AVs Sign the Duke to a one year $2.6 mill with incentives that could bring it up to his $3 mill contract from last year.  This is great to hear that they are pushing to get everything set up and making moves before this year is completely in the books for the whole NHL.  Plus it's good to see that the Duke will continue his career with the AVs.  Now to make some good decisions with the draft and sign some other FAs!!!

 

AVs Resign the Duke

The AVs have signed Calvin Pickard to a 3yr entry level contract.  According to capgeek it's at 893,000 a year avg.   Looks like a build from within is continuing for the AVs.  This is good to hear though as he is playing well this year and we are securing him for the future.  Does this mean he plays with the AVs next year probably not but soon enough he will and hopefully he can fill that void we have between the pipes.

LE's enforcer Bordeleau barely misses opponent but hit was so hard it shatters the glass in the On the Pink game in LE last week.   Makes you wonder how much of a future Koci has with the AVs when we have an enforcer like Brodeleau in the system.  I mean he's 6'6" 225lbs could be a solid 4th liner.  

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Video-Classic-glass-smashing-hit-in-AHL-on-pin?urn=nhl-330279

Well as much as i hate to say it we have officially entered into the sellers market prior to the Feb 28th trade deadline.  After last nights embarrassing 9-1 loss to Calgary something has to happen.  I know a lot of you are calling for coach Sacco's head and in some aspects I can understand why but lets take a look at somethings. 

 

1st look at the injuries we have had throughout this year.  Ferris has yet to play a game, Stewy was out with a broken hand, Quincey lost for the season, just to name a few.  Now we are waiting word on what is wrong with Dutchy. 

 

2nd SIZE.  Need I say more?  We keep getting fed a line of BS about having a small fast team yet if you look at the teams in the playoff hunt all of them have size and balance.  Our Blue Line is ridiculous we can't move anyone from in front of the net and get pushed around in our own zone.

 

3rd Identity.  Wasn't this something Sacco has preached day in and day out.  "We need to have an identity and then play with that identity night in and night out."  So what is our identity?  I have yet to see the same identity show up on the ice two games in a row this season.

 

So this brings me to the dreaded statement of "WELCOME TO THE SELLERS MARKET."  Yeap that is where we are now.  pretty much no shot at the playoffs again this year.  I personally am sick of our owners and GMs looking to the past while making statements of building from within about our team.  Lets build but build correctly.  if you were the Shermenator what players would you build around?  Who is untouchable if anyone?  And most of all what in the heck is going on with our promotional team with KSE can someone please tell me how you can promote a product with two commercials saying "it's all about the A"  yet the two people you have in the commercials look disinterested?

 

Untouchables for me are:

Dutchy, and Stastny and if he can return Chris GD Stewart

These three are worth building around.   That is pretty much it.  From there i personally believe you can blow up the team so to speak and find some direction.   I wouldn't mind keeping Liles but not a necessity.  So who do you keep?  Who do you build around and where do we go from here??

Poll

What is the AVs greatest need going further?

72%

Defensive D-men

43 votes

1%

Forwards

1 votes

11%

Goalies

7 votes

3%

New Coaches

2 votes

10%

All of the above we need to blow this team up and start over

6 votes

59 votes | Poll has closed

Just tweeted by TSN Bob McKenzie the AVs have placed Mauldin on waivers to send him back to Lake Erie sounds like either Cody Mac or Stewy will be back in the lineup tonight. I wonder who will be sent down when both guys come back?  And why is Coach sacco still playing Hunwick over Holos?  I mean come on already!!!  But back to this it will be nice to get some size back in the lineup with Stewy and Cody coming back.

I will be at the AVs game in Carolina on Friday section 102 Row B 2 back from the glass right next to the AVs bench!!  Hope to see more AVs fans there again this year!!! The game last year was great 3 fights in the first 2 periods.  I can not wait.  So who's going?? Where are you sitting??  What AVs jersey will you be wearing??  I am hoping to have my new Staz jersey in before the game if not I'm wearing my Dutchy one.

So looking at the All Star ballot on NHL.com and Chris GD Stewart has been snubbed.  We all need to get on there and add him as not only is he having an ALL Star Year but he's also Chris GD Stewart.   Also snubbed was J.M. Liles who has been having a terrific year too.  So Here it is I am starting the official get Stewie to Carolina post got to the following link and cast your vote add Stewie Vote now and vote often!!!!

 

All Star Ballot

 

And you thought we were being robbed in ticket prices look at how we rank against the other teams in the league.  Fun Fact for all you AVs Fans AVG Ticket price $40.62 Beer Price $6.25 (24oz) Beer Price per oz $0.26 Beer lover's price per period (this is with only 1 beer per period does not include the luscious) $19.79 Gotta love going to see the AVs!!!!   Link below
Beer at the Can

This is what I have to say to the AVs this year.

Thank you – for giving us a team that doesn’t quit again
Thank you – For giving us a humble Goalie to believe in again
Thank you – For giving us a future that looks so bright we gotta wear shades
Thank you – For the ups and downs of an entire season that included the playoffs again
Thank you – For top shelf playoff clinching shootout goals that everyone was screaming about
Thank you – For the Young Guns kids worth creating posters of
Thank you – For a coaching staff that believes in hard work and demands it from the players
Thank you – For a classy retirement of the greatest captain to wear the C
Thank you – For fights from 1st liners, 2nd liners, 3rd liners, 4th liners, defensemen and even our Captain
Thank you – For late nights and little sleep
Thank you – For allowing me to make a road trip to Raleigh to watch you play
Thank you – For the opportunity to grow the stubble again missed it last year
and finally
THANK YOU for being the team that I follow and am proud to have my son follow. Here’s to next year and many more memories to come!!

Very Respectfully,
Bryce

 

What are you thankful for from this team this year??

So with the addition of Mueller and Yeller and not trading any D-men the AVs brass, well Coach Sacco will have some tough decisions to make from game to game and hopefully with the soon return of roadrunner and the Duke even more decisions.  What are your opinions on line combos going forward anyone you don't think should be sent down?? Does the Duke return to the top line??

 

Forwards

Duke - SoS - Stewie

Mueller - Dutchy - T.J.

Tucker - O'Reilly -Stoa/Svats

Cody Mac - Yeller - Hendricks

 

D-men

Footer - Liles

Quincey - Hannan

Wilson - Salei

Today is officially the trade deadline #1 as we all know the official trade deadline is March 3rd but today at 3pm ET there is a trade freeze imposed until March 1st only giving 3 days after the olympics to make trades.  Will the AVs do anything today or will they wait until after the Olympics??  I personally hope we make a move.  lets clear up a little of this log jam we have on defense and get someone with a blast from the point.  Also pick up another solid scoring forward if one won't cost us much and maybe clear out a little dead weight.  What do you all think??

So what is with Liles  being a healthy scratch so much??  Is he on his way out the door?  I mean I like what we have and now both Liles and Salei are the healthy scratches it makes me wonder why does he keep getting scratched ahead of Clarke??  Is something brewing to where the AVs are wanting to make sure he doesn't get hurt?  Do we have to many Offensive Defensemen coming up next year??  Or is he part of a trade about to go down in which case why are we not showcasing him??

 

So I have read several articles in the Denver Post asking why fans are not attending games. So I have a question:

I was talking to some season ticket holders in Carolina and the seats I had were 4 rows from the glass and cost me $80 a piece. They told me that as a season ticket holder they pay $65 per game.   How does this relate to ticket prices in Denver??  Does KSE provide discounts to season ticket holders like this??  Do we have a group called Avaholics??  I think the atmosphere in Carolina suited what the fans are: blue-collar, laid-back, country folk.  The sound system seemed just at the right decibel and to start each game they have someone crank up the Hurricane warning siren.  Does the Avalanche do something like this with an Avalanche Warning siren??  Let me know as it's been a few years since I was able to see a game in Colorado.

Living in NC it's hard to see any AVs games live so fortunatly our boys are coming to Raleigh for a Friday night game.  I received, as a Christmas present from my family, two tickets in section 106, row D are there any other AVs fans in NC that are going to be at this game??  If so let me know because i want to know where the pregame meet is as i will be taking the whole day off from work to go to this game.  Starting with making the 3 hour drive and hoping to get let into to see the morning skate or catch the players heading to the bus.  GO AVs!!!

i saw this and though it would be worth posting also think it would be good Home post material but I don't have rights to do that.

 

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=296378

 

Last June, John Tavares, Victor Hedman and Matt Duchene held their collective breath as New Islander general manager Grath Snow walked to the podium to announce the first overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

The Islanders selected Tavares first overall, while Hedman followed to the Tampa Bay Lightning and Duchene was picked by the Colorado Avalanche.

Four months later, Tavares is scoring points for the Islanders, Hedman is logging big minutes with the Lightning and Duchene is a big part of the surprising Avalanche.

But three other members of the draft class appear ready to make the jump and stick with their respective NHL teams for the remainder of the season. 

Fourth overall pick Evander Kane of the Atlanta Thrashers, 19th selection Dmitry Kulikov of the Florida Panthers and second round pick Ryan O'Reilly of the Avalanche have all been given a vote of confidence by their organizations.

Teams have nine games to evaluate junior-eligible players before deciding to keep them and use up one year of their contracts. They can still be sent back to their junior teams after the 9-game mark but they would only have two years left on their entry-level contracts. Should they play 40 games in the NHL, they would be one year closer to restricted free agency.

In 10 games this season, Tavares has registered seven points, including five on the power play as the Islanders have shown small signs of improvement. But the new face of the franchise, who is receiving close to 20 minutes of ice-time, knows he's part of a long-term plan and this season has been a learning experience.

"It's definitely been a transition, but every day I've been getting better and feeling more comfortable," Tavares told The Canadian Press last week. "I'm learning something new every day, and learning how to handle it. It's the highest level in the world and some things you have to go through yourself to learn how to handle them, but so far it's going pretty well."

In Tampa Bay, Hedman has been paired with veteran Mattias Ohlund and his development appears to be right on schedule. In nine games, the Swedish blueliner has four assists with a +1 rating and leads all rookies with almost 25 minutes of ice-time per night.

"As a coach, you don't want to look in the future too much," Lightning head coach Rick Tocchet told the St. Petersburg Times. "But he does all the things and has all the makings of a great defenceman and having a great career."

The Avalanche appear to have hit the daily double with Duchene and O'Reilly. While it's not a shock to see Duchene suiting up for his favourite boyhood team, O'Reilly has been a pleaseant surprise.

Duchene has picked up six points this season, including four assists on the power play, as the Avalanche have been one of the feel-good stories of the early season, leading the Western Conference with a 9-1-2 record.

O'Reilly has not seen much time on the power play but that has not stopped him from piling up the points. Playing mostly with David Jones and Cody McLeod, the former Erie Otter has two goals and eight assists in 12 games.

But the early success of the dynamic duo has not been a surprise to the rookie head coach of the Avalanche, Joe Sacco.

"Going into training camp, we expected both guys to challenge for a roster spot," Sacco told the Edmonton Sun. "Right from Day 1, they certainly deserved the right to be here. They've played well, they're being used in all different situations, they're playing lots of minutes and they're helping our team win."

Kane has not passed the 10-game threshold for players to be sent back to junior but he has likely played his last game with the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League. This season, the Vancouver native has three goals and five points in eight games with the Thrashers.

"There is nothing that indicates we'd want to send him back," Thrashers' head coach told the Vancouver Sun last week. "He's been a pleasure to coach and he's been doing everything we've asked, especially defensively. I don't see that he is going to be sent back."

Kulikov signed with the Panthers at the end of training camp and has not disappointed in his first nine NHL games. The smooth-skating defenceman has three assists, all on the power play while sharing the ice with veteran Bryan Allen.

On Tuesday, Panthers general manager Randy Sexton made it clear that while Kulikov will stay in the NHL for the foreseeable future, he could still find himself back with the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

''We have to do the best thing for the long term development of Dmitry Kulikov and what is in the best interests of our team,'' Sexton told the Miami Herald. ''I think we accomplished both things. The best thing for Dmitry right now is staying with us. But he has to work, has to continue to improve. If there becomes a time when he's not developing, I will send him back [to juniors]. But he's here and he's excited. Now he can relax a little, get settled in.''

One common thread among these six young stars is the healthy amount of ice-time they are receiving, which is a good sign that their NHL careers are well underway.