Every Monday, we do an official “,” with questions from readers. Now, here’s an imaginary version, with questions I pose and then answer about your favorite hockey organization.
Q: Did Patrick Roy do the Avs a favor when he turned down the head coaching job?
A: Starting to look that way, isn’t it? Saint Patrick is and will continue to be a good coach, and he’s a born winner. But maybe Joe Sacco was the better choice all along to coach a young, rebuilding team. He has done a great job so far.
Q: Why aren’t Matt Duchene’s and Ryan O’Reilly’s faces on billboards all over Denver?
A: Beats me. They’re young, exciting, smart players and the faces of the Avs’ future. Yeah, you don’t want to market guys like that.
Q: Especially when the team is 28th in the NHL in home attendance, right?
A: Yeah, absolutely; best to keep your young stars out of the public eye when searching for ways to get fans in the seats.
Q: Paul Stastny had 31 points entering Monday’s game in St. Louis and was among the top 13 scorers in the NHL. He’s having a great year, right?
A: Really? When did that happen? He has seemingly been pretty quiet all season, but those are the numbers. And the thing is, the Avs have a lot of home games the rest of the season, and he always seems to be better on Pepsi Center ice. Stastny could be set up for a big second half.
Q: What would keep you up at night if your name was Joe Sacco?
A: Will my defense hold up? I’m relying a lot on a 38-year-old (Adam Foote), and I’ve got three other guys in their 30s on the back end.
Q: What else?
A: Can I coax more aggression out of Wojtek Wolski? What do I do with Marek Svatos? And it has been 13 consecutive games since John- Michael Liles scored a goal. Isn’t he supposed to be an offensive defenseman?
Q: Should the Avs go ahead and give goalie Craig Anderson a contract extension right now?
A: Technically, they can’t even entertain the idea until next season, the final one of his current two-year, $3.6 million contract. But starting next October, general manager Greg Sherman would be smart to start negotiating.
“Andy” was the absolute steal of the NHL free-agent season — and Sherman deserves full credit — and he’s only going to get better as the Avs get younger and faster on defense, starting next season. Don’t even think about letting him go on the open market.
