Denver Post sports writer Adrian Dater posted his Avs Mailbag each Monday during the 2005-06 NHL season on DenverPost.com. This installment is the season finale. Thanks to all who submitted questions!
To drop a question into the Avs Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s .
How does a team go from perhaps the greatest series in franchise history to the worst series in franchise history – in consecutive series? After knocking off a more talented and dominating Stars team in five games, they barely mustered a
quartet of goals in being swept by the Mighty Ducks.
— Daniel Beylkin, Boulder
Daniel – That’s hockey, eh? How do you explain the Avs looking like the worst team in NHL history in the first two games of the 1999 series against Detroit, then sweeping the two-time defending Cup champs four straight after that? Playoffs are all about momentum, and a hotter team just beat the Avs at that moment.
The Ducks were just too fast for the Avs overall. They didn’t give any time or space to Avalanche skaters. The PK unit was great, and the Avs made too many turnovers, like the one Patrice Brisebois made that ended Game 3. But the Ducks pressured the Avs into those turnovers. In the final analysis, the Avs just couldn’t stop a Ducks team that came in with a seventh-game mentality after beating Calgary in one, while the Avs had been off a week and looked it in Games 1 and 2.
In Game 4 of the Avs-Ducks series, a situation came up that always confuses me. The Avs, down 3-1, pull their goalie, give up a goal and then put Jose Theodore back in net. Why not keep the goalie pulled? I understand in the regular season there are tiebreaking purposes, but in the playoffs (especially an elimination game) who cares if you lose 4-1 or 10-1? Keep him pulled and see what happens.
— Chris, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Chris – That’s a good point, but it’s just basically an unwritten rule that you put the goalie back in when the game is officially “lost.” It’s just one of those things in hockey that you can’t explain.
Adrian – I noticed Riku Hahl was playing for Team Finland in the World Championships in Riga, Latvia. Is there a chance he could return to the Avalanche lineup next season?
— Rich Pickowitz, La Quinta, Calif.
Rich – I doubt it, but anything’s possible. I think Hahl is no longer on the team’s radar, although if any team might take a chance on him again, I suppose it would be the Avs. We’ll see.
Can you take a moment and discuss the Avs’ salary situation for next year?
— Sean, Denver
Sean – Basically, the Avs are in decent shape. They have around $19 million committed to players for next season, and the NHL salary cap is supposed to rise at least 10 percent, which would put it at around $43 million, maybe more.
But the Avs still need to sign players like Joe Sakic, Rob Blake, Alex Tanguay, Karlis Skrastins, John Liles and Marek Svatos. So, that will eat up plenty of cap space if they sign all of them. There should be enough money left for a decent free-agent signing or two from other teams, though.
Adrian – Thank you for this season’s Avs Mailbag. I hope I am not too late for last call. What do the Avs do now? Do we start “rebuilding” or do we “retool”?
— Brandon, Casper
Brandon – I think retool is the word. Look, the Avs have some real good young talent in guys like Svatos, Wojtek Wolski, Liles and Brad Richardson. They need to add more speed around the edges of the team, and that might not be easy. But I think the Avs look like a good team for next year, assuming they keep Sakic and Blake and add perhaps a good defensemen or two to round out the depth on the blue line.
Do you have any idea what happened to Ian Laperriere late in the season as far as an injury the team was hiding? He was arguably our best penalty killer, along with Antti Laaksonen, but he didn’t get any PK time during the postseason.
— Jason, San Diego
Jason – As far as I know, Laperriere did not have a serious injury. He did appear to be a bit slower than usual, however, but that might be because of the speed advantage the Mighty Ducks had over the whole Avs team. They made everyone look slower.
But there’s no doubt that Laperriere was a bit of a playoff disappointment. He did not score a goal and was a minus player overall. It was surprising, because he was so good in the regular season. He might have gotten a bit worn down from playing more minutes than he’d ever been used to, but I know he wouldn’t use that as an excuse.
Why didn’t the Avs use Wojtek Wolski more against the Ducks? He might have been the sparkplug we were looking for. Well, better luck next year.
— Luke, Gunnison
Luke – They played Wolski the first three games, and he did not play well. So, he was benched for Game 4. The fact is, Wolski looked suddenly like an inexperienced rookie – which he was – starting late in the Dallas series, and it carried on into the Anaheim series. He looked a bit slow against the Ducks (again, so did everybody), and he seemed to lose a bit of confidence after his sensational start to the playoffs in Dallas.
Still, Wolski is a promising talent for the future and did a lot of good things for Colorado as just a baby-faced kid.
Hey, Adrian! Keep up the great work! In your “” article, you mentioned that Patrick Roy went into Bob Hartley’s office and destroyed it with his stick. I am a diehard Patrick Roy fan, yet I have never once heard of this incident. Could you please elaborate on this?
— Chad Lysohirka, Maple Ridge, British Columbia
Chad – In a nutshell, Roy smashed up Hartley’s office in Anaheim in the ’99-00 season, after he did not get credit for a victory. The Avs won the game in Anaheim, partly because Hartley gave more rest time for his tired power play unit by inserting Craig Billington into the game. While Billington took a few shots, the PP unit rested. The game was tied 2-2. The Avs scored on the PP, while Billington was in net. Because he was on the ice for the game-winning goal, he got credit for the win, even though he never made a save. Roy was chasing Terry Sawchuk’s goalie win record at the time and didn’t like the fact that he made every save for the Avs in the game – including ones after he was put back in the game following the goal – but didn’t get credit for the win.
Did Jose Theodore and Patrick Roy ever play on the same team? What do you think Roy would think of the deal that sent David Aebischer to Montreal?
— Annette, Pueblo
Annette – No, they never played on the same team together, but Theodore was at a couple of Canadiens training camps with Roy. Theodore said he learned a lot from watching him, and that Roy was nice to him.
I think Roy would think the trade was worth the risk for the Avs. I know he likes Aebischer as a goalie, though, but I’m sure Roy would say Theodore was a talent that made the trade worthwhile to make.
What do you think is going to happen in the offseason? Who can Avs fans get excited about possibly coming to Denver (i.e. good free agents) and who may not be coming back? I have to tell you, I’m very excited about seeing a full season
with Theodore and Wolski.
— Jeremy, Denver
Jeremy – Yes, like I said earlier, I think the Avs will have another good, competitive team next year. But you never know in this business. A big injury or two, and it could go sour in a hurry.
I think the biggest thing this offseason is whether Blake will be back or not. I think it’s going to be a 50-50 proposition myself. I think Blake won’t sign anything with the Avs until he sees what some offers are around the league. If the offers are that much better, and from a competitive team, I think he’d take the money and run.
If Blake goes, the Avs would have to get a free-agent defenseman, and there should be some good ones available, including Ed Jovanovski, Wade Redden, Zdeno Chara and Bryan McCabe.
I think they need a speedy center and/or winger to add to the lineup, and there should be somebody available to meet that need. So, we just have to wait and see still.
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 .
