Season Wrap-up
- Thread starter Hennessy
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Hennessy
Ye Jacobites, by name
I'll forever be glad he to be a part of that run last year.
Belgican
Registered User
- Mar 8, 2002
- 3,552
- 1,116
I was happy to see my Avs play in LA and Anaheim last month, something I will remember forever. The rest I can forget.
Just hope we can start a new season with an healthy group of players, you can’t win nothing with the bandaid we had. Just hope they all can recover, including Landy.
Unfortunately, I have to admit, we should trade some of our players trying to adress our needs. Yes I would trade Newhook while he still has some value, and I would try to trade Manson, maybe one of G or Toews.
Time to get some young blood too. What about Behens, Malinski, Foudy …
Just hope we can start a new season with an healthy group of players, you can’t win nothing with the bandaid we had. Just hope they all can recover, including Landy.
Unfortunately, I have to admit, we should trade some of our players trying to adress our needs. Yes I would trade Newhook while he still has some value, and I would try to trade Manson, maybe one of G or Toews.
Time to get some young blood too. What about Behens, Malinski, Foudy …
LOFIN
Registered User
- Sep 16, 2011
- 18,833
- 27,718
In retrospect, it's good they didn't go all in at the TDL because losing both Nuke and Landy, no way we were going all the way. That said, major questions about the mentality of the FO. They should've done more, why they didn't is beyond me.
This could be a blessing in disguise. The guys get a proper off season now. This series should also shed some light on who to keep from the bottom of the roster.
This could be a blessing in disguise. The guys get a proper off season now. This series should also shed some light on who to keep from the bottom of the roster.
Nihiliste
Registered User
- Feb 8, 2010
- 11,511
- 4,732
I’m happy they did nothing at the deadline. This year the team was too broken from last years run and the flat cap to go all the way. The real missed opportunity was the year we lost to Vegas. I’m not sure where we go from here with two first line wingers questionable for the future, minimal cap space and no prospects to work with. I’m grateful we got to see the win last year, and hope CMac and Sakic can find a way to get us competitive with a quick retool.
Shinjuku Calling
Registered User
- Jun 20, 2017
- 3,171
- 2,723
Overall a bad year. Constant injuries.. abysmal TDL, just never felt like the other foot dropped. Sure Mack and Mikko tore it up, but scoring was so high overall it didn't feel special.
SirLoinOfCloth
Registered User
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but going all in on the TDL would have left us with a whole lot of nothing for this off-season which is going to be tough enough as it is. So I'm willing to see what the FO do in the off-season to address the obvious holes this playoff run showed us.
The year was tough. So many injuries and not like tweaks here or there, players out weeks and months and having to play an AHL team for so long. We did impressively well to win the division after it all. I had hope for the playoffs but that turned out to be false hope. Our record down the home straight made me feel we would make more of a run this year. Oh well. Let the boys have a nice long break and rest up and hopefully come back healthy to go again next year. In December there were doubts we would even make the playoffs at all, do we exceeded a lot of fan expectations mid season.
The year was tough. So many injuries and not like tweaks here or there, players out weeks and months and having to play an AHL team for so long. We did impressively well to win the division after it all. I had hope for the playoffs but that turned out to be false hope. Our record down the home straight made me feel we would make more of a run this year. Oh well. Let the boys have a nice long break and rest up and hopefully come back healthy to go again next year. In December there were doubts we would even make the playoffs at all, do we exceeded a lot of fan expectations mid season.
He didn't jibe with the provincial gatekeeping asshole fans in other markets (witness all the sneering on the main forums whenever the Avs played a team North of I-70, but he was a kind person with a passion for the game and loved getting more people involved.
GirardSpinorama
Registered User
- Aug 20, 2004
- 22,086
- 11,064
Tough season. We didn't get enough growth from Byram and newhook, although mostly newhook dragging it down. Too many injuries to get it done, even big trades wouldn't have made us as good as last year. But we also missed out on great value moves because we mostly took the summer off after the first few signings. The medical team is garbage and needs to go, we need better advice/timelines.
We need a retool. 4 years ago, we acquired Nichuskin, Kadri and Burakovsky. It might have taken 3 years to win the cup but we were contenders those three years. We need to do it again. Sign 3 top 6 forwards and give them time to gel with the team.
Spleenless Wonder21
Done like dinner
That’s my final thoughts on 2022-23, & CMac’s reign as GM thus far.
LOFIN
Registered User
- Sep 16, 2011
- 18,833
- 27,718
Our top-6 forwards are locked in, provided they can all play (looking at Landy and Nuke here). Bottom-6 is what needs a revamping, + acquiring a #2C.
Are you kidding? A late first would have been enough get a 2c and an entire bottom 6!
BleedWell
Registered User
- Jan 6, 2018
- 1,153
- 544
Biggest things:
+
-Mikko 62 goals in 89 games
-
-Passing of Peter McNabb
-CMac's awful first trade deadline
+
-Mikko 62 goals in 89 games
-
-Passing of Peter McNabb
-CMac's awful first trade deadline
shadow1
Registered User
- Nov 29, 2008
- 16,927
- 6,045
It was a fun, but challenging year.
The Avalanche managed to cobble together 51 wins and 109 points this season, both of which are amongst the best totals in franchise history. Georgiev shared the NHL lead with 40 wins (franchise record), MacKinnon scored over 100 points for the first time (111), and Rantanen scored 55 goals (franchise record).
The big takeaway from this season is obviously the injuries though. Colorado rarely had fewer than five injured players at a time, and often it was big names. It felt like we spent most of the year waiting for the team to get healthy, but it just never happened. Fans are frustrated with GM Chris MacFarland and there is definitely some fault there, but ultimately the club wasn't winning the Stanley Cup without Landeskog and Nichushkin.
With so much uncertainty surrounding certain players, fans are primed for a turbulent off-season. But for now - let's drive a stake through 2022-2023's heart!
I won't sugar coat it, it was poorly mismanaged from get go and we never recovered.
Sure health was atrocious, but the number 1 factor for this season was CMac. His poor pulse on the team doomed it. Starting day 1 of the offseason when he didn't go address the 2C position. That lingered all f***ing season, f***ing pathetic.
Fast forward to his in season pickups Nieto, Eller and JJ. Sure glad that we went out of our way to pick up these over the hill and or scrubs. They really helped that playoff run with a grand total of 0 pts between the 3 of them. Poor acquisitions/trades. Went 0 for 3 on trades. End of discussion.
The second there was a remote possibility Landy wasn't going to play you should have been figuring out some sort of backup plan, to help 29 and 96 up front. Didn't happen. Don't give me this they thought he was going to crap 29 said he knew months prior to the announcement, this means CMac knew but did nothing.
Can't predict Nuke's situation. However good teams going for it usually add a guy as an insurance policy just in case someone gets hurt. While Nuke didn't get hurt, similar concept applies, except CMac didn't add insurance so we were forced to play Nieto in on line 2.
At the end of the day this season was done in by one guy CMac. Not one really successful move or decision all season. Maybe George. But overall just garbage.
If 29 and 96 don't go nuclear this year, we miss the playoffs. And it's up to a guy, CMac, I have absolutely no faith in the get us pointed in the correct direction as he has already worn out his welcome.
Sure health was atrocious, but the number 1 factor for this season was CMac. His poor pulse on the team doomed it. Starting day 1 of the offseason when he didn't go address the 2C position. That lingered all f***ing season, f***ing pathetic.
Fast forward to his in season pickups Nieto, Eller and JJ. Sure glad that we went out of our way to pick up these over the hill and or scrubs. They really helped that playoff run with a grand total of 0 pts between the 3 of them. Poor acquisitions/trades. Went 0 for 3 on trades. End of discussion.
The second there was a remote possibility Landy wasn't going to play you should have been figuring out some sort of backup plan, to help 29 and 96 up front. Didn't happen. Don't give me this they thought he was going to crap 29 said he knew months prior to the announcement, this means CMac knew but did nothing.
Can't predict Nuke's situation. However good teams going for it usually add a guy as an insurance policy just in case someone gets hurt. While Nuke didn't get hurt, similar concept applies, except CMac didn't add insurance so we were forced to play Nieto in on line 2.
At the end of the day this season was done in by one guy CMac. Not one really successful move or decision all season. Maybe George. But overall just garbage.
If 29 and 96 don't go nuclear this year, we miss the playoffs. And it's up to a guy, CMac, I have absolutely no faith in the get us pointed in the correct direction as he has already worn out his welcome.
Bender
I'll eat pancakes on his grave!
- Sep 25, 2002
- 18,283
- 11,007
Wrote this in the other thread but is probably better here :
It has certainly been the season from hell. After we lost Cogs and it was announced that he was out for the playoffs, I was so deflated. I mean, next-man up is all fine and good but not when you don't have anyone!
Injuries and absences notwithstanding :
* you cannot win if your depth players can't score. Not only did they not score but they didn't even COME CLOSE to scoring. Try to remember a good opportunity from someone in the bottom 6. Yeah, there weren't any. If they can't chip-in AND they don't do much in terms of checking, hitting or disrupting the other team then they are pretty much useless. Can't have that in the playoffs - need one OR the other - preferably both.
* You cannot win if your power-play goes 1 for 17 after 6 games. We were 1-for-1 last night so I think it was 2 for 18 for the series which is about 11%. That's COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE for a team with this much talent even with the injuries. Ray Bennett never changed anything up and it's basically let's throw them out there and hope it works out. Let's get someone in here that can coach a PP please for the love of GOD!!! WIth our talent, we should be Top-3 in the league every single year.
* You cannot win if your supposed #2C is SO BRUTAL that the guy you brought-in to be the #3C needs to come in and take his place. Sorry guys, I see a TON of bitching about the Sophmore Newhook being bad (and he sure was) but he was being used as a 4th line player and was not close to as bad as what the Son of Bednar brought to the table which was a whole lot of nothing. For the amount of ice time he got and the opportunities he KEPT GETTING playing with good linemates, sometimes great linemates - he was complete and utter garbage. If I had to guess, he was too upset he wasn't offered a contract extension to give a shit and play his hardest. After putting up his 50 points pretty much guaranteeing him a sweet contract - he sure turned back into a pumpkin quickly and looked like the JTC for the first 2.5 years of that 4 year deal. He will not be missed.
* You cannot win if your coaching staff doesn't recognize that Josh Manson IS NOT good-to-go, regardless of what the player tells you. He was clearly laboring out there and had issues keeping up. They needed to recognize this way earlier as the Manson-EJ combo was beyond atrocious for the first 4 games of the series. They kept getting hemmed into the zone and unable to retrieve pucks and get them out. I hope Manson can make a full recovery but he looked about 70% out there to me and kept getting worse. Another giant FAIL by the medical staff/trainers and coaches.
* You cannot win if you're going into a Game #7 and your best call-up to replace Cogliano is journeyman d-man Brad Hunt. What the hell kind of a call was that? He played one shift (that I remember) where he didn't seem to know where to play - as a forward - and then sat on the bench the rest of the night. What the hell was the point of that ?
My personal belief is that the Avs lost in the first round this year because of too much loyalty towards certain players who helped them win the Cup last season. Loyalty towards EJ and his last year of his deal. Towards JTC who had done an admirable job at #2C until the TDL but then fell off the face of the earth... no one could see that coming!
Towards Josh Manson whom I'm sure assured them he would be ready for Game #1 (it shouldn't be his decision). Too much loyalty towards bottom line players like LOC and Nieto - IF these players are not playing their hearts out and providing results then you need to have the ability to replace them with NHL caliber players who will.
For example, if you're telling me that John Klingberg only cost a 4th round pick at the TDL and you couldn't match that or beat - or you WOULDN'T because he would take the ice-time away from EJ or Manson then you're doing it wrong. You need to make that deal even if it costs you a Nick Henry/Tyler Weiss/Alex Beaucage type of draft pick.
If Curtis Lazar costs a 4th round pick and that guy is 51.9% of faceoffs and Darren Helm has been a question mark all year long, you need to make that move.
I understand that they didn't feel like they needed to go out and get a guy like Timo Meier and the costs associated with acquiring that kind of player but for me, it's these kind of depth moves that could have really added up. I'm not saying Klingberg and Lazar are fantastic players but every small move that you can make to improve your depth will end up helping in the end.
So hopefully, Avs management has learned a lesson about having appropriate depth for a playoff run. Sometimes the difference between winning and losing having a guy like Lazar in your lineup instead of a rookie like Meyers even if it ends up costing you a quality prospect like Nick Magyar, Mason Geersten or Jaochim Nermark.
I know you cannot expect the team to win every single year but my expectations as a fan is that Avs management will do all they can to give them the best shot to try. I do not feel like they did that this year.
It has certainly been the season from hell. After we lost Cogs and it was announced that he was out for the playoffs, I was so deflated. I mean, next-man up is all fine and good but not when you don't have anyone!
Injuries and absences notwithstanding :
* you cannot win if your depth players can't score. Not only did they not score but they didn't even COME CLOSE to scoring. Try to remember a good opportunity from someone in the bottom 6. Yeah, there weren't any. If they can't chip-in AND they don't do much in terms of checking, hitting or disrupting the other team then they are pretty much useless. Can't have that in the playoffs - need one OR the other - preferably both.
* You cannot win if your power-play goes 1 for 17 after 6 games. We were 1-for-1 last night so I think it was 2 for 18 for the series which is about 11%. That's COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE for a team with this much talent even with the injuries. Ray Bennett never changed anything up and it's basically let's throw them out there and hope it works out. Let's get someone in here that can coach a PP please for the love of GOD!!! WIth our talent, we should be Top-3 in the league every single year.
* You cannot win if your supposed #2C is SO BRUTAL that the guy you brought-in to be the #3C needs to come in and take his place. Sorry guys, I see a TON of bitching about the Sophmore Newhook being bad (and he sure was) but he was being used as a 4th line player and was not close to as bad as what the Son of Bednar brought to the table which was a whole lot of nothing. For the amount of ice time he got and the opportunities he KEPT GETTING playing with good linemates, sometimes great linemates - he was complete and utter garbage. If I had to guess, he was too upset he wasn't offered a contract extension to give a shit and play his hardest. After putting up his 50 points pretty much guaranteeing him a sweet contract - he sure turned back into a pumpkin quickly and looked like the JTC for the first 2.5 years of that 4 year deal. He will not be missed.
* You cannot win if your coaching staff doesn't recognize that Josh Manson IS NOT good-to-go, regardless of what the player tells you. He was clearly laboring out there and had issues keeping up. They needed to recognize this way earlier as the Manson-EJ combo was beyond atrocious for the first 4 games of the series. They kept getting hemmed into the zone and unable to retrieve pucks and get them out. I hope Manson can make a full recovery but he looked about 70% out there to me and kept getting worse. Another giant FAIL by the medical staff/trainers and coaches.
* You cannot win if you're going into a Game #7 and your best call-up to replace Cogliano is journeyman d-man Brad Hunt. What the hell kind of a call was that? He played one shift (that I remember) where he didn't seem to know where to play - as a forward - and then sat on the bench the rest of the night. What the hell was the point of that ?
My personal belief is that the Avs lost in the first round this year because of too much loyalty towards certain players who helped them win the Cup last season. Loyalty towards EJ and his last year of his deal. Towards JTC who had done an admirable job at #2C until the TDL but then fell off the face of the earth... no one could see that coming!
Towards Josh Manson whom I'm sure assured them he would be ready for Game #1 (it shouldn't be his decision). Too much loyalty towards bottom line players like LOC and Nieto - IF these players are not playing their hearts out and providing results then you need to have the ability to replace them with NHL caliber players who will.For example, if you're telling me that John Klingberg only cost a 4th round pick at the TDL and you couldn't match that or beat - or you WOULDN'T because he would take the ice-time away from EJ or Manson then you're doing it wrong. You need to make that deal even if it costs you a Nick Henry/Tyler Weiss/Alex Beaucage type of draft pick.
If Curtis Lazar costs a 4th round pick and that guy is 51.9% of faceoffs and Darren Helm has been a question mark all year long, you need to make that move.
I understand that they didn't feel like they needed to go out and get a guy like Timo Meier and the costs associated with acquiring that kind of player but for me, it's these kind of depth moves that could have really added up. I'm not saying Klingberg and Lazar are fantastic players but every small move that you can make to improve your depth will end up helping in the end.
So hopefully, Avs management has learned a lesson about having appropriate depth for a playoff run. Sometimes the difference between winning and losing having a guy like Lazar in your lineup instead of a rookie like Meyers even if it ends up costing you a quality prospect like Nick Magyar, Mason Geersten or Jaochim Nermark.
I know you cannot expect the team to win every single year but my expectations as a fan is that Avs management will do all they can to give them the best shot to try. I do not feel like they did that this year.
so it was managed... well?
No, didn't proof my post well. It was extremely mismanaged. Arguably the worst job I've ever seen from a GM, considering he inherited a winner.
- Jul 25, 2006
- 35,524
- 27,297
Cup repeats are rare, but Avs should be able to do what Hawks did, win multiple cups where you don’t repeat but win one couple of years apart. Get healthy make couple of solid off season moves and make a run next year.
AegonLeConqueror
Registered User
- Jan 4, 2018
- 1,237
- 2,052
The biggest overhaul this team needs is to the medical staff.
Where to start? Grieving post #2 
I'll start with CMac. He fumbled this season from start to finish. He was given a lot of rope until the deadline by people, but his issues started right away. I'll save the play-by-play of that for now, but his first season was simply a failure. Many first year GMs fail their first test, especially on top end teams (JBB in Tampa did the same). CMac needs to learn from this and learn quickly. There is zero chance he is getting fired, so eliminate that hope.
This team needs depth and a lot of it, especially down the middle of the ice. After MacK, I really don't feel confident the Avs have any centers that you'd really want at their position next year. I don't exactly know how you go about getting 2-4Cs with the assets the Avs have, but I do think if you go that route... it is likely to be a bit painful. Not so much in results (I think they'd improve), but in personnel. This team is VERY top heavy and getting more top heavy next season. Along with that, you have a ton of money wrapped up in wings. Something has to give here. If you want depth, a big name (likely two) have to get moved. I'm not sure the Avs have the stomach for that level of change.
The Avs really need to give up on penciling in their young talent for key roles. I'm fine having them in depth, but the Avs came out of the summer with Newhook for a 2C role. It was a gross miscalculation and evaluation. It was very clear that he wasn't going to work there going back to last season. Yet the Avs went down the same road they took Jost and Compher on. What makes this worse is that this was a Cup contention year, not a building year. You can't take these types of risks and fumble a prime contention year. I think Newhook is taking too much heat right now, but he hasn't earned much benefit either. IMO you need him to be a 3rd wheel wing on a top 6 line. That is how you get the best out of him. He's not going to be an energy guy, a grinder, or a center... so quit trying to make fetch happen.
We will probably hear a lot about the Hawks re-tool after their first Cup. This team is not in that position. They are not young enough to survive a 2-3 year re-tool. I know this is difficult for many to grasp and was a point of contention last summer and early in the season here... but the Avs are not young. They are quickly aging out of their window regardless of the cap and injury issues. If you go down a 2-3 year re-tool, this core's window will slam shut. The Avs have to continue to push and continue to go all in on the next 2 seasons. That is really all they realistically have. Old teams don't win Cups and as the Avs currently sit with their core, they are getting old. Once core players cross 30, it gets incredibly hard to win Cups. The time is now.
On the bright side, George proved he can handle a starter's workload. That is a real positive given his contract amount. I wasn't at all impressed with his playoffs, but for now, I'll let that pass. Another bright spot was Byram staying healthy to finish the season. We can debate on his ultimate upside and ability, but he's at very minimum a good #3D. He wasn't healthy overall this year, but at least he finished on the ice. I also think the Avs have 3 guys in Loveland who will play a lot of NHL games next year. They may not quite be ready, but that will help ease some of the crunch on the fringes of depth.
I'll start with CMac. He fumbled this season from start to finish. He was given a lot of rope until the deadline by people, but his issues started right away. I'll save the play-by-play of that for now, but his first season was simply a failure. Many first year GMs fail their first test, especially on top end teams (JBB in Tampa did the same). CMac needs to learn from this and learn quickly. There is zero chance he is getting fired, so eliminate that hope.
This team needs depth and a lot of it, especially down the middle of the ice. After MacK, I really don't feel confident the Avs have any centers that you'd really want at their position next year. I don't exactly know how you go about getting 2-4Cs with the assets the Avs have, but I do think if you go that route... it is likely to be a bit painful. Not so much in results (I think they'd improve), but in personnel. This team is VERY top heavy and getting more top heavy next season. Along with that, you have a ton of money wrapped up in wings. Something has to give here. If you want depth, a big name (likely two) have to get moved. I'm not sure the Avs have the stomach for that level of change.
The Avs really need to give up on penciling in their young talent for key roles. I'm fine having them in depth, but the Avs came out of the summer with Newhook for a 2C role. It was a gross miscalculation and evaluation. It was very clear that he wasn't going to work there going back to last season. Yet the Avs went down the same road they took Jost and Compher on. What makes this worse is that this was a Cup contention year, not a building year. You can't take these types of risks and fumble a prime contention year. I think Newhook is taking too much heat right now, but he hasn't earned much benefit either. IMO you need him to be a 3rd wheel wing on a top 6 line. That is how you get the best out of him. He's not going to be an energy guy, a grinder, or a center... so quit trying to make fetch happen.
We will probably hear a lot about the Hawks re-tool after their first Cup. This team is not in that position. They are not young enough to survive a 2-3 year re-tool. I know this is difficult for many to grasp and was a point of contention last summer and early in the season here... but the Avs are not young. They are quickly aging out of their window regardless of the cap and injury issues. If you go down a 2-3 year re-tool, this core's window will slam shut. The Avs have to continue to push and continue to go all in on the next 2 seasons. That is really all they realistically have. Old teams don't win Cups and as the Avs currently sit with their core, they are getting old. Once core players cross 30, it gets incredibly hard to win Cups. The time is now.
On the bright side, George proved he can handle a starter's workload. That is a real positive given his contract amount. I wasn't at all impressed with his playoffs, but for now, I'll let that pass. Another bright spot was Byram staying healthy to finish the season. We can debate on his ultimate upside and ability, but he's at very minimum a good #3D. He wasn't healthy overall this year, but at least he finished on the ice. I also think the Avs have 3 guys in Loveland who will play a lot of NHL games next year. They may not quite be ready, but that will help ease some of the crunch on the fringes of depth.
