Pissed or not, as an NHL captain you can't act like that. And I guess he forgot how the big bad NHL screwed the Avs in a game with his Blues.
Congrats Avalanche on making the playoffs
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Derp Kassian
Registered User
Mckinnon is MVP but I gotta ask, Whats the reason for the turnaround? 49 points to playoffs is insane... I know they had a few prospects and rode the one line all year.. but they look set for awhile even if they regress out of the playoffs next year, wasnt Sakic a joke?
A coach having an entire offseason of preparation -> 50% turnover -> Duchene trade -> MacKinnon = profit
So much more depth. I know their secondary scoring isn't the strongest but every single player belongs in the NHL and that isn't something we've been able to say for a while.
TheAngryHank
Expert
- May 28, 2008
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Think so yeah?
Mac is fantastic..He has gone cold,he was your hope and who got you to the playoffs.
Tons of shame being a Wings fan.Shake your head Friend we had good times.
Addition by subtraction: Iginla, Beauchemin, Grigorenko, Rene Bourque, Tyutin, Wiercioch, Colborne, Mitchell, Martinsen, Goloubef, Gelinas, and McLeod. Some of which were never true NHL quality. Some used to be but are past their play-by dates. Some were apparently causing locker room division (and not the good kind...maths practice). Of all those players, only 3 played NHL games this year: FB 67, Highlander 23, and Biffkaka 9.
Also the Duchene trade. Another bit of addition by subtraction. Last year was the culmination of an early career of unfortunate outcomes for MD9. He was done in Colorado, and wanted out as soon as the wheels started coming off last year. His attitude was a part of the problem last year, but to his credit, he came to play this year, which made it easier to trade him, and probably boosted his value enough so that Sakic could get the price he wanted. Which allowed them to get the next piece.
Girard. Small dude, big part of the turn-around. Not so much his personal play, although that has been overall pretty good. But how getting him shows the commitment of the team to a direction moving forward, both in personnel and play style.
Bednar. Dude had a full offseason to work out a game plan, input on assistants and incoming players to fit that plan, and buy in from the players...even ones that seem to have been a huge part of the problem the year before.
Soderberg/Comeau. These two are the epitome of that last part of the prevous paragraph. Both were crap last year, and massive turn-arounds were what allowed other lines to play the way they did.
Goaltending. Going from .894 to .913 in Sv% is a huge leap. From 2nd last, to 8th best.
Shooting. 2016-17: 7.2%. 2017-18: 10.4% (dead last to 3rd best)
Combined, those two mean the PDO went from 97.4% to 101.2%....supremely unsustainably bad (dead last), to somewhat unsustainably good (5th highest).
Rookies. Not just Girard, but Kerfoot, Compher, Jost, and even Greer when he was up, and Lindholm before he fell of his cliff.
Rantanen. He did not do it alone, but jumping from 39 to 85 points is an almost unbelievable step forward.
And the biggest factor IMO, MacKinnon. An MVP season, whether he get s the Hart or not (he should).
Yep, still better than being a Red Wings fan.
TheAngryHank
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The Wings playoff streak is longer then the Avs franchise, Brush up on your history my friend.cheers.
Congrats Avs! You wanted it more. I admire the team and I appreciate the insightful and informed posts by their fans. Good luck!
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klozge
Avs
This is very true but what I liked the most about Bednar this season is how he guided and controlled the development of all the rookies and sophomores who played on the team. Also the handling of Zadorov. I'm really glad this is the guy who's coaching this team now.
Ceremony
blahem
- Jun 8, 2012
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Please explain how your autocorrect turned "I said I'd give" into "Ineaidnguve"
cgf
FireBednarsSuccessor
Bednar lost the room last year in less than a month. He's done a much better job last year and I give him a lot of props for that, but I've never seen a coach lose the vets that fast in any of the sports I follow.
Now maybe a lot of those guys needed to be lost and the only reason they weren't useless before was because Roy is the lazy-player-whisperer, but there was plenty of reason to criticize Bednar even within the context of replacing a beloved coach on short notice with no prep-time.
CauZuki
Registered User
- Feb 19, 2008
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Except all the last Stanley cup winners were top seeds. Minus maybe LA that one year where they had no business finishing 8th.
Freudian
Clearly deranged
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From the season opener lineup in 2016/17, ten skaters were gone. Veterans not giving a crap and provided 'leadership' that suffocated the younger guys (Iginla, Beauchemin), younger players without any will to compete (Colborne, Grigorenko). Marginal NHLers without much to provide (Weircioch, Tyutin).
Duchene's trade request clearly bothered some players (EJ, Landeskog, MacKinnon) so the trade finally happening seems to have helped.
Coaches figuring out special teams, an area Avs have struggled with for a long time, also makes a big difference.
Adding hungry young players (Jost, Kerfoot, Compher, Girard) and solid waiver pickups (Bourque, Nemeth, Barbeiro, Nieto) have made the team faster and harder working.
Lastly, team chemistry seems to be very good. Several players have mentioned this is the best locker room they've ever been in. Credit to the leadership group in Landeskog, EJ, Comeau and MacKinnon for taking charge.
Avs are still very much a work in progress. Depth isn't amazing and the rookies still have a lot to learn.
Foppberg
Registered User
Yup. I said it on our board but if Landy made comments like that I would not be happy. Your captain of all people shouldn't be looking for excuses on why they lost, take some responsibility.
Gurglesons
Registered User
Extremely happy for Avs fans and their stars.
Most of all glad Sakic made everyone eat crow on his decision to wait out the Duchene trade. I remember people on our board were going crazy that he didn’t accept Rutherford’s offer and how he’d never get something better than it.
Most of all glad Sakic made everyone eat crow on his decision to wait out the Duchene trade. I remember people on our board were going crazy that he didn’t accept Rutherford’s offer and how he’d never get something better than it.
TheAngryHank
Expert
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Foppberg
Registered User
Makar Goes Fast
grocery stick
Makar Goes Fast
grocery stick
Reality Check
Registered User
- May 28, 2008
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Natty Mac
Hall
Giroux
are the current top three
lol nah Duchene is gone, and its Mac n Landy's team now. They've got too much going good for them to fall back; plus they aren't head cases like duchess Duchene. I can only imagine how much more positive the locker room is now.
-Coaching was much improved
-MacKinnon went full beast mode and became the franchise player he was capable of being
-Rantanen exploded as well
-Got rid of all the veteran players that didn't want to be part of the team and quit on the team last season (Iginla, Beauchemin, Colborne, Duchene, Bourque, Tytuin). This is probably the sole biggest reason we improved. The guys I listed above were straight cancerous to the locker room last season, and made it tough on the guys that gave a shit. From all accounts the locker room was very divided last season.
-young guys stepped in and played well (Girard, Kerfoot, Jost, Compher)
-better goaltending between Varlamov and Bernier as compared to Pickard and AHL plug we had last season
probably a few more reasons but this would be a good starting point
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