Colorado has a bad habit of losing leads in the 2nd-3rd period... With Footer leaving soon probably what would it take for the Avalanche to get a solid blue-chip shut down d-man under 25 years old?
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Future of the Mile High City
When someone screams at me to hurry up, I slow down. - Mario Lemieux
Forget about style; worry about results. - Bobby Orr
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we have a few untouchables at this point, those being Duchene, Anderson, Stastny, and probably Shattenkirk (although he could be traded as we do have PMD aplenty, but lack Shutdown d)
I don't think a single "shut down defenseman" solves this problem for Colorado.
A few older guys aside (Tucker, Hannan, Foote, Hejduk) this is a very young team and I'm not surprised they aren't great at putting together a full sixty minutes. Also Craig Anderson has looked very normal of late.. also not terrifically surprising.
Anyways I think it's a team effort that has to change, and I don't know that Colorado's long-term needs would be well suited by trading away a forward to add a ninth defenseman who duplicates the role that Hannan and Foote should already be playing.
That being said.. I think Colorado could get a nice young defenseman from some team in exchange for Wolski.. but the smart bet for the Avs would be to try to trade Marek Svatos for a younger, less proven defenseman rather than letting MS leave in UFA.
If I'm the Avs I throw in the towel on this year, try to find a taker on Hannan in the offseason and use cap space gained from that and letting Foote and Salei go to try to add the player you're looking for.
See? Easy, and costs Colorado nothing for both offensive and defensive young guys! We already have Wilson and Cumiskey playing pretty well anyways, and Wilson especially fits the mold you apparently want.
i like that but i dont think burkie does it but i think if it was this colorado still would do it and then it would be enough for burkie to do it too
to colorado:
schenn+poni+grabo
to leafs:
o'reilly+stewart+shatenkirk+1st
colorado gets there young shutdown stud dman...+they get a scoring winger that theyve been looking for + they get a center back to replace the lose of o'reilly
leafs get a young 2nd line center that is looking good and is filled with intangibles...i think hes gonna be like a drury was in his prime...they get a good big tough winger that can score and has alote of potential is still young and was a 1st rounder..with the right line mates a think hes a 25-30 goal guy soon...they get a stud pmd prospect...and a mid to late 1st
i don't know if hes a true shut down defense man but,Phil Oreskovic is a big Physical guy who played some games with the big club last year and seems to be lost in the depth
i like that but i dont think burkie does it but i think if it was this colorado still would do it and then it would be enough for burkie to do it too
to colorado:
schenn+poni+grabo
to leafs:
o'reilly+stewart+shatenkirk+1st
colorado gets there young shutdown stud dman...+they get a scoring winger that theyve been looking for + they get a center back to replace the lose of o'reilly
leafs get a young 2nd line center that is looking good and is filled with intangibles...i think hes gonna be like a drury was in his prime...they get a good big tough winger that can score and has alote of potential is still young and was a 1st rounder..with the right line mates a think hes a 25-30 goal guy soon...they get a stud pmd prospect...and a mid to late 1st
haha, not even close for CO. Pull out Poni, Grabo, the 1st, and Shattenkirk and we'll talk.
But the O'Reilly+Stewart for Schenn thing is sort of an interesting idea. Colorado could definitely do without O'Reilly with Galiardi's emergence as a defensive center as well, and O'Reilly might not ever have the sort of impact he could have elsewhere with Duchene and Stastny ahead of him for the foreseeable future.
First off there is no way in hell the Leafs are going to trade Schenn. Next we are not going to ship out one of our best young players for some one on a sophmore slump, and if burke was smart he would hold on to Poni untill the deadline because he would have a better chance of getting a 1st round pick out of someone, you will not get a 1st for him at this point of the season and you will be lucky to get one then too, ie. (Antropov, Moore).
I don't think a single "shut down defenseman" solves this problem for Colorado.
This.
The problem of blowing 2 goal leads can be solved with a tactical approach. No need to sell off assets to bring in another player.
Quote:
If I'm the Avs I throw in the towel on this year, try to find a taker on Hannan in the offseason and use cap space gained from that and letting Foote and Salei go to try to add the player you're looking for.
You did lose me here though. It's way too early to throw in the towel, especially considering what we've seen from this team thus far.
Jeff Finger for Darcy Tucker
