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An idea on the Avs' offseason strategy

May 20, 2012, 1:24 PM ET [55 Comments]
Aaron Musick
Colorado Avalanche Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Looking at the offseason of the Colorado Avalanche, it looks a little confusing.

They bring back coach Joe Sacco and his entire coaching staff when a bunch of fans were hoping they wouldn't and just recently they signed their veteran leader Milan Hejduk to a one year contract when most people were thinking he was done.

Both of these moves are a little odd but they bring the Avs something their young roster needs: stability.

With the youngest roster, bringing stability is critical for player development, especially a young player (Matt Duchene) that had a rough year the year before. Sometimes adjusting to a new system can help a young player but often it is just too difficult for a player to recapture their play and fit into a new system.

The Avs have some stability and, looking at their roster, they still have a gap on the scoring lines.

Unless David Jones is re-signed, the Avs need to sign a goal scoring winger preferably one on the right side. The Avs have Hejduk, Steve Downie and Chuck Kobasew (real scoring threat there) on the right wing. Downie might crack 20 goals with the right minutes but it will be astonishing if he goes up to 25 goals

On the left side, the Avs provisionally have Peter Mueller, Gabriel Landeskog and Jamie McGinn, pending the signings of restricted free agents McGinn and Mueller. If the Avs were to sign a left winger (perhaps one that starts with a "P") then Mueller could move to the right wing.

However you slice it, the Avs need a scorer for when they are down one goal in the third period. They need a guy that is active around the net, getting the puck on their stick and put shots on net.

Scorers don't just score, they also pull defenders and open up gaps, something the Avs could use. Landeskog already does this, though more with brute force than finesse shots, McGinn and Downie will go hard to the net but the Avs still need that one sniper. Considering the stability they've instilled in the roster, they could add that scorer without upsetting the team balance too much.

Considering all their moves for stabilizing the team, they could be setting up a move, a big one at that. Whether they are going to be trading for scoring winger (NOT Rick Nash) or signing one, with their recent moves, it looks like the Avs just might be getting ready to add that piece.

Despite Josh Kroenke's statement on "adding pieces later," the Avs could add that critical scoring piece they've been missing and have their first 30 goal scorer since Sakic and Hejduk in 2006-07.

What do you think? Does this make sense or is this theory as wild as a theory that Roberto Luongo is getting traded to Chicago?
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