Don't let a few goofballs who know nothing about them and are using advanced stats as some way to take down the Avs' accomplishments this year mark the whole concept as useless.
Look, we all know the Avs will not be successful long-term if they don't address their defensive concerns. But it's not like the Avs have suddenly declared THE REBUILD IS OVER and aren't actively looking to improve themselves in every aspect of the game. All I asked for this year (and didn't get last year) was progress toward the goal, some sign that this team was starting to turn the corner. And boy, did I get that. Not saying the Avs are already a contender, but the Bruins team that won the Cup in 2011 gave up a TON of shots, and were bailed out a lot by Thomas. Now, they're a dominant possession team.
BTW, Paul Stastny's possession numbers are quite good. Even in that SJ game where Varly got shelled he maintained a dead-even Corsi rating. That's astounding to me and another reason why I think it's vital the Avs re-sign him. And frankly, most of the stars on this team aren't that far from having better possession numbers. Get rid of those few shifts where the puck seemingly gets stuck in the defensive zone and I doubt we'll be hearing much about this next year.
I like the advanced stats crowd a lot more than the meathead crowd who think when their team is struggling they need to "get tougher." That's what completely derailed a very skilled Buffalo team and is currently destroying the Maple Leafs. Roy acknowledges toughness and the need to set a physical tone, but he doesn't value it to the point where he goons it up like Carlyle does or overuses grinders and leaves skill players in the minors.
Roy actually values a lot of what advanced stats folks value, even if he doesn't actually use them. He emphasizes aggressive neutral zone play (which is a BIG reason why the Avs beat St. Louis like a door a couple games back), time spent in the attacking zone, and he prefers the team carry the puck rather than just chip it all over the place. I know he can't possibly like the collapsing system the Avs use right now but I understand why he's using it since the defense isn't quite good enough to utilize his more aggressive man-coverage system.
Get better defense and I think you'll see the possession metrics for this squad change in a BIG way. Personally I think it's remarkable how well the Avs have done despite having a defense that is obviously full of stopgap measures. Guys like Benoit, Holden, Sarich, and Guenin were effectively taken off the scrap heap. That's the rather annoying thing about some people squawking "UNSUSTAINABLE" as if they think the Avs are just going to stick with the same D-corps for the next five seasons. They don't see there's an actual foundation in place.
Hell, there was a "foundation" with that 09-10 squad as well, but instead of building off of it, they decided to go in the wrong direction and turned the team into a slow, plodding dump-and-chase squad. I doubt you'll see that here. Roy obviously values speed and skill over brute force.
