Denver Post sports writer Adrian Dater posts his Avs Mailbag each Wednesday during the 2006-07 NHL season on DenverPost.com.
To drop a question into the Avs Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s .
Adrian – The Avs needed the threat of not making the playoffs to start playing awesome this year. Can we blame Coach Q for not motivating the troops at the beginning of the year? Or do we stick to the “bad bounces, bad luck” theory that he keeps talking about when he speaks of the first part of the season?
— Guenael, Centennial
Well, Guenael, it’s a fair question. Why did it take so long for a fire to be lit under their butts? Look, we’ll all be asking that question to Quenneville if the team comes up just a little short in making the playoffs.
I don’t know why it took so long for Kurt Sauer and Ossi Vaananen to play the way they are now, but they seem to say they didn’t exactly know what their roles were earlier in the season. Is that the coaches’ fault? Could be. Or, maybe they did tell both players exactly what they wanted all year, but the light bulb didn’t go off over their heads until too late.
There were so many games, especially at home, where they came out so flat early in the season. They didn’t play hard until it was too late in a game. In the same way, that is the big picture assessment of their season.
I’m sure it will be stressed by Quenneville and to Quenneville that it can’t happen again next season. They can’t just wait to turn it on at the end anymore.
I know the Avs have something crazy like 11 unrestricted free agents this summer. I think one of the most important guys to sign is Tyler Arnason. What are the chances of this, and what are your thoughts?
— Brian Bailey, Carbondale
Brian – I think it would be a shame to see Arnason go, too. He’s really had a pretty nice season. He’s very strong on the puck, once he gets it.
He’s done what’s been asked of him all year, playing on each of the four lines at times. And, he’s just done a nice job. He had a bit of a lull around the halfway mark of the season, but has played well down the stretch.
I think you’ll see the Avs make a good effort to re-sign him. But a lot of teams might make him nice offers if he hits the open market, so the key will be to get him signed before that happens.
Adrian – I know that Joel Quenneville played in the NHL before his coaching career. I was curious about what type of player he was and for what teams he played.
— Vivian, Jefferson, Md.
Vivian – Quenneville was a stay-at-home type of defenseman. He was a good skater and played a physical game. Not much offense to speak of, but he wasn’t horrible with a puck on his stick either.
He played for the Colorado Rockies, of course, after coming in with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He spent several years in Hartford, and probably had his best years as a player there. He finished up with the Washington Capitals. He had a good career. He played 803 games, which is a very good number for a defenseman.
How secure do you think Ian Laperriere is? He is a special player, and I don’t think it would settle too well with the fans to see him go.
— Stan, Pueblo
Stan – I think Lappy will be back next year. Let’s face it, his numbers were down offensively, and that hurt the team in the first half of the season. But he had a lot of scoring chances. He was simply robbed on a lot of them. It was a real frustrating time for him. But through it all he kept battling and now he’s scoring more, and of course his leadership has been great. He was their de facto fighter most of the year, too, and there is still a big place for that in the game. So, I
think you’ll see the Avs bring him back.
Adrian: Of the players whose contracts are running out and qualify for unrestricted free agency, which do you think we will make an attempt to re-sign?
— Ryan, East Lansing, Mich.
Ryan – Joe Sakic, Tyler Arnason, Ossi Vaananen for sure. I’m not sure if they’ll try to re-sign Ken Klee, but after the year he’s had, they just might. I think you’ll see Patrice Brisebois and Pierre Turgeon be let go.
Hi, Adrian. I can always see you sitting in the press box at home games; you’re the tallest one in the row of print reporters! Anyway, my question is about the ice during overtime and shootout periods. I think that more games would be resolved in OT if they took the 5 minutes to Zamboni the entire ice before OT, rather than wait and do a center strip for the SO. It would make for an even faster skating game in OT and negate the need to do anything before the SO, if that was necessary. What do you think?
— Scot Bogart, Evergreen
Scot – I think that’s a great point. I would be in favor of that. It doesn’t take that long to resurface the whole ice, especially with two Zambonis. It would make for a better “product” in OT, probably, and give the players a little more rest. Maybe that will happen, who knows.
What ever happened to Vitaly Kolesnik? Him winning that shootout last season was probably more memorable than anything Jose Theodore has done since.
— Matt King, Menlo Park
Matt – Kolesnik is playing for Mytishi Khimik of the Russian Elite League. He’s played 38 games there so far this season. He is no longer Avalanche property.
For a while, he looked like he might be the Avs’ goalie of the future, especially after that shootout win in New Jersey. But he was a bit inconsistent and he wanted to play more, so he went back home. We’ll see if he comes back to the NHL, but some of those guys can make pretty good money in Russia now, so I’m sure he’s pretty happy.
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 .
