 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. |
About that PK
Joel Dykstra isn't impressed with the Avalanche's penalty killing ...
Q: I have the Center Ice package, mainly so I can watch Avalanche games. Am I the only one who thinks they need to be more aggressive when it comes to the PK?
A: You're definitely not alone, but the Avalanche penalty killers have been in more of a challenge mode lately and the results are encouraging. They've managed to kill off 19 of 21 penalties over the past four games after struggling against Dallas in the season opener. This is one area, along with faceoffs (a problem area that has yet to be solved), the Avalanche had to get a lot better at after missing the playoffs last year. It is frustrating to watch penalty killers sit back passively as the opponent passes the puck around with the greatest of ease, something that happened much too often last season. It's early, but these guys seemed to have gotten the message from the coaches and recently have been pretty effective.
John Franklin wonders what's happening with Peter Forsberg ...
Q: Any chance Forsberg will come back to the Avalanche? I know I'm just one of many fans who would like to see him finish his career in Colorado.
A: There's not a whole lot going on with Foppa at the moment, though he apparently has been practicing with his old MoDo team in Sweden. He still hasn't decided whether he's going to return to the NHL. Anything is possible, but I think Avalanche management is pretty happy with the current roster, though putting Forsberg in a Colorado uniform again would likely put more fannies in the Pepsi Center seats. The Avalanche didn't sell out any of the first three games and drew under 17,000 for the past two, but I doubt Forsberg would be signed only for that reason. He's a great player, obviously, when he's healthy, but he's 34 now and has taken a physical pounding over the years. In the last three seasons, Forsberg has played 57, 60 and 39 games. I think plenty of teams would be interested in his services, provided he decides to play. It might make sense for him to wait until December or January, pull a Roger Clemens and play half a season for someone.
Phil Taylor wants the home team to go back to wearing white jerseys ...
Q: It doesn't make sense to me that NHL teams are using their dark uniforms at home games. I like the Avalanche's white unforms better and I also like seeing the visiting teams' more colorful uniforms. Think we'll see a change here?
A: I'm with you, but my guess is the dark home jerseys are here to stay. The change was made when teams started wearing third jerseys, all of which were pretty dark. Clubs didn't want to have to take two sets of uniforms for road games (big deal, I say), a colorful one for when the home team wore white and a white one for when the home team wore its third jersey. The third jerseys won't be worn this season, but some teams will come with new third jerseys for next season -- presumably designed by Reebok. As far as I'm concerned, it's just another revenue-making idea.