Denver Post sports writer Adrian Dater posts his Avs Mailbag each Monday during the 2005-06 NHL season on DenverPost.com.
Next Monday, the Avs Mailbag breaks for one week. The next installment is slated for Jan. 23.
To drop a question into the Avs Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s .
Hi, Adrian. I’m a huge fan of both the Avs and your Avs Mailbag! Considering the fact that OLN is the primary station under contract with the NHL, is the league planning an “outdoor” game like the one it had a few years back?
— Tim Chung, San Diego
Tim – Great question! But not that I know of.
OLN is just that now – OLN. It does not stand for Outdoor Life Network anymore. It might as well stand for Old Lady’s Nightie now. It’s like KFC now, unlike the old days when it was “Kentucky Fried Chicken.” That’s what it was called back in the day, when I was an employee of Colonel Sanders.
Yes, your humble Avs correspondent used to make the chicken at a West Lebanon, N.H., Kentucky Fried Chicken, around 1983 or so. Those were the days. I would drive to work in my parents’ little blue Volkswagen bug – a semi-automatic car that I once blew out the fan belt on while driving to a KISS concert with my buddies in the backseat. On that day, I left the KISS tickets in the car after my dad met us to take us the rest of the way. Then, panicked, we had to circle back and luckily met my mom and stepdad as they saw we left the precious tix in the car. Remember, no cellphones in those days.
Anyway, what was your question again?
Is it coincidence that the Avs defense has improved of late because both Patrice Brisebois and Brad May have been out of the lineup?
— Bill, Lee’s Summit, Mo.
Bill – Well, as I write this, I am only a few hours removed from covering a game in which , with Brisebois getting two assists and playing pretty well defensively.
I think “Breezer” has been a pleasant surprise for the Avs this season. I can tell you personally that the guy is a class act, and he really cares about winning. He takes his job seriously, and he plays hard. Now, does he have a couple of flaws in his game, especially in his own end at times? Yes. But, honestly, I think he’s been a pretty good player for the Avs. He had a bad stretch in December, but so did the whole team. I think Brisebois is a guy who has done his job and is a credit to the organization.
Brad May is hurt right now – but he doesn’t have “torn ligaments” as you might have read in a little Denver newspaper recently. I talked to May today and he said he’ll be back fairly soon.
Hey, Adrian. I don’t seem to remember any Avalanche players ever wearing No. 16. Is that out of respect for Michel Goulet? The Nordiques also retired Nos. 3 and 8, but obviously those numbers continue to be used by Avalanche players.
— Todd Buttram, Flagstaff, Ariz.
Todd – Actually, Warren Rychel wore No. 16 for the Avalanche in his first go-around with the team. The number is retired in Quebec – which is easy when there is no team anymore – but not technically with the Avalanche.
How come the Avalanche doesn’t show replays of goals against on the screen but instead give us cheesy stills of the players in happier moments? Is that a league thing or just something the Avs do? I like to evaluate whether the goalie misplayed something or it was just a great goal. It’s an annoying policy, so I’d like your thoughts.
— Jon G., Colorado Springs
Jon – I agree, that is cheesy, but most teams in pro sports do that. I mean, would you want to see a goal scored on YOU if you controlled the scoreboard?
Still, the Avs show NOTHING good by the other team, even between periods. Or, at least I don’t think they do. Sometimes, you have to tip your hat to the other guys.
With such a poor showing this year, do you think the Avs will let Rob Blake go over the summer?
— Scott Heese, Denver
Scott – I’ve said this before – Blake will only be brought back here if he takes a pretty big cut in pay from the nearly $7 million he’s making this season.
The Avs simply can’t rationalize that kind of money again on Blake. He’ll be 37 next year, and even he would probably admit he’s not worth that kind of money anymore.
I don’t think Blake has been poor this season, however. He hasn’t been great, no, but not poor, either. He’s been on the ice for a lot of soft goals against that weren’t his fault. The thing that’s hurt him: His offensive output isn’t that much better this season than it was in the old NHL. He needs to score more goals for the Avs, and he knows it. But I think he does a lot of things that sometimes go unrecognized in the defensive zone, and you would notice them if he wasn’t here. So, I would think the Avs would think hard about letting a guy like him go for nothing, even at his age.
Hi, Adrian. I’ve noticed that the Pepsi Center doesn’t have the “Thank You Fans” along the blue line anymore. Seems like most of the other arenas around the league still do. What’s up with that?
— Scott, Thornton
Scott – Actually, no, most of the NHL’s arenas have taken the logo off the ice now. I think I saw one that still had it the other night, but that’s it. It was just a thing to say to the fans, but you can’t dwell on it forever, right?
Hi, Adrian. With the season starting to head south in a big way, do you think it’s time for Pierre Lacroix to start cleaning house and rebuilding this team?
— John, Sterling
John – Aw, what a difference a week makes! (That phrase is an inside joke between me and ). The Avs have won four in a row as I write, and have looked pretty good doing it. You can’t just “clean house” in the new NHL anymore, anyway. You have to match salaries if you’re going to make big trades now. And, no, I don’t think the Avs need to “clean house.” They need to get through this season as best they can, sign a couple of free agents in the offseason, develop a couple of kids from the minors and they should still be a very competitive team for years.
Adrian – In your opinion, do you think that if the salary cap existed 10 years ago, the Quebec Nordiques would not have been sold to Colorado?
— Jacquie, Edmonton, Alberta
Jacquie – Nice name, and good question.
That’s a tough one. If there were a cap back then, the Nordiques would have been able to sign many of their top young players at the time, guys who were named Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Adam Deadmarsh, Adam Foote, etc., etc. On the other hand, a cap would not have helped what was a critical problem with Quebec back at the time of the sale, namely the absence of heavy-dollar corporate support. What really did in the Nordiques was the lack of enough corporate support to fill 100-plus luxury suites in a new arena – something the team also desperately needed but wasn’t getting because of economic uncertainty in the province.
So, if I had to bet, I would say the Nordiques still would have moved. That team didn’t just need a salary cap. It needed a new arena and more corporate heavyweights to help fill it. I’m not sure that was possible there.
Hi, Adrian. I’d like to ask you about the absurd number of penalty shots that have been a part of games this season. I mean, didn’t a penalty shot used to be a rare, almost unseen thing? A team would be lucky to get one per season.
— Tom, Boulder
Tom – Yes, I think that’s a fair statement. I don’t have the number of penalty shots so far off hand, but I’m sure they’re more than previous years. You’re right, it used to be that a guy practically had to be decapitated to get a penalty shot, but it seems like that with the advent of the shootout, referees are less shy about awarding one in regulation.
Adrian Dater has covered the Colorado Avalanche since the team moved to Denver in 1995. To drop a question into his Avs Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s .
