GDT: Preseason Game #4 | 10/01/24 | 7:30 PM MST | VGK @ COL

[cccoltsicehockey]

Turned it off after the 3rd goal. I couldn't be bothered to watch anymore and it was the first one I have watched.

 

[Bender]

George+ Ritchie+ picks. Then we'd have to move someone else to make the numbers work.

I don't think the Avs would give up Ritchie in that kind of deal.

Ilya Nabokov though, yeah that would make sense to include him when you consider that Swayman is still only 25 and an established starter + top 10 goalie.

Personally, I believe the Avs current plan is to roll with Georgiev this year and let him 'roll off as a UFA' next summer while they bring Nabokov to be the replacement starter.

There's a lot of uncertainty with that scenario especially when you consider that historically the Avalanche have been abysmal at drafting goaltenders. Were they finally going to luck out at some point with Nabokov ? That's hard to say for sure.

 

[henchman21]

I don't think the Avs would give up Ritchie in that kind of deal.

Ilya Nabokov though, yeah that would make sense to include him when you consider that Swayman is still only 25 and an established starter + top 10 goalie.

Personally, I believe the Avs current plan is to roll with Georgiev this year and let him 'roll off as a UFA' next summer while they bring Nabokov to be the replacement starter.

There's a lot of uncertainty with that scenario especially when you consider that historically the Avalanche have been abysmal at drafting goaltenders. Were they finally going to luck out at some point with Nabokov ? That's hard to say for sure.

Nabokov is very likely to stay another year in Russia.

 

[niwotsblessing]

Moose for Swayman. Make it so.

 

[GirardSpinorama]

Ivan ivan can legit make this team given how bad some of our complementary pieces have been.

 

[Pokecheque]

So what's been worse so far, the Broncos offense or Avalanche goaltending?

 

[GirardSpinorama]

This is the first year the Avs have legitimately had spots there for young players to take, and Kovalenko is the only one who has really stepped up. Everyone else has severely disappointed. You can tell Bednar isn't happy about that.

Ya absolutely. Malinski has also stepped up but we signed so many small dman. We probably should have tried to find the brannstrom of forwards instead.

 

[henchman21]

Boy oh boy this game was rough... the best player for the Avs was Belly, and I don't even think he played that great.

On PEB... I think he's clearly getting a contract here. Not sure if he starts as the 4C or extra, but he's shown enough.

Behrens - His worst preseason game. Not that he was horrific, but he wasn't good either. The start was fine, but the last half of the game... like the rest of the team, he looked bad.

Brannstrom - If he plays like this, he's not going to last here. Soft and bad defense... with high risk plays were enough went against him that make him a lot of risk, little reward type of player. He's a legit concern at this moment.

George - He was horrific. Looks mentally broken at this point. His movements are still quick, but his tracking was bad and looked dejected instead of confident. IMO he needs a few good games and I'd try to run him the rest of the preseason to see if he can get a couple.

Big guns - playing at half effort (being generous)

CDH - I thought he was the 2nd best player for the Avs. Really didn't have a bad night. Saying that, his lack of physicality at his size is going to be an issue for this team. The defense is very soft (which was very evident last night) and if he doesn't take that role, I'm not sure what he really adds.

Kovalenko - His effort is there, but he makes some really baffling errors and his always looking for a call fits right in.

Polin - I know he got sent down, but I think he showed well enough in his games that he's likely to be a call up later.

Other scrubs - They all are shitty. There's not really anything there. Innala, Tynan and Phillips will probably have good AHL seasons. Foudy might as well. None of them look to have any NHL chops.

 

[S E P H]

George - He was horrific. Looks mentally broken at this point. His movements are still quick, but his tracking was bad and looked dejected instead of confident. IMO he needs a few good games and I'd try to run him the rest of the preseason to see if he can get a couple.

I told you lot that he was getting beat by the same shots at training camp like last season. However, he couldn't do anything on three of the goals yesterday, like MacKinnon batting it in his own net.

 

[LOFIN]

We have 3 of the top 10 players in the NHL, including the unanimous best defenseman on the planet.

It’s actually pathetic what we’ve been able to “accomplish” with this core.

Sure. But it's still more than a team that has had two of the top-3 centers in the world, including the unanimous best player on the planet.

Winning A Cup is hard as F in the NHL. Winning multiple cups is even harder.

 

[henchman21]

I told you lot that he was getting beat by the same shots at training camp like last season. However, he couldn't do anything on three of the goals yesterday, like MacKinnon batting it in his own net.

Sure... that leave 3 others though. The margins are so thin in the NHL that you can't accept a bad goal every game... let alone 2 or 3. That's flatly unacceptable for a #3 goale, let alone a guy who is supposed to be the starter. George has had a knack for a long time of typically giving up a bad goal in a lot of his games... nothing shown so far signals he's out of those woods.

 

[S E P H]

Sure... that leave 3 others though. The margins are so thin in the NHL that you can't accept a bad goal every game... let alone 2 or 3. That's flatly unacceptable for a #3 goale, let alone a guy who is supposed to be the starter. George has had a knack for a long time of typically giving up a bad goal in a lot of his games... nothing shown so far signals he's out of those woods.

I guess what we're seeing is that when the game gets away from the Avs, he sort of crumbles along with that. It makes sense to me how many games Avs lost last season where it was close and then we ended up losing 7-3 or 6-0, even at home.

 

[henchman21]

I guess what we're seeing is that when the game gets away from the Avs, he sort of crumbles along with that. It makes sense to me how many games Avs lost last season where it was close and then we ended up losing 7-3 or 6-0, even at home.

Yeah... IMO. If a bad bounce happens or a slightly bad play by George gets through, the 'here we go again' thought creeps into his mind. Then he starts thinking and playing scared rather than reacting and playing confident. We've all seen that when George is on his game, he's got the athletic ability to show great things. When things go wrong, he wilts. I really think he's either just not mentally strong enough, or he's just broken right now. I'd probably lean to him not being strong enough as this has been a MO of his for a while... but given we are stuck with him right now, building that confidence should be a priority.

 

[Muffin]

We have 3 of the top 10 players in the NHL, including the unanimous best defenseman on the planet.

It’s actually pathetic what we’ve been able to “accomplish” with this core.

I mean the "glory days" Avs only won 2 cups with Sakic, Forsberg and Roy. There's still time for this core to get another.

 

[henchman21]

I mean the "glory days" Avs only won 2 cups with Sakic, Forsberg and Roy. There's still time for this core to get another.

That core really should have won more Cups... but if you look at the ages on the 01 team, you might be surprised. Sakic was 31, Roy was 34... Bourque was old as dirt. But Foppa, Blake, Foote, Hejduk, Tangs, Drury, etc were all 30 or younger (Blake was the only one that was 30 in that group). There might be time, but there isn't much.

 

[Avs9296]

That core really should have won more Cups... but if you look at the ages on the 01 team, you might be surprised. Sakic was 31, Roy was 34... Bourque was old as dirt. But Foppa, Blake, Foote, Hejduk, Tangs, Drury, etc were all 30 or younger (Blake was the only one that was 30 in that group). There might be time, but there isn't much.

Ya they also made b2b WCF that this team has never done. It's always been 2nd round exit or Cup.

The age timeline that this current group won the cup is more in line with that 01 team. The 96 team was very young.

 

[henchman21]

Ya they also made b2b WCF that this team has never done. It's always been 2nd round exit or Cup.

The age timeline that this current group won the cup is more in line with that 01 team. The 96 team was very young.

That core was a bit unlucky with both Dallas and Detroit being excellent at the same time.

Yup... the 01 is really younger than this team, but it is far close than the 96 team was. Teams that tend to win spaced out Cups with the same core are ones that tend to win one early. Which the Avs just didn't do. They won late, which tends to mean only one Cup or they have to win in short succession. Like back to back or 2 in 3 seasons sort of thing. We're right towards the end of the short succession time.

 

[willy702]

So what's been worse so far, the Broncos offense or Avalanche goaltending?

Broncos offense was great in the preseason and now, not so much. Maybe the Avs will see a similar turn of fate when the games start to count.

 

[willy702]

I mean the "glory days" Avs only won 2 cups with Sakic, Forsberg and Roy. There's still time for this core to get another.

Winning more than 2 Cups is pretty rare. I think just getting 1 is perfectly fine when you consider how many great players couldn't even get to that or the ones who play a long career and finally get one near the end of it. If players get a second I'm sure they are quite thankful for having that good fortune.

Fans perspective on it of course is a whole lot different. All sports seem to suffer from this narrow minded view that its title or bust. As if the hard work and effort of everyone else in the league was wasted if they didn't win a title.

 

[henchman21]

Winning more than 2 Cups is pretty rare. I think just getting 1 is perfectly fine when you consider how many great players couldn't even get to that or the ones who play a long career and finally get one near the end of it. If players get a second I'm sure they are quite thankful for having that good fortune.

Fans perspective on it of course is a whole lot different. All sports seem to suffer from this narrow minded view that its title or bust. As if the hard work and effort of everyone else in the league was wasted if they didn't win a title.

I wouldn't say that. Since 2009, 2 teams have accomplished that. Red Wings won 4 in 11 Cups being awarded (excludes lockout) including 3 in 6. Devils won 3 in 9. That's all since the mid 90s. In ~30 years it has been done 4 times or a little more than once a decade. It was more common prior to that, but wildly different times.

 

[Pokecheque]

The Sakic/Roy/Forsberg core definitely should've gotten one more Cup. They were one Roy meltdown away from back-to-back Cups in 2002 (they would've pasted that Carolina team after squeaking past the juggernaut Red Wings), and frankly Lacroix waited one year too long with Crawford.

 

[S E P H]

The Sakic/Roy/Forsberg core definitely should've gotten one more Cup. They were one Roy meltdown away from back-to-back Cups in 2002 (they would've pasted that Carolina team after squeaking past the juggernaut Red Wings), and frankly Lacroix waited one year too long with Crawford.

100%, they should have won in 98 or 99 at the very least. I also believe this core should win at least one other Cup, but we might have to go through a Penguins sort of sleeper to eventually get to another one from 2009 to 2016.