|
Roy Era Set To Begin |
|
|
Rick Sadowski
 Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • RSS
• Archive
• CONTACT
|
|
|
Rick Sadowski has been covering the Avalanche since the team's arrival in Denver in 1995, first for the Rocky Mountain News and now for NHL.com. He previously covered the Los Angeles Kings -- before and during Wayne Gretzky's time there -- for the LA Daily News and Herald Examiner. HockeyBuzz is thrilled to have him aboard! Follow him on Twitter @RickS7
There hasn't been this much anticipation for a Colorado Avalanche training camp since, well, let's just say it has been a while.
After all, the Avalanche has missed the playoffs three years in a row and in four of the past five seasons, no easy feat.
The hiring of Joe Sakic as the team's executive vice president of hockey operations and that of new head coach Patrick Roy are the reasons for excitement, though a stable of talented young forwards is also cause for cautious optimism as the Avalanche prepares to open training camp Wednesday when the veterans report for medicals and physical testing.
On-ice workouts -- 58 players are scheduled to take part -- will begin Thursday at the team's practice facility in Centennial, Colo.
Question is, can Sakic and Roy do for the franchise while wearing coats and ties what they did while in uniform, leading the Avalanche to two Stanley Cups during their Hockey Hall of Fame careers?
Roy experienced plenty of success during an eight-year run as part owner and coach of the Quebec Remparts in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, but will that translate into success at the NHL level?
Roy is a realist -- plenty of work needs to be done with this team -- but he's also confident in his ability. He didn't return to Colorado with visions of failure in his head.
"I'm not nervous about losing my job," Roy said during his introductory news conference back in June. "I'm not here for the money. I'm here for the fans, I'm here for this organization, and I'm here to try to prove to myself that I'm capable of doing the same thing that I did at the junior level."
The Avalanche appears to have plenty of talent up front with Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, PA Parenteau, Paul Stastny, Ryan O'Reilly, Alex Tanguay, Steve Downie, Jamie McGinn and first overall draft pick Nathan MacKinnon.
But it sure will be strange not seeing the classy Milan Hejduk, whose extraordinary stint with the Avalanche ended after last season, his 14th in burgundy and blue.
Still, this team has the potential to score plenty of goals.
It may have to.
The Avalanche didn't do a whole lot to address its defensive deficiencies, other than to cut loose Greg Zanon, and acquire the veteran Cory Sarich from Calgary (along with Tanguay) in the trade that sent David Jones and Shane O'Brien to the Flames. The Avalanche also signed Andre Benoit as a free agent; he had three goals and seven assists in a career-high 33 games last season with the Ottawa Senators.
So, the Avalanche blue line won't look significantly different with holdovers Erik Johnson, Jan Hejda, Ryan Wilson, Tyson Barrie, Stefan Elliott and Ryan Wilson, the latter of whom missed most of last season because of an ankle injury. Duncan Siemens, a first-round pick (11th overall) in 2011, will be competing for a roster spot, but he just turned 20 and has to be considered a longshot to make the team.
Defense is hardly the only question mark. As usual --this has pretty much been the case since Roy retired following the 2002-03 season -- the Avalanche is looking for stability in goal.
Semyon Varlamov played reasonably well two years ago after the Avalanche acquired him from Washington in exchange for first- and second-round picks, but he slipped badly last season and has plenty to prove in what will be a personal contract year. Varlamov is still just 25, and it can't hurt to be tutored by Roy and new goaltending coach Francois Allaire.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere actually had a better year than Varlamov in 2012-13, but the Avalanche could be in a heap of trouble if the 36-year-old somehow manages to supplant Varlamov as the Avalanche's No. 1 goalie.
One way or another, good or bad, it should be an interesting season with Sakic and Roy running the show for the very first time. Stay tuned.
Join the Discussion:
»