Denver Post sports writer Adrian Dater posts his Avs Mailbag each Monday during the 2005-06 NHL season on DenverPost.com. The next installment, however, is slated for March 27.
To drop a question into the Avs Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s .
I have been following the Avalanche for a long time now. I have always been surprised by Avalanche GM Pierre Lacroix’s decisions. But the Jose Theodore-David Aebischer deal is the extreme one for me!
— Michel, Fribourg, Switzerland
Michel – Yes, it caught everybody a little bit by surprise, including me, unfortunately. I was of the belief that Aebischer’s job with the team was safe through the rest of the season. I mean, the Avs’ top needs seemed to be elsewhere: perhaps a power forward and another defenseman. Instead, Lacroix got a goalie who won’t even be able to play until the end of the season.
So, what do I think? I think it’s still an acceptable gamble, a trade that is worth making. Two months ago, you couldn’t have gotten a bag of pucks for David Aebischer in trade. But the Avs ended up getting a former MVP for him, straight up.
I think Theodore’s future potential is greater than Aebischer’s. Don’t get me wrong; I liked Aebischer as a person and player, and I think this trade easily could backfire on Lacroix. Theodore’s play for Montreal this season wasn’t just bad, it was brutal. There is no guarantee he’ll just magically be better here. The new equipment in the NHL for goalies hurt Theodore’s game, and so did all these .
But I still like the trade. I know Theodore’s salary is going to be huge the next two years. But the NHL’s salary-cap number will go up next year, possibly from $39 million to $45 million. That increase would accommodate Theodore’s $5.5 million nicely, and still leave plenty of cash for other players. Without Theodore, the Avs only had roughly $13 million due players under contract for next season.
I think the Avs thought Aebischer was a good goalie, but not a championship goalie. I think they think Theodore has the talent to be a championship goalie. He never got one in Montreal (like the two Patrick Roy won before his trade to Colorado), but he did win a couple of playoff rounds for the Canadiens, and of course he won the Hart Trophy in 2001-02. So, overall, I think the Avs will have bettered themselves in goal for the long run.
Hi Adrian. What’s your take on Brad Richardson? I think this kid can play. Maybe the Avs should move him up and see what he can do?
— Bob Aquin, Cheyenne
Bob – Yeah, I like Richardson as a player, too. He’s got pretty good speed and handles the puck pretty well. He is a good third- or fourth-line player. I don’t think the Avs should put him on a first or second line right now, because I don’t think he can handle that kind of responsibility yet. But I do like what I see, and he’s another good-looking kid that the Avs somehow found in the middle rounds.
Adrian – About three months ago, you wrote an article about the salary cap and how it may go up next season to between $40 million and $45 million from the current $39 million for each team. How will the cap increase affect the NHL teams’ ticket prices, especially the Avs?
— John Dyer, Aurora
John – It might increase them a little. But probably not much. I don’t think NHL teams want to go around jacking up prices any time soon. There are still some hard feelings among some fans about the canceled season, and teams are pretty mindful of bad public relations.
Jacking up prices isn’t good PR at any time. So, expect a minimal increase, if any.
Greetings from Germany. I love your Avs Mailbag and often can’t wait until the next Monday. Good work! Now that the Olympic break is over, were there as many NHL players injured at the Turin Games as the GMs and others expected?
— Carsten, Berlin
Carsten – Good to hear from Germany. It was good to see Uwe Krupp on the German bench during the Games. Avs fans will always remember him fondly for his goal that won the Cup in ’96.
I don’t think the injury situation was too bad. I know Ottawa probably wasn’t too happy losing Dominik Hasek, but he can pull a groin at any time. I know the Avalanche breathed a sigh of relief nobody was hurt in Turin, other than a cut-up cheek for Joe Sakic.
With Teemu Selanne’s resurgence in Anaheim and the leadership he showed for his Finnish team in the Olympics, one assumption must be that Avalanche management did not use him correctly. Granted, the injury to Paul Kariya didn’t help, but he certainly has shown that he wasn’t washed up two years ago. It seems his attitude was highly professional during his
disappointing season with the Avs. What is your take on the situation?
— Bud Griswold, Woodstock, Va.
Bud – First of all, Selanne was very professional and tried hard here. It just didn’t work out. Selanne blamed his poor play on a bad knee, which he had surgery on before this season. It’s too bad he wasn’t 100 percent physically, because everybody knew he still had talent. He just seemed to lose some confidence in himself here, either from the injury or the fact he was moved down to the third line on occasion. He couldn’t handle the puck very well all of a sudden. And let’s face it, he just didn’t score goals.
In your opinion, how important is the plus-minus rating?
— Patrik Nilsson, Malmö, Sweden
Patrik – I think it’s an important stat. Not the most important thing in the game, but it is what it is. A guy with a plus-50 rating means he’s been on the ice for 50 more even-strength or short-handed goals than vice-versa. It means goals are more likely to score for his team than against.
Still, it can be a deceptive stat, particularly for players in the minus numbers. I think a bad goalie can make a lot of very good defensemen look horrible. They get a minus-1 when he lets in a soft goal, when it isn’t their fault.
Adrian – How great was it to see Todd Bertuzzi sitting in the penalty box while Russia scored the eliminating power-play goal against Team Canada? Sweet poetic justice!
— Chris Wiedrich, Phoenix
Chris – Yes, for everybody that hates Bertuzzi – and there are a lot of them out there – that was a sweet moment.
Bertuzzi hasn’t had a great season with the Canucks, and his play for Team Canada wasn’t so hot, either. Then again, the whole Canadian team stunk.
A.D. – Will the NHL ever get it? Watching the passing, speed and skating in Italy, how do we convince the league to expand the size of the ice?
— Steve Luczak, Lynchburg, Va.
Steve – Too much logistical problems to do it throughout the league. Too many lost seats, too much hassle rearranging arenas. I don’t see it happening. But I agree, it’s great to see so much open ice for the skill players to operate. We’ll just have to wait four years to see it again.
Hi, Adrian. I was just wondering if there is any update on Steve Moore? Is there any chance of an eventual return to the NHL or is his career over?
— Chenoa Miller, Moundsville, W.Va.
Chenoa – Sadly, I don’t think we’ll see Moore play in the NHL again. His civil suit against Bertuzzi is kind of a sign that he’s given up on his NHL career. I know that he hasn’t been cleared medically to play yet, and it’s past the two-year mark since his injury. Usually, if they don’t clear you by the two-year mark when it comes to concussive symptoms, they never clear you. That’s why Adam Deadmarsh had to retire from the game, for instance.
So, it’s a sad story, one that didn’t come around to having a happy ending. I just hope he gets some kind of justice, even if it’s just financial.
Adrian – How much of an impact do you think Wojtek Wolski will make on the Avalanche next year?
— TS, Kitimat, British Columbia
TS – I think a pretty substantial one. I’m sure the Avs would like to have him right now, especially after losing Marek Svatos for the season. But they can’t call him up from junior at all the rest of the season, even for the playoffs.
He’s had a great year for his team in junior, having won the OHL’s player of the month award the last three months in a row. I think he’ll come in next year with more confidence in himself, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him playing on one of the top two lines.
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 .
