when Stefan Elliott arrived, he was a great change of pace for the Avs, adding speed, scoring and a really hard shot.
He had three points, two of them goals in his first three games and looked like a breath of fresh air. Then, not even a month later, he wowed the Avalanche crowd with this goal.
However, lately Elliott has struggled. His assist in the last game against the Florida Panthers was his first since New Years Eve and he has not scored since Dec. 29 in Phoenix. In that stretch, he has been minus-2 and has started to look a little panicky with the puck.
So the decision comes for the Avs: should he stay up with the NHl club and earn experience and continue to be an offensive threat or should he be sent back to Lake Erie to regain his confidence and work on his defensive game?
If the Avs were to send him down they would have to get someone to run the point on the first powerplay, provide shots (11th on the team with 62 or about two per game) and an offensive spark. Also, would he be challenged enough at the AHL so that he won't get bored and curb his development?
Elliott has offensive skills that are irreplaceable but at the expense of defense. He is better than Kevin Shattenkirk was last year as far as defense is concerned but he certainly isn't wowing anyone with defense.
The third option to consider is sending Elliott back down so he can regain his confidence and give Tyson Barrie a trial at the NHL level. Barrie is a pass-first defenseman with smaller stature and about the same speed. Barrie could be a different kind of spark for the Avs. In the next two years both players will be at the NHL level, working on the powerplay, possibly together.
Maybe now is the time to try out Barrie while Elliott refinds his game and gets a little bit of momentum going his way.
Unless the Avs are going to play Hunwick in Elliott's place, Elliott will stay in the lineup until at least Jan Hejda is healthy, unless they choose door number three.
Elliott will be a great defenseman once he fully matures. He has the smarts on defense to use his stick to get the puck loose and get it to the forwards. Once the puck is going the other way, he is eager to join the rush to add a fourth player for the opposition to cover. He has all the tools to be a productive NHL defenseman and once he matures he will probably be a lot like the San Jose Sharks' Dan Boyle.
His future is not in doubt, it is the present that is. Would he better off going back for at least few games, if not the rest of the season or should he and the Avs ride out the rough spots of his development?
Yip claimed
The Nashville Predators have placed a waiver claim on Brandon Yip. Yip, who scored 11 goals in 32 games his rookie year, lost his game in the offseason two years ago and has never regained it. To make things worse, his defense has become awful hence the reason he could never stick in the lineup.
Trade coming
David Jones played just ten minutes last game. Is this a signal that a move is about to come for the Avs? Jones, who scored 27 goals last year, has only 9 this season. For whatever reason, he cannot find the scoring touch he had last year. Maybe when Duchene is back, or even before, the Avs will move Jones for a bigger left winger to help balence the lines out.
Colorado Avalanche Blogger • 
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