HFAvs Ranks: The 50 Greatest Avalanche Players - #19

[thedoctor]

poll is turning into a joke with Yelle having more votes than Stastny. the quality/tenure of the player has to come in at some point, not just cups.

 

[henchman21]

Unfortunately for players like Compher and Holden they became whipping boys (and actually hated by some posters) not because of their play but because they were often misused. The blame for this misuse can either be put on the coach for liking the player too much, the FO for not providing the coach with the necessary players to bring down these guys down the lineup where they would be much suited for, or a combination of both.

JTC and Holden were actually very good players for us when played at a more appropriate spot in the lineup. JTC was just going to be too expansive for the Avs with their cap situation.

I'd toss Graves in there too.

These things always blow my mind... Graves played roughly the same amount with the Avs as Quincey, Morris, and Krupp. Also, Kerfoot, Newhook, and BRETT MCLEAN

157 games 34 goals 51 assists 85 points
159 games 27 goals 39 assists 66 points
160 games 24 goals 51 assists 75 points

 

[AllAboutAvs]

I'd toss Graves in there too.

These things always blow my mind... Graves played roughly the same amount with the Avs as Quincey, Morris, and Krupp. Also, Kerfoot, Newhook, and BRETT MCLEAN

157 games 34 goals 51 assists 85 points
159 games 27 goals 39 assists 66 points
160 games 24 goals 51 assists 75 points

Absolutely.

 

[Ceremony]

I'd toss Graves in there too.

These things always blow my mind... Graves played roughly the same amount with the Avs as Quincey, Morris, and Krupp. Also, Kerfoot, Newhook, and BRETT MCLEAN

157 games 34 goals 51 assists 85 points
159 games 27 goals 39 assists 66 points
160 games 24 goals 51 assists 75 points

It's going to be funny when Girard doesn't make the top 50.

 

[Belgican]

Yelle, not just a third line center in a great team, a real contributor as one of the best defensive forwards the Avs ever had.

Add Young

 

[GeoRox89]

poll is turning into a joke with Yelle having more votes than Stastny. the quality/tenure of the player has to come in at some point, not just cups.

There’s definitely a quality argument for Stastny over Yelle. Tenure is a bit of a weak one

Yelle is 5th in playoff GP and behind only Sakic/Foote/Forsberg/Roy. Stastny played 22 regular season games more than Yelle. Yelle played 95 playoff games more than Stastny (yes there is a massive team quality difference). Stastny has 8 seasons in Denver. Yelle has 7 full and one partial to end his career. That’s more or less a wash (or at least I don’t put much value on basically an extra quarter season)

 

[UncleRisto]

There’s definitely a quality argument for Stastny over Yelle. Tenure is a bit of a weak one

Yelle is 5th in playoff GP and behind only Sakic/Foote/Forsberg/Roy. Stastny played 22 regular season games more than Yelle. Yelle played 95 playoff games more than Stastny (yes there is a massive team quality difference). Stastny has 8 seasons in Denver. Yelle has 7 full and one partial to end his career. That’s more or less a wash (or at least I don’t put much value on basically an extra quarter season)

I also put extra value on coming back to finish and even playing a few playoff games.

Stastny could maybe still do it right now.

 

[GeoRox89]

I also put extra value on coming back to finish and even playing a few playoff games.

Stastny could maybe still do it right now.

I would literally take Stastny signing a one day contract to retire an Av. Anything to come across like he still feels like an Av and not that if he could be anywhere it would be still in St Louis

 

[bromando]

Eh, for me JTC being top 25 would be weighting games played heavier than I think it should be. While he won the cup with our team, he definitely rode the wave more than directed it. I easily have other 3rd cup winners like Bura, Nuke, Kadri, Toews above him. Girard is in the same realm as JTC as well. IMO JTC also doesn't beat the top guys from the playoff drought time - Stastny, ROR, Duchene, Barrie. Then you have Liles, Yelle, and Drury who will all get voted in relatively soon.

That puts JTC somewhere in the 30-35 range. Guys like Lehky and Byram could soon pass him too (Lehky already has greater moments). That puts JTC right in a comfy spot for me for someone who played 7 years for a franchise that still hasn't hit 30 years old.

 

[Ceremony]

I would literally take Stastny signing a one day contract to retire an Av. Anything to come across like he still feels like an Av and not that if he could be anywhere it would be still in St Louis

Stastny played eight seasons in Colorado and nine seasons elsewhere. Let him go.

 

[bromando]

Stastny played eight seasons in Colorado and nine seasons elsewhere. Let him go.

And if he wanted to come back, there were plenty of chances. He even reunited with the Jets. I voted for him this round but for me, his Avs legacy is what it is.

 

[GeoRox89]

Stastny played eight seasons in Colorado and nine seasons elsewhere. Let him go.

That was purely in comparison to the Yelle coming back and the weight that has coupled with that Stastny technically still could. As in I would literally weigh signing a one day retirement contract the same as I would if a washed up Stastny returned for one last season. I could not care less if he ever comes back

 

[Ceremony]

That was purely in comparison to the Yelle coming back and the weight that has coupled with that Stastny technically still could. As in I would literally weigh signing a one day retirement contract the same as I would if a washed up Stastny returned for one last season. I could not care less if he ever comes back

Fair enough. I vaguely recall a bit being made of Yelle returning when we were in the playoffs in 2010 but given Foote was the only other player still there he had any kind of connection to, and given Yelle was traded before I started following the NHL, it didn't mean much to me either.

 

[thedoctor]

There’s definitely a quality argument for Stastny over Yelle. Tenure is a bit of a weak one

Yelle is 5th in playoff GP and behind only Sakic/Foote/Forsberg/Roy. Stastny played 22 regular season games more than Yelle. Yelle played 95 playoff games more than Stastny (yes there is a massive team quality difference). Stastny has 8 seasons in Denver. Yelle has 7 full and one partial to end his career. That’s more or less a wash (or at least I don’t put much value on basically an extra quarter season)

in this case, yes, the tenure is pretty similar. but i wanted to be sure to include tenure because I'm not just saying it's quality. otherwise Bourque should be way higher, etc.

 

[GeoRox89]

in this case, yes, the tenure is pretty similar. but i wanted to be sure to include tenure because I'm not just saying it's quality. otherwise Bourque should be way higher, etc.

That makes sense. It sounded like you meant that in the case of Yelle vs Stastny but as a general comment for sure talent and tenure should at some point matter more than Cups

I think once we’re out of the top 20 here, you’ll start seeing a lot more of that talented and tenured (Stas/Duchene/Barrie/JML/ROR) group over less talented and/or less tenured Cup winners.

Would pretty well expect that whole group to come in between 20-30 and I’d expect guys like Svatos and Wolski to make an appearance in the 30s - 40s. I don’t care how high he is in franchise scoring, I refuse to vote for Minnesota Wild Andrew Brunette anywhere on this list

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Yelle, not just a third line center in a great team, a real contributor as one of the best defensive forwards the Avs ever had.

Add Young

For some reason, I always remember him as a Nordique but sometimes forget he was part of the Avs first cup and then second season as well.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

We are just now entering the part where I'm going to love reading so much of the conversation. We all value different things. Some of us place the heavy emphasis on statistics (offensive? defensive?), some on awards, some on tenure, some on intangibles. We are just now entering the part where I really think we are going to see some divergence and excellent conversations.

Skoula....that puck poise gonna have you on here soonish baby, I promise. Seriously, I've got Yelle and Drury then I think I start voting for some of the non-cup winners, Stastny will top the list.

But we are also not very far away from some of the lunchpail hockey players getting votes. Guys like Klemm, Hinote, Podein, Messier, Miller, Keane, and then we'll see if we've got space for shorter tenured guys that didn't win the cup but did real good...Svatos, Turgeon, Konowalchuk?

 

[Bonzai12]

Stas vs Yelle was a really tough one for me. I voted Stas but I get the Yelle votes. There’s an element here of fandom here - even though Yeller was a third liner he had probably just as many die hard fans of his as Stastny did. There were a lot of Yeller jerseys sold in McNichols.

 

[Bone Breaker]

JTC should make the list ahead of several "beloved" players. yeah I'm talking about Hinote here. I think his inclusion honestly sets the bar really low, to the point that there will be serious arguments supporting the inclusion of names like Parker, Podein, Clark, de Vries, Hejda, WILSON (the lunatic that will suggest him is ME, don't worry), Laperriere, Lefebvre... oh btw our party boy Nuke, along with JTC, should also rank higher than Hinote.

last but not the least, when are we adding Stanley Cup winner Kuemper?

 

[CoachBadkitten]

I’m starting the add Nuke train. He’s slowly creeping up there in all time stats and his peak in the final is higher than anyone else left to be added.

 

[GeoRox89]

JTC should make the list ahead of several "beloved" players. yeah I'm talking about Hinote here. I think his inclusion honestly sets the bar really low, to the point that there will be serious arguments supporting the inclusion of names like Parker, Podein, Clark, de Vries, Hejda, WILSON (the lunatic that will suggest him is ME, don't worry), Laperriere, Lefebvre... oh btw our party boy Nuke, along with JTC, should also rank higher than Hinote.

last but not the least, when are we adding Stanley Cup winner Kuemper?

Hinote probably isn’t getting voted in until the 40-50 range. Of the 22 Cup winners who aren’t on there yet, realistically, JTC should be the next one. Then some combo of Nuke, Toews, Burky and Kadri

There seriously are arguments for all the ‘setting the bar low’ guys to get in the top 50 with or without the Hinote inclusion. There just aren’t that many talented players (beyond the obvious additions) who stuck around long enough. Soda literally sits around 30th in GP, goals and points in Avs history

 

[Chileiceman]

Add Ryan O'Reilly

 

[Heyduke]

This should be Drury, easily.

It seems many have forgotten how exciting Drury was to watch. Maybe the 2nd most clutch hockey player to play for the Avs after Joe. He was a fan favorite when he was traded for holding out, which he shouldn't be penalized for if the alternative is Stastny.

Mute the video and play a better Metallica song.

 

[UncleRisto]

I'll never vote for JTC. Add O'Reilly.

 

[Ceremony]

We're not doing run-off polls, so if the voting is tied when the poll closes I'll go back to the previous thread and whichever tied player scored higher there will win.