Third Annual Real Denver Sports Helmet Awards

With the season over for the Avs, I thought we could pass out some awards to some deserving Colorado Avalanche players. Real Denver Sports would like to acknowledge the players of the Colorado Avalanche with the meaningless Helmet Awards.
The categories, strictly made up on the spot by myself are:

The P. T. Barnum Award goes to David Koci
For suckering y'all into thinking he's as good on D as anyone on this team. Surround him with a team this bad and he actually looks like he can play hockey and fooled everyone from broadcasters to bloggers.


The Friends with Benefits Award goes to Peter Budaj
For always being there when Avs management fucks up the goalie situation. He’s that fall-back slut that will always answer the phone but in the end doesn’t really make you feel any better. But you keep telling yourself he’s better than nothing.

The Endorsement Award goes to Cody McLeod
For makin’ it far enough in this town to get a Subway commercial! It would have been great to see him take a bite without his two front teeth or beat up a Sandwich Artist but it was still an entertaining commercial. Unfortunately McLeod’s Subway commercial was about as entertaining as his on-ice performance.

The Player Most Likely to be a Car Salesman Next Year goes to Peter Mueller
For…wait, who? Oh yeah, the guy who looks like he’s in a Shakespearean troop. Let’s check back next year.

The Best Call-up Award goes to Kevin Shattenkirk
Yeah, well that really worked out well, for St. Louis.

The Most pointless Call-up Award goes to Ryan Stoa
This kid is so bad that even on this team he doesn’t look good. Greg Mauldin and Mark Olver look like keepers next to him. And they’re not.

The Twitter Pollution Award goes to Matt Hunwick
He singled-thumbedly muddied up my Twitter feed with the #blamehunwick hash tag for most of the season. Why wasn’t it #blamesherman?

The Head-Scratcher Award goes to Peter Forsberg
He shows up to practice a week before the All-Star break thus preventing him from practicing with the team while the team was away. Impresses everyone with his two road games but hurriedly announces retirement before the Valentine’s Day Massacre. Did he have a vision of the future? Clearly there are things going on in Foppa’s head that no one else understands. It’s like that itch on your head that you can’t get to because of the helmet you have on. Frustrating.

The Forget-me-not Award goes to Chris Stewart
Wow, I’m gonna miss this guy. It was man-crush at first fight. He is my perfect idea of what a hockey player ought to be. He’s got scoring swagger, he’s got attitude and he’s willing to bust you up if you mess with him or a teammate. I need another tub of ice cream to help me get over this.

The Survivor Award goes to John-Michael Liles
For not getting voted off the island. He won’t win the race for the Captaincy; he just doesn’t have the coconuts for the job. But every time the tribe tries to snuff out his torch he manages to survive. The Liles trade rumors are as old and tired as the stupid show I’m using here as a metaphor.

The Inaugural David Jones Broken Man Award goes to TJ Galiardi
So much promise, so many broken body parts. Jones finally had a reasonable unbroken season and he should be honored that such an award has been named after him. Here’s hoping Galiardi gets healthy and turns out to be the kick-ass 3rd liner that we all know he really is.

The Worst Gordie Howe Hat Trick Award goes to Brandon Yip
It was one of the many things he did poorly this season, but this one just shames the idea of a GHHT. I refuse to recognize it but officially it’s there.

And finally, Adam Foote whose head is so hard he doesn’t need a Helmet Award
Nonetheless he gets the Helmet Award for being a True Avalanche. The man said he “bleeds burgundy and blue” at his retirement press conference. Man, that was beautiful.

-From the Point
  

Avalanche Burgundy & White Game

Tonight the Avs held their annual Burgundy and White game.  After a couple of years of being hosted at the Air Force Academy it was moved back to the Denver area.  The new-to-Kroenke Broomfield Center is a great little venue for just this kind of event.  The event center has been through a management change that resulted in the departure of the minor league teams.  There were reports that the locker rooms were dismantled and rumors that it would not host sporting events ever again.  Fortunately the big "A" painted at center ice was a good indication that the facility still has all it needs to run a hockey game.

Remember, "It's All About the A"

Tonight's "A" stands for Ass.  Or Adam.  Interchangeable.

Footer has been a bit pissy all camp but has been promoted to Five Star Ass after tonight's game.  Not only did he ASSault Matt Duchene twice in the game but he also took a good shot at Mueller(?) can't recall exactly.  Perhaps it's all part of a new training regime for Duchene where he gets mugged on the ice by his landlord.  It's possible, since he did get mugged a lot early last year by just about every team that played the Avs.  As for why Foote has been mugging other players at random?  I attribute it to poor eyesight.  The guy IS pretty old. 

Fantasic video, nice job by Guitarpick8120, obviously a great Avs fan!

As for the rest of the game, the goalies that matter looked good.  TJ Galiardi looked very good with his usual line mates, Stewart and Stastny.

O'Reilly looked pretty good as did Jones.  The Duchene - Mueller - Hejduk line was not impressive, though individually they looked fine.  Just not clicking as a line. 

Almost had a fight between Koci and McLeod.  Kinda glad it didn't happen, Koci is a big guy and I like McLeod.  Daniel Winnik also continues to play well.  Shattenkirk had a good game.  Porter was skating like a mad man but not getting too much done.  Stoa and Mercier were looking decent.

Sakic was spotted in the suites with the rest of the Avs Illuminati, further fueling thought that he isn't just hanging around for autographs.  He working himself into a work.

-From the Point

Avs - Sharks Game 3 Photoblog

It starts and ends with Andy

Andy's name spelled wrong.

Playoff beard sighting!

O'Reilly dropped his breezers and got his shorts taped on, mid-game.

For the Boods fans!

Crowd rockin' it!

Picking up after the yard sale.

Tired penalty killers.

AN-DY! AN-DY! AN-DY!

-From the Point

Five for Fighting Monday

Adam Foote hasn't had a fight in over two years, and not since Oct of 2003 has he fought in an Avs jersey. Friday night Foote was ready to go with Steve Ott of the Stars, in fact he dropped the gloves but Ott wussed out and skated away. Perhaps out of respect, Foote did not earn the unsportsmanlike penalty usually doled out to the one guy that drops the gloves.

Tomorrow the Avs play Columbus, and while a lot of BJ fans would probably like to drop the gloves with Foote, chances are higher that Jared Boll and Cody McLeod will duke it out. The two have gone at it before and McLeod can't seem to come out on top. Let's take a look.




So don't be surprised if McLeod has reviewed these videos himself in order to try to figure out what he needs to do to get a few good punches to land.

Foote has been a bit cranky all season, perhaps itching for a fight. He's currently third on the team in PIM despite no fights. For quite a while he was even leading the team in PIM. Well Nashville is your chance Footer. You and Jordin Tootoo have dropped the gloves several times back in your Columbus days. Take a gander...



Alrighty then...and the end of the week wraps up with the Oilers. There aren't many teams that the Avs fight more often than the Oil. And Ryan Wilson will probably be looking for Jean-Francois Jaques in this game. Jaques put Willie out of the last game with a huge hit behind the net. Wilson is a scrappy guy and I suspect he will want to let the Oil know he isn't going to put up with that. This season's series between the Oil and the Avs has been progressively heating up, beginning with a huge hit that Wilson put the Oil captain, Ethan Moreau. So I expect a few fisticuffs.

Have a great week folks and give it the ole one-two punch!

-From the Point

Caps @ Avs photo blog

The Avs D needs to get tougher

The Colorado Avalanche have starting goalie, Craig Anderson back in net after missing four games due to a neck injury inflicted by goalie killer, Keith Ballard. With the recent report by Puck Daddy that former NHL goalie Martin Gerber suffered a neck injury while playing in the Kontinental Hockey League, maybe the league should reconsider their deafening silence on players that keep running goalies. If players continue to run Craig Anderson then I think it’s time a message was sent to the league. And I don’t mean the front office.

As the Avs take on their opponents this month I think they need to keep in mind that if anyone so much as looks at Andy cross-eyed, he needs to be pummeled by the Avalanche. Now part of the challenge here for the Avs is their lack of fighting toughness on the backline. Not that a forward can’t take on this roll, but I would like to see at least one Avalanche defenseman take on the role of being Andy’s personal bodyguard.

Adam Foote has dropped the gloves in the past, he’s getting a bit long in the tooth to keep doing that and he really hasn’t dropped ‘em much in the last few years. Footer has only three fights since the lockout and no fights in nearly two years. But if you think he isn’t up to the job, take a look at his last fight with Jordin Tootoo.

I like the captain showing the team what needs to be done, but I would also like to see one of the other guys take on this responsibility. So who else might take on this role? Well here is the last fight (only NHL fight) John-Michael Liles was in.

So I don’t think he is our guy. Way to protect the face pretty-boy.

How about Hannan, Clark, or Quincey? Combined, they average less than a fight per year since the lockout.

That leaves Ryan Wilson, who has shown a real penchant for putting the hurt on guys with his checks. Let’s watch this recent video of Wilson leveling Ethan Moreau and fighting Zach Stortini.

Now Wilson didn’t fare so well in that fight but looking at his 100+ PIMs in his last couple years in the OHL, it’s obvious that Wilson has done a little fighting. He could be the man for this job.

If the league isn’t going to protect our goalie, then things need to be handled by the Avs, on the ice. I don’t care who commits the infraction, someone needs to address it. Craig Anderson is clearly a key component to the winning ways of this new and improved Colorado Avalanche. Last I checked the league doesn’t have a skirt-rule for goalies and I’m not calling for one either. I’m calling for the Avs to stand up for one of the guys that have made this team a winner again.


-From the Point

A version of this article was originally published on HockeyIndependent.com

Avs Eastern Conference Road Trip

The Colorado Avalanche took a three game run through the Eastern conference picking up three points out of a possible six. Not bad, not great. The Avs took it to the Lightning in the first game and Matt Duchene caught fire, seemingly appearing out of nowhere with 7 points in the last 5 games. Chris Stewart shares the same stat and not coincidentally has been playing on the same line of late. Perhaps some, if not all of Duchene’s success is due to the space that Stewart creates on the ice for Duchene. As I pointed out in my blog post, “Does Duchene need a Marty McSorley?” I think Matt Duchene has been a target and needed a little toughness on his line to open up the ice. Looks like its working, Avs win 3-0.

Despite a day off, the Avs skated like zombies through a game against the Florida Panthers, trailing the entire game. In the last minute of the game the Avs scored two goals to tie it up to send the game to overtime. With approximately 40 seconds remaining in the OT period, THE Keith Ballard was flying down the wing and recklessly crashed the net, stunning goalie Craig Anderson. Ballard’s most recent example of “careless stupidity” was still a hot topic when he got careless and stupid again, running Anderson’s head into the post and putting him on day-to-day status with a neck injury. Nope, no need to suspend idiots. Avs lose this one in the shootout that a cold Peter Budaj was forced to finish due to Anderson’s injury.

After the Carl Hiaasen-like Double Whammy trip to Florida the Avs only had to face the Defending Cup champs the very next night. No problem!

Their best game so far on this trip could arguably be the one against the Pittsburgh Penguins who were well rested while the Avs were playing their 3rd game in four days. Though Milan Hejduk was back (and looking a bit rusty) goalie Craig Anderson was out and back up Peter Budaj played against a very hot Pens team. No, the Avs didn’t win the game but they were obviously up for the challenge of this juggernaut of a team, losing this one 4-1. However, two of those goals were empty netters in the last minute of the game and the Avs were also the victim of another “intent to blow” call that looked like it should have been a goal. But Avs fans don’t cry over that like Detroit Red Wings fans.

Saturday the Avs will visit Columbus and Adam Foote will no doubt be welcomed back with boos and derisive signs. As I recall, Puck Daddy had no problem finding jersey fouls such as this one. You can’t blame a guy for being that cranked about the captain of his team up and leaving so quickly. Based on Avs blogger Jibblescribbits’ “Official guide to buying an Avs sweater” a fan should be able to assign a tier to a player and therefore judge the risk involved in buying said sweater. In Columbus, Foote was a tier one guy. So it’s no wonder the kid is so angry.

The Avs need to continue to believe in themselves and play the opposition tough. They will wrap up the road trip in St. Louis and despite their record it should be noted that the Central Division is much tougher than it once was when Detroit ruled the roost and every other team in the division was a lock to be on the golf course in the spring. If the Avs can get a couple more points out of this road trip they may well be on their way to recovering from a poor November.

This story was originally posted at HockeyIndependent.com, check it out!

-From the Point

Keith Ballard takes out yet another goalie

Cool Beans! Avs beat the Bruins

This is a penalty...

...but this isn't? Ouch!

Andy stuck his leg out because he was out of position and was going to get beat on the wrap-around. Got that Norm Jones? Sheesh, I like Anderson too, but let's back off the love fest, not EVERYTHING he does is perfect, calm, collected, etcetera. Nonetheless, this team is looking, among other things, like a team. Did I see Clark high-five Andy after a bit of chaos in front of the net? Is it my imagination that these guys are doing the post goal-scoring hug with a lot more enthusiasm than I've seen in a long time? It's like real live camaraderie!

As a result, I think we are all seeing a team that is much more resilient than the team we saw last season. The Bruins, more than once, were comin' hard and knockin' on the doorstep. The Avs weathered the storms and stepped up their own game.

Some quick thoughts about the game today;

I like Foote as capt. but dude you aren't looking real stellar out there

Anyone want to start a pool for Duchie's first goal?

Stewart scratch...yeah, had to be done, but I still have faith in this kid

Galiardi will have an ache and pain for every good play he made, what a tough day!

Quincey and Tucker still looking good!

Sacco's post-game comments about O'Reilly...he's here to stay

David Jones looking good but lets wait a bit before promoting him to the first line

-From the Point

Avs Hit the Road...Road hits Back

So much for going 82-0. Of course we knew that wasn’t going to happen, right? Riiight? There has been a lot of Avalanche Kool-aid drinking after those first two games. The Colorado Avalanche has the honor of being the visiting team for two club’s opening nights in a row! Nashville and now Chicago. That can make things tougher than they already are.
And how tough is it to make 35 saves a night? Just ask Craig Anderson. You just can’t expect a guy to make 35 save every freakin’ game. You’ve got to help him out. Tonight we found out that Anderson IS human! Hornqvist completely faked him out but Andy got lucky that the puck hit his skate AND that the refs made a distinct mistake on the no-goal call. Arnott did NOT make a distinct kicking motion, sure, he knew what he was doing, but I didn’t see the kick, did you? That should have been a goal. And I know it’s only three games in but, what’s up with Duchie? Is he starting to grip? He’s getting 2-3 good chances a game, great chances, getting a ton of ice time…this kid needs a goal.
I think Kyle Quincey is looking good and making me look bad, (I said he looked lazy in camp, well he did!!) it’s cool. If he keeps sending great outlet passes up the ice...yeah, it’s cool! The Avs haven’t really had that guy in a long time.
Defense, defense, defense. What’s with Foote giving it away up the middle!?!?!?! At least twice, whew…
McLeod getting more ice time that Wolski, not a good sign.
Stewart was invisible.
O’Reilly looking lost.
Rusty was rusty.
But…
Kyle Cumiskey is so fast and looking better defensively.
Tucker is in the house!
The Duke still has those magic hands. Lookin’ pretty good on the PP.

-From the Point

Photos: AP

Free Agency – Day One

The Colorado Avalanche remained relatively quiet on day one. That is both a good thing and a bad. With rumors again surfacing that Smyth, Hannan and even Foote are up for trade, the fact that they are still here is good. Complain all you want about those deals, at least it isn’t a 12 year deal (see Hossa), that is just crazy.

At the same time, Avs fans are looking for management to do SOMETHING to help this team improve. So far they have signed a goalie and shown more than a hand full of guys the door. Not that that is a bad thing considering some of those guys were less than successful here. But of course Lappy being one of them is not sitting well with most of us. Even Ryan is upset!

So Lappy goes the Philly for about what he was making here in Colorado. Though he signs for three years, and that was probably the sticking point. Good luck Lappy!!!

To “replace” Lappy’s toughness, the Avs signed David Koci for $575K for one year. Just by comparing PIM, I would assume that is the plan. This is not what I had in mind for today. At least sign someone that can kill penalties…or skate… Maybe he is just going straight to Erie.

So far Arnason and Raycroft are still sitting by their phones…no surprise.

Goalies and Five-Holes
Dater reported today that Ty Conklin got 3 offers! But the Avs were not one of them. That’s fine by me, the Anderson signing looks ok. But really? Three offers? The decent, but affordable goalies were snatched up pretty quickly! Biron is still sitting out there. And no one picked up Belfour? Shocking! And Khabibulin ends up getting pretty good money, $15M / 4 years.

Let the Battle of the Avalanche Goalies Begin!
Craig Anderson has signed with the Avs. I don’t see Anderson as a clear starter for the Avs, though I’m sure management sees it differently. I believe the #1 position will be Anderson’s to lose. Not what I would call a real solid move for a true starter. But, he has been playing behind some pretty good goalies, so it may be his time. I’ve thought that Biron would be a solid signing, but I’m sure Anderson was cheaper. The other interesting battle will be for the #31. They both wear the same number, and have their entire NHL career. This is going to cost someone some money or pride…or both.

Speaking of cheap, after spending very little today, what can we infer that means? Well, good luck, do you have some Tarot cards to read? It could confirm the reports that the Avs are trimming salary. Or it could mean the Avs are leaving room for both Joe Sakic and Matt Duchene to be on the roster this season. I like the second option, frankly.


Non-Avs News

Is Marian Hossa a mercenary, or what? The Wings should be glad they lost out on him, the guy is just in it for the money.

The Rangers, in a rare moment of clarity, hosed the Habs and unloaded that Gomez contract. Correction! Spoke too soon. Gaborik for $7.5M a year??? Hahahahaha! What idiots!

Posted by: From the Point

First Annual Real Denver Sports Helmet Awards

With the season over for the Avs, I thought we could pass out some awards to some deserving Colorado Avalanche players. Real Denver Sports would like to acknowledge the players of the Colorado Avalanche with the meaningless Helmet Awards.
The categories, strictly made up on the spot, by myself and the staff are:

You Played Your Ass off for a Crappy Team: Ryan Smyth
Ryan Smyth should be the next Captain of this team, hopefully that is a year from now, but anyway...this guy really stepped up when the going got tough. Sorry Paul, I thought this was your team, but I've yet to see this kind of leadership from you.

Bones Like Twigs Award: Paul Stastny
Will someone please deliver this trophy to Paul? I really don't see a need for him to trip...er, walk up these steps to the podium...here just take this down to him...stay where you are Paul.

The Player Most in Need of a Neighborhood Kid-Joe Sakic
Poor Joe, what a crappy season. I want all you kids living around Joe to step up and start doing some chores! For goodness sake, will some one please mow his lawn for him this Summer?

Best Name Award-Cal Clutterbuck
Every year (um, starting this year) we give out this award, it's one of the funnest ones of the evening! Ok, I just wish he was an Avalanche.

Best Hockey Nose-Adam Foote
No argument!

Player Most Likely to be a Car Salesman Next Year-Andrew Raycroft
...is Andrew here...Razor...? Didn't think so.

You don't have to be pretty to play hockey-Ian Lapperriere

But it Doesn't Hurt-John-Michael Liles

Best Call-up Award-Chris Stewart

I guess in this age of Sidney (can't we just call him Sid?) Crosby, I was a little impatient with Stewart. Because the Avs sent him down early in training camp I was worried that he was a bust. He probably just had some normal growing up to do, and I think the Avs probably handled it well. He looks ready to start growing on an NHL team. His defense might need a little work but I like his tenacity. I don't see him ever going back to the minors.

Most durable player-Milan Hejduk
Wow, after that off-season scare due to some Czech newspaper reporting Milan's bum knee giving out at any minute, it's a wonder that the man with the Magic Hands played 82 games. The ONLY Avs player to do so. Milan Hejduk does not get enough credit in this town. This guy has been solid on this team for years, let's hope he sticks around a while longer.

Most pointless call-up-Per Ledin

Best facial hair-Ben Guite
Cue up the porn music!

Worst facial hair-Three way tie, Raycroft, Liles & Tucker
These goofs get this award for growing late season beards. Have you guys looked at the standings lately? Are those golf course beards? Wait, maybe they're "We're out of the playoffs" beards? WTF? Besides, Liles looks like a goof, that beard is Elfish. Shave it!

And our most prestigious award of the night, that is why it is saved for last is the
Most Balanced Player Award- Tyler Arnason
This goes to the guy that most exemplifies the all-around hockey tradition. The guy that does it all! We are proud to present this award to Tyler. With 5 goals and 6 hits*, you can't get more balanced than that!

That's it folks, we are running late, no time for your speech Tyler!!
Your late, local news is next!

Posted by: From the Point

*This stat represents the entire 2008-09 season.