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Roy, Avalanche players upbeat as camp begins |
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Rick Sadowski
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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
Patrick Roy isn't predicting the Avalanche will return to the playoffs in his first season as head coach, but he and his players sure seemed excited and upbeat Wednesday with the official start of training camp. (Feel free to check out my story on nhl.com)
"I know not too many experts put us in the playoffs," Roy said during a 30-minute news conference at the Pepsi Center. "I would love to surprise them. "
The Avalanche is coming off a disastrous 16-25-7 season and last-place finish in both the Northwest Division and Western Conference. Colorado finished next-to-last in the NHL's overall standings but won the draft lottery and tabbed center Nathan MacKinnon with the first pick.
MacKinnon, who turned 18 on Sept. 1, is one of a number of talented forwards who should make the Avalanche a dangerous team at the offensive end of the ice.
But even Roy said he realizes there are "question marks" about goalie Semyon Varlamov, who won a career-high 26 games two years ago before slumping badly last season. It wasn't all the 25-year-old Russian's fault, of course. He played spectacularly in some games and allowed too many bad goals in others. In general, he was much too inconsistent while playing behind a defense that didn't give him much support.
If the Avalanche is going to make a run at the postseason after missing the playoffs three years in a row, Varlamov will have to be a lot better, and so will a defense corps that doesn't promise to look much different than it did last season.
Varlamov said he is "very excited" to work with new goalie coach Francois Allaire, who has tutored Roy and Avalanche backup Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
"'He's one of the best coaches," Varlamov said of Allaire. "He's been working with so many good goalies in the NHL. He used to work with Patrick Roy and Giguere, and both won Stanley Cups. He knows his business."
Without going into details, Varlamov said that Allaire is working on tweaking his playing style. "I can't say anything about my style," he said. "I won't tell you guys how I'm going to play this year. He wants me to play a little bit different. I think it's going to help me in the future."
Regardless, Roy knows a thing or two about tending goal and he said he's "very comfortable" with Varlamov and Giguere, the latter of whom actually played pretty well last season.
"He is putting in a commitment that makes me believe he deserves a chance to prove himself," Roy said of Varlamov, "and we will give him that chance."
Roy said he likes his defense, pointing out that Ryan Wilson is healthy after missing 36 of 48 games with ankle problems. Roy has spoken to Erik Johnson, told him to forget about trying to live up to being the first overall pick by St. Louis in 2006, to just go out and play the way he is capable. "I'm confident he's going to have a very good year," Roy said.
Roy had good things to say about Tyson Barrie -- "We're curious to see where his game is going to be and I'm very confident in him," he said -- and said the additions of Cory Sarich and Andre Benoit would give the blue line a boost.
Sarich, 35, was acquired with forward Alex Tanguay from Calgary in the trade that sent David Jones and Shane O'Brien to the Flames. Sarich, who had two assists and 16 penalty minutes in 28 games last year, was a member of Tampa Bay's Stanley Cup championship team in 2004.
Benoit, 29, was signed as a free agent. He had three goals, seven assists and eight penalty minutes in 33 games last season with Ottawa and got much of his playing time after Senators star defenseman Erik Karlsson had his Achilles tendon sliced by a skate in a game.
"(Benoit) was a top four defenseman in Ottawa during that injury and performed extremely well," Roy said. "Sarich has won a Stanley Cup with Tampa and has a lot of experience. I think his experience will make our defense already better. It's a good group."
I guess that remains to be seen.
*****
Roy, who won two Stanley Cups each with the Avalanche and Montreal Canadiens, makes no bones about why he took this job. He loves the franchise, the city of Denver and the team's fans, and he wants nothing better than to help return the franchise to elite status.
"I'm here to win," he said. "I've been walking in the streets and there's a buzz for the Avalanche. The fans are excited about our team. There's one thing a lot of fans have been saying to me: 'Make sure you're going to make them work.' I can promise them that I'm going to make them work. I will accept their mistakes; this is part of the game. But they are going to work."
Of the fans, Roy said: "The people here are so great. Honestly, they make me feel so welcome and I appreciate that a lot. I'm so happy to reconnect with them and have the same goal, seeing this team winning the Stanley Cup. This is the fun part and I'm excited about that challenge."
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Avalanche players are more than a little excited, too, about the chance to turn around the team's fortunes under Roy and another Colorado icon, new executive vice president of hockey operations Joe Sakic.
"I've never been more excited for a season in my life," fifth-year center Matt Duchene said. "Everybody has so much confidence with these two guys at the helm. The buzz around the boys is way different. It's pure excitement. I think we're going to have a heck of a year."
Said center Paul Stastny: " I know a lot of guys are excited here. With Joey and Patty at the helm, you have two Hall of Fame guys. Their personalities are different, but they click well together and they know what it's like to succeed. They're two smart, Hall of Fame caliber guys that know exactly what you need to get done to be a successful team. Having those guys running the management side, running the coaching side, brings the excitement back to the Avs where it used to be."
*****
There is some good news on the injury front, even though center Joey Hishon has been bothered by a groin ailment that prevented the former first-round pick (17th overall in 2010) from skating in the Avalanche's three-day rookie camp.
Right wing Steve Downie, who sustained a torn ACL in his right knee in the second game last season, has fully recovered and is expected to take part when the Avalanche begins scrimmages Thursday at its practice facility in Centennial, Colo.
"He's cleared to play," Roy said. "I met him in June and he took (his rehabilitation) very seriously, and I'm very proud of him. He really worked hard and he's ready to play. He's an important player for us. His game is something that this team needs."
The plan is for Downie to skate on the third line this season with MacKinnon left wing Jamie McGinn.
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