It seemed too good to be true when the Avalanche signed star Paul Kariya in 2003 for one year at a bargain price of $1.2 million. Ultimately, it was.
In the end, it just didn’t work out. Most of the blame can be assigned to injuries that limited Kariya to 51 games and only one playoff game.
“Being injured didn’t help, for sure,” Kariya said Wednesday, in the dressing room of his new team, the Nashville Predators. “But I had a bad year, not the way we all envisioned it going into the year. But I had a lot of fun here. It’s one of the best organizations in the league and a great group of guys. I’m just disappointed it didn’t finish off well.”
Kariya scored a career-low 11 goals for Colorado with 36 points. With Anaheim in 1997-98, Kariya was limited to 22 games but scored 17 goals. His regular season was marred by separate wrist sprains. In the final game of the regular season against Nashville, Kariya suffered a sprained ankle with two minutes to go after getting entangled with current teammate Scott Hartnell. He returned for Game 6 of a second-round playoff series against San Jose, getting an assist.
With the NHL going to a salary cap, keeping Kariya wasn’t an option for the Avs.
“It just wasn’t feasible,” he said. “They were beginning to get rid of payroll, not add on. That’s the economics of the sport right now.”
Kariya came to the Avs with good friend Teemu Selanne. They wanted to rekindle their magic from the Mighty Ducks days, but it didn’t happen – and now Selanne is back with the Ducks.
“Sometimes, it doesn’t work out,” Kariya said.
Deadmarsh salute
Former Avalanche winger Adam Deadmarsh, who retired last month, will be honored with “Adam Deadmarsh Night” by the Los Angeles Kings in a March 20 game against the Avalanche at the Staples Center.
Deadmarsh, traded to the Kings by the Avs in 2001, was forced to retire because of post-concussion syndrome.
