Denver Post sports writers Terry Frei and Mike Chambers post the Avs Mailbag every other Tuesday during the regular season.
Pose an Avalanche- or NHL-related question for the Avs Mailbag.
Acknowledging that the Avs most urgent need is an NHL caliber defenseman or two, why would they pass on claiming Tyler Graovac off the waiver wire? He is 6-foot-5, 212-pound center icemen who can skate.
— Jack, Hooper
Jack: Don’t know much about Graovac, but I see he’s almost 24 and not exempt from the expansion draft. Waiver-wire pickups and trades at this time of the season are far more difficult to do this season, because of the expansion draft.
There’s only so many players you can protect. Also, you have to ask yourself, if this guy is so special why did Minnesota risk losing him by placing him on waivers?
Nearly two years into the Ryan O’Reilly trade, which team is looking at this point like they got the better of the trade, or is it still too soon for solid evaluation?
— John Goodale, Colorado Springs
Still too early. But Zadorov, who fractured his ankle Monday is out for the season — is a fine 21-year-old defenseman with huge upside. I’m fairly certain J.T. Compher and A.J. Greer will be playing in Colorado next season. We’ll see how they develop though.
I’m confused why the Avalanche would rather trade Matt Duchene rather than Gabe Landeskog. Duchene shows he cares never shies away from the truth, and is the only heart I see every night on the ice. Is it a forgone conclusion that he is traded this season or over the summer? Is there a chance he is still part of this team’s future?
Please help me understand the logic here. We have a lot of cap room coming up to address the blue line, why get rid of your best player?
— John Walsh, Arvada
There’s no favoritism there. It’s what a team is willing to give Colorado for either player. Duchene is a hot commodity in the Canadian markets and Landeskog is a valuable power forward. They might move one of them, both or neither.
Who do you think the Avs will expose in the upcoming expansion draft? I would think their goal would be to shed some salary (if not already done at the trade deadline) or cut some dead weight.
Seems to me this would be a good opportunity to make some needed change to the team and possibly use the the draft as an excuse.
— Jeremy, Centennial
The Avs will lose one player, just like every other existing team.
It’s easier to look at who they’ll protect rather than who they could lose. From the current roster, I think the Avs will go the eight combined forwards/defensemen and a goalie route and protect Nathan MacKinnon, Landeskog, Duchene, Matt Nieto, Erik Johnson, Tyson Barrie, Zadorov, Francois Beauchemin and Calvin Pickard.
But if Beauchemin waves his no trade clause — Vegas will not take a 36-year-old defenseman — you can protect Grigorenko or Barbario. All the kids like Mikko Rantanen, J.T. Compher, A.J. Greer, Chris Bigras and more are exempt. Guys like Carl Soderberg, Blake Comeau, Joe Colborne, Patrick Weircioch, Fedor Tyutin and Semyon Varlamov will not be protected. If I had to guess, Vegas nabs Rocco Grimaldi, San Antonio’s leading scorer.
Why won’t the team fire Joe Sakic? I know he was an amazing player, but he’s not a good general manager. Why don’t they trade their goalie? I have been a fan of Colorado since they started, but don’t trade your best players when you have others to trade.
— Jonesty, Paris, Ontario, Canada
Ownership can always fire the GM. But that hasn’t happened in Colorado and probably won’t. As for trading Varlamov, who recently had groin surgery, what team would possibly be willing to take on his injury problems and $5.9 million cap hit through 2019? You think of trading a top forward or two to quickly revamp your blue line. That’s the only way to do it quickly. The up-and-coming Avs defensemen aren’t superstars. To drastically improve your defense for next season, trading Duchene or Landeskog — or both — are viable options.
What perennial cup contending team has a six-man core? Only true superstar players should ever be considered core players. If you don’t have them, you win with great depth.
Shouldn’t we wait until offseason to make a big trade? More teams can clear cap space and there might be better prospects, picks available to rebuild our depth.
— Jay Nishikawa, Tampa, Fla.
Good questions. The core isn’t superstar-worthy, you’re right. They haven’t overcome poor depth. As for making the moves in the offseason, that could very well happen — primarily because of the expansion draft and how so many Cup-contending teams are against the salary cap.
I am an avid fan of the Avalanche since they were born 1995. They started great, won Stanley Cups, stood up for themselves (Detroit Red Wings feuds and Vancouver ‘jack up Steven Moore’, etc.) They were the team to follow.
When the Broncos went through their post John Elway era and all free agent players, a lot of those fans turned to hockey, and the Avs in particular. The old gang have either retired, manage the team or have gone on to better things.
My question is why have they been so mediocre in the last decade, and why are they so bad now? I mean, come on! I follow them, wear their stuff a good portion of the time, promote them and I stick by them to the end no matter what. But I must say my disappointment is great.
Their being in last place and only being able to win a game here and there is a heavy burden on fan morale. It might even get to a point where they can’t even give tickets away at the Pepsi Center for home games. And their is no logic to it all.
Management? I think they have the best with Joe Sakic. Patrick Roy wasn’t bad either, but he sure was the whipping boy. No wonder he quit. I would too if I were in his position. Then the players. Almost all of them are good on some level and even great in a good moment.
The fans support them, though it’s hard these days. Why are they so bad? It simply doesn’t make any sense. Are they cursed? Did the Red Wings put a curse on them for losing the alumni game when the Avs won?
Believe me when I say it is hard to remain upbeat and loyal when your team is the bottom of the barrel, though I am hard core about them. I conferred with many of my friends and no one can come up with a concise answer.
To close, I want to say that myself and the rest of the fans here in my area just want one thing this season. Win some games, guys! Please. We don’t want our favorite hockey team to be know as “The Browns (Cleveland) on Ice!”
— Mike Arroyo, Aurora
Mike: I’ll respond to your question with this: Please, son, look at what we’ve written from the last six months at denverpost.com/sports/colorado-avalanche/. I’m confident all your questions will be answered with your patience — just sit back and read.
Denver Post sports writers Terry Frei and Mike Chambers post the Avs Mailbag every other Tuesday during the regular season.
Pose an Avalanche- or NHL-related question for the Avs Mailbag.