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PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2015 11:56 am 
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Avs drop to 1-1 in the preseason, losing a tight 1-0 contest to the Flames. And in typical Flames fashion, they lost the possession battle, but won the game. In atypical Avs fashion, the Avs were absolutely dominant in the possession game, with Mikhail Grigorenko sporting a Corsi (even strength) of 88%! :shock:

In other news, the Avs have a fancy stats blogger! And he appears to be pretty good! This is of course who I'm stealing this data from.

https://twitter.com/objectiveavs

Here's his analysis of the new EJ deal. It's not all sunshine and rainbows.

https://objectiveavalanche.wordpress.co ... k-johnson/

I think he nails it. All in all, the deal for EJ was a good one for both teams. Shattenkirk and Johnson are far better fits for their current teams than their previous ones. Now it remains to be seen if Duncan Siemens and Ty Rattie ever pan out (I'm leaning toward "no") but the most important players of the trade are flourishing in their new homes. EJ is not an elite #1 guy, but once he got to a place where he didn't have to be one, he finally showed value. As the guy says though, just how much value is there still remains to be seen.


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 2:20 am 
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Hmmmmm....somewhat concerning. Avs send Duncan Siemens to the AHL before he even gets a chance to play a preseason game. Last year he was one of the last cuts. This year he doesn't even make it past round 2. Mason Geertsen, formerly of the Vancouver Giants, was also cut before he could make it to an exhibition contest, but this is of course his first pro year.

I'm pretty much convinced Siemens is a big fat bust. Not quite good enough, and sure as hell not durable enough for the NHL. He's still only 22, but his development since jumping to the pros has been troublesome to say the least. I don't think it'll be long before Geertsen passes him on the depth chart. Chris Bigras already has.

Avs drop one in OT to LA. Not terribly surprising, but they got done whipped in the possession battle tonight.


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PostPosted: Wed Sep 30, 2015 12:03 am 
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Hmmmm...Avs not looking good in preseason so far. Drop another one to Calgary 2-0.

In other news, Curtis Glencross comes to Avs camp on a PTO after getting cut by Toronto.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/avs/2015/09 ... ell/22144/

This definitely has a lot to do with the fact that Jesse Winchester once again is sidelined with PCS. The other PTO guys, Mezsaros and Skille, are both nursing injuries of their own. I'm glad Roy is at least bringing guys in rather than relying once again on guys like Cliche who have no business in the NHL, even if it's a guy who just got cut by a rebuilding squad.

The good news is that by all accounts, Mikko Rantanen is playing his way into an opening night roster spot.


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:03 pm 
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Interesting...just learned the Avs put Patrick Bordeleau on waivers. When healthy he actually wasn't a bad player as far as goons go, but missed nearly all of last season due to injuries. Apparently has had an absolutely rotten camp and preseason. Despite that, he may actually get claimed.

Former Av Jordan Caron also on waivers today. Was once a first round pick of the Bruins before he was flipped at the deadline for grinder and car salesman extraordinaire Maxime Talbot.


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:26 pm 
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Others sent down: Marc-Andre Cliche (thank heavens), and Zach Redmond. Andrej Mezsaros was released from his PTO.

http://eurolanche.com/article.php?id=6747

Kinda sad Redmond was sent down. Dude's not great by any means, but has good speed, decent hands, and an unerringly accurate stretch pass. That alone makes him worlds better than Nate Guenin and Nick Holden.

Anyhow, very likely that the Avs go with 13 forwards and 8 d-men. Hope to the Hockey Gods that Guenin and Holden have secured those press box seats. That means there's only one cut left to make with the forwards, and it's gonna be Rantanen, Rendulic, or Grigorenko. I'm guessing Grigs stays as he's had a pretty stellar camp, though the other two guys have been good as well. Winchester is on IR and his NHL career is very much in doubt going forward.


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:54 pm 
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Caron is better known these days as Eugenie Bouchard's (former?) beau.

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PostPosted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 4:24 pm 
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E.L. wrote:
Caron is better known these days as Eugenie Bouchard's (former?) beau.


Daaaaaamn...good for him. Hope he didn't have a Drake-like effect on her.

Oh, and I forgot both Skille and Moto Glencross are still on PTOs. I'm guessing unless Skille's ankle is really bad, he makes it, Glencross doesn't.


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PostPosted: Fri Oct 02, 2015 4:57 pm 
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Roy came right out and said what his d-pairings were gonna be on a recent radio broadcast:

Beauchemin - EJ
Gormley - Barrie
Zadorov - Stuart

Personally I'd like to see Zadorov in the top four, Bigras/Siemens on the bottom pairing and Stuart GTFO, but beggars can't be choosers, and whatever it takes to keep Holden and Guenin in the press box I'm fine with.

Forwards still a work in progress, though Roy has said he wants MacKinnon at C rather than RW where he has spent a majority of his time.


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PostPosted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 1:20 pm 
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Glencross released from PTO.

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PostPosted: Tue Oct 06, 2015 1:05 am 
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E.L. wrote:
Glencross released from PTO.


Not surprising from what I've heard/read. I doubt it, but can't help but wonder if GlenX's decision to spurn the Avs' original offer of a PTO in favor of Toronto's camp played any part.

Final cuts coming up. I'd be very shocked if Mikko Rantanen is not on the team. I think Roy realizes this squad is simply not looking good in terms of firepower.

Also, Skille will likely make the team which means either Rendulic or Everberg will be sent down. Winchester will start the year on IR.

I'd put lines up but I'm guessing there's gonna be a TON of shuffling to start the season. Not exactly sure how this lineup will shake out.


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PostPosted: Tue Oct 06, 2015 3:06 pm 
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And the roster is set.

http://avalanche.nhl.com/club/blogpost.htm?id=41681

I'm going to assume/hope that Roy is not going to go with the combos that were observed at the latest practice as his opening night lineup, because if he decides to go with Nate Guenin over Brandon Gormley, Nikita Zadorov, or even Brad fucking Stuart, I'm pretty sure I don't want him to be the coach any longer.

Somewhat surprising to see Rendulic make it over Everberg, but that's likely because of the team's inability to score, and Rendulic was brought aboard to do just that.


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PostPosted: Tue Oct 06, 2015 5:35 pm 
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Wow...it's been a long, long time since I've seen Avs fans get this worked up over something the team did. But it sure appears as though Nate fucking Guenin will be on the second pairing with Tyson Barrie on opening night, and Mikhail Grigorenko will be the team's 13th forward.

I don't necessarily mind that Grigs isn't getting a shot (seems strange though since he had a pretty solid camp and is SURELY a better option than McLeod) but the decision to place Guenin in when Roy has been saying all along that the second pairing was going to be Gormley-Barrie has just about everyone, including me, up in arms. Can't for the life of me understand what in fuck Roy is thinking here.


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 15, 2015 3:05 pm 
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I think the most alarming thing thus far is that only three games in it sure looks like Don Sweeney got the better of Joe Sakic in the Karl Soderberg trade. Without guys like Chara, Krejci, and Bergeron taking more of the defensive load, he's been an absolute train wreck thus far. It doesn't help that Roy keeps putting an 18-year-old rookie and a project prospect on his wings.


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PostPosted: Wed Oct 21, 2015 1:02 am 
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Fucking HELL I didn't realize until the people on HF reminded me that Conner Bleackley still isn't signed to an ELC. And I believe he's the only 1st rounder from that draft class without an ELC. This from a team whose best defensive forward right now is probably Carl fucking Soderberg.

Bleackley has had a rough go of it already in juniors, being stripped of the captaincy. I'm wondering now if that may be a result of the fact that he didn't think he'd still be there.


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 12:01 am 
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A small positive--the Avs PR team is much better than the actual on-ice product. One of the fun things they're doing this year: Playing the Super Mario power-up sound effect every time the team successfully kills a penalty.


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 12:47 am 
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This team is starting to drag down some very talented young players. I hardly see Mac, Duchene and Landeskog on the highlight reels anymore.

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PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 2:41 pm 
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E.L. wrote:
This team is starting to drag down some very talented young players. I hardly see Mac, Duchene and Landeskog on the highlight reels anymore.


MacKinnon was on fire to start the season, using his speed and power to create some chances. Landy was good as well, though for some reason he doesn't want to shoot the puck, I can't explain why. Tanguay and Iginla are looking ridiculously old right now. Iggy in particular is just plain slow. Yes, he's never been a quick starter, but Roy shouldn't be having him play alongside Duchene.

The problem with Duchene is that he needs certain types of wingers to really bring his A-game. He excels in the open cycling game and with wingers who can pass as well as they shoot. Iggy can't really do that anymore, and I'm not sure he ever really could. Rantanen and he have had some decent shifts, but Mikko has a long ways to go before he's truly NHL-ready.

Grigorenko has looked good centering the 4th line. Roy is bringing him along slowly. Ideally I'd like to see this lineup once Barrie is back in:

Landeskog - MacKinnon - Rantanen
Soderberg - Duchene - Comeau
Tanguay - Grigorenko - Iginla
McLeod - Mitchell - Skille

Beauchemin - Johnson
Zadorov - Barrie
Gormley - Holden (ugh)

Gormley FINALLY got the nod last night and looked good despite having a pylon for a defensive partner. Unfortunately, Holden is the best option between him, Guenin, and Stuart. Stuart has landed firmly in Roy's doghouse, spending most of the season thus far in the press box. I'm glad they're finally realizing what we all knew--that was a terrible pickup. I can still remember Roy thinking Stuart could play the top pairing with Johnson. Yeah, sure...that lasted about two games.

On a side note, as disappointing as Soderberg has been, Zadorov has been far better than advertised. Dude just knocks the living shit out of opposing forwards, and can handle the puck with ease. Also handles the puck fairly well.

I still think Roy is completely fucking things up, but there's still hope yet that he'll pull this thing out.


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 7:41 pm 
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Not entirely surprising--the Avs have demoted Mikko Rantanen and called up Dennis Everberg.

Everberg started out in the AHL on fire so it was only a matter of time before he got the call. Rantanen has actually been pretty good despite not producing, but he's not quite ready yet. I think Roy has made a ton of bad decisions of late, but this ain't one of them.

Roy also demoted Borna Rendulic to allow him more playing time in the AHL, but didn't call anyone up to replace him. Everyone was fearing we'd see the triumphant return of Marc-Andre Cliche, but that didn't happen. So Roy, for now, has only 22 players on the active roster, no extra forwards.


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PostPosted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 12:50 pm 
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Just read the Avs are actually out-sucking last year's Sabres when it comes to shots against. That's saying something, though I'm not at all surprised.

Some are already calling for Roy's head, and Terry Frei of the Denver Post is essentially calling him out during pressers. I'll expect his resignation if this club is a bottom feeder once again. The team itself is definitely not ready for prime time, but they shouldn't be a lottery team either. The coaches are failing just as badly as the players right now.


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 12:33 pm 
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The radio guys interview a very fired-up Patrick Roy. Bleeped twice.

https://soundcloud.com/1043thefan/patri ... ing-show-3

Some highlights:

- He has tried to be hands-off with the offense to allow creativity and has implemented a very structured defensive scheme, however offensive struggles have essentially forced him to tell the guys to quit being so fancy.

- He feels the criticism of Duchene is warranted, but it's not lack of effort that's the problem.

- He knew the day he took the job he would be fired one day.

- He doesn't feel his message isn't getting through.

Overall it was a pretty damned good interview. I'm still not entirely confident he is the guy going forward but I will never, ever doubt his passion for the game. If these guys can't put it together for a coach like this, they probably can't put it together for anyone.


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