OffThePost.org

Hey, a man can dream.

Honestly, if it really does fall apart, I could see the Rangers jumping in the mix. Maybe even the Flyers. Not so sure about the Kings.

From what I've read the priority will be getting O'Reilly re-upped, even if it means Stastny walks. I hope they keep both, but we'll see.

The sticking point in talks the last time was that Duchene accepted a bridge deal and O'Reilly didn't. Of course Duchene was coming off a terrible season and O'Reilly a breakout one. Given the fact that Duchene was re-signed by Roy/Sakic soon after they took over, I don't see O'Reilly asking for more than what #9 got. If he does, then yeah, he's trade bait.

The big concern going into next year is that the Avs could run out of cap room in a hurry. New deals for Duchene, Landeskog, and Varlamov kick in next season, with Stastny, O'Reilly, and McGinn left to sign. That might not leave a ton of room to acquire a top-flight defender.

Just heard further rumours on Team1040 that the Avs are on Kesler's thumbs up list due to his agent being from Colorado.

Hmmmmmmmm.

That's a new one.

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Eh...I certainly wouldn't blanch at the thought of Kesler in an Avs uniform, but I think the cost in trade would be prohibitive. I still think Gillis would like to punt him as far from the Western Conference as possible.

Yes but their achilles heel is their foot speed. Of all the teams in the west, the Avs are very fast and match up well against the Kings due to their youth and overall team speed. This could bring fits to the King's defensive posture. Also they are so young they don't really know what's at stake in the SC playoffs which is a good thing.

Are they really a slow team? I've never really noticed. I'd say if anything they're the opposite of the Avs--slower up front but good speed on the back end. The Avs are crazy fast up front (O'Reilly and Stastny aside) but downright glacial on the blueline.

Ha! So true of an assessment of the Avs.

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No AI has been used in the making of this post

You know what it's like watching Cory Sarich skate for a loose puck. The scary thing is Nate Guenin and Nick Holden might actually be slower.

Thankfully the Avs have Barrie...hopefully Stefan Elliott makes the team next year.

This is precisely why they match up well against the Kings. I'm at the Kings/ Laffs game tonight. Will scout it out! I would actually rather see a Ducks/ Kings round one matchup but I think the Avs could potentially pull off an upset over the Kings.

Avs sign Reto Berra to a 3-year extension before he even plays a single game. He's the #3 goalie for the rest of the season, but will get a start against (I think) Winnipeg.

Anyhow, the advanced stats guys obviously don't like the Avs.

https://twitter.com/mc79hockey



That's fair. Even drunk on the burgundy Kool-Aid as I am, I have to admit the Avs have had uncanny luck this year. Got into a Twitter discussion with another fancy stats guy (@TseTse_Fly) who pointed out the 2011-12 Avs under Sacco actually had very good possession stats, but terrible luck (PDO). That was the year basically everything Jamie McGinn and Steve Downie threw at the net went in, and no one else on the roster could buy a friggin' goal. He went on to say he thought Sacco did a better job of deployment than Roy. I can't really argue that, though I think the rather unconventional use of Ryan O'Reilly has paid off in spades. In a way, O'Reilly and Duchene have been this year's Modano/Lehtinen, with one guy making the other guy's job easier, and vice versa. Still, I wouldn't mind him being a little more conventional from time to time and trying out a checking line of Landeskog-O'Reilly-Talbot or something like that.

In any event, I still say the Avs are doing things a lot better defensively this year than they did last year despite the terrible possession stats (they're not blocking as many shots, but they clear rebounds and exit the zone with a lot more efficiency) and that with a better defense, those Corsi/Fenwick numbers should improve. Right now the D is way too slow and full of NHL fringe players.

The good news is from what Roy says he's aware the team has been a tad lucky this year and has been bailed out a ton by Varlamov. I'm not sure how they're going to address defensive deficiencies, I just hope they don't do something crazy like throw big money at Brooks Orpik or worse, trade for Jack Johnson.

Awwwwww shit. Johnny Malkin re-signed for three years as well.

http://avalanche.nhl.com/club/news.htm? ... L|COL|home

He's not a terrible defensive forward but it gets frustrating to watch him try and singlehandedly toe drag past five guys. Kinda surprised he re-signed given the fact that he's said he wants to play a bigger role. I guess he's counting on injuries (and that's a safe bet with Alex Tanguay in the lineup) keeping him relatively high on the depth chart.

It's nice to see the Avs marketing department finally do something other than produce a lame slogan and proceed to do nothing there afterwards, but...

http://blogs.denverpost.com/avs/2014/03 ... ool/17054/

Look, it clearly wasn't done to appeal to adults, and I could imagine (no pun intended) if I were about 25 years younger I might dig something like this. As it stands I could only watch about 20 seconds.

I watched the whole thing. I am not above a little bit of cheese (see can't touch a Flame when its red hot) when times are good. People truly have nothing better to complain about (what about that shitty jumbotron or the crappy concessions?). Its time to turn the page. I suppose I will endure that stupid scoreboard one more time this Friday.

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No AI has been used in the making of this post

St. Patrick's Day, indeed. Ooh boy.

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Injustice? Cobain died and Eddy Fucking Vedder lived to haunt us with his shitty fucking voice, trite lyrics and his Eddy Vedderness.



- Ancient Chinese Proverb

I wouldn't call that jumbotron "shitty". Overdone, yes, but that's what the fans bitched and moaned about, so the Avs went big.

No idea on concessions...I remember them being decent a year or two ago, but since they're so expensive I try my damndest to buy food/drink outside of Pepsi Center. It sure beats waiting in line for something super-expensive that's probably not worth it.

The debate appears to be raging now about ice girls. I'll post some links about that when I have a spare moment.

After an ugly loss last night against the Habs, the Avs get to travel to Winnipeg to face the Jets in the 2nd of a back-to-back. I'm guessing John Mitchell, who ricocheted off the boards last night and was sent to the hospital, won't play, which means it'll likely be this somewhat scary lineup:

O'Reilly - Duchene - McGinn
Landeskog - Stastny - MacKinnon
McLeod - Cliche - Talbot
Malone - Carey - Bordeleau

Frankly Roy should use O'Reilly on the PK a lot more. I mean a LOT more. He only uses O'Reilly on the PK if he's absolutely needs to score, but every single time O'Reilly is on the PK unit, it's almost a guarantee there'll be a shorthanded break the other way. He's simply too dangerous to leave off. I think if they put him on the first unit PK and the 2nd unit PP it'd work. While he's a great guy to have on the power play, the team has more than enough weapons to put on the man-advantage.

In praise of O'Reilly and his 0 PIMs so far.

http://blogs.thescore.com/nhl/2014/03/1 ... toughness/

Also, according to Bourne, Matt Duchene leads the league in penalties drawn vs. penalties taken.

Reminds me of a comment from Rick Nash along the lines of "Anyone who thinks Lidstrom is soft or isn't physical hasn't played against him". PIMs don't equate to toughness or playing hard. A forward or a defenseman who can be one of the best in the league on the defensive side of the puck who don't take PIMs are amazing.

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Thanks Chuck, E.L. and Harmy!

Some interesting rumblings in Lake Erie. Prospect Troy Bourke, was signed to an ATO, as was Max Iafrate, a defenseman who also happens to be Al's son.

Bourke has from what I read the skill and speed of a decent scoring winger, but is undersized. Max started out as a puckmoving defender but was converted to a shutdown guy and has thrived since. Again, I haven't seen either play, but it'd be nice to see some more actual prospects in the Avs' AHL affiliate since right now it feels like there aren't many.