Avalanche missing two things no one's talking about

The Colorado Avalanche has a lot of holes keeping it from being a winning team. Fans, analysts, media, everyone has spoken endlessly about the poor puck possession, porous defense, questionable coaching decisions, weak leadership, and on and on. However, there are two qualities this team needs that have flown under the radar, and without them, the Avalanche will never be more than a middling team, hoping for simply a playoff run.

The first of these is conviction. Conviction is the unwavering belief in something. Those who are deeply religious are great examples of people with conviction. The religious absolutely believe in their deity and its teachings, leaving behind all doubt of its existence or importance in their lives.

For a hockey team to be successful, it must leave behind all doubt that it will win games. Thinking that any game is winnable is not enough. This isn’t a case of knowing the Avalanche can beat any other team on any given night. The team must have absolute belief that every game will end in victory.

The 2001 Avalanche had conviction. During training camp, Ray Bourque plastered the locker room with the message “Mission 16W.” He had unwavering faith that Colorado would win the Stanley Cup that season. His belief was infections, and soon, everyone held the same conviction. If you were to ask anyone on that team if the Avalanche could win the Cup, to a man, he would have said yes without hesitation.

However, ask the same question of the current Avalanche players and they surely would say no. It’s likely that most, if not all, would say—or at least think—”no” if asked if the team could even make it past the first round of the playoffs or beat a top-seeded team like the Washington Capitals. Of course some of that is due to the logistical problems with the team mentioned earlier, but the team absolutely is talented enough to beat any team in the league. The fact that the players don’t, without any doubt, intrinsically believe that is costing them wins.

Looking back at Patrick Roy‘s career as a goaltender, some of his most iconic moments sprung from his arrogance. No more rats, rings plugging ears, Statue of Liberty—these moments, good or bad, helped define a legend. Talent alone would not have propelled Roy to become arguably the best goaltender to ever play the game. He needed some arrogance to become Saint Patrick. Too many of the Avalanche players lack that arrogance. This is not the boastful kind of arrogance which carries with it negativity. This is swagger. Self-possession. Fearlessness.

This goes way beyond confidence. In his heart, every player knows he is talented. There might be times in which he feels snake bit, but he still knows he’s a good, if not great, hockey player. He wouldn’t be in the NHL if he wasn’t. He wouldn’t be an All Star or on a lucrative contract or earning a living by playing the game if he wasn’t good at it.

But elite talent and those that are difference-makers in games have something more than just confidence. These players have that swagger. Their talent swells them up and propels them into greatness.

Not all players can or should have a bit of arrogance, but the Avalanche are not lacking in talented players who deserve it. Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, Erik Johnson, Tyson Barrie. They all have proven themselves to be talented enough to embrace a bit of arrogance. Semyon Varlamov has it. It’s why he’s one the top ten goaltenders in the league. He’s taken his talent and added in that swagger to become elite in his position.

This is not to say that one can’t be humble, as well. Joe Sakic is a perfect example of someone who continued to be humble despite feeling some entitlement. He knew his team deserved to win. He knew he was elite. He might have outwardly shown more of his humbleness, but make no mistake, he knew how talented he was. MacKinnon, especially, needs to realize this. He hasn’t even begun to tap into how exceptional he can be. Once he can embrace a bit of arrogance, he will also become elite.

The team, as a whole, needs arrogance as well. It goes hand in hand with conviction, in fact. The team needs a collective chutzpah that makes it one every opponent fears playing. Going up against someone with that type of self-possession creates doubt, and doubt leads to losing.

More than a few people claim that Colorado is missing heart, that a lack of heart is the reason the team has let leads slip away or dropped important games. However, anyone who has spent time in the locker room after losses this season can tell you this simply isn’t true. This team cares. It has heart. It has passion. What it needs is conviction and arrogance; without them, the players will never hoist the Cup.