Welcome to another edition of the Hockeybuzz hotstove.
With the recent injuries to Semyon Varlamov and, to a lesser extent, Retto Berra, the Avalanche are very shallow in goal.
As a team that finished near the top of the Western Conference last season and has playoff aspirations once again this year, it's probably not a great idea to stand pat if Varlamov will miss anything more than a short period of time.
In this edition the hotstove suggests what Colorado should do if Varlamov is out long-term.
Todd Cordell: Sign Tomas Vokoun If he's healthy Tomas Vokoun is far and away the best free agent option available.
Vokoun has posted a save percentage of .916 or better every season since the lockout, and most recently sported a .919SV% in 20 games with Pittsburgh during the 2012-13 season.
At this point in his career he probably won't be looking for a starting gig or to be compensated highly, and would be the perfect stop-gap for Colorado.
He faced a ton of rubber during his time with Florida, so the kind of workload he'd get in Colorado would be nothing new.
Tim Chiasson: Martin Brodeur If this isn't the perfect situation for Martin Brodeur I don't know what is. A rival HOF goaltender needs a band-aid solution on a talented roster to save a season before it spirals out of control. Sure, there are other goaltenders out there but there's only one with the proven track record that Brodeur has. He might be older and not as dynamic but he can give Colorado the stability between the pipes that they're going to need.
No player on Colorado is going to question the play of a decorated legend of the cage and it will lift a worry from the minds of the players as they focus on getting themselves on track. No one will be asking Brodeur to come in and steal every game, they'll just want him to stop a few more pucks than Calvin Pickard did against Ottawa. It's a calming decision for the organization that let's the Avs players know there's no panic, just a temporary solution until Varlamov returns.
Ryan Wilson: Tomas Vokoun If Tomas Vokoun considers himself healthy for action, he is one of the best backup options out there. His last game action was in 2012-13 when he took the Penguins to the Eastern Conference Finals after bailing out Marc-Andre Fleury.
Selfishly I want Vokoun back on the Penguins for a Greiss/Vokoun duo. Talk about great value.
The year is 2014 and Martin Brodeur is a terrible goaltender at this stage of the game. He is playing at a level worse than that of your average AHL callup. Not good. Colorado isn't exactly the most analytically sound organization so signing Brodeur would fall right in line with the kinds of decisions they make.
Michael Stuart: Stand pat What they should do and what they will do are probably two different things. My guess is that the Avalanche will go out and sign a backup like Tomas Vokoun. They’ll look at him as a way to keep the team’s head above water in the short-term. What should they do? Wait it out.
Semyon Varlamov is the only reason that the Avalanche finished where they did last season. No stopgap signing is going to replace or replicate what he brought to Colorado in 2013-14.
The reality is that the Avalanche aren’t very good. Their possession game is weak. Their defensive system is a mess. They’re a good rush team, and that’s about it. Semyon Varlamov is and was their ticket to respectability. Having him out of the lineup will give Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic a chance to see the team for what it really is. They should wait out his injury and worry about fixing other issues.
Adam French: Sign Martin Brodeur I think this depends entirely on the Avs mentality, do they really believe they are a team poised for an advance towards contention, or has that ship sailed on the SS Varlamov the "Hart" of their success last season? If so, sign Martin Brodeur. I don't think he will be good enough to actually pull them out, he might even be a disaster behind that suspect defense...but maybe his presence will be felt off the ice on Varlamov while he's recovering? I really don't think there is that much of a difference between the usual three "washed up" suspects in Brodeur, Bryz and Vokoun at this point in their respective careers. Sign Brodeur, split starts with Chet Pickard, whoever is doing better go with them and hope the wheels don't fall too far off the wagons axles.
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What would you do if you were in the Avalanche's shoes? As always, we'd love to hear your thoughts so feel free to share.
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