Avalanche veteran winger Andrew Brunette played three seasons for the Minnesota Wild and coach Jacques Lemaire.
But Brunette is not going to complain about Lemaire’s advocacy of the neutral-zone trap and his emphasis on the defensive end of the ice.
In fact, Brunette says, it was good for him.
“You learn a lot,” Brunette said after the Avalanche practice Monday, as Colorado prepared for tonight’s meeting with the Wild at the Pepsi Center. “Jacques is a teacher. You pay attention to what he’s talking about.”
Is Lemaire as restrictive as has been portrayed?
“No,” Brunette said. Then, to make sure his meaning was clear, he added: “No, no, he’s not. There’s freedom in his system. You’re free to do what you want offensively, it’s just that defensively and in the neutral zone, he wants you to be tight in certain ways.”
Brunette said he wasn’t uneasy playing under the Lemaire system.
“I think I understood it most – a lot of the time,” he said. “There are times, obviously, where you’re frustrated at different things that happen. But I knew where he was coming from and I enjoyed my time there, because, I have to say, I learned an awful lot.”
The Wild has opened up a bit under the new rules and anti-obstruction standards. Especially in the past couple of NHL seasons, Minnesota’s team speed enabled the Wild to pressure the puck, take advantage of turnovers and do more than simply attempt to clog the neutral zone and mitigate a talent gap. But there still are times when the Lemaire trapping principles seem to take over a game. Though the Wild went into Monday night’s game against Detroit only 11th in the Western Conference, Minnesota and Calgary’s 130 goals-against were tied for the fewest in the conference.
Brunette scored 54 regular-season goals for the Wild, but his most notorious goal came in the postseason – when his Game 7 overtime goal in the first round of the 2003 playoffs ended the Avalanche season, and Patrick Roy’s career.
Brunette signed with the Avalanche after the end of the lockout and is making $850,000 this season. He has had a solid season, often stepping up to the first line because of injuries or coach Joel Quenneville’s desire to shake things up. Brunette had a goal and two assists in the 4-3 shootout loss to Vancouver on Saturday and was the most effective forward on the ice. For the season, he has 14 goals and 39 points, putting him fourth on the Avalanche in scoring, behind Alex Tanguay, Joe Sakic and Marek Svatos.
“There were times in Minnesota they were relying on me a little more offensively,” said Brunette, who led the Wild in scoring in 2001-02, was fourth in 2002-03 and was second in 2003-04. “But when you come here, there are guys who are among the best in the league, so I came in here and looked at it as an opportunity to win the Stanley Cup.”
Quenneville said Brunette “had a stretch there where a lot of things weren’t happening, production-wise. But in the (Vancouver) game, especially the last part of the game, he was dominant. But Bruno’s been very good for us throughout most of the year, with his offensive contribution, his professionalism, his leadership. He’s a good guy to have around, and he’s a real nice fit for us. It’s nice when he plays games like that because he can dominate around the net. … He went through a tough stretch, but when he was going, that was how he played.”
Terry Frei can be reached at 303-820-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com.
