Denver Post sports writer Adrian Dater posts his Avs Mailbag on Mondays during the 2009-10 NHL season.
for the Avs Mailbag.
Why do the Avs play such passive defense, especially on the penalty kill? That’s old school. The best defensive teams today pressure the puck and force the play.
— Herb Giefer, Evergreen
Herb – Couldn’t agree more. I hate the passive, four-square box PK system. There should always be heavy pressure on the puck carrier, I think.
Yeah, that can open up space and lead to guys being open with the puck if the attacker isn’t successful in stealing or deflecting the puck. But I’d rather have a system where the opposing team doesn’t have as much time to think with the puck, where they have to make quicker decisions. It just seems to me that the Avs are always at their worst on the PK when they just stand in a box and shift around with the puck, hoping to block the shots or clear the rebounds.
Here’s another reason that’s a bad system: when you’re standing in the box, you are not moving your feet much. So when there’s a rebound, you’re starting to skate from a dead stop. If you’re all moving and trying to pressure the puck, you’ll get to rebounds faster because you’ve been skating the whole time.
Teams should hire me as a PK specialist. I would implement a helter-skelter system where the puck is like a piece of red meat to a pack of wild dogs. My team would finish first in PK percentage. Guaranteed.
Hello, Adrian! Do you think with Stan Kroenke’s recent purchase of the Broomfield Event Center, we can expect the AHL to move in to replace the now defunct Rocky Mountain Rage (CHL)? I think it would make business and logistical sense to have your AAA hockey affiliate down the street versus two time zones away.
— Ryan, Denver
Ryan – Terry Frei had an item on this in , and I pretty much echo what he said. Never say never. I know I would be one who would be all in favor of that happening. As the Avs beat writer, I know I’ve always been frustrated at not being able to see minor-league prospects play more. Having them a few miles from my house would certainly make doing that a lot easier.
What would be the reasoning behind putting T.J. Hensick on waivers? Super talented with good speed, and a slick tape-to-tape passer.
— Dingbat, New Brunswick
Dingbat – When he was at Michigan you’re right. In the NHL, hasn’t been the case. Hate to carve up a kid, but I haven’t been a huge Hensick fan. Doesn’t move his feet defensively and only seems to get interested in the game when the puck is on his stick. Obviously, the Avs coaching staff seemed to feel the same way.
Why do I consistently see so many Avs fans state that Matt Duchene is a flop? He’s on track to be a 35- to 40-point producer (for a rookie). Why such negative criticism?
— Eric, Aurora
Eric – You’re wrong in thinking it’s “so many” Avs fans. I think what’s going on is that Dutchy has a couple of haters out there, and I would bet they are jealous former players from around his hometown. Lots of jealousy in this game, and what’s a better, easier way for some bitter guy who didn’t make it from his hometown to take potshots than anonymously over the Internet?
I think Duchene is going to be fine, though there have been nights when he has struggled some. I think he tried to do too much stuff all at once in the early going and was just a little too anxious overall. I think he’s learning to slow the game
down a little, to think a little more with the puck instead of trying to rush through the entire defense by himself.
He probably could have about 10 goals right now if not for a few hit posts and miracle saves. He’s got great speed and good hands, with a burning drive to succeed. He’ll be fine. And the Avs are going to need him in the second half, now that with a torn ACL.
Watching , it occurred to me that Ian Laperriere may be the “missing element” you referred to in a blog post recently. Given that he was often on the hardest working Avs line over the last two years, are we paying for a mistake by management in letting him go?
— Greg, Colorado Springs
Greg – As much as I loved Lappy, I think it was time for a mutual parting of the ways. The Avs just want to get younger (and maybe cheaper) and Lappy was getting up there. I have to admit I was a bit surprised when Philly gave him a three-year deal. In a younger man’s game where the speed is just so unbelievable now, three-year deals to 30-something guys like Lappy are pretty rare.
But he’s a great leader in the locker room and works hard every second on the ice, so of course it was tough to lose him. But he was getting unhappy here toward the end and the Avs insulted him with a one-year offer at less money than he was making. Time to move on. I think the Avs are fine in the toughness department, in the fighting sense that is. Toughness in things like going to the net and working in the corners — not as much.
Hi, Adrian. My good friend Mark, a real hockey nut, and I argue all the time over Scott Hannan. He says Hannan is a fine defensive-type defenseman. I say he is an extremely poor checker, with a very weak upper body, rarely makes good passes, and loses the puck to the other team every night. Just look at last year’s performance. How much is his contract, when is it over, and is he worth anything in your opinion?
— Steve Salter, Denver
Steve – Hannan had a bad turnover last night against Minny that cost the Avs their first goal against. Yes, we’ve seen a little too much of that in his two-plus years here. There was so much expectation about Hannan when he signed that big contract, that the Avs were getting a nasty, in-your-face defenseman who would do to the opposition the kinds of things he did to Peter Forsberg in the 2004 playoffs for San Jose. But we’ve seen that Hannan isn’t a rock-em, sock-em type of player.
In Mark’s parlance, he’s basically just a stay-at-home type of guy who tries to play position defense and move the puck out of the zone. He doesn’t go around trying to crush guys or be a super irritant with hits after the whistle or facewashes. But I don’t think Hannan has been a total bust, because he is very tough and durable, and he works hard out there I think. But he has made some bad turnovers, too, and he’s like a lot of Avs players in that he doesn’t clear the puck out well enough on the PK.
Hannan, people forget, was pretty good down the stretch and in the playoffs for the Avs in 2008. It’s been a mixed bag so far, though. Both of you are probably right.
Adrian – As an Avs fan living from paycheck to paycheck (as a lot of us are), I was curious: Why is it whenever there are meet-and-greets or anything really cool for Avs fans to rub shoulders with their heroes on the ice, you seem to have to be in the upper echelon of season-ticket holders in order to be a part of the fun? Why can’t the Avs take a page from the Broncos and do some kind of Fan Fair meet-and-greet or festival deal before, during or at the end of the season? Although I was able to get quite a few autographs and a couple of pics (thanks Milan and Paul) at the end of the most recent Burgundy and White game. Thanks.
— Eric Gustavson, Colorado Springs
Eric – I’m not too well informed on some of that meet-and-greet, season-ticket stuff, but a lot of fans forget that it’s really easy to get autographs of players at their practice facility out in Centennial. You just hang out at the gate in the back, by the player parking lot, and you can get a ton of autographs and chat with them. I do know the Avs do a bunch of community appearances and other stuff for charity. But maybe a Fan Fair is something they’ll think about if you make it known to them you want it.
Why has Avalanche coach Joe Sacco elected not to appoint another alternate captain on nights when Milan Hejduk and more recently Adam Foote have been out of the lineup due to injuries?
— Joey Suyeishi, Lone Tree
Joey – Sometimes it’s just a time thing. If, say, a Hejduk is a last-minute scratch, it’s not foremost on anybody’s mind to sew an “A” on a guy’s sweater. And when a captain is out, tradition holds that the “C” isn’t given to someone else.
Adrian Dater has covered the Colorado Avalanche since the team moved to Denver in 1995. for the Avs Mailbag.
