What's in Your Stocking St. Patty?

We've got 1st place in ours! Woohoo!
See who's home for Xmas and who isn't on my new post over at HockeyIndepedent.com
Thanks for taking a look, and HAPPY HOCKEYDAYS to all!

Laperriere, the Heart in Colorado

From radio-canada.ca (translated)

May 26, 2009 - The Avalanche still has no general manager and head coach Tony Granato is hanging by a thread.

Despite the uncertainty in Colorado, Ian Laperriere wishes to continue his career in this American Western State. "I love Colorado and when you have a family, you can not just think of the hockey player," said Laperriere on the air of Sports Extra. "We had negotiated during the year and now we must agree on the terms.

"Negotiations are at a standstill for a very logical reason, the absence of a general manager. "It does not worry me too much," explains the forward who will become a free agent on July 1st. "If the new GM does not like me, I will move on quickly. And if he loves me, I can stay here.

"In the event of a failure in the negotiations, the native of Quebec does not see the Montreal Candiens as a potential destination. "I come from Rivière-des-Prairies and it is obvious that I would have liked to wear the uniform of the Canadiens. Five years ago, the Habs did not call me when I became a free agent. They did not call when I was 30 years old, so I don't see why they would at the age of 35 years.

"In 74 games last year with the Avalanche, Laperriere piled up 19 points (7 goals, 12 assists) in addition to spending 163 minutes in the penalty box. He pocketed 1.150 million last season.



Roy, a good candidate

On the scent of rumors sending Patrick Roy to Colorado, Laperriere would not say no to the arrival of the former goaltender of the Canadiens. "I have the greatest respect for Roy, the hockey player," he says. "He is a winner; it is in him. He has been successful as a coach with the Remparts and I do not see why he would not make it in the NHL.

"Laperriere, who follows the rumors on the internet from his home in Colorado, finds the situation painful for Tony Granato. "I would not like to be in his shoes. Every day, he reads that he is fired when he is still our coach. If the Avalanche are looking for a coach, I have no idea why they're keeping Tony. Last year, you should not forget that he lost his two best players in Joe Sakic and Paul Stastny for a long period."


I take no credit for finding this one out there in the ether. If you want to keep up on EVERYTHING Lappy, you must go to It's All About Lappy
And while you are there consider picking up a t-shirt that supports the Ronald McDonald House Charities. I have it on very good authority that it is a worth-while donation.

Let's hope the new GM doesn't just look at statistics when looking at Lappy's value. I wouldn't call 19 points exactly piling in on as the (translated) article says. Lappy's value is difficult to measure. And if the Avs management hesitates pre-July 1st, they will quickly discover that Lappy's value is real. Teams will be lining up to sign him to what will likely be his last NHL contract. In Colorado, we are hoping for the best.

Posted by: From the Point

Roy an American Idol?

Roy wants to be sure that when his son hits the stage on American Idol, he is there for every moment of it. St. Patrick's son has dumped hockey for a singing career. I bet if he pummels Simon Cowell's head to a pulp people will forget all about that ugly incident on the rink.

While I was a huge supporter of hiring Roy for any job he wanted with the Avs, I'm not really disappointed that he is now out of the running. I felt all along that the hype was at least as great as the risk. So it would have been an interesting ride, but it could have been like watching a train derail in slow motion. And we have seen enough of that this last season.

So where do the Avs go from here? Pierre Lacroix doesn't really have a pattern of hiring recycled coaches, Granato being the arguable exception (because I think Giguere made that call). Quenneville's stint with the Avs was only his second head coaching job.

Is it time for another no-name from a windshield factory to take over this team? Is it still Granato's? It seems clear that it is not. If Granato wants to continue to garner the sympathy of the blogging and media world he should continue to sit at home, confused. Or he can be a man and demand an end to this. Problem is, he has no power, I'm sure if he resigns, he forfeits the balance of the contract. So if you think he is being treated so poorly, just remember he will probably come out of this with a reassignment or two years of golfing, gratis.

It really is hard to say if Granato is a doormat or the loyal soldier. He certainly raised a few eyebrows when he gladly stepped aside for coach Goalie-Go-Round. I think Granato knows what is going on, and I suspect he is a willing participant. Call it the Cult of Lacroix-ality.

Random Ramblings

Due to my pesky job I had to wait all day to post my pithy thoughts about the current state of the organ-i-zation.

I make GREAT BBQ sauce.

Kane: Too little too late. But what a great player that kid is! I had hoped that the Hawks could at least hang around to wear down the Wings...

Helm OWNED the Hawks for 25 seconds on that penalty kill.

Detoilet fan stands up to get on camera more than any other fan.

Franzen: First he gets creamed at the blue line and then Huet robs him with the right pad, flung into the air in the last seconds of the 3rd. School the Mule, gotta take what you can get, I guess.

Crosby touched the conference trophy! Holy crap! I love it! This is also one of the few times of the year that players will discuss superstitions a little. Osgood admitted that they were not going to touch their trophy.

The Kult of Kroenke-ality: I'm actually watching the Nuggets.

I think I know why people like to watch basketball, it SO colorful! Bright blue and yellow! Beautiful wood floor! Almost makes you forget all that annoying squeaking.

Bird Watching: Chris Andersen is the bomb.

Mini Dater-Watch
Adrian Dater apparently spoke to Roy and "Roy confirmed he had an offer to coach the team, but whether there was an offer to have the vacant general manager's job as well was not addressed."

WHAT?

Dater has Roy on the phone and doesn't bother to ask about the combo deal?? After complaining loudly about his calls being ignored, and he doesn't ask THAT question?? C'mon man!

"...was not addressed"?? Well ADDRESS it Dater!

Posted by: From the Point

In Defense of Pierre Lacroix

Pierre Lacroix has been taking a lot of heat lately about the state of the Colorado Avalanche. He has been accused of blaming Francois Giguere for the Avs dismal season. He has been accused of living in the past. The secrecy of his inner circle rivals that of the Illuminati. He is widely portrayed as a puppet master.

Pierre Lacroix disseminates information when and where he pleases and not before. For the rabid Avalanche fan living in the instant-information age, it’s infuriating. For those employed in the media, well let’s just say their jobs are difficult enough without Pierre Lacroix adding the n-th degree of difficulty. Maybe someone needs to call in Robert Langdon to decipher what Lacroix meant by “management structure”.

I hold no ill will toward the man. I am satisfied to wait. I am not anxious about the new “structure” the Avalanche will employ. Am I anxious to know what it is? Sure, but I am not fretting like some fans and media personnel. I believe Lacroix knows better than most the state of our team. He has the most to gain and the most to lose, so I expect him to be deliberate and precise in his actions. Nothing less will do.

Perhaps Lacroix is an old fashioned business man. He believes that keeping the rumors to a minimum keeps the deal on track. Loose lips sink ships. And the accusations of puppet master are unfair. If you have ever been in a position to hire people you know how important it is to find people that share your philosophies and values about the project, job or goal that you are trying to accomplish. You don’t go out looking for a rebel soul unless you are trying to sink your own ship. So of course Lacroix is going to hire someone that is going to resemble his style. That doesn’t mean they can’t think for themselves.

That’s where I think Patrick Roy fits in well. Lacroix and Roy share one very important trait. The desire to win. But at the same time I don’t think anyone would ever mistake Patrick Roy as anyone other than his own man. Roy is no puppet. I highly support Lacroix hiring Roy as the next head coach of the Colorado Avalanche. And I think he should do it regardless of the status of the GM situation. Will Roy hold both positions or are the rumors just getting a little out of hand as time passes without any solid information?

It isn’t necessarily backwards to hire one before the other. I think Lacroix should hire who he thinks is the best man for the general manager job. Then the GM and the coach must work together to restore this team to its winning ways. This methodology is not unheard of, many sports organizations work this way. Granted, many create a great deal of friction in the process, sometimes resulting in the needed ouster of one or the other. However, we have seen this hockey team fail with the following progression: Lacroix hires GM, GM hires coach, team plummets to last place. There is nothing wrong with shaking up the process. And if that takes a little time, so be it.


Posted by: From the Point

Sweetening the Pot - All In!

Dater is reporting that Pierre Lacroix has offered Patrick Roy the whole enchilada!!

Report: Roy has combo offer by Adrian Dater

Offering Roy the head coaching job along with the GM position. And Roy already has his coaching staff picked out. Well, be sure you fire Jeff Hackett while you are at it, Roy! This is not really too surprising.

Will it work?

I say: make that combo a Super Size!

Posted by: From the Point

Will Patrick Roy Coach the Avalanche?

Nearly two weeks ago Patrick Roy arrived in Denver for a visit. That’s something that doesn’t happen very often. Peter Forsberg is in Denver on a regular basis, but not St. Patrick. So what is going on? Surely it has something to do with Pierre Lacroix’s efforts to implement a new management structure within the Colorado Avalanche organization. But Roy has said he isn’t a paper pusher. He wants to coach. The Avs have a general manager opening, not a coaching vacancy. Or do they?

So far the general manager search has proceeded slowly, at least as far as we know. Many people seem to be troubled by the slow progress, apparently forgetting how upset they were last season when the Avs moved swiftly to let Joel Quenneville go and hire Tony Granato. Well, you can’t please all the people all the time.

Assuming Roy came to town to talk about a coaching job: I have to disagree with a good many people that the process is being run backwards. People think you should hire the GM and then the coach. I would be pleased to see Lacroix hiring the coach and the GM, in any order and forcing the two to work together under his direction. He should hire the two men he thinks are best for the job; tell them to work together with the common goal of bringing this team up to the level of competition we have come to expect.

Hiring Roy to coach the Colorado Avalanche is a gamble worth taking.

Patrick Roy is a fiery competitor, no one disputes that. Roy does not accept losing. Look, I don’t think Granato accepts losing either, but some men have another level to their being. In this town I think we saw that with Dan Reeves. I would argue that he willed that team beyond its level of skill and even his own level of coaching. Pure will. You could see Reeves on the sideline, concentrating, motivating his players to succeed.

Granato seems to lack the coaching intangibles that will get players to elevate their play. Every team needs that from the coach. I think Roy has it.

Roy has that determination. It’s a purpose, a will to win. It’s otherworldly. In fact it isn’t unlike the “Force” that Luke and Obi-Wan Kenobi possessed. And, as it is in the Star Wars universe, some people have it, but most do not.

Besides “will”, we should expect another distinctive trait from Roy, eccentricity. Roy fits the stereotype of the idiosyncratic goalie to a tee. I have always suspected the Avs policy of not showing opponents goals on the jumbo-tron originated from Roy. Shortly after Roy was gone the puzzling practice was abandoned. This brings up another point I want to make in favor of Roy. Can you imagine Roy dictating to Pierre Lacroix? Telling Lacroix, “Hey, it is disrespectful to show a goal against me, over and over to the home crowd. I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t do that.” I think Roy may have, and Lacroix capitulated.

Roy is not a guy that will be a puppet. But once in the management end of the business will it be different? I think Roy knows that it will be, it may result in much more push and pull between two powerful men. As a player, that sort of power may have already been established. Roy was an elite player and Lacroix knew it and respected it. Roy has been successful at the Major Junior level but he is hardly what you would call an elite coach.

Is it a risk? Sure it is. But you finished last in the Western Conference this season, what have you got to lose? Do it Lacroix, roll the dice and go for broke. Because I sure would like to see Roy get the chance to become an elite coach!

Posted by: From the Point