). And Landeskog clicked the best with O’Reilly and in fact had just two points in the seven games that he played when O’Reilly was sitting out with a contract dispute.
The Avs put five forwards on the power play often in the first half. But towards the end they started using Barrie and Elliott a lot.
Duchene had just 12 points in his last 20 games. Which I suppose is better than the four points in his last 21 games that he had in 2011-12. But it looks like he loses steam down the stretch. This obviously makes him a very appealing first-half player. Bump him up your lists accordingly and get ready to move him in February or March.
McGinn has looked pretty good for the Avs at times, but don’t overrate him. He can produce in spurts and makes a fine injury fill-in on the top six, but does not belong there permanently. He got 11 of his 22 points last year during the 12 games that Landeskog was hurt, but had just 11 points in 35 games otherwise. And now that the Avs have MacKinnon and Tanguay, McGinn falls further down the depth chart. Sure, David Jones and Milan Hejduk are gone, but Steve Downie is healthy.
Talk out of Colorado is that O’Reilly will be moved to the wing, so watch for that. But I compare the MacKinnon situation to that of Tyler Seguin in Boston – start him on the wing for a year or two. I think by the end of the first month you will see that shift, instead of the O’Reilly one.
Follow link for more info and stats
Additions: F Andrew Agozzino, D Andre Benoit, F Trevor Cheek, F Guillaume Desbiens, D Nate Guenin, D Nick Holden, D Markus Lauridsen, D Cory Sarich, D Karl Stollery, F Alex Tanguay, F J.T. Wyman.
Subtractions: D Joel Chouinard, F Mike Connolly, F Milan Hejduk, F David Jones, F Chuck Kobasew, D Shane O’Brien, F Aaron Palushaj, D Thomas Pock, D Sean Sullivan, F Bill Thomas, D Greg Zanon.
UFAs: RW Milan Hejduk, RW Chuck Kobasew
Promotion candidates: C Michael Sgarbossa, C Joey Hishon, D Duncan Siemens, G Calvin Pickard, G Sami Aittokallio
Player salaries: $55,565,000 (23)
Cap Number: $58,833,333
Bonuses: $5,560,000
Cap Space: $10,289, 167
Forwards: $38,200,000 (13)
Defensemen: $15,550,000 (8)
Goalies: $4,333,333 (2)
Source: CapGeek
Forwards
Gabriel Landeskog – Matt Duchene – Ryan O’Reilly
Alex Tanguay – Paul Stastny – PA Parenteau
Jamie McGinn – Nathan MacKinnon – Steve Downie
Cody McLeod – John Mitchell – Mark Olver
Patrick Bordeleau
Defensemen
Jan Hejda – Tyson Barrie
Ryan Wilson – Erik Johnson
Matt Hunwick – Cory Sarich
Andre Benoit
Goalies
Semyon Varlamov
Jean-Sebastien Giguere
2013 Colorado Avalanche Draft Results
| Rd. | Draft # | Player | Team | Pos. |
| 1 | 1 | Nathan MacKinnon | Halifax (QMJHL) | C |
| 2 | 32 | Chris Bigras | Owen Sound (OHL) | D |
| 3 | 63 | Spencer Martin | Mississauga (OHL) | G |
| 4 | 93 | Mason Geertsen | Edmonton (WHL) | D |
| 5 | 123 | Will Butcher | US-NTDP | D |
| 6 | 153 | Ben Storm | Muskegon (USHL) | D |
| 7 | 183 | Wilhelm Westlund | Farjestad Jr (SWE) | D |
Colorado Avalanche Top Prospects
| NHL.com | Hockey Prospectus | Dobber Prospects | Hockeys Future | The Hockey News | |
| 1 | Nathan MacKinnon | Nathan MacKinnon | Nathan MacKinnon | Nathan MacKinnon | Nathan MacKinnon |
| 2 | Michael Sgarbossa | Michael Sgarbossa | Michael Sgarbossa | Tyson Barrie | Duncan Siemens |
| 3 | Duncan Siemens | Chris Bigras | Stefan Elliott | Stefan Elliott | Chris Bigras |
| 4 | Chris Bigras | Duncan Siemens | Joey Hishon | Michael Sgarbossa | Joey Hishon |
| 5 | Calvin Pickard | Joey Hishon | Andew Agozzino | Calvin Pickard | Calvin Pickard |
| 6 | Joey Hishon | Garret Meurs | Colin Smith | Chris Bigras | Sami Aittokallio |
| 7 | Colin Smith | Will Butcher | Duncan Siemens | Duncan Siemens | Michael Sgarbossa |
| 8 | Garret Meurs | Calvin Pickard | Sami Aittokallio | Kieran Millan | Mitchell Heard |
| 9 | Will Butcher | Nate Condon | Calvin Pickard | Sami Aittokallio | Spencer Martin |
| 10 | Sami Aittokallio | Mitchell Heard | Chris Bigras | Spencer Martin | Brad Malone |
2012-13 Colorado Avalanche Player Stats
| Player |
Pos
|
GP
|
G
|
A
|
P
|
+/-
|
PIM
|
PP
|
SH
|
GW
|
OT
|
S
|
S%
|
| PA Parenteau |
R
|
48
|
18
|
25
|
43
|
-11
|
38
|
6
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
105
|
17.1
|
| Matt Duchene |
C
|
47
|
17
|
26
|
43
|
-12
|
12
|
2
|
0
|
3
|
1
|
132
|
12.9
|
| Paul Stastny |
C
|
40
|
9
|
15
|
24
|
-7
|
14
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
87
|
10.3
|
| Jamie McGinn |
L
|
47
|
11
|
11
|
22
|
-13
|
26
|
3
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
128
|
8.6
|
| John Mitchell |
C
|
47
|
10
|
10
|
20
|
5
|
18
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
72
|
13.9
|
| Ryan O’Reilly |
C
|
29
|
6
|
14
|
20
|
-3
|
4
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
66
|
9.1
|
| Gabriel Landeskog |
L
|
36
|
9
|
8
|
17
|
-4
|
22
|
0
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
109
|
8.3
|
| Tyson Barrie |
D
|
32
|
2
|
11
|
13
|
-11
|
10
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
58
|
3.4
|
| Cody McLeod |
L
|
48
|
8
|
4
|
12
|
4
|
83
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
79
|
10.1
|
| Milan Hejduk |
R
|
29
|
4
|
7
|
11
|
-7
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
41
|
9.8
|
| Jan Hejda |
D
|
46
|
1
|
9
|
10
|
-3
|
28
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
50
|
2
|
| Chuck Kobasew |
R
|
37
|
5
|
4
|
9
|
6
|
21
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
43
|
11.6
|
| David Jones |
R
|
33
|
3
|
6
|
9
|
-11
|
6
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
62
|
4.8
|
| Aaron Palushaj |
R
|
25
|
2
|
7
|
9
|
-2
|
8
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
29
|
6.9
|
| Mark Olver |
C
|
32
|
4
|
2
|
6
|
-5
|
6
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
33
|
12.1
|
| Matt Hunwick |
D
|
43
|
0
|
6
|
6
|
4
|
16
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
57
|
0
|
| Greg Zanon |
D
|
44
|
0
|
6
|
6
|
-16
|
28
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
40
|
0
|
| Patrick Bordeleau |
L
|
46
|
2
|
3
|
5
|
-7
|
70
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
24
|
8.3
|
| Ryan O’Byrne |
D
|
34
|
1
|
3
|
4
|
-8
|
54
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
21
|
4.8
|
| Stefan Elliott |
D
|
18
|
1
|
3
|
4
|
-3
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
35
|
2.9
|
| Erik Johnson |
D
|
31
|
0
|
4
|
4
|
-3
|
18
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
64
|
0
|
| Shane O’Brien |
D
|
28
|
0
|
4
|
4
|
0
|
60
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
28
|
0
|
| Ryan Wilson |
D
|
12
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
8
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
23
|
0
|
| Brad Malone |
C
|
13
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
-7
|
16
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
10
|
10
|
| David Van Der Gulik |
L
|
9
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
6
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
10
|
0
|
| Tomas Vincour |
C
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
-1
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
| Steve Downie |
R
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
6
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
| Michael Sgarbossa |
C
|
6
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
-3
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
0
|
| Player |
GP
|
GS
|
W
|
L
|
OT
|
SA
|
GA
|
GAA
|
Sv
|
Sv%
|
SO
|
G
|
A
|
| Semyon Varlamov |
35
|
33
|
11
|
21
|
3
|
1007
|
98
|
3.02
|
909
|
0.903
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
| Jean-Sebastien Giguere |
18
|
14
|
5
|
4
|
4
|
469
|
43
|
2.84
|
426
|
0.908
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
| Sami Aittokallio |
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
25
|
2
|
2.45
|
23
|
0.92
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Some info, stats and video taken from NHL.com’s 30-in-30 series.