A Gallery of the Players and Coaches that have Brought Avalanche Fans Angst and Agony

I thought it would be fun to put up a collection of players and coaches that have come and gone here in Avalanche Land.  But these are those players that have produced the anger, the annoyance...the angst that only fans can real understand.
Remember fans.  This year it's all about the

Stupid Puck!!!

Those are great odds!!!



Are these really the same two people?





No caption needed.



Some fans thought Skoula was a little slow...

Skoula goes insane...

Maybe we were too hard on Tyler, I would say he skates well for a one-legged man.

Autograph denied!



I has stick?

I can’t seem to face up to the facts.

I’m tense and nervous and I... can’t relax.

I can’t sleep, cause my bed’s on fire.

Don’t touch me I’m a real live wire.



Psycho Killer

Qu'est-ce que c'est? [What is it?]

fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa better

Run run run run run run run away

OH OH OH

Act casual...

Got a pic for the collection? Send it!

Denver Jersey Fouls

When Greg Wyshynski started his entertaining Jersey Fouls posts on Puck Daddy I was surprised at how many people he was able to find. People with weird, stupid, just plain dumb jerseys. But like a lot of things that one is made aware of, once I started looking around I noticed they were all around me. So I thought it would be fun to run a few of the ones I see around here in Denver.

Snapped this pic at the recent Broncos - Patriots game. I'm no New England Patriots expert, but I couldn't recall any notable players for that organization that wore #13. Maybe it's a nod to the original 13 colonies? Obviously he is a Jimmy Buffet fan. Buffet has recently entered into a deal with the Miami Dolphins. I guess this guy is just lost in Margaritaville?

At a recent Avs game I noticed this fan wearing the jersey of Rene Corbet. Corbet was on the '95-96 Stanley Cup winning team. So it seems ok to be sporting his jersey. Then again, he was involved in the (forgotten) worst trade the Avs ever made. Corbet, Wade Belak and Robyn Regehr were traded to the Flames for Chris Dingman and Theoren Fluery. Fluery's now well documented demons meant he was a bust in Denver. Regehr is still a solid defensive player in Calgary. Is it a foul? Naw, I don't think so, players rarely have anything to do with trades.


What's this? A John Elway Avalanche jersey? Look, the guy was the bomb in this town, but I'm pretty sure he played for the Broncos. I mean, here you are dropping some coin for Avs tix, and you are apparently a big enough fan of hockey that you paid good money for that custom jersey. You just couldn't decide on a favorite AVALANCHE player?

Look, Granato was a good player with a long career. But he was canned in this town twice. Don't wear his jersey to the Avs game. Maybe you should save it for the games you go to on the West Coast and spring for an Avs jersey for these games in Denver, eh?

-From the Point

Tyler Arnason Signs Two-way Contract with Rangers - Update

As I mentioned back in early July, Tyler Arnason signed a 2-way with the Rangers. The Shocker and I had predicted that Arny would not be in the NHL this year. Well, he isn't. He got sent down and is playing for the Hartford Wolf Pack. Frankly, I think we were right. If you can't make the opening night roster, you ain't no NHLer.
What's really sad is that by the looks of this game summary, Tyler is still a third line center. Wow. And Tony Granato tried to make him a first line center...

-From the Point

Colorado Avalanche "Management Structure" Revealed

Ok people, listen up! All you whiners out there that think Pierre Lacroix has to hire a GM before hiring a Coach...please see the organ-i-zational chart below. Do you see how the GM and the coach are on the same level?

Ok. Pop quiz: Who do the Head Coach and the GM answer to?
If you said Pierre Lacroix, congratulations! You get a Gold Star!
Now, does the head coach report to the GM? Not anymore. That was a kinda tricky question because he used to.
Ok, let us review with the following organ-i-zation chart. This is a simplified chart just in case you are still a bit confused about who is running this team.

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

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

The Dollar$ & Sense of an NHL GM

Colorado Avalanche GM, Francois Giguere was supposed to be a $ guy, an accountant, numbers were his game. And even with as long as he has been around the league, I don't recall anyone calling him a hockey guy. And maybe this team is what you get when you only look at the bottom line.
Brett Hull is a hockey guy, but they aren't going to leave him to cipher the complexities of the salary cap. Sean Avery made a mess of Dallas but made NY a better team. So there needs to be a balance.
Francois Giguere can't see that guys like Arny, and Tucker are bad and that guys like Bruno are good. Chances are FG didn't want to listen to people that told him about hockey sense, that's why his next job will be at an accounting firm. Though when you have guys like Tony Granato in Tucker's corner, it could mean you have the wrong people advising you.
I think the interview Adrian Dater did approaching the trade deadline was telling as well. FG said he wanted to make a trade and couldn't get it done. It's too hard in this day of salary caps. Pierre Lacroix doesn't really strike me as a guy that accepts "no-can-do" very well. You don't walk into PL's office and say, well, it's just too hard to trade anyone right now, so, oh well. That No-Can-Do attitude doesn't fly with team president, proud mastermind of two Cups. And though there are many legitimate slams on PL, he never sent this team to the bottom like we've seen this year.
It has been suggested that Eric Lacoix may be the next GM. And that this would be a bad choice because when he was an Avs player, he was hated. Several things wrong with that conclusion; of course he was hated, his daddy was the GM and anyone who has worked for their parents know they will not be treated the same. At least in this position EL would be the boss and who cares if the players and personnel don't like him? He's the boss, not there to be liked. At least this is a guy that has done just about everything there is to do in hockey. Player, scout, video coach, minor league owner. Seems better than an accountant to me.
Another thing people are saying is that PL is still running this team, well no kidding, he is the prez. So whether or not his son is the new GM, it will be a guy hand-picked by PL. Little difference.
Now why is Granato still here? Possibly PL will let the new GM decide what to do with the coaching situation. A lot of people thought PL was going to pull the strings on FG but it appears that he really did let him sink the ship and that includes picking the coach. So Granato may be at the mercy of the new GM.
Whoever is chosen as the new GM, I just hope this organization regains its hockey sense.
Posted by: From the Point

Arnason sees end of line with Avs (Thank you, thank you, thank you!)

Mar. 20, 2009
By Aaron J. Lopez
When a season goes bad, the fingers start pointing like compass gone haywire.
The needle spins toward the coach one day, the general manager the next. Naturally, the guys on the ice also must shoulder their share of the blame.
Few players in the Avalanche dressing room know this better than center Tyler Arnason, who has been labeled as everything from overweight to overrated to emotionally indifferent throughout his career. Read the whole story here

My thoughts: Arnason has indeed been a whipping boy for frustrated fans this season, with good reason. And frankly Granato has given him more than enough of a chance to redeem himself. The only reasonable explanation I can find for keeping in the line-up as much as he has is that the injuries to this team has forced him to do so. Still, even that is a questionable line of reasoning. T.J. Hensick has spent a lot more time on the bench than Arnason. Hensick has 18 points to Arnason's 22, yet Hensick has 52 games played to Arnason's 67. Simply based on the plus-minus stat, Hensick is also a more responsible defensive center. So why not give the youngster more ice time? In a season gone to pot, and everyone including Aranson knows that he will not be here next season, you really have to question why. Why waste your time trying to get passion and goals out of Arnason?
Posted by: From the Point