EJ doesn't belong on that list. Neither does Grigs.
Before last night EJ had been absolutely stellar. While an incredibly frustrating loss, EJ is not a problem.
It's pretty obvious what the issue is with the Avs. While we all yearn for more from the big guys like EJ, MacK, Landy etc. the issue is clearly the lack of depth.
Especially now that Bednar has decided to roll with the MacK-Duchene-Rantanen line. That leaves Landeskog-Soderberg-Iginla as line 2. And honestly that might be the worst 2nd line in the league. Soderberg is a 3C, Iginla is done like dinner and can't do anything, Landeskog is fine but he sure as hell isn't the type of player that can carry a line, he is a finisher that needs talent around him.
Then you look at a bottom 6 that includes Comeau, Rene Bourque, Colborne, Grigorenko, Mitchell, Martinsen, McCleod and it's terrible.
Comeau is a 4th liner playing 3rd line, Bourque probably should be a 13th man but he plays 3rd line and gets constant PP time, Colborne is fine, Grigorenko really should be a top 6 or bust type he is pretty much worthless in a bottom 6 roll, Mitchell is fine, Martinsen is another 4th line/AHL caliber player, and McCleod is an AHLer at this point and brings nothing of value to the table at the NHL level.
Defense is not good. EJ is a #2 but is asked to be a #1, Zadorov is getting better but still just a kid, Beauchemin has regressed hard this year, Barrie has regressed offensively and has physically gotten worse in his own end which I didn't think was possible, Wiercioch is probably a #6/#7 but is constantly playing 2nd pairing minutes, Tyutin sucks, Gelinas sucks.
Until we address the depth issues we're going to continue to struggle mightily. Next year will be interesting, with a bunch of contracts coming off the books and a few prospects coming up that will help this issue. I'm hoping that next year, we can sign a couple soild UFAs to address some depth issues, and I'm looking forward to Bigras, Compher, and Greer being full time NHLers.
