Ville Isopaa
Registered User
The last original player from the Avalanche squad is now gone. Marc Denis was traded to Montreal in a trade where Colorado filled two holes on the roster. The primary target was star goalie Jean-Sebastian Giguere, but hard-working top 6 forward Brenden Morrow was also a welcome addition to a team that had problems with chemistry on the 2nd line for big parts of the season. GM Isopää was also able to get Valtteri Filppula in the deal, a product of his local hockey team Jokerit.
But the price was rather steep. Going to Montreal are roster players Denis and Mikael Samuelsson, 4 prospects who have reached Mountain Dew endorsements over the years in Ondrej Pavelec, Eric Fehr, Marc-Antoine Pouliot and Jiri Hudler as well as prospect Vladimir Sobotka and a 2nd round pick in next years draft.
The Colorado lineup looks like a contender even before the FA's have begun. With the versatility of the forwards in the top 6, Sidney Crosby and Pavol Demitra will be centering elite wingers in Brendan Morrow, Mark Recchi, Vyacheslav Kozlov and Ales Kotalik. The checking line, known as the GOD-line also looks very strong with a Rostislav Olesz, Samuel "GOD" PÃ¥hlsson and PJ Axelsson. And the B-line of Steve Begin, Alex Burrows and Krys Barch gives a lot of Bang and energy while being solid in the own zone.
The defense is led by newly re-signed star defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky and veteran Mathieu Schneider. These two are backed up by a lot of youth, skill and toughness in Keith Ballard, Mike Komisarek, Paul Ranger and Nick Boynton.
In goal Giguere will be starting the lion share of the games, while Chris Osgood is ready to step in as a veteran backup if Giguere would suffer a longterm injury.
Going in to the free agency, Colorado will mainly be looking to add some depth and re-signing newly aquired forward Brenden Morrow along with Boynton, Barch and Cullen. Colorado GM Isopää has also announced that he will not let Morrow walk on a RFA offer sheet, even for the maximum compensation of 4 1st round picks and that center Jason Allison is still available cheap to anyone looking for a decent 2nd liner.
But the price was rather steep. Going to Montreal are roster players Denis and Mikael Samuelsson, 4 prospects who have reached Mountain Dew endorsements over the years in Ondrej Pavelec, Eric Fehr, Marc-Antoine Pouliot and Jiri Hudler as well as prospect Vladimir Sobotka and a 2nd round pick in next years draft.
The Colorado lineup looks like a contender even before the FA's have begun. With the versatility of the forwards in the top 6, Sidney Crosby and Pavol Demitra will be centering elite wingers in Brendan Morrow, Mark Recchi, Vyacheslav Kozlov and Ales Kotalik. The checking line, known as the GOD-line also looks very strong with a Rostislav Olesz, Samuel "GOD" PÃ¥hlsson and PJ Axelsson. And the B-line of Steve Begin, Alex Burrows and Krys Barch gives a lot of Bang and energy while being solid in the own zone.
The defense is led by newly re-signed star defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky and veteran Mathieu Schneider. These two are backed up by a lot of youth, skill and toughness in Keith Ballard, Mike Komisarek, Paul Ranger and Nick Boynton.
In goal Giguere will be starting the lion share of the games, while Chris Osgood is ready to step in as a veteran backup if Giguere would suffer a longterm injury.
Going in to the free agency, Colorado will mainly be looking to add some depth and re-signing newly aquired forward Brenden Morrow along with Boynton, Barch and Cullen. Colorado GM Isopää has also announced that he will not let Morrow walk on a RFA offer sheet, even for the maximum compensation of 4 1st round picks and that center Jason Allison is still available cheap to anyone looking for a decent 2nd liner.