Edmonton, Alberta – Francois Giguere sat relaxed in a lower-bowl seat at Rexall Place on Thursday afternoon, staring at basically the same Avalanche team some experts said should have been dismantled at the NHL trade deadline last month.
“We were this close to getting on a run. It just took a lot longer than we expected, but the guys were working hard all year,” the Avalanche general manager said. “Now, we’re in the race, and it should make the last nine games a lot of fun.”
At the trade deadline, Feb. 27, Giguere made two minor deals and immediately drew criticism for not doing more. The plethora of new faces that many wanted never appeared. Giguere’s rationale – he still had faith in the current roster – seemed misguided to his critics.
The Avalanche hasn’t lost in regulation since, taking a 9-0-1 stretch into tonight’s game with the Edmonton Oilers. Avs right winger Ian Laperriere, whose name was in a few trade rumors, was asked if Giguere’s vote of confidence has had anything to do with the torrid stretch run.
“I think so. If you start trading all the veteran players – not all of them, but most of them – what does it show to your team?” Laperriere said. “He believed in everybody in this room. Nobody panicked, and hopefully it’s going to pay off in the next nine games.”
Giguere said he had a good core of players for now and the future, and wouldn’t mortgage any of it for a short-term roll of the dice on expensive veterans.
“We didn’t need a rental player,” Avs captain Joe Sakic said. “We’ve got a great group of guys here. Guys got more committed to playing in our end and everybody’s playing as a team. Now we’re on this run, and we’re excited about it.
“(Giguere) gave us a chance. He stuck with this group. The confidence he showed in the hockey club was a big thing. We started to play relaxed and started winning games. We really believe in one another now.”
Giguere’s patient hand seems to have had a beneficial effect on his coaching staff as well.
“Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don’t make,” Avs coach Joel Quenneville said. “I think the guys, at the deadline, were probably wondering what was going to happen. I think (the inaction) showed confidence in the guys. There weren’t a lot of new guys going in and out, and there wasn’t any confusion. I think we’ve had a good group of guys all year long, and the team was together. I think everything was repairable internally, and right now it’s a fun situation for us.”
The Avs just hope the final analysis won’t say they figured things out just a little too late.
“We don’t want to have to rely on others to help us out,” Giguere said. “Right now, we’re still a little bit back of Calgary for a playoff spot, but we have enough games left to do it, and we’re just wanting to win the game in front of us and worry about that only.”
Said Laperriere: “I won’t be watching Calgary play (Thursday night) against Nashville. I get worked up enough playing every couple of days for my own team. I don’t need to put my Nashville sweater on. I just know we have a game here (tonight) that we have to be ready for, and that’s it.”
Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com.
