 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. |
Road turnaround
Sara wonders why the Avalanche had so much trouble winning on the road until recently ...
Q: They are a better team than this. What is missing? Why can they not win on the road? It's very disheartening for fans to watch the Avs play the same way they did at the start of last season. I hate blaming (coach Joel) Quenneville, but do you think the Avs need a change behind the bench to give them a kick in the pants?
A: Fortunes changed when the Avalanche knocked off Edmonton and Calgary on the road last week, even if goalie Jose Theodore had to come up big against the Flames. Certainly the coach has to accept some of the responsibility when a team isn't ready to play at the start of a game, which was the case in a number of games. You'd think a team with as much offensive talent as the Avalanche would be hard-pressed to fall behind by three or four goals, but this team hadn't played all that well defensively until Sunday against Minnesota.
I still think, even with the addition of Scott Hannan, the Avalanche has been too easy to play against. The defense in general isn't very physical, but it was pretty good Sunday despite the absence of injured regulars Karlis Skrastins and Jordan Leopold. Of course, it didn't hurt that the Wild was without high-scoring forwards Pavol Demitra and Marian Gaborik. The goaltending had to get better, and it’s been quite good in the past three games.
It was a bit early to start contemplating a coaching change - I guess Atlanta GM Don Waddell would disagree considering he fired Bob Hartley after six games - and all of a sudden the Avalanche has reeled off three wins in a row. The Avalanche absolutely can't miss the playoffs again, especially after the offseason signings of Hannan and Ryan Smyth to big contracts. Plus, attendance is down even from last season, though some of this probably can be attributed to the fact that people have been jumping all over the baseball Rockies' bandwagon. I don't have a problem with that, but the Avalanche still hasn’t had a sellout at the Pepsi Center. I would think that will change Thursday for Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.
Donald Armand from Montreal has a goalie trade on his mind ...
Q: Just wanted to know what is the chance that the Avs trade Jose Théodore for Ray Emery? Marty Gerber is doing great for the Ottawa Senators. Is (Avalanche GM Francois) Giguere trying to repair Pierre Lacroix's mistake by protecting Théo. Unfortunately, Joel Quenneville could be the one who loses his job.
A: Do you seriously think the Senators would make that deal? Until Theodore stole Friday’s win in Calgary with a 39-save performance, he hadn't done much since winning Hart and Vezina Trophies five years ago and he has a $6 million salary. His paychecks alone make him practically impossible to trade. As well as Gerber has played this season, Emery led the Senators to the Stanley Cup Finals last year, he's coming off an injury and I don’t think he's going anywhere. Who knows, maybe Theodore will get his career untracked and give the Avalanche more games like he did against the Flames.