SB Nation User Blog: Selanne

A training staff more inept than the Avs' ?

Selanne — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:39:21 -0000

A training staff more inept than the Avs' ?

Could it be that we don't have the worst medical staff in the league. Sure, our boy's stretch about as much as my 70-year-old father, but they don't mistake a concussion for a six-week sinus infection.

Congratulations Columbus!

Selanne — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 02:16:31 -0000

Congratulations Columbus!

Although I am not a Blue Jackets fan, I really enjoyed the city of Columbus the one time I was there. And, I have to say, it was very exciting seeing them play their first playoff game and score the first playoff goal in franchise history tonight! As a hockey fan, I would just like to say congratulations to all the CBJ fans out there; and as an Avs fan, I would like to say, beat the crap out of the Redwings! Take 'em down in five games! You'll make all of us over at Mile High Hockey a much happier bunch this season.

Nowhere to go but up.

Selanne — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:01:03 -0000

Nowhere to go but up.

The Avs have finally done it! They have hit rock-bottom in TSN's rankings for the first time ever.

The silver lining is expansion is still a few years off, so it'll take a while before they're number #31.

Who is your favorite young gun?

Selanne — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 01:39:05 -0000

The Avalanche, since the mid-point of last season, have seen a pretty large number of young players suit up in the burgandy and blue unipron.

So, what I want to know is who, of these new, young, players, is your favorite. This doesn't mean "best" or the player having the most "potential," just which one is your favoite? Who gets you excited for the future, who do you enjoy watching now, or hell, who do you just kind of like for no distinct reason?

Here are the elligible players:

Phillipe Dupuis

Chris Durno (with his current 1-period of play for the big A)

TJ Hensick

David Jones

Cody Mcleod

Chris Stewart

Kyle Cumiskey

For me, I love David Jones, but Chris Stewart is my man. As I type this he just scored on a partial break against Calgary. There is just something I love about him. He's tough, he works hard, has a booming and heavy shot, fights his own fights, hits hard, hustles, and his goals, few they may be, are either pretty and exciting or unexpected game-changers. I had alot of doubts about him ever maturing and becoming an NHLer, and while he might not ever be an all-star, he's quickly becoming one of my favorite players.

Avs-Wings -- Let the trash talk begin!

Selanne — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 23:02:55 -0000

In just over 48 hours the puck will drop between the Colorado Avalanche and those sons of bitches from Detoilet. Given this year's overall performance and the fact that the Avs current streak against the Dead Things is at least 0-12, I expect the Avs to put up about as much of a fight as a quadropalegic chihuaha could against an oncoming semi-truck.

But that's where we come in. The winged-wheels may be the current Stanley Cup hacks, but here is where we get to show that we are we are the better trash talkers. Detoilet can mop up the ice with our Uniprons, but we can wipe up the blogosphere with Chelios' Depends.

Let the trash talk begin!

via i237.photobucket.com

Joe Sakic Just Had Hand Surgery- Out 3 More Months!

Selanne — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:28:30 -0000

This just came through on NHL LIVE! on the NHL Network.

Apparently, Sakic had hand surgery either last night or early this morning. The details on the NHL Live! radio show were sketchy, but apparently he had some sort of an accident involving a snowblower yesterday (!) and broke three fingers pretty badly (!!!). They are reporting he will be out at least 3 more months (!!!!!!!!!).

This is just becoming ridiculous. This is not the way one of the greatest players in history shoudl have to ride off into the sunset of his career.

I'll try to get more details as they become available.

Edit: Update from TSN.ca:

The Colorado Avalanche will be without captain Joe Sakic for longer than they originally expected.

The team announced Wednesday, that Sakic will miss approximately three months after undergoing surgery on Tuesday night to repair three broken fingers and tendon damage.

Sakic, who was slated to miss up to six weeks as he recovered from his herniated disc in his back, injured his hand at home in an incident that involved a snow blower.

"Joe's surgery was performed by a hand specialist," said Avalanche Team Doctor Andy Parker. "The procedure went well and he's expected to make a full recovery."

Sakic has only played in 15 games this season, recording two goals and 10 assists.
The 14-13-1 Avalanche are currently in ninth place in the Western Conference.

Edit 2: Adrian Dater's contribution says it all:

Unbelievable.

Edit 3: More from Dater's blog at All Things Avs:

Unbelievable.

Here’s the story I also have up on the denverpost.com main page:

Avalanche captain Joe Sakic will be sidelined at least three months, the team said this morning, after he suffered three broken fingers and tendon damage following an accident at his home involving a snow blower.
Sakic underwent surgery with a local hand specialist Tuesday night, the team said. Sakic suffered the injury Tuesday afternoon at his home. Sakic was already on injured reserve with a herniated disc in his back before the snow blower accident.
Avalanche vice president Jean Martineau said the accident happened to Sakic’s left hand, and that severe tendon damage occurred to one finger. That same finger and two others were broken.
“Basically, it’s a mistake. He’s a 39-year-old adult who made a mistake,” Martineau said. “He put his hand where he should not have put it. He’s, in a way, lucky. He’ll have a full recovery.”
Martineau said he visited Sakic in an unidentified hospital this morning, and that he was “very upset with himself.”
“He’s very, very mad at himself. I’ve never seen him like that, and I’ve known him for 21 years,” Martineau said. “He knows he made a mistake.”
Martineau said Sakic and the team will be asked “Why was a player with a bad back out using a snow blower?”
“You just have to walk with the machine. There was no problem for (Sakic) walking. The machine does all the work and it’s basically just going for a walk,” Martineau said. “It’s just an unfortunate thing that happened.”
The Avalanche said Sakic will not discuss the accident with the media until Dec. 23, after the team returns from a four-game road trip. He is expected to leave the hospital by this afternoon.

According to a 2005 Consumer Products Safety Commission study,
snowblowers were the “fourth leading cause of finger amputations” at
more than 1,000 per year and more than 5,000 emergency room visits.
And, that from 1992-2005 there were a reported nine deaths from
snowblower accidents.

*More thoughts on this: OK look, I know it’s going to be tempting to rip Sakic and make some snide jokes about this, but let’s give the guy a break on this one.
Yeah, I know everybody wants to ask “What the hell was he doing using a snowblower when a) He’s got a bad back and b) he’s got about $70 million in the bank?

I’ve never used a snowblower (and I definitely won’t in the future, after reading some of the scary stats that are in my story, about accidents involving them). But it does seem like it’s just like going for a little walk when I see people using them.

And, as Jean Martineau said, and knowing Sakic well myself can imagine, nobody is beating himself up more about this than No. 19 himself.

Just yesterday morning, after the Avs’ skate, I said hi to Sakic as he was on his way home. He was carrying a few Christmas presents - I think for a charity - and I kidded him about carrying anything with a bad back. He laughed and said they only weighed a couple of pounds.

I wish he hadn’t gone home and decided to clear his driveway himself just a few hours later. But I’m glad he’s still got his fingers at least. Let’s hope he’s back on the ice at some point this season - and he should, according to the timeline at least.

Sakic out at least six weeks.

Selanne — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:07:03 -0000

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=258282&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_nhl

Joe Sakic will be lost to the Colorado Avalanche for at least six weeks due to a herniated disc in his back.

The captain originally injured his back during weight training but aggravated the injury on his first shift of the November 28th game against the Phoenix Coyotes.

"He'll continue to be monitored by our medical staff who will prescribe a treatment regimen that will hopefully allow Joe to be back playing as quickly as possible," said executive vice president and general manager Francois Giguere. "Our team physicians are confident that this course of action is the best for Joe at this point in time."

"I'm comfortable with the plan going forward and will work as hard as I always have in order to return to the lineup," explained Sakic.

The 39-year-old has battled the back injury for much of the season and also missed a game with an infected tooth. As a result of the injuries, he has only played in 15 of Colorado's 24 games. Sakic has two goals with 10 assists and a minus-6 rating this season.

There's nothing good to be found here. It's bad news for the team in the short-term, and it's bad news for the team, the Captain, and the fans in the long-term, regarding his career.

Oi. Shooting %, and more managament mishap.

Selanne — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 21:55:31 -0000

So, I personally like it when my team gets alot of shots on goal. The Avs have done a great job geeting a ton of SOG, but their conversion rate is a little in the dumps.

So here is a website measuring the shooting % of active forwards in the nhl:

http://www.hockey-reference.com/leaders/shot_pct_active.html

Oh. Ouch. That kind of hurts.

2 ex-Avs in the top 3.

Milan Hejduk thankfully clocks in at #14 in the league.

But the next Av?

That would be Darcy Tucker at #30, with a grand total of 2 goals on the season.

The next Av with more than 2 goals so far?

I don't know, because they don't crack the top 50.

Joe Sakic comes in at #36, but again, with only 2 goals so far this season.

Peter Budaj named NHL 2nd Star of the Week!

Selanne — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:51:16 -0000

Per TSN: http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=253964&lid=sublink02&lpos=headlines_main

NEW YORK - Calgary Flames right-winger Jarome Iginla was named first star of the week by the National Hockey League on Monday.

Iginla led all scorers with seven points (five goals, two assists) to help the Flames win three games last week.

He scored a goal in a 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals last Tuesday, recorded a hat trick in a 5-3 win over the Nashville Predators on Thursday and had a goal and two assists in a 4-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday.

Colorado Avalanche goaltender Peter Budaj was the second star and Detroit Red Wings right-winger Marian Hossa was the third star.

Budaj posted a 3-0-0 record with a 1.62 goals-against average and .941 save percentage as the Avalanche recorded three victories last week.

Hossa had six points (3-3) as the Red Wings recorded three victories for the week.

Budaj to start Monday vs Kings

Selanne — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 22:26:45 -0000

Per the Master Dater:

http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/ci_10762295

DALLAS — The Avalanche will switch back to goalie Peter Budaj as the starter for Monday's game with the Los Angeles Kings.

Despite Andrew Raycroft starting, and winning, the last two games for Colorado, Avs coach Tony Granato said today he will start Budaj against the Kings at Staples Center.

Budaj has an 0-3 record, with a 4.38 goals-against average and .824 saves percentage.