Post-Game Talk: Coyotes @ Avs

[Avelanche]

They looked good. A couple fluke goals is all. Stazz played quietly good, Jones was close on a couple, and duchene looks like a star. All this stretch shows is we have no depth, which should not surprise anyone. EJ out could end any hope of being competitive though, even if landeskog comes back soon.

 

[TheStranger]

Did I just not notice him or did Sgarbossa get benched after his little hissy fit about the fight?

Looks like he's in the dog house, nobody ever comes out.

 

[henchman21]

Did I just not notice him or did Sgarbossa get benched after his little hissy fit about the fight?

Looks like he's in the dog house, nobody ever comes out.

Nah he played a number of times on the 3rd line and on the PP in the 1st. After Olver scored though Sacco seemed to barely use him.

 

[IndustryLeech]

Nah he played a number of times on the 3rd line and on the PP in the 1st. After Olver scored though Sacco seemed to barely use him.

Sounds like typical Sacco logic...2 players fight in practice, the last one to score gets to ride the pine.

 

[henchman21]

Sounds like typical Sacco logic...2 players fight in practice, the last one to score gets to ride the pine.

Pretty much. Sgarbossa should probably go back to Lake Erie if Sacco is only going to play him 8-9 minutes a night. It isn't that Sgarbossa looks out of place so much as he just can't succeed in a 4th line role.

 

[Bender]

Actually since people were talking about a 'failed re-build', I'd like to point out a few things...

I think some people really believed that we were done rebuilding when in reality, we're not. The similarities between this team that is being built and the one built in the 90s (Nordiques) are uncanny.

I see last season's team as similar to the 1992-93 Nordiques but to a lesser extent. While that team actually made the playoffs, they had just gotten an infusion of young talent from the Lindros deal (Ricci, Duchesne, Huffman, Simon & Hextall + (Forsberg in Sweden)) though they lost in the first round. That team ALSO had a horrible coach (and GM) named Pierre Page. Last year's Avs had an infusion of young talent (Landeskog, Downie & McGinn) and a horribler coach.

The 1993-94 Nordiques were awful and it wasn't talent related. While they had mediocre goaltending, a team consisting of Sakic, Sundin, Kamensky, Ricci, Young, Kovalenko, Rucinsky, Foote, Gusarov & Leschyshyn SHOULD have made the playoffs. They didn't and the horrible Pierre Page era ENDED, thank god. This team is the parallel of that team, lots of talent (to a lesser extent) but bad coaching and injuries are going to take it's toll.

Pierre Lacroix was brought in after that season and made sweeping changes:

-Sundin Deal-
To Que
W.Clark,LW
S.Lefebvre,LD
L.Wilson,RW
1st Round Pick [22nd overall] (J.Kealty,D)

To Tor
M.Sundin,C
G.Butcher,RD
T.Warriner,LW
1st Round Pick '94 [10th overall] (N.Baumgartner,D)

* With Forsberg coming, we acquired a sniper to play with Sakic, a strong D-man in Lefebvre. Landon Wilson was considered to be an excellent prospect at the time and Garth Butcher was a mistake from the 'butchered' Steve Duchesne deal from St-Louis. Obviously, Clark was dealt for Claude Lemieux who became a key part of our team.

-Krupp Deal-
To Que
U.Krupp,RD
1st Round Pick '94 [12th overall] (W.Belak,D)

To NYI
R.Sutter,C
1st Round Pick '94 [9th overall] (B.Lindros,RW)

* The Nords at the time, acquired a big, steady d-man to stabilize their defense. Along with the addition of Lefebvre on the same DAY, this was absolutely HUGE to turn the franchise around and improve a very weak defence.

Lacroix hired Marc Crawford from the leafs AHL team and the team returned to the playoffs after the 1994 lockout, posting 30 WINS 13 LOSSES 5 TIES for 65 POINTS and FIRST in the Eastern Conference and SECOND overall in the league. Still, they were bounced in the first round by the Rangers* and then moved to Colorado and the rest is history.
(*Lots of controversy with an abysmal call by Andy Van Hellemond)
(http://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/13/sports/1995-nhl-playoffs-nordiques-to-protest-lost-goal.html)
[Actually reading that article, I wonder if that's where the Lacroix-Burke 'hate-fest' actually began??]

I'm not trying to say that this current Avs team has the same talent as that team had, what I am trying to convey is where this team is AT, in terms of their rebuild.

This season is going to end up being a wash, much like the 93-94 season for the Nordiques but don't think for one second that Pierre Lacroix wasn't keeping close tabs on THAT team even though he wasn't even the GM yet. He saw how that team evolved, through really bad years and really bad coaching and when he took over, the changes he made had an immense impact.

I am personally expecting THAT kind of impact at or around the draft. Don't kid yourselves, the Avs know all too well what they have with their current team and who is likely to stay and be part of the core and who is likely to bolt at first chance and they'll adjust the roster accordingly. I cannot for the life of me, foresee a situation where something significant isn't done, for this team to take the next step. That WILL include firing the entire coaching staff after this season is done.

The RoR situation isn't unlike the Sundin situation was back then. The Avs won't make a lame panic move here and they'll get good value for him.

So overall, we've still got a ways to go but I ABSOLUTELY believe in Soundwave's "Sacco is a Big Hoser theory™"...ask him about it. Even with all our injuries, this team is still better than our 4-6-1 record.

 

[Avelanche]

Did I just not notice him or did Sgarbossa get benched after his little hissy fit about the fight?

Looks like he's in the dog house, nobody ever comes out.

Saw him lots in the first but hardly at all in the third. He really shouldn't be playing much with a one goal lead late in the game anyway.

 

[Fred Murtz]

Full OT for those that missed the game.

 

[Lonewolfe2015]

Nice post Bender, the history was refreshing to read too.

I hope you're right about the parallels, otherwise we're going to need to be on suicide watch a couple years down the road if this team can't start winning some games and stay healthy.

 

[Bender]

Nice post Bender, the history was refreshing to read too.

I hope you're right about the parallels, otherwise we're going to need to be on suicide watch a couple years down the road if this team can't start winning some games and stay healthy.

The health part is really a head scratcher, I mean I can understand going through 1 or 2 injury riddled seasons where you lose 2-3 of your top guys for extended periods of time but it's been more than that in the past 5 years. I'm not sure what's going on but at some point, you have to start to question if it's just bad luck after all?

The moves that have been made so far, have been the right moves TO make, in my opinion anyways. We've all seen what these guys can do, individually or with the right chemistry with line combinations for certain periods of time or small stretches, which is not unusual for a young team.

 

[Freudian]

At some point when misfortunes of one kind or another pile up, you stop feeling sorry for yourself and start to see some macabre comedy in it all.

I'm curious about what next chapter bring in this saga, but I'm expecting nothing and everything. It would be fun to see our captain play hockey again, I guess. I like the way he plays the game.

C'est la vie.

 

[Lonewolfe2015]

At some point when misfortunes of one kind or another pile up, you stop feeling sorry for yourself and start to see some macabre comedy in it all.

I'm curious about what next chapter bring in this saga, but I'm expecting nothing and everything. It would be fun to see our captain play hockey again, I guess. I like the way he plays the game.

C'est la vie.

Apathy, she's a dangerous one to fall into bed with...