The Good, the Bad and the Ugly with the Avalanche at the All-Star Break

The Colorado Avalanche limped into the All-Star Break amid swirling trade rumors, owning the worst record in the NHL.

THE GOOD

1. Veteran defenseman Francois Beauchemin played in his 800th NHL game when the Avalanche played the Vancouver Canucks right before the All-Star Break. Both Beauchemin and the Minnesota Wild’s Zach Parise reached the career milestone before the break. Considering he spent his first five years playing in the minors and the American Hockey League, reaching 800 games represents quite an accomplishment. Congratulations!

Of course, Jarome Iginla has appeared in 1,520 games, trailing only miracle man Jaromir Jagr among active players for most games played. So, maybe Jagr and Iginla can give him some tips.

2. Forward Matt Nieto launched seven shots at the net against the Canucks, leading the team, and tallying his second goal as an Avalanche player. Nikita Zadorov almost had a goal but ended up with his ninth assist this year as Mikko Rantanen notched his seventh goal of the season. So some of the future of the team seems to be finding their groove.

3. Calvin Pickard played an outstanding game against the Canucks, stopping 38 of 41 pucks thrown at the net to earn a .927 save percent. He played well enough for the win. Losing to the Canucks on a power play goal – hurts.

4. Forward and Alternate Captain Nathan MacKinnon was the lone representative for the Colorado Avalanche at the All-Star festivities. While he didn’t win at the skills competition, and the Central fell to their Pacific Division rivals 10-3, MacKinnon showed class and character. He won 75% of his face-offs in the three-on-three play and led the team in shots (though he didn’t score), even though he played the fewest minutes among forwards, so there’s that.

5. Avalanche fans can be grateful that neither of their goaltenders represented the Central Division in the All-Star Game as they lost 10-3. In a year which has seen more than the occasional unlucky bounce go in the Avalanche net, it was actually reassuring to see some unfortunate bounces against goaltenders outside of Colorado.

6. San Antonio Rampage player A.J. Greer competed in the AHL All-Star contest Jan. 29th and 30th. Stick taps all around. And – whatcha’ doin’ for the rest of the season? There’s an NHL team that could benefit from your grit and energy.

7. Hopefully defenseman Tyson Barrie and forward Rene Bourque – who were retroactively placed on Injured Reserve last week – will be healthy for the upcoming California road trip.

8. Former Colorado Avalanche players Joe Sakic, Patrick Roy, Peter Forsberg, and Ray Bourque – all who have banners hanging in the Pepsi Center – were named among the NHL’s 100 Greatest All-Time players, along with Teemu Selanne and Jari Kurri who made brief appearances in Colorado. Thank you for the memories!

THE BAD

1. Goaltender Semyon Varlamov underwent season-ending surgery on his hip/groin on Thursday. While reports say the surgery went well, and he should be ready for the start of next season, it’s tough for a team to lose their starting goaltender to injury. The fact he represents a $5.9 million annual cap hit and is signed for another two years doesn’t help. For those who were floating the idea of trading Varlamov to upgrade the team, you might want to reconsider. Injured goalies with large contracts don’t tend to draw huge offers.

2. The All-Star shenanigans look like a great event for the players and who can complain about watching Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin play together? However, without the chance to celebrate the everyman hockey player like they did with John Scott last year and tinkering with the skill competitions (so WHY did they change the speed competition so one can’t determine who was faster – Connor McDavid to Dylan Larkin?) the event seems to be all flash and no soul for the fans.

THE UGLY

1. Only 36 games to go until this season is over! Dwelling in the NHL cellar is – ugly. Hearing wild trade rumors constantly is – uglier. Remembering this is the same team that traded away Chris Dury and Stephane Yelle for essentially Derek Morris is – ugliest.

Knowing the Avalanche have not always traded wisely elevates the tension. While the offseason moves showed the front office learning from past mistakes – no more signing aging veterans to generous and long contracts – following the trade winds requires increasing one’s alcohol consumption to maintain a level of composure.

2. And truly the ugliest image of the week – seeing Hall of Famer Joe Sakic posing next to Justing Bieber in matching hockey sweaters. My eyes, they burn, they burn….

3. And to make up for the Bieber image, below is a much better image, Zadorov taking on the Anaheim Ducks Josh Manson. So ugly it’s good.

RAMPAGE ROULETTE

1. The San Antonio/Colorado Avalanche player movement wheel continued to spin as goaltender Spencer Martin was returned to San Antonio to play during the All-Star Break, with the expectation he would be recalled to the Avalanche when the regular season resumes. The 21-year-old may well be the Avalanche’s backup goaltender for the rest of the season. Welcome to the NHL!

2. Forward Jim O’Brien was called up from the Rampage last week in case Matt Duchene wasn’t able to return from illness in time to face the Canucks. O’Brien returned to San Antonio on Thursday along with Martin.

WHAT TO WATCH

1. The Avalanche return from the All-Star break with back-to-back road games against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday and the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday before returning home to host the Winnipeg Jets at a Saturday matinee. Let’s see if the guys come back refreshed from the break and can start profiting from their improved effort these past few weeks.

2. The Avalanche are rumored to be in talks to bring Andrei Mironov in from the KHL next year. If true, this could be the much heralded blockbuster move to shore up the team’s defense.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly will be on hiatus next week and will return the following week, February 14.