 Avalanche inbox Avalanche writer Rick Sadowski answers readers' e-mails every Wednesday.Send your questions to sadowskir@rockymountainnews.com and he'll answer the best questions. |
Goalie talk
Justin from Englewood wonders if the Avalanche would be better off keeping Jose Theodore . . .
Q: First, as with most Avalanche fans, I like Jose Theodore but have been disappointed in his play this year. Actually, I have been more disappointed with the team's not playing as well in front of him (it seems like the team doesn't play as well when he is in net). Anyway, with most sources speculating that his contract will be bought out this summer, I was thinking about the large amount of his salary that would still count toward the cap -- $4 million. I think they need a veteran, even with Budaj. I don't know who is available, but a good one likely would not be had for less than $2 million, so between a buyout and the new goalie's salary, they would be spending more than by keeping Theodore. Therefore, I think it makes more sense to keep Theodore (he can't be any worse next year). If they do buy him out, what veteran goalie could they obtain?
Second, with the talk of Chris Drury potentially entering the market, I think he would be a good linemate for Marek Svatos. Drury played well on a line with Peter Forsberg and Steve Reinprecht. Since we probably won't reacquire Forsberg (and I don't think we should), I would love to see a line of Svatos, Drury and Reinprecht. Is there any chance of the Avs reacquiring Reinprecht? If we were to sign Drury, what kind of a line combination would he center?
A: I agree the Avalanche needs a veteran to team with Budaj, but it doesn't look like there are going to be many elite goalies that will be unrestricted free agents this summer. Anaheim's Jean-Sebastien Giguere could be one, but he's already making $3.9 million and would be looking for a raise. That's too much for the Avalanche, and my guess is he'll be back with the Ducks.
Except for Dominik Hasek, the rest of the crop is pretty mundane. The Flyers already have signed Martin Biron and the Coyotes have re-signed Curtis Joseph, who looked washed up against the Avalanche last week. David Aebischer -- remember him? -- will be eligible for free agency, along with guys like Ed Belfour, Mathieu Garon, Jocelyn Thibault, Kevin Weekes, Brian Boucher and Patrick Lalime.
Hasek is still terrific, but you have to think he'll either play for the Red Wings again or retire. The rest of the list isn't very exciting. Who knows, Theodore just might be back again, but $6 million is an awful lot of money to pay for a backup, and that's what he is right now. If the Avalanche could find a decent veteran for, using your $2 million figure, I'd say go and do it. The team is going to have quite a bit of cap money to spend, and it might as well use it for guys who are actually going to play and make a contribution.
As for Drury, I'd love to see him return to Colorado, but I think it's a long shot. Who would make good linemates if he did come back? Just about anybody, I'd say. Drury also can play the wing, and the Avalanche does need another top-six forward, in my opinion. Why not put him on a line with Joe Sakic or Paul Stastny? I suppose there is always a chance of trading for a guy like Reinprecht, but he isn't a first- or second-line player, in my view.
Jeremy May from Denver thinks former Avalanche general manager Pierre Lacroix has been getting a bum rap . . .
Q: I keep hearing comments about how Pierre Lacroix supposedly sacrificed the Avs' young talent pool with all of the trades he made over the years for veteran players to bolster up for playoff runs. But just which players turned out to be a big sacrifice? I'd say Chris Drury, Robyn Regehr and maybe Keith Ballard (if he pans out), but after that? The likes of Mark Parrish, Josef Marha, Rene Corbet, Landon Wilson, Martin Grenier, Sami Pahlsson, Jared Aulin, Radim Vrbata, Jonas Johansson, Vaclav Nederost, Ville Nieminen and Rick Berry haven't exactly set the league on fire after Lacroix traded them. I'm not saying he didn't lose his fair share of gambles, but I don't think sacrificing the team's youth was one of them.
A: Well, Drury and Regehr could play on my team any time, and Ballard is still a very young defenseman that Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky is high on. Don't forget, the Avalanche also included Brian Rolston in the trade for Ray Bourque; of course, the Avalanche wound up with a Stanley Cup after that deal, so no complaints there. Lacroix also traded Marc Denis, but that was because the Avalanche would have lost him in the 2000 expansion draft.
He also traded a number of high draft picks, including two No. 1s in the trade for Rob Blake and another in the Bourque deal. The other players you mentioned were and remain role players. That includes Pahlsson, who's turned out to be a useful defensive forward for Anaheim but didn't do much in Boston.
All in all, I'd say you have made a pretty valid point. The one thing Lacroix and his management team didn't do all that well was find a way to keep more of the Avalanche's star players when the NHL implemented the salary cap. The Red Wings have managed pretty well, and their payroll was even higher than the Avalanche's before the lockout. Acquiring Jose Theodore last year didn't help the Colorado cause, either; his $5.3 million cap hit this season and next (if he isn't bought out) has hurt the team as much as his mediocre play. Still, it's hard to be too critical of Lacroix for maintaining an elite team for so long and bringing a couple of championships to Denver.