Denver Post sports writer Adrian Dater posts his Avs Mailbag every Thursday during the 2007-08 NHL season on DenverPost.com.
To drop an Avalanche- or NHL-related question into the Avs Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s .
Did you just kinda have the feeling the Avs were going to go after and get Ryan Smyth (aka “The Red Wing Killer”) like I did?
— Jesse, Terre Haute, Ind.
Jesse – Smyth was always a logical possibility as an Avs target. So, yeah, we all had an inkling. I do know the Avs made a big pitch to get Chris Drury back, but once the bidding got past the $7 million mark, the Avs backed off a lot – partly out of respect for Joe Sakic, who is the highest paid player on the team, at $6.75 million.
I think Smyth is a great addition, although he is – like the rest of the team – in a bit of a slump as I write. There are some who believe Smyth is overpaid right now, but he was a veteran free agent with past success, so teams have to overpay a little to get guys like him.
Hi, Adrian. I am an Avs fan as I used to live in Denver a long time ago, but my question concerns Anaheim letting Ilya Bryzgalov go to Phoenix on waivers. I must be missing something. Why let a goalie of his caliber go on waivers? Wouldn’t there be a lot of teams that might give up some value in trade for him?
— John Didsbury, Massachusetts
John – It’s a good question, but the likely answer is that the Ducks probably didn’t get what they wanted for him in a trade, so they decided to take their salary-cap savings now – possibly to make immediate room for defenseman Scott Niedermayer, who is rumored to be leaning on a comeback with the Ducks.
Bryzgalov is making $1.36 million this season, but can be an unrestricted free agent when it’s over. Teams generally don’t like to trade for potential URAs this early in a season, especially on a guy who is kind of a wild card like Bryzgalov. He had a nice playoff run in 2006 with the Ducks, but didn’t play too well after that, so his value had gone down some.
The Ducks’ finances, according to reports, are such that they also don’t want to go much beyond the $42 million-44 million range for this season, regardless if Niedermayer comes back or not. So, they gained a little cap room by getting rid of Bryzgalov now, rather than dickering around for a deal they didn’t want.
Myself? I’m with you, I’d rather take something for a guy rather than just let him go for nothing, but I’m sure Brian Burke has a trick up his sleeve.
Hello, Adrian. In the goalie rotation, will Jose Theodore play every other game or is there a chance he might play consecutive games?
— Don, Milwaukee, Wis.
Don – Well, as I write, both Avs goalies haven’t been great in their last performances, so I’m sure the rotation will continue until someone can outshine the other consistently.
You just never know what Joel Quenneville will do with his goalies. Remember, this is a guy who benched Roman Turek for Game 5 of the 2001 Western finals against the Avs, in favor of Brent Johnson, after Turek was average to that point – but was very good getting them that far.
So, as always, we’ll have to wait and see.
With Kurt Sauer, Jeff Finger and Kyle Cumiskey playing so well for the Avs, it seems like Francois Giguere and Coach Q will have some very tough decisions when Karlis Skrastins and Jordan Leopold return to the lineup. Particularly Cumiskey, being returned to Lake Erie seems like a waste, with as well as he skates and moves the puck. What do you think the Avs will do?
— Rickey L. Sallee, Colorado Springs
Rickey – I think Cumiskey, for all his promise, is ticketed back to Lake Erie once Skrastins – and especially Leopold – return. Don’t forget how young he is, and, while he’s had some good moments, he’s had some bad ones, too. I remember his lax play in front of the net that led to a game-winning Vancouver goal a couple weeks ago at the Pepsi Center, as
an example.
Leopold is a big loss, and it’s starting to catch up to the Avs right now. The defense has been poor of late, and Cumiskey, like it or not, has been part of that mix.
Adrian – Just wanted your thoughts on who might step up to be the next captain when Super Joe retires? I used to think John-Michael Liles was on track to be at least an “A,” but not sure about that one anymore. Recently I’ve started to believe that Paul Stastny could take over the role when the time comes. Your thoughts?
— Steve, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Steve – I think Stastny is a worthy captain candidate, but he is very low-key and shy as a person, so maybe he wouldn’t want that responsibility. If Sakic retired today, I bet Ian Laperriere would be the captain. But, assuming he won’t play more than a couple more years here – and I could be short-changing him on that – I’d say a guy like Scott Hannan
or Jordan Leopold could be captain material. Andrew Brunette is also captain material, but I’m making a long-term projection here.
Adrian – Is there food in the press box for you writers?
— Jake, Denver
Jake – Yes. In Denver, it is strictly potato chips and pretzels, which is fine with me, because I don’t need any temptations to make my waistline bigger. I never used to worry about my waistline (I was 6-foot-5, 140 pounds as a senior in high school), but now I do.
But in some press boxes – like in Minnesota – they have things like bratwurst available between periods. There are cookies and cakes and ice cream in places like Edmonton, Dallas, Toronto and Phoenix. It takes a LOT for me not to succumb to their temptations, and very frequently I fall short.
In Montreal, they have unbelievable hot dogs on buttered, toasted buns between periods – along with a selection of
very good cheeses. I’d be about 350 pounds if I was the Canadiens beat writer.
Yo, Adrian. I have a question about some of the rinks now going to these “digital” advertisements on the boards. It looks as though the glow of the ad shines a light on the ice and may distract the players. Have you gotten wind of any players, coaches or others in the NHL community who think this is a bad idea?
— Sean Hunter, Selah, Wash.
Sean – No, haven’t heard any big complaints about that one yet. Listen, the NHL needs all the advertising revenue it can get right now, so I’m sure even if players did have a complaint about that, they’d be quickly told to “shut up” by Gary Bettman.
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 .
