Props to Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic for locking up their #1 center, Matt Duchene, to a much deserved five year, $30 million contract extension.
Duchene is in the final year of his two year, $7 million contract. He showed loyalty to the club by taking a hometown haircut two seasons ago when things looked bleak in Denver. Today, with #1 pick Nathan MacKinnon in the fold, the future looks so bright for the Avs that the Duchene's gotta wear shades. Landeskog will be re-upped in the near future as well, which will insure many years of prosperity in them thar Rocky Mountains.
The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that the team has agreed to terms with 22-year-old forward Matt Duchene on a five-year contract extension through the 2018-19 season.
"Matt already is and will be a big part of our team's nucleus for the long term," said Avalanche Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Joe Sakic. "We all felt that it was important for us to secure his rights for several seasons. With his great skills, speed and character, he represents the identity we want the Avalanche to be."
After only four seasons with Colorado, Duchene already ranks 30th on the franchise's all-time scoring list with 193 points (82g/111a) in 266 career games. He has finished in the top three in scoring on the Avalanche in three of his four seasons.
"In 2009, I was thrilled to have been selected by the Avalanche, my favorite team," Duchene said. "I have worn this uniform with pride in my first four professional seasons in Denver, and I appreciate the organization believing in me for the long-term future.
"I have been working really hard again this summer, and I am looking forward to the upcoming training camp and season."
The center finished tied for the Avalanche scoring lead last season with 43 points and led the team with 26 assists. He finished second with 17 goals and led the club in game-winning goals (3), shots (132), faceoff percentage (54.6 percent) and takeaways (44).
When the Avs take the ice for opening night in October, they will boast the undisputed, best four center ranks in the NHL with Duchene ($3.5 million) on the top line, Ryan O'Reilly ($5.5 million) on line two, Nathan MacKinnon ($3.775 million) on line three, and Paul Stastny ($6.6 million) on the fourth.
How on God's green earth will Roy and Sakic justify paying their fourth line center $6.6 million? Stastny will be lucky to earn 7-8 minutes of TOI on line three. If Roy bumps ROR to the wing, Stastny will center the second line. The popular belief is that Roy will trade Ryan O'Reilly in February when the green light is on. However, Roy nay decide to keep O'Reilly and ship out Stastny sooner in order to secure some defensive help in the form of a top four D to help his questionable blue line.
Right now, the Avs sport a starting blue line consisting of:
Erik Johnson ($3,75M)
Jan Hejda ($3,25M)
Ryan Wilson ($2,25M)
Cory Sarich ($2M)
Matt Hunwick (1.6M)
Andre Benoit ($900,000)
Stefan Elliott ($900,000)
Tyson Barrie ($900,00)
Scared yet?
Roy may want to smile and dial his good friend, the GM in Buffalo who is sitting on a metric ton of quality NHL defensemen.
Regier will bring 10 NHL D to training camp, including:
Myers
Ehrhoff
Tallinder
Weber
Jamie McBain
Pysyk
McNabb
Ruhwedel
If Ristolainen plays as well in training camp as he did in the recent development camp, its likely that he will be kept in Buffalo as a member of the top seven. If this were to occur, Regier would have to move players around the organization in order to create a roster spot for Ristolainen.
Stastny to Buffalo rumors have been flying round these parts for the past three seasons. I'm a big fan of Stastny's and I think that he can add value, leadership, and scoring to Buffalo's theater of youth.
The Avs are also looking to upgrade their goal tending. Who better than Ryan Miller to do just that?
Roy is going to grow fatigued from having to have Duchene, Landeskog, and O'Reilly, MacKinnon and the Avs out score opponents 6-5 and 5-4 in order to win games. At some point, he's going to have to face facts that his blue line will be his team's fatal flaw this season, unless he takes a proactive approach to upgrading it with solid NHLers now.
Roy knows Darcy's cell number. He should call or text him now.
What say you?
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While Sabres fans are still basking in the afterglow of another impressive prospect development camp, there are second-tier free agents still available who can help the Sabres to re-build this team the right way. One wonders when GM Darcy Regier is going to make a long awaited free agent signing that will add instant leadership and credibility to the Sabres soon-to-be lineup.
Brenden Morrow is still on the open market. For what reason, I don't know.
Its time to giddy-up and get this guy locked up, Darcy. Morrow is the exact player that the evolving Buffalo roster needs right now.
The Sabres were lacking in the on-ice, on-bench leadership department last season.
Thankfully, Steve Ott grabbed the bull the horns the moment that he skated into Erie County. In my opinion, the NHL lockout handicapped the Sabres in that the vets and the youngsters never really spent meaningful time of the ice together during the work stoppage. The only bonding that happened was amongst the handful of guys who stayed in Buffalo. Many of the Sabres veteran leaders like Regehr, Leopold, Ott, Kaleta, Stafford, and Ellis stayed put and played shinny at the Northtowns Center while their teammates Ehrhoff, Myers, Ennis, Weber, Sekera, Vanek, Pominville, and Hecht jumped the pond to play meaningful hockey in Europe.
When the owners cut the padlocks off the doors to their rinks, the mad scramble to get NHLers back from Europe was fast and furious. Some skated hard, others limped. The NHL mandated seven day "training camp" to prepare for the regular season was a joke.
The lack of a proper NHL training camp really didn't do much to help Buffalo.
Leaders cannot lead players who are playing in foreign countries.
I'm a strong proponent of having the leaders take charge from Day 1 of a training camp. The leaders are an extension of the coaching staff. The guys with chipped teeth and zipper-like battle scars on their faces play huge roles on teams. For the coming season in Buffalo, the grey beards are going have to play and even bigger role, what with the youth movement that is taking shape inside the organization as we speak.
Steve Ott and Thomas Vanek are perfect leaders for the youngsters like Grigorenko, Girgensons, Myers, Foligno, Ennis, Armia, Larsson, Tropp, McNabb, Ristolainen, and Zadorov to look up to. Mike Weber, Pat Kaleta, Christian Ehrhoff, Ville Leino and Drew Stafford will add their voices to the leadership group as well. The advent of more kids and prospects in the lineup means that the team will need more on-ice and in-dressing room leadership. Especially if Ryan Miller leaves by way of a trade in the next 60-90 days.
I feel like the Sabres are missing a thirty-something leader like Brenden Morrow, who leads by his dogged determination and painful examples on the ice. Sorry, Hank Tallinder doesn't provide the same type of leadership as Morrow.
I consider Morrow to be an insurance policy. He can play the same role that Mike Grier played when 2005-06 Sabres were learning how to win. Back then, Miller, Gaustad, Vanek, Pominville, Roy, Tallinder and all of the Amerks learned the pro game from Grier. Briere and Drury played leadership roles on those teams, but never under-value the role that Mike Grier played in the room, on the ice, on the bikes after games, on the bus, at the hotel, and in the trainer's room.
Morrow would play the same role for the 2013-14 Sabres that Griere played for the 2005-06and 2006-07 Sabres teams. He's a grizzled, street smart veteran who refuses to quit. He plays the game with zeal, passion, and truculence, at as close to 100 mph as his 34 year old legs can get him to and he doesn't back down from any challenges. Morrow is a warrior.
Like Ott, he does the little thing correctly. ALL of the little things, not some of them.
Ott told me on more than one occasion this season that his former Dallas Stars teammates Morrow, Mike Modano, Joe Nieuwendyk, and Bill Guerin all have helped to mold him into the man and the player that he is today. Ott, now 30, was the apprentice to he hockey superstars in Dallas. he learned how to lead and how to earn respect from his teammates by emulating Morrow and the elders. Now, Ott is an elder.
Photo courtesy Dan Hickling
Who better to add to the Buffalo roster than a respected leader like Morrow?
Most of you people want Ott to be the next captain of the Sabres. Who do you think helped to mold Ott into the player and man that he is today? Morrow did.
Morrow scored 12 goals last season and can still light the lamp and create plays. he will ease a lot of the load off Ott and Vanek so that they don't have to ignore their offensive and defensive responsibilities.
In 850 regular season games, Morrow has scored 249 goals and added 293 assists for 542 points. He's accumulated 1222 PIMS, too. In 92 career playoff games, he's scored 19 goals and added 27 assists for 46 points, and 108 more PIMs. The guy is a brahma bull who knows where the back of the net is. He's exactly what the Sabres need right now.
The Northeast division has become a street fighter division in the past few weeks with Toronto, Montreal, Boston, Tampa, Florida, and Detroit all adding toughness and grit. As it stands right now, the Sabres are lacking in the toughness department. I'm not talking about a brawler like John Scott. I'm talking about a guy like Morrow who wrecks opponents and wears them down with a hard, 60 minute fore check. Morrow will toss the mitts, no problem. The Sabres need to stay out of the box and draw penalties so that Jope Sacco's soon-to-be revamped PP can get to work lighting the lamp and making opponents pay for their sins.
Regier better grab Morrow now and sign him to a 2-3 year deal, before Carolina or Detroit get his name on the bottom line first.
In the near future, Ott will be signing a long term extension to stay in Buffalo. Its time for Regier to buy an insurance policy like Morrow to add depth and leadership the likes of which Regehr and Leopold used to provide before they were traded away.
Morrow's agent recently told me that the Sabres are interested in Morrow:
We had a good visit and they like the player. We will circle back to them later to see where they are at
.
Over pay Morrow if you have to, Darcy. He's worth every penny.
The sun will come out to Morrow.
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Ahem!!!
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