The Colorado Avalanche Have Surprised Everyone
How else can you describe the Colorado Avalanche’s 2008-09 season without using the words “brutal”, “epic” and “fail”? Simply put, they were as bad or worse than Darcy Tucker.
The Avs finished dead last in the West last year, and seemed to get worse on paper in the off-season by dealing Ryan Smyth and watching Joe Sakic ride into the sunset.
Surely, this pitiful Colorado team could only get worse after losing a couple of impact players and adding only Craig Anderson, Kyle Quincey and Matt Duchene. But Duchene isn’t really an addition; he’s an 18-year-old 3rd overall pick who may not even make the team.
Doesn’t the above paragraph sound ridiculous in March of 2010? Today the Avs are 6th in the West, but prior to the season, they were an overwhelmingly popular favourite to own the Western Conference basement once again.
Hockeycentric picked them to finish 14th. The Hockey News picked them to finish 14th. HockeyAnalysis.com picked them to finish 15th. Most other hockey media outlets similarly saw them as basement dwellers. So, where did everyone go wrong?
The Original Belief: The Avalanche won’t improve defensively in ‘09-10. Scott Hannan’s minus-21, John-Michael Liles and Milan Hejduk at minus-19, and virtually everyone else on the roster deeply entrenched in the minus column. Ben Guite was a team-best plus-2, and he’s bolted for free agency.
The Reality: What a difference one season makes. Look no further than Scott Hannan’s turnaround and a healthy plus-5 rating, while T.J. Galiardi leads the team at plus-12.
The Original Belief: Too many youngsters will be forced to shoulder the offensive burden this season with the departure of Smyth and Sakic. Don’t expect much from the kids.
The Reality: First and most importantly, a healthy Paul Stastny is just under a point per game after missing nearly half of last season. Add to that the unexpected surge in production from Chris Stewart — 25 goals, 54 points, plus-11 as compared to last year’s 19 points and minus-18. And of course, the obvious Colorado Avalanche sparkplug, Matt Duchene, who has emerged as the favourite for the Calder Trophy, leaving John Tavares in his dust. Duchene’s 23 goals and 47 points thus far have exceeded the expectations of most.
The Original Belief: Peter Budaj is OK. Signing Florida’s backup goaltender Craig Anderson doesn’t lift this team out of the basement.
The Reality: “The Bald Mouse” aka Craig Anderson stormed out of the gate this season and was neck and neck with Ryan Miller as the best goaltender of the early season. Then Peter Budaj returned and has been very solid. Budaj and Anderson have combined for a .924 save percentage this year.
The Original Belief: Even if the Avs show glimpses of growth, they compete within one of the toughest divisions in the NHL. The Flames have improved, the Wild and Oilers should be back after off-seasons.
The Reality: The Oilers have crashed and burned this year. The Flames aren’t nearly the force everyone expected, falling well short of expectations and stocking up on Maple Leaf cast-offs to patch up their disappointing season. The Wild have struggled with consistency all season, not even close to contention. Only the Vancouver Canucks have met expectations, battling the Avalanche for the Northwest Division lead all season.
After surpassing every possible expectation all season long, perhaps the Avs shouldn’t be cast aside when it comes time to predict the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
