Siding with the Players

Less than two weeks from today on September 15th the current NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement ends. Where are the NHL and NHLPA right now with this date looming? “Far apart” and with “no current plans to resume talks” is where. Hope that the NHL season will start on time is all but gone for most and frustration for fans mounts.

Most fans don’t care who is to blame and just want hockey. I count myself among those but at the same time I side with the players. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t feel sorry for players making millions while many just struggle to get by in their normal lives and many, many others will be out of work should a lockout occur and games not be played … but I do feel that this potential lockout is completely on the owners.

Suter and Parise to Minnesota - What it Means in the West

The biggest news of the off-season thus far for the NHL just happened to occur on the Fourth of July with the Minnesota Wild making a huge splash getting not only one of Ryan Suter or Zach Parise, considered by many to be some of the best free agents to hit the markets in years, but by landing both of the coveted players.

Another Lockout? - We Can Only Hope Not

We are now in yet another offseason of hockey but as always that doesn't mean things are quiet. Starting at the end of the season things become very busy for management of the teams with the draft and then the push to sign players that have contracts ending, this after the decisions take place on who to keep and who to let go. Then you have free agency when teams are throwing out their best bids for the players that they think will help their team the most in the coming years. Throw in the HHOF selection, the awards show, and development and rookie camps all before you even get to training camps and things are busy indeed.

This year happens to be even busier yet. Earlier in the year the NHL club owners voted to cancel the final year of the current CBA so as of September 15th there again won't be a CBA in place unless an agreement is come to by then. The last time this happened the league locked out the players and the entire 2004-2005 season was lost. Hockey came back stronger and better than ever but still the pain of losing an entire season was real. Now we face a similar situation this year where despite claims that the NHLPA is ready to play even if a CBA is not in place it is very possible the league won't start on time if there isn't, just as it was eight years ago. At this time the first discussion between the party is to take place at the end of June, and while the lack of intelligence of not having any discussions between the parties prior having known of the impending end of the CBA for some time seems obvious, that isn't the point of this writing. Neither is the point of this writing to champion my thoughts on why if we lose hockey yet again less than a decade after the last lockout it should cost some high profile people their jobs. Rather the point of this writing is to point out a few things in my opinion that truly do need fixed. Yes, hockey has come back strong and the sport has been very successful, however that doesn't mean that things can't be improved or don't need addressed either.

The Week(s) That Was the Avs - 3/16-End of Season

Well the season for the Avalanche is now over.  There are certainly reasons for optimism going forward for this team and I can't wait to see what they do in the offseason, however that isn't the point of this writing.  This will be the last "week that was the Avs" for the 2011-2012 season.  I realize that I got a bit away from weekly reporting as I took on more at work and became busier, but I hope those that read this enjoyed it and maybe took a thing or two away from it as well.  I think I'll definitely pick back up next year, and likely will have some things to say through the summer, but for now here we are with a wrapup of the last few weeks of the Avalanche season.

No Avs? Sucks but Bring On the Playoffs!

So the NHL regular season is now over but that just means the best time of the year has arrived and playoff hockey is set to start.  While my beloved Avs just missed out this year that doesn't entirely ruin the playoffs, though I will admit they would have been much better if they had made it in.  However there are some great matchups and while I will go back and look at how I did predicting this season later, right now I am going to take a look at the first round and give my take on who has a chance of not only making it deep in the playoffs but winning it all.

The Weeks That Were the Avs – 2/24-3/15

Given that I have missed a couple weeks this recap, covering three weeks, has the potential to be fairly lengthy. Because of that I am going to try to keep the individual game recaps a bit shorter where I can. Thus, without further ado here we go…

The Week ... Ok, Placeholder for Upcoming Avs Recap...

My appologies to those that actually read this and like my recaps for not being able to do my normal recaps these last two weeks. I do plan on doing a full recap of not only for next week but the time I missed these past two as well in next weeks recap but I have been swamped with work and this past weekend a trip to Texas to visit family before they move to Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands (the island is about 3 miles long, 1/2 mile wide and is part of many islands about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand). I do want to put out a few little tidbits however that you might find interesting.

Kwajalein...

The Week That Was the Avs 2-17/2-23

This past week the Avalanche only had a handful of games, however there was plenty to talk about. In addition to the games there was a trade to talk about, the first with perhaps more on the way before Monday's trade deadline. This move brought about some very interesting quotes from the departed. As for where the team sits in the playoff picture they are only two points out of 8th place, having gone 2-1 this week, but also struggle to gain any ground as it seems every time a Western conference team takes the ice they get points win or lose. Only 4 points seperate 8th and 13th in the West right now, but Phoenix has given themselves a bit of breathing room being 5 points up in 7th and tied for the division lead.

The Week(s) That Was the Avs 2/3-2/16

Given real life got a bit in the way the previous week this recap will look back over two weeks, not just one. In those two weeks the Avalanche had 5 games and got 6 of the possible 10 points, having unlucky bounces take potential points away from them in both Vancouver games but having a goalie steal a point for them against St. Louis. The team would also finish this stretch a few points out of a playoff spot as new teams entered the race and 6th through 13th are only seperated by 8 points (as of this writing) with the 6th place team Chicago sliding (1-8-1 last 10) and Anaheim in 13th but charging up the ranks.

The Week That Was the Avs 1/27-2/2

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The Avalanche came out after the All-Star break and failed to take advantage of teams around them in the standings losing, losing both of their games themselves. Both losses came against division opponents dropping the Avalanche to 2-12 within their own division on the year and they now sit 3 points out of the playoffs seeing the Wild in that 8th spot.

The Week That Was the Avs 1/20-1/26

This week saw the Avalanche crawl back into a playoff position and then with a pair of losses saw the 7th spot slip away as well as the 8th as Minnesota jumped them in the standings. The week also saw JS Giguere taking over as the #1 goalie on the team and playing well but having the guys in front of him let him down with poor defensive zone coverage, turnovers, and odd man breaks. Overall headed into the All-Star break they sit only a point out of the playoffs but also only 2 points ahead of three different teams whom all have at least 1 game in hand on the Avalanche.

The Week That Was the Avs 1/13-1/19

The Avalanche this week went 2-1, both of their wins being by 1 goal (and one in overtime) and their loss being a blowout. Overall they played pretty well this week, other than a portion of the game they lost, and managed to climb back into the playoffs for now. They as of this writing currently sit in 8th, 4 points behind LA (though with 2 more wins - LA has 10 OT/SO loss points this year) and sit 1 point ahead of Minnesota who have a game in hand on the Avalanche and 2 points ahead of Dallas who have 3 games in hand as well as 2 points ahead of Calgary and Phoenix. They sit 2nd in the division, a full 8 points behind Vancouver who also has a game in hand.

The Week That Was the Avs 1/6-1/12

 

On a week that could have put the Avs solidly back into the playoffs they started strong winning against Chicago and then played 2 poor games and 2 periods of poor hockey in a third. Instead of being solidly in, they sit 2 points behind LA and Minnesota and 1 behind Dallas (and 4 behind Nashville who swept the home and home), going 1-2-1 this week.

The Week That Was the Avs 12/30/11-1/5/12

The Avalanche continued to put together wins, finding ways to do so even when they aren't playing poorly.  This week they went 2-0 including their 7th shootout win of the season (18 for their last 19) and are 9-2 in their last 11 games.  They have charged back into playoff talks sitting in a group right around that 8th spot and even held that position for a brief time this week.

The Week That Was the Avs 12/23-12/29

Wow, this week has really gone by fast. Just looking through things this morning and realized that it was already Friday so I'd best get to recapping the past week for the Avalanche. This past week the team tied the consecutive home wins streak in Avalanche history at 8 and also matched the franchise record of 8 home wins in any given month, also at 8, en route to a 3-1 record for the week. The recent Avs winning ways have them back to within a point of the playoffs, though they currently have played more games than all other teams but Minnesota and Carolina which have also played 39 as the Avalanche have.

The Week That Was the Avs 12-16/12-22

The Avalanche come back from a horrid road trip against their Canadian division rivals to continue strong play at home. Sure, they gave up a few leads and thus gave back a couple points to other teams but despite still not having back to back regulation wins going back to last December they have tied the Avalanche record of 7 straight home wins, though admittedly 3 of those were in the shootout where the team is perfect this year and have won 17 of their last 18 games in the shootout. They will have a chance to break both the good and bad streaks before Christmas against Tampa Friday night.

The Week That Was the Avalanche 12-16/12-22

While it has been a frustrating time for Avs' fans, so much so that I stepped back from my daily checking of the normal sites, I will go back and check out my normal sources and recap this past week's activities once again. It's not that the week became any less frustrating, just that I want to continue to do these weekly.  At the time this was started Colorado had lost in Edmonton to finish the road trip 0-3, and then gave San Jose a point with under :30 left even though they went on to win. They still had a game in San Jose as I started this, but finishing this thought after the game it is just more frustration as a two goal lead was blown in the third period and the Avs failed to even get a point with many of their goals against coming off bad turnovers.

The Week that Was the Avs 12/2-12/8

The Avalanche this week finished their home stand with a couple of wins, taking the last three at home, but then dropped their first two back on the road.  Their record for the week was 2-2, and if they want a chance at playoffs they need to be better and will likely need 2/3 of the points left available to them this season.

The week that was the Avalanche 11/25-12/1

vs. Oilers : The news before the game was that EJ was placed on the IR and it would be retroactive and Stefan Elliot would make his debut having been given the call the night before as he prepared to play for the Monsters, a game in which he would miss but the team would go on to a 5-1 win. To start the game Jake Schroeder, a regular at the Pepsi Center, sung the National Anthem for the 500th time, and the Avs came out strong. Elliott started the game and had a short first shift and played a steady game not really getting noticed good or bad until early in the first when he jumped up into the play showing good speed and instincts. He would do this a couple of time through the game. The Oilers would start the scoring after a turnover at their own blueline by O'Brien, but the Avs would come back as Wilson laid out Taylor Hall in the corner with a monstrous hit and as the Oilers, and specifically one of the defensemen, came to confront Wilson, Duchene fed the puck ahead to Kobasew all alone who would have the puck poked off his stick right to McClement who put the puck in the net. The Oilers would regain the lead and be up 2-1 going into the 3rd, but the Avalanche kept pressuring and soon tied it up. Elliott would stop a 2-on-1 blocking the pass deep, and shortly after that the 20 year old Elliott would walk the blueline and put a wrister into the back of the net. His first career goal would turn out to be the game winner as the Avs would get another from the defense (3 on the night) and then an empty netter from Stastny which moved him into 10th in all time scoring in the franchise, moving him past Mats Sundin on the list. O'Reilly ended up with a pair of assists on the night, and the hot guys for Edmonton (Hall 10 in last 4, Eberle 10 in last 4, Smyth 8 in last 6 among others) were all held scoreless. The last 8 games the Oilers got at least a point against the Avs so this was a nice change, and after 7 straight losses for Varlamov it was good to get him back in the win column as well. Elliott, by the way, is the first Colorado defenseman to score a goal in his NHL debut, and the first Avalanche player to do it since forward Vaclav Nedorost scored Oct. 3, 2001 at Pittsburgh.

The Week(s) that Was the Avs 11/11-11/24

The Week(s) that was the Avs 11/11-11/17 and 11/18-11/24

vs. Calgary : The Avalanche came out poorly again, falling behind by at least 3 goals for the 3^rd straight game. This time by the halfway point in the game they were down 4-0. The Avs didn’t start all that poorly I guess, doing a decent job to start but the Flames scored on their first two shots and led 2-0 just 6 minutes in and it got worse from there until it was too late. The Avs would push back and pull to within a goal but couldn’t get the equalizer. A failure to play a complete 60 minutes again costs the Avs points in the standings. Kipper gets his 9^th straight win against the Avs and the team falls to the Flames for the 8^th straight time.