"I think what I've learned the last few
years is how thin a line it is between making the playoffs and not
making the playoffs, but also I have such a respect for the teams
that do make it and go far," Duchene said "I think
we're a ways away yet in terms of experience, but in terms of talent
and potential we're right there. For our young guys, we still have a
lot to learn. For me, I still have a ton of room to improve. He's
seen both sides of it, being a goalie. He saw a lot of offense coming
his way, but he also knows what works for defense as well. For a guy
like me, he can really help me be a good all-round player and develop
my game."
"I actually, after the season, talked to
one of our assistant coaches and suggested him playing on my wing,"
Duchene said of O'Reilly.
"There was a bit of a gap there on the left side. I played with
some really great guys last year, it was fun, but never had a guy
that really stuck there. He's a smart player. He's going to pick up
playing real quickly. We didn't play that fast offensive style, we
tried to grind it out a little bit too much, I think," he
said of the philosophy of former coach Joe Sacco. "Now
with Patrick, he sees the game so well, and whatever he's falling
short in to begin with he's going to pick up really quickly because
he's so smart. He'll be able to figure out how our team should play
right off the bat."
"I am going to try and keep it simple and
get better every day," MacKinnon said on his first day at
rookie camp. "I'm going to do the systems and work my hardest
and hope my skill can come out from that. I'm not going to try and do
too much out here, just play my own game and not try and change too
much."
Though the Avalanche may have a long way to go on
the back end, there will be no excuse if they can't significantly
improve on their average of 2.38 goals per game from last season,
26th in the NHL. All the pieces are in place for far more offense.
Start with the top line, where Duchene is expected to center Ryan
O'Reilly and PA Parenteau. Duchene, who will turn 23 in January,
already has 266 NHL games under his belt and is developing into
exactly the player Colorado thought it was getting at the 2009 draft.
He rebounded from a 2011-12 season plagued by injury and
inconsistency to score 17 goals and 43 points in 47 games last
season, and the team signed him to a five-year contract extension
during the summer. Those 43 points tied for the team lead with
Parenteau, who fit right in during his first season in Colorado after
finally establishing himself as an NHL regular with the New York
Islanders in 2011-12 and signing a big free-agent contract. O'Reilly,
taken one round and 30 picks after Duchene in 2009, got his own
lucrative payday in February when the Avalanche matched an offer
sheet he signed with the Calgary Flames as a restricted free agent.
His 20 points tied for fifth on the team playing 29 games, but now
the natural center will move to left wing.
Colorado's second line could hold the key to the
team's fortunes if Paul Stastny and Gabriel Landeskog can rebound.
Stastny had nine goals and 24 points in 40 games, and his name has
been bandied about in trade rumors. Landeskog suffered through an
early-season concussion and the dreaded sophomore slump after a
brilliant rookie season. They likely will be joined by Tanguay, who
at 33 still possesses top-six ability.
MacKinnon, who turned 18 on Sept. 1, should be
able to ease his way in to the League, starting on the third line
with Jamie McGinn and Steve Downie as his wings. Roy won't need to
overwhelm MacKinnon in the beginning with minutes or
responsibilities, but the opportunity will be there for him to earn
more of both if he acclimates quickly.
Other prospects in camp, among them Michael
Sgarbossa, Colin Smith and Joey Hishon, will push veterans Cody
McLeod, John Mitchell, Brad Malone, Patrick Bordeleau, Mark Olver and
David Van Der Gulik for spots on the fourth line or as depth
forwards. Aside from the personnel, the biggest factor in the
Avalanche improving their offense may be Roy, who is ready to loosen
the reins and let his skill players shine. That has Duchene, for one,
itching to get the season started.
SUMMER MOVES
IN: Nathan MacKinnon, C (draft); Alex Tanguay, LW (trade, Flames); Cory Sarich, D (trade, Flames); Andre Benoit, (free agent, Senators); Nick Holden, D (free agent, Blue Jackets); Nate Guenin, D (free agent, Ducks); J.T. Wyman, RW (free agent, Lightning)OUT: David Jones, RW (trade, Flames); Shane O'Brien, D (trade, Flames); Greg Zanon, D (free agent); Aaron Palushaj, RW (free agent, Hurricanes)
In drafting MacKinnon rather than Seth Jones, Colorado passed on adding a dynamic prospect to a blue-line group that was seen as the team's major weakness last season. The Avalanche allowed 31.4 shots per game, sixth-most in the League, and their 3.12 goals allowed was the fourth-worst average. New faces in camp include veteran Cory Sarich, who played the past six seasons with the Calgary Flames and was acquired via trade along with Tanguay, and largely unproven Andre Benoit. At 35, Sarich brings more than 900 games of NHL experience to the table, but with two assists in 28 games last season he's clearly a one-dimensional asset. Benoit is a journeyman who turns 30 in January and comes off his first extended NHL action when he played 33 regular-season and five Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Ottawa Senators. What's clear is the Avalanche will need more from a returning group that consists of veterans Erik Johnson, Ryan Wilson, Jan Hejda and Matt Hunwick, and a pair of promising 22-year-olds, Tyson Barrie and Stefan Elliott. With four assists in 31 games last season, Johnson's stat line barely differed from that of Sarich. The difference is Johnson's in his prime at 25, a No. 1 pick by the St. Louis Blues who scored 10 goals and 39 points in his second NHL season. Like Wilson, who played 12 games in 2012-13, Johnson has had his development stunted at times by injuries. Colorado needs full, healthy seasons from this tandem. Though there are high hopes for prospects Duncan Siemens, Will Butcher and Chris Bigras to contribute somewhere down the road, more immediate help could be provided by the duo of Barrie and Elliott. Each has shown flashes of offensive ability, but it's being reliable in the defensive zone that will determine whether one or both stick as regulars.
One rumor involving Stastny had him going to the Buffalo Sabres as part of a trade for Ryan Miller, but the Avalanche appear committed to Semyon Varlamov, whom they acquired from the Washington Capitals for draft picks prior to the 2011-12 season. Over the past three seasons, starting with his final one in Washington, the Russian has seen his goals-against average rise from 2.23 to 2.59 to 3.02 while his save percentage has dipped from .924 to .913 to .903. Varlamov did win a career-high 26 games in his first season as a full-time starter in Colorado, and has seven shutouts in 88 games since his arrival. Like Johnson on the blue line, he was a first-round pick and is 25 years old. Rather than give up on Varlamov, the move to bring in Francois Allaire as goaltending coach suggests there's still plenty of hope for his future. Allaire had a major influence on Roy during his playing days and resurrected the career of Varlamov's current backup, Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Now 36, the Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup winner with the Anaheim Ducks isn't going to carry a team for an extended period at this stage of his career, but Giguere thrived in his first season as Varlamov's backup (15-11-3, 2.27 GAA, .919 save percentage in 32 games in 2011-12) before experiencing a tail-off in the lockout-shortened campaign. Varlamov and Giguere have to be better for the Avalanche to contend for one of the final playoff berths in the new Central Division, but the defense carries much of the burden as far as cutting down quality scoring chances and making the goaltenders' lives easier.
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