Denver Post sports writer Adrian Dater posts his Avs Mailbag on Mondays during the 2009-10 NHL season.
for the Avs Mailbag.
A.D. – I’m really excited for the Winter Classic this year! I know you were (are) a Boston fan, so you must be really excited, too. When do you think the Avalanche will get to participate in this great event? Who do you think we’ll play?
— Scott C., Littleton
Scott – Yes, I have to admit I’m excited about this one. Barring any flight delays, I’m slated to be at the Classic. There’s an Avs game the night before in Detroit (thanks for that one, sked makers), but I’m slated to be there by the 1 p.m. faceoff.
Readers of will be able to see plenty of pictures and video that I’ll take at the game, and I’ll do stories for The Post’s print edition. I’m also planning on bringing back some unique souvenirs and bringing them back to Denver for my second “treasure hunt” for anybody to find them. As I did with a bunch of “Joe Sakic Night” programs from opening night, I’m going to take the Classic items, hide them at random locations in the Denver metro area, and leave clues on my blog as to where they are. Winners only have to do one thing in return: snap a picture of your find, and e-mail them to me and I’ll post them on the blog. The last one was a big hit.
I’m still having trouble comprehending that hockey will be played at Fenway Park. The idea of the Winter Classic has become the biggest thing of the year in the NHL, aside from the Stanley Cup Finals. And now everybody has an idea how to expand it: As I wrote in , I wish the league could stage a game on a real frozen pond. Yeah, the logistics of doing that are probably impossible, but would it not be the most compelling thing on TV, watching a game on a huge frozen pond played by two NHL teams? You know it would. The TV ratings would more than make up for any lost ticket revenue.
How about the Avs and Red Wings on Grand Lake, up in the mountains? That would be AWESOME, BABY!
Hello, Adrian! What I cannot understand is why don’t the Avalanche give a chance?! Yes, he is only 5-feet-9, but he has been a prominent scorer in the AHL. He is currently the Lake Erie Monsters’ leader in points! He is a good passing right winger that could be placed in with Ryan O’Reilly or Matt Duchene.
— Ryan, Denver
Ryan – The problem with guys like Haydar is, they’re just too one-way. His defense just is not very good. Yeah, he’s a fine offensive player, but it appears that he’s only going to be known for being one at the AHL level. T.J. Hensick ran into the same problem with the Avs. You have to play both ends of the ice.
Adrian – How hard would it be for the Avs to get a sponsorship with Taco Bell for free tacos? The Nuggets, Rockies and Broncos all have a deal with Taco Bell to promote the team and Taco Bell. Also, ever notice a commercial for the Avs that isn’t on Altitude? The marketing gurus for the Avs are doing a terrible job of reaching out to the “causal fan.” They only market to their actual diehard fan base by either Altitude or through youth hockey.
— Jeff C., Fort Collins
Jeff – I’m completely unaware of any Taco Bell promotions, or lack thereof. But it does sound weird if, as you say, the Nuggets do this and the Avs don’t. After all, they’re owned by the same guy who owns the Nugs, Stan Kroenke. And who doesn’t like free tacos?
I hear you on the ads-only-on-Altitude thing. And, to add to that: the ads they run aren’t any good either. Do you realize that Altitude is still running the same in-house promo for its overall sports product that they did when they started? I’m talking about the ad that promos all sports on the channel, featuring computer-generated action figures. And want to know something else: that same ad, at least the last time I saw it recently, has a guy saying “SCOOOORE” as part of it. That guy’s voice is Doug McLeod, who was fired by the team FOUR YEARS AGO after a brief stint as Altitude’s play-by-play TV voice for the Avs. It’s time to freshen things up a little, Altitude.
Actually, I like the in-house, weekly show they do on the Avs, hosted by Kyle Keefe, a good guy and solid professional. There’s a lot of good stuff on there. But they definitely need to get some better ads out there. Remember the funny ads the Avs did with the Masters — Lewis and Floorwax — for 103.5 The Fox. Some of them were hysterical, especially one where Adam Foote and Joe Sakic end up brawling with the Masters at a bowling alley after Sakic asked to “pass the Baco’s.”
How about some good ads like the Rockies have done over the years, skits featuring their players? How about an ad with Matt Duchene and Ryan O’Reilly — the two 18-year-olds who live with thirtysomething teammates Foote and Darcy Tucker — where, say, they get tucked in at night by their landlords? The two kids who get told “It’s your bedtime now” by the old guys? Would that not elicit a laugh, and at the same time let the fans see a different side of the players? It would. I think it would be a little fresher, at least, than watching the same house ad over and over featuring a guy who was let go four years ago.
Any truth to the rumors that Jaromir Jagr is interested in returning to the NHL? I heard the Oilers might be interested. What interest might the Avs have in him? He seems to fill a big need and would fit in with all the Czechs we have. Your thoughts?
— Puck Chuck, Denver
Puck Chuck – Jagr is ineligible to play for any NHL team this year, because of his play in the KHL this year. You can’t play in any foreign pro league and the NHL in the same season.
I’d love to see Jagr back again. He was one great offensive player in his time, with some of the best hands in the history of the game. But we’ll have to wait ’til next year if that happens again, and let’s face it, his best days are probably long behind him as a player. At last check, Jagr had 13 goals and 26 points in 31 games for Omsk of the KHL.
Yo, Adrian. What ever happened to the original goal horn the Avs had prior to the 2003-04 season? I loved the sirens and the uniqueness of it. It also fit the team better than the current one, because it was like an actual avalanche warning. Do you know why it was changed, and is there any chance of bringing back the old one?
— Austin, Golden
Austin – The basic explanation for why it changed is just a “because.” The old goal sirens, as diehard Avs fans recall, involved red flashing lights and, for a time, smoke bombs, at the old McNichols Arena. There were some issues with the smoke after a while, so it was discontinued, but for years the red flashing lights and siren sound remained.
I don’t like the goal horn they have now either. It sounds too much like every other goal horn around the league. With a name like the Avalanche, the team should have actual Avalanche warning sirens, the kind the state of Colorado uses in real-life avalanche situations. Shouldn’t that be a no-brainer?
Is there a good chance that the Avs will stay in Denver?
— Luke, Texas
Luke – Yes. If Gary Bettman fought tooth and nail to keep the Coyotes in a suburb of Phoenix, he’d fight even harder to keep a team in the biggest city in the Mountain time zone. NHL hockey isn’t going away from Denver anytime soon. It’s still a great hockey market and let’s not forget the all-time NHL sellout streak is still held by the fans of Denver and the Colorado Avalanche — 487 straight games.
Why does the NHL insist on attempting to keep teams in locations that do not readily support hockey (except when they are doing well). Just move the Coyotes back to Winnipeg, for crying out loud. Send one of the Florida teams to Regina or Saskatoon. And heck, I’d even put the Preds in Quebec City.
— Wren, Denver
Wren – Easy there. Let’s not give up on Phoenix and Nashville just yet. Both teams have started to see their attendance pick up again. And let’s not overlook this fact: when the Edmonton Oilers were terrible in the mid-’90s, they often played to half-empty buildings. Was Edmonton not a hockey market all of a sudden? Detroit didn’t sell out in the early ’80s (Mike Ilitch had to give away a car every single game one year to get fans to come), so was Detroit not a hockey market?
When teams don’t win, they don’t draw. Look at Denver lately. Winnipeg and Quebec are certainly “hockey markets” but we all know it’s a lot more complicated than that, to have an NHL team play there.
Who’s the highest-ranked eligible player (goals, assists, points or wins, GAA) who IS NOT in the Hockey Hall of Fame?
— Phatmatt, Denver
Phatmatt – Currently, Adam Oates has the most points (1,420) of any NHL player not in the Hockey Hall of Fame — and who is eligible. Oates never won a Stanley Cup, so that might have hurt him a little with the most recent voters. Of his points, only 341 came on actual goals, too, so there might be something there too. But he was definitely one of the most prolific passers of his time, and played on a lot of good teams. So, I think he’ll make it eventually.
Of the goalies, Mike Vernon, to me, is the biggest omission right now of guys who are eligible. The man won 385 games and two Stanley Cups, but still isn’t in. He should be elected.
With the Avalanche retiring Joe Sakic’s number this season, do you see the Avs retiring other players’ numbers once they retire? In particular, I am referring to Adam Foote, Peter Forsberg and Milan Hejduk.
— Long, Aurora
Long – Yes on all three. No question about it, all three will have their numbers retired.
Adrian Dater has covered the Colorado Avalanche since the team moved to Denver in 1995. for the Avs Mailbag.
