Coaching: Coach Sacco needs to go. It's always sad to see someone lose their job, but he just isn't getting it done. Seemingly every game for the past couple of weeks I see coach Sacco get constantly out coached. The biggest example of this was the 6-3 loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins. After the first period in which the Avs played well and staked themselves to a 3-1 lead, they held on in the second then got dismantlement by the Penguins and let in four third period goals. Although the Penguins are a much better team on paper than the Avs, it is inexcusable to have a two goal lead and lose it in the final period. Dan Bylsma, the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins recognized what the Avs were doing and made his adjustments. I am not sure who the Avs could get to replace Sacco, so that is the hardest thing about this. Do you guys have any ideas?
Goaltending: First I must say that I am in no way a goaltending expert. I am not a hockey expert for that matter, but the Avs gave up A LOT to get goaltender Semyon Varlamov and while he started the season off well, he has fallen off a little bit. I feel that the Avs made a smart move is getting Jean-Sebastien Giguere to help mentor young Varlamov. I feel that "Varly" needs not only a mentor in Giguere but also a FULL TIME goalie coach that he can work with to get his form and confidence back up. I think that Avs fans should not panic with Varly's play because he is a young man getting used to playing big minutes with an NHL club. The Avs need a goalie that can steal them games and give their forwards and defense confidence and I feel that Varlamov is that guy.
Leadership: I feel that the Avs are good on this front. I think Milan Hejduk is a good choice for now until he retires and will do a good job at showing the youngsters how to play good hockey. After Hejduk the Avs have players such as Erik Johnson, Paul Statsny, Ryan O'Reilly, Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, and also Shane O'Brien has emerged as a viable choice of captain. This team will have a host of players leading the charge for years to come and I have no doubt these players listed will be first into battle.
Management/Ownership: This is also one place that I think needs to change. The management and ownership seem very transparent. An example of what I mean is there is no indication that the management and ownership want to make this team a legitimate contender. In Buffalo, their new owner, Terry Pegula, came out in a press conference stating his intentions, he wanted to win no matter what the cost. He was willing to spend money on the players that management felt would get the job done. Kroenke Sports Enterprises (Stan Kroenke to be specific) has not shown that he is willing to help the Avs win. While he is busy with the St. Louis Rams and Arsenal F.C. he is leaving his Denver franchises' in the dust. Let me be clear though, I do not think blindly spending money like the New York Rangers or Toronto Maple Leafs creates a contender, but I feel that the ownership should allow the Avalanche spend a bit on some free agent players. Although the Avs do have a lot of money to spend this off-season to retain talents such as Matt Duchene, Ryan O'Reilly and many others.
While It is frustrating to watch the Avs lose, I feel that there shouldn't be too much panic within the fan base because this is a young team trying to find their way to the win column and trying to grow out of their "weird teenage" years.
If you think there are other things wrong or that I am way off mark let me know in the comments!
-Colorado Cross Checker
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