The Good, the Bad and the Ugly from the past week with the Avalanche

While faithful Colorado Avalanche fans wait with baited breath, following every scrap of hockey news as the trade deadline looms 24 hours away, some interesting events happened on the Avalanche front this week.

THE GOOD

1. Defenseman Erik Johnson returned to the ice Saturday night against the Buffalo Sabres, bringing a jolt of energy to the team. Watching a defenseman actually maintain his position during the opponent’s offensive rush, check players, fight for puck possession, change sides of the ice, seamlessly adapt to offensive strategies, and man his corner, successfully keeping the puck in the offensive zone of the ice, inspired hope.

2. Forward Rene Bourque also returned to the ice Saturday night and played serviceable fourth line minutes. After missing 11 games with concussion issues, that’s a good night.

3. Goaltender Jeremy Smith finally got a win as the Avalanche beat Buffalo 5-3 in an exciting game. He saved 34 of 37 shots for a .919 save percent and was the third star of the night. The 27-year-old who played his first NHL game two weeks ago on February 14, boasts the best save percent (.914) for Avalanche goaltenders. Calvin Pickard has allowed the fewest goals, allowing an average of 2.88 per game.

4. Colorado scored five goals in their exhilarating win over the Buffalo Sabres. Yes, the Avalanche managed to play an exciting game. Now anything is possible. It was also their second five goal game of the month. Last time they scored five goals on two separate occasions? October. As an added bonus, Buffalo forward and former Colorado player Ryan O’Reilly didn’t earn a point and finished the night with a -2. Won the trade!

5. Happy Birthday shout out to coach Jared Bednar who celebrates his birthday today!

Hopefully Colorado can add a little extra joy to his birthday cake by pounding those Philadelphia Flyers into the ground and making mince meat out of…uh…correction, by earning a win for the team. Maybe taking the high road is a better option. It’s not anywhere near as much fun, though. Smash those Flyers!

6. Rookie Mikko Rantanen continues to roll through February as he tallied 10 points for the month (6 goals, 4 assists). He also ranks second on the team in goals and third in points. Where would his numbers be if he hadn’t injured his ankle at the start of the season? Keep up the good work!

7. Captain Gabriel Landeskog stepped up his game against Buffalo and scored two goals and an assist, racking up three points for the night.

8. A big shout out to Adrian Dater who just joined BSN! Stick taps to Brandon Spano for making a quality acquisition before the trade deadline.

THE BAD

1. The Avalanche continue to run with a 22 man roster, which could bode poorly for any upcoming trade possibilities. If, by some chance, they trade away a Matt Duchene or Gabriel Landeskog this afternoon, the chances are slim they could get the new player in time for the 5 pm start tonight. An afternoon trade today could result in the team running with only a 21 (or less) player roster.

2. With defenseman Nikita Zadorov out for the rest of the season, there is one less interesting story to follow.

3. WHERE ARE THE YOUNG PLAYERS? If the Avalanche can’t trade away their serviceable veterans before the deadline, waive some of them to make room for the future of the organization. It’s good for the front office as they can evaluate the talent for next year, it’s good for the players to get some NHL experience under their belt and it’s good for the fans to watch something interesting. If Colorado remains on it’s present course, alcohol and lots of junk food may be the only way to weather the last 22 games. Arrggghh!

4. The officiating continues to be abysmal. What will it take for the Avalanche to get quality referees on the ice? Gift baskets? Vodka? Flaming piles of poo? In the Buffalo game alone, on at least three separate occasions the officials were so poorly positioned during Avalanche drives at least one of them effectively functioned as a defenseman for Buffalo. Really?

5. Is anyone else wondering if the black spot in the center of the new red ‘C’ logo (which looks like it’s supposed to be a puck) – isn’t actually the pirates’ black spot of death? Since moving away from the classic Avalanche ‘wave’ as the primary logo, the team has gone from average to stinky. Maybe PR should re-think the branding, or at least restore the center of the ‘C’ to the original Rockies Hockey gold. Golden coins versus a block spot of death; gold seems better. Or better yet, stick with the original Avalanche ‘wave’. Considering the season, a black spot of death may not be the best way to market the team. Just sayin’.

THE UGLY

1. Nationally recognized and newly acquired BSN sportswriter Adrian Dater wrote a gut-wrenching piece on Duchene and how the trade talk has impacted this previously devoted Colorado player. What does it say about an organization when the touted ‘future of the Avalanche’ now feels unwanted by the team he had painted all over the walls of his home? There are ways to trade a valuable player without ripping out his heart. Apparently, the Avalanche haven’t figured that out yet.

The real fear, though, is the front office doesn’t care. They are the ones who touted this young man as the future of the team, built ad campaigns around him, promoted him as a key part of the future and are now floating every trial balloon trade option imaginable around him. There ARE ways to transact business that don’t gut the image of the franchise.

It should not have been difficult to simply issue a statement like ‘Matt Duchene is a valued member of this team and we want to continue to build around him. However, we acknowledge the team is in an unexpectedly desperate situation so while we will consider all options, it would have to be an eye-popping offer for us to consider trading such a key player.’ Simple. Teams have done that with quality players for years. Why the Avalanche handled it so poorly remains a mystery.

2. Can’t help but wonder if Tyson Jost, the Avalanche’s top draft pick from last year, is paying attention to how this organization treats the “franchise players” before him. Knowing the Avalanche hang out their ‘star’ players when things go bad, isn’t he more likely to hold out for a lot more money or a trade when he reaches his RFA years? Somehow, merely shaking Jost’s hand isn’t likely to outweigh poor player management.

3. Granted, the Avalanche have a lot of issues to address. They are a team that tanked early and occupies last place in the NHL. Yet, one has to wonder, aren’t there better ways of addressing change? Deeper concerns lurk in the shadows.

Why are the Avalanche trading key players before addressing the lack of institutional change in their front office? While they have new head coaches for their NHL and AHL teams, Bednar has the same assistant coaches from last year (with one exception). While the head of scouting has changed, they haven’t actually fired the scouts under the old regime. If Colorado really wants to change, why haven’t they fired the off-ice personnel in ALL departments who have been institutions in the organization for the past decade of mediocrity?

There are people deep inside the Avalanche who were there before Joe Sakic moved into management and will likely be there after he leaves. They provided a decade of disappointment. If the Avalanche really want to commit to change, release all of the management, coaching and scouting assistants who have been with the team and established the culture of mediocrity pervasive to the organization. Until then, one wonders if the player trades actually signal the Avalanche lack the inner strength to root out the pervasive cancers in the organization. Maybe the black spot of death really is their logo after all.

THOUGHTS TO PONDER

1. If the Avalanche win tonight’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, they will tie November for their best monthly record, finishing 5-8-1. Is that good, bad, ugly or all three?

2. In the lockout-shortened 2012-2013 season, the Avalanche earned 39 points, going 16-25-7 over 48 games, finishing last in their conference and 29th overall. The only other time Colorado finished with less than 80 points was in the 2010-2011 season when they only earned 69 points.

The Quebec Nordiques, however, suffered a 31-point-season in 1989-1990, 46 points in 1990-1991, and 52 points in 1991-1992. And the player who live through it all? Joe Sakic. Sakic, however, still managed to score 39 goals and 102 points in the 1989-1990 season. He did, however, also boast a -40. It was his second year in the NHL. He has been here before. Maybe he is the one who deserves the gift basket.

WHAT TO WATCH

1. The NHL trade deadline looms only 24 hours away, set for 1 pm mountain standard time Wednesday, March 1. The Avalanche could move marquee players like Matt Duchene and/or Gabriel Landeskog, grizzled veterans like Jarome Iginla and/or Francois Beauchemin, or utility guys like Joe Colborne, Fedor Tyutin, and/or Mikhail Grigorenko. Right now, only the shadow knows.

2. The Colorado Avalanche launch a three-game road swing tonight visiting the Philadelphia Flyers with a mercifully early 5 pm MST start.

3. After the trade deadline passes, will they team still be the same? Will the Avalanche finally call up some of their young promising AHL players? Will the play on the ice change? Many players will be looking for new contracts next year. Will their play improve in order to secure a new contract and/or more money? Stay tuned for “As the Ice burns….”