Line Combos: 2016/2017 Colorado Avalanche Defence

[tigervixxxen]

Bigras has played a lot on the right throughout his career so it's not a big deal for us to swap him over, and Tyutin plays on the right side as well (think Stuart before he broke). With Beauch playing the right next to Zads, we don't "need" to us both Barrie & EJ on that side and can afford to pair them up.

Bigras played zero right in the AHL, so I don't think they have much interest in that. Not that he's incapable of it tho.

 

[Foppa2118]

Bigras played zero right in the AHL, so I don't think they have much interest in that. Not that he's incapable of it tho.

Roy/Farrish played him a bit on the right at the end of last year though. Wasn't long lived, but they tried it.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Roy/Farrish played him a bit on the right at the end of last year though. Wasn't long lived, but they tried it.

They also played Barrie with EJ more than one or two shifts as well.

Our defensive pairings are an absolute wild card IMO.

 

[Tommy Shelby]

What I would love to see:

Barrie-Johnson
Bigras-Beauchemin
Zadorov-Tyutin
Gelinas
Wiercioch

What I fear could happen:

Beauchemin-Johnson
Wiercioch-Barrie
Gelinas-Bigras/Zadorov

Or God help us:

Beauchemin-Johnson
Tyutin-Barrie
Wiercioch-Gelinas

 

[tigervixxxen]

I think they are going to commit to playing Zadorov at least.

 

[Sea Eagles]

How would people rate our defense in comparison to our division rivals?

I'd say we have Dallas covered.

 

[AvalancheFan19]

How would people rate our defense in comparison to our division rivals?

I'd say we have Dallas covered.

Too many question marks. This season will tell us a lot going forward.

 

[ABasin]

How would people rate our defense in comparison to our division rivals?

In this respect, Colorado is definitely behind Chicago, St. Louis, Nashville, and Minnesota. Winnipeg is close, and Colorado's defensive personnel does look better than Dallas'.

But an awful lot depends on how Zadorov (and perhaps Bigras) develops this season. If the Avs are forced to have Wiercioch or Tyutin to play that 4D position.....

That said, I'd take Varlamov/Pickard over any other Central team's goaltending.

 

[henchman21]

I think they are going to commit to playing Zadorov at least.

Yep... they even signed him an old man to latch onto. The one pairing I'm confident in is Zadorov-Tyutin... beyond that, shove names in a blender and pulse.

The defense this year is almost completely on how the kids and reclamation projects work out. If the Avs can get top 4 play out of one and servicable 5/6 out of another, they will be better than last season. If they don't get one of those, it might be worse.

 

[the_fan]

How would people rate our defense in comparison to our division rivals?

I'd say we have Dallas covered.

Easily the worst

 

[Avs71]

I think the most hinges on Zadorov. If he is a 21 minute a night guy, the Avs have four legitimate top 4 defenceman. EJ, Beauchemin, Zadorov, and Barrie can be leaned on heavily for a lot of minutes. But like lots have already said, that would probably require pairing EJ with Barrie, and Zadorov with Beauchemin.

I could see Zadorov getting the EJ treatment from Roy's first season. Start the season at 18 minutes a night, and slowly grow till you're at ~23 minutes a night.

 

[Foppa2118]

After Z and Bigras get a year or so of NHL development under their belt, I actually think they could be a great fit together on a 2nd pairing. Has everything you'd want, in terms of size, physical play, puck mobility, good shots, and two way play.

I think they'd compliment each other pretty well, and wouldn't be predictable in terms of who will be the puck carrier to be aggressive on the forecheck against. They both can do it well, both are willing and able to sit back for the other as well.

They'd turn into more of a matchup unit down the road, while a Barrie-EJ combo would be the more offensive. Meloche could be brought along slowly after a year in the A, and then on the Avs 3rd pairing.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

The idea of Zadorov being a disaster in the defensive zone is 100% incorrect, IMO. He's not perfect, and gets caught watching too much, but he takes away time and space from people so quickly that it shuts things down real fast. He's especially good at doing that at the blueline instead of just backing in on a rush. I think that's why his shot suppression numbers are top notch.

People are talking about giving him easy minutes and offensive zone starts, but the Avs did the opposite of that with him last year, so I don't know if people should expect that.

The only reason why I would potentially want Bigras starting in the AHL is for more offensive development. He isn't going to get big minutes or PP minutes if he's in Colorado next year, IMO. He would get that in the AHL.

 

[AvsCOL]

Opening day:

Beauchemin - Johnson
Tyutin - Barrie
Zadorov - Weircoch
Gelinas

Bigras (AHL)


Midseason:

Beauchemin - Johnson
Zadorov - Barrie
Bigras - Tyutin


End of year:

Zadorov/Bigras - Johnson
Bigras/Zadorov - Barrie
Beauchemin - Tyutin

Hopefully...

 

[NOTENOUGHJTCGOALS]

I think the second pairing and third pairing will be the best we've seen from the Avs in awhile. The top pairing if it's EJ Beauch will be the one that struggles against top lines. EJ getting hurt and inconsistent and Beauch aging.

 

[Pokecheque]

How would people rate our defense in comparison to our division rivals?

I'd say we have Dallas covered.

Definitely way below Nashville, Chicago and St. Louis, and a couple steps behind Minnesota and Winnipeg. As far as Dallas goes, it's hard to say. On paper I think the Avs match up pretty well blueline-for-blueline, but IMO Dallas has a better coach with a better system.

I really hope we've seen the last of seeing so many otherwise-solid players getting overworked. Beauchemin and Johnson were out there for WAY too many shifts.

 

[The Kingslayer]

This year is ****ed anyway. Just let the kids play please Roy.

I hope:

Beauchemin - EJ
Zadorov - Barrie
Bigras - Tyutin

Yup. My expectations are so low for the season that thats what I want Roy to do. Im actually more excited for the upcoming season than last since I really dont expect much and just wanna see guys like Bigras and Zadorov play.

 

[the_fan]

Definitely way below Nashville, Chicago and St. Louis, and a couple steps behind Minnesota and Winnipeg. As far as Dallas goes, it's hard to say. On paper I think the Avs match up pretty well blueline-for-blueline, but IMO Dallas has a better coach with a better system.

I really hope we've seen the last of seeing so many otherwise-solid players getting overworked. Beauchemin and Johnson were out there for WAY too many shifts.

Not only that but Dallas also upgraded their offense even if they don't really have a top blue line. Avs on the other hand downgraded offense by losing ROR and Stastny and their blue line remained the same crap as it's been for a long time.

 

[shadow1]

You have to think Bigras is in the mix some point as well.

I hope Colorado makes the playoffs next season - obviously - but the most important thing is making sure the young guys on defense - Bigras, Gelinas, Zadorov - take a step forward.

Colorado is going to have cap space next off-season, but there are only a handful of big name defenders, most of which will probably be re-signed.

 

[AvsFan2123]

What I'd like to see:

Zadorov - Johnson
Beauchemin - Barrie
Gelinas - Tyutin

What I think we see:

Beauchemin - Johnson
Wiercioch - Barrie
Zadorov - Tyutin

Either way, one of the reclamation projects that I'd like to see in the lineup (Gelinas and Wiercioch) will be scratched most likely. Bigras and Siemens are almost guaranteed to start in SA, but Bigras will earn a call up.

 

[Don Corleone]

Once again the Avs D looks brutal, worst in the division. However, there is the possibility that it could be good. No one can really know how good Zadorov and Bigras will be next season. They could be terrible and end up in the AHL or be top 4 D men in the NHL.

One thing I am upset about is the fact that once again the Avs are not commited to build the D trough the draft. Only drafting forwards in the 1st round and D sometimes in the 2nd means that is has taken forever for the defence to look even avarage. To me it is just very weird strategy to take because defence is by far the most important aspect of a hockey team. Additionally, D men are more valuable than forwards so if you have to you can easily trade them and get a good forward. Nashville gets it but sadly the Avs do not.

 

[AvalancheFan19]

Once again the Avs D looks brutal, worst in the division. However, there is the possibility that it could be good. No one can really know how good Zadorov and Bigras will be next season. They could be terrible and end up in the AHL or be top 4 D men in the NHL.

One thing I am upset about is the fact that once again the Avs are not commited to build the D trough the draft. Only drafting forwards in the 1st round and D sometimes in the 2nd means that is has taken forever for the defence to look even avarage. To me it is just very weird strategy to take because defence is by far the most important aspect of a hockey team. Additionally, D men are more valuable than forwards so if you have to you can easily trade them and get a good forward. Nashville gets it but sadly the Avs do not.

Passing on Rantanen or Jost would have been a huge mistake.

 

[AslanRH]

Once again the Avs D looks brutal, worst in the division. However, there is the possibility that it could be good. No one can really know how good Zadorov and Bigras will be next season. They could be terrible and end up in the AHL or be top 4 D men in the NHL.

One thing I am upset about is the fact that once again the Avs are not commited to build the D trough the draft. Only drafting forwards in the 1st round and D sometimes in the 2nd means that is has taken forever for the defence to look even avarage. To me it is just very weird strategy to take because defence is by far the most important aspect of a hockey team. Additionally, D men are more valuable than forwards so if you have to you can easily trade them and get a good forward. Nashville gets it but sadly the Avs do not.

You do realize since they started in 1998 the Preds have only chosen a Dman 7 times as their first pick in the draft and that a few times their first pick was not until the 2nd round. Add in that Jonathan Blum and Ryan Parent were 2 of those, and Roman Josi and Shea Weber were both 2nd rounders and Ekholm was a 4th rounder. The best 1st rounders they have chosen (Suter, Hamhuis, Jones) are all no longer with the team.

I'm not sure Avs are straying as far from the course as you make it seem.

 

[Don Corleone]

What I meant is that some teams do understand that defence is something that you better focus on in the draft because a top 2 D is the hardest thing to find. While the Nashville statistics are interesting you cannot say they do not invest quite a bit in defence in the draft, just look at the their selections this year.

The Avs take D here and there but rarely do they actually use high picks for them. Therefore it comes to me as no surprise that our D has been atrocious for years. At some point you just have to stop picking only forwards.

 

[AslanRH]

What I meant is that some teams do understand that defence is something that you better focus on in the draft because a top 2 D is the hardest thing to find. While the Nashville statistics are interesting you cannot say they do not invest quite a bit in defence in the draft, just look at the their selections this year.

The Avs take D here and there but rarely do they actually use high picks for them. Therefore it comes to me as no surprise that our D has been atrocious for years. At some point you just have to stop picking only forwards.

Avs percentage of picks that are D isn't that far off the norm. Their ability to develop them and their willingness to trade them early is the issue IMO.