Avalanche Black Aces for the Playoffs

LastWordArmy

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For this article, a Black Ace is a player that the Avalanche will be including in their expanded Stanley Cup Playoff roster. A Black Ace wouldn’t regularly have featured in the standard roster and therefore is most likely a minor/junior league call-up.

The term “Black Ace” was once used negatively. The term originated from Eddie Shore, who would refer to spare players as a “Black Ace.” Shore would say that a team would be in bad shape if they had to use one of their Black Aces in a game. However, recently, it has been used more positively. A team would use a Black Ace to help them overcome the loss of a player or if they thought a different player could be utilized in a way to help the team win.

Jayson Megna


There is a strong chance that Jayson Megna is one of Colorado’s black aces. He played in eight games earlier this season but did not score a point. Most of his damage came in the AHL where the six-year veteran had 18 goals and 34 points. Megna isn’t a dynamic option at 30-years-old but he has over 100 games of NHL experience. He would be a respectable physical presence on the Avalanche penalty kill if someone else gets hurt.

The rest of the article is here
Colorado Avalanche Black Aces - Last Word on Hockey
 

McMetal

Writer of Wrongs
Sep 29, 2015
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Leaving out the most obvious one in MacDonald...
I would have liked to see him during our injury hell weeks over Megna and Tynan. Neither of those two were more than placeholders on the ice. MacDonald may or may not be anything at the NHL level either, he didn't show much before, but it was worth a shot.
 

Avsboy

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Dec 12, 2006
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Sources have told Dater that Byram has no chance of the playoffs, but - intriguingly - he's put on 13 lbs of muscle! We could be dealing with Weber-light here, without the incredibly hard shot. A real rugged physical defenseman with significant offensive upside.
 
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Northern Avs Fan

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Sources have told Dater that Byram has no chance of the playoffs, but - intriguingly - he's put on 13 lbs of muscle! We could be dealing with Weber-light here, without the incredibly hard shot. A real rugged physical defenseman with significant offensive upside.

Did he say Byram wasn’t even going to be on the roster? Seems weird that he’s not even going to come up to practice.
 

tigervixxxen

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Byram would have 9 games before even worrying about the contract. If that’s really their reasoning then they are looking for excuses. Byram would most benefit from the experience of being in a NHL environment than pretty much leaving him to work out alone for months. I would be very very disappointed if they go that route. If Makar or Girard go down they are going to need something more than replacement level talent on hand.

Same rationale for Kaut. He’s proven he can provide more than the replacement level AHLers. If push comes to shove then they need to use him.

I’m sure org favorites Dries and Lindholm will find their way on to the list. JB might not like them much but someone does.

Connauton was never sent down before the freeze so he might not even have to be a black ace.

It was reported earlier today it sounds like 28+goalies is what it’s still looking like with 30+goalies able to attend camp. Also that anyone on IR wouldn’t count. I’m pretty sure we never got through regular camp fully healthy so there might be some IR candidates to begin with.
 
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McMetal

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Sep 29, 2015
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Byram would have 9 names before even worrying about the contract. If that’s really their reasoning then they are looking for excuses. Byram would most benefit from the experience of being in a NHL environment then pretty much leaving him to work out alone for months. I would be very very disappointed if they go that route. If Makar or Girard go down they are going to need something more than replacement level talent on hand.

Same rationale for Kaut. He’s proven he can provide more than the replacement level AHLers. If push comes to shove then they need to use him.

I’m sure org favorites Dries and Lindholm will find their way on to the list. JB might not like them much but someone does.

Connauton was never sent down before the freeze so he might not even have to be a black ace.

It was reported earlier today it sounds like 28+goalies is what it’s still looking like with 30+goalies able to attend camp. Also that anyone on IR wouldn’t count. I’m pretty sure we never got through regular camp fully healthy so there might be some IR candidates to begin with.
Yeah, this is not the time to get cutesy with contracts. We have a real opportunity to win it all, you don't not use a player like Kaut if he helps you do that just because you don't want to burn an ELC year.

Byram probably isn't ready for the NHL playoffs yet, but he would probably be more impactful than a guy like Lindholm or MacDonald (although if we end up dipping into that pool our season will probably end shortly thereafter).
 

Balthazar

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Byram would be #8 at best with little chances of playing. Bednar will play Barbs in the playoffs if he can.
 

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