Avalanche Roundtable: Are the Avs really this terrible? Is this the end for Alex Tanguay?

The Avalanche currently inhabit last place in the Western Conference. Is this where you see them finishing the season or do you think they will dig themselves out of this mess?

Cheryl: They’ll dig themselves out, but how far is anyone’s guess. They’ve killed their own chances at the playoffs, but finishing 10th-12th wouldn’t be a stretch.

J.D.:  I hope they dig themselves out of this hole. They rebounded well last year, although I am concerned about some of the moves the team is making. I think they can finish with 90 points again this year, assuming they right the ship quickly. However, I thought they would be much improved when the season started.

AJ: I have full confidence they’ll begin to string together some wins and dig themselves out of the basement of the West. Chances aren’t great they’ll overtake anyone in the Central Division but the Avs are definitely better than a handful of Pacific Division teams. Given a full season to do so, I believe the Avalanche will work them way out of the bottom of the conference.

Alex Tanguay is hurt with no definitive timetable for his return. Given his poor play so far, is this injury a blessing in disguise for the Avalanche or a major blow to their hopes of coming back strong?

Evan: I feel bad saying this, as Tanguay was one of my favorite players growing up, but I don’t think him being out is really going to change anything for the Avs.  Other than a few games, he’s more or less been a liability out there.  His passing game has not been strong, he’s not good defensively, and he loses the majority of the puck battles he’s involved in.  The unfortunate timing of it is that Andrew Agozzino is also injured in the AHL, and this could have been a chance to see what he could do in the NHL.  The hope, for me, is that Tanguay can come back before the trade deadline and the Avs can deal him to a contender for something.

J.D.:  This may be Tanguay’s last year. As a fan, I want him to return and play like I remember, so he can finish strong. For the team, though, they need to learn to play without him so this might be the opportunity to develop a young player to fill the void.

Casey: Tanguay was struggling to start the year, so the team was going to have to work around him regardless. An injury just means they’ll be working around him being completely out of the lineup rather than just not contributing. It may be better for the team to not have to try to slot him into odd places on the roster or play around his shortcomings.

Nikita Zadorov is in San Antonio and Andreas Martinsen is in Denver. What?

Evan: Regarding Martinsen, the Avs were not going to let him play the whole year in San Antonio without seeing what they had in him.  He’s only on a one year deal, so they have to see if he’s worth another contract to stay in North America.  If he’s only going to play limited minutes, I’d rather he be up here than a Borna Rendulic or Mikko Rantanen, who would benefit from top 6 minutes in San Antonio.

With Zadorov, I personally would have kept him in the NHL and kept playing him, but Roy and Farrish clearly don’t have a lot of trust in him right now.  If he’s not going to play consistently every night, then I have no issue letting him play 20+ minutes a night in the AHL.  I don’t think he’s going to be down there the whole year, so I’m not terribly concerned about it.  People have to keep in mind he’s only 20 years old, and the only other defensemen in the NHL younger than him are Aaron Ekblad and Noah Hanifin.  He’s still going to be a really good player for a long time.  This move will also force the Avs to give Brandon Gormley consistent ice time, to see if he can get comfortable and play up to the potential he had when he was drafted in the 1st round.

Cheryl: Piggybacking on what Evan said, Martinsen in Denver while Rantanen is in San Antonio makes perfect sense given the reason Roy said he sent Rantanen to the A in the first place: playing time. Rantanen needs it; Martinsen doesn’t, at least when looking at what the organization seems to want in each player. (And based on that logic, their plans for Rendulic might be different than what I expected.)

This same scenario then fits with Zadorov. Give him top-4 minutes in the AHL to get his confidence back and to find his groove. Then bring him back to Denver once he’s ready to dominate the big boys. While a lot of people think these moves indicate poor player management, I’m glad they’re doing it this way. Yes, it might mean the Avs suffer in the short term, but this is good player development, which is much more important in the long term.

J.D.:  It’s a disaster, especially if they are trying to put the best players on the ice. Buffalo mismanaged Zadorov, undermining his confidence and it looks like the Avalanche are doing the very same thing. My fear is this move indicates management has already given up on the season and is sending their most valuable prospects down to the AHL so they aren’t corrupted by the losing mentality infecting the team.

Casey: Zadorov spending some time in San Antonio makes perfect sense to me. When he’s on his game and moving his feet well and reading the play well, he is a force to be reckoned with. When any of that is not at its best, his weaknesses show in an obvious way. Getting more TOI in the AHL will improve his confidence but more importantly his technique. For all the benefit of “NHL experience” sitting on a bench in the NHL is not as productive as actually playing in the AHL.

Martinsen I have not seen much of due to being in an area where I can’t watch training camps, but calling him up to play limited minutes over a player who should be getting bigger minutes in the AHL to develop properly is fine by me.