Avs Roundtable

With the startup of MYFO, the legend of Baba grows. What does this mean in the blogging world you ask? There are no free tickets, open bars, or big tatumed groupies to take advantage of. No, we get the next best thing: Getting invited to round table discussions with bloggers from other similar, lesser blogs! The good folks at Mile High Hockey saw fit to include me in their little adventure and to host one of the questions. As an added bonus they made a spiffy little logo and everything. Look!

Pretty nice. So, to get down to the nitty gritty and see what exactly Avalanche Nation is pondering for this upcoming season hit the jump and if reading more than a few paragraphs at once hurts, just skip ahead to my answers, they are the only ones that matter anyway.

For full list of questions head over to Mile High Hockey who has some kind of table of contents thing going on.

What happens if the team misses the playoffs or is bounced in the first round? Will Super Joe retire? Will Coach Q. be handed his walking papers? Will they blow up the team and start over?

Jibblescribbits - Jibblescibbits – To be honest, I haven’t thought about the Avs missing the playoffs next season. I think the reaction of Giguere depends on the nature of the missed playoff spot. If it’s due to bad goaltending, then he’ll do everything he can to pull a number one away from another team. IF it’s due to poor play coach Q could go, you never know with hockey coaches. If the Avs fail this season they aren’t in bad shape. They have a good amount of cap room next season too, and can address any needs they might have. A new goalie, a top defenseman isn’t out of the question for next season even If they advance far in the playoffs. Really though some players could go. Hejduk seemed to pull out of his bad years last season, but another average year could spell the end of his time in Denver. Liles is also on the block if the Avs don’t perform this season. This is a really likable core, but if they don’t perform I wouldn’t be surprised to watch Giguere shake things up

Draft Dodger - InTheCheapSeats.com – Giguere does not strike me so far as the type of GM to make rash decisions, so I don’t envision any scenario that involves him selling off assets and starting over. I do think Joel Quenneville will be gone if the team misses the playoffs again; actually, if the team is struggling during the season, firing him might be the one aggressiv move Giguere will make. If they do make the playoffs – even if they get bumped in the first round – I expect Giguere to keep things building pretty much in the slow and steady manner he is using now. Sakic? I suspect his decision will be more based on how he plays this year than how the team does.

Baba Oje – Your Hearts and Minds – Trick question, they will make the playoffs and Joe Sakic will never retire.

Mike - Bleu, Blanc et Rouge – I don’t see the team being blown-up over a missed playoff spot. Actually, I should clarify that last with some stipulations: I don’t see the Avs missing the playoffs with the current line-up. Wholesale injuries and woeful goaltending could have the Avalanche miss out on the playoffs, and if so, neither is a reason to blow up the team. I can’t see Coach Q. being responsible for either, unless his mishandling of the goalie situation is the crux of the problem. I figure Joe is planning on playing till the next Olympics, and I expect him to be wearing an Avs uni until then. Colorado WILL have some cap room next summer and could look to significantly improve any deficient positions in the team, including goaltending, but Budaj would have to be milk-toast mediocre for Giguere to spend cash for that.

Joe - Mile High Hockey – To figure out what the Avalanche would do if they miss the playoffs again, you have to identify what caused that failure. For one, making the playoffs or not making the playoffs will not determine Super Joe’s fate. His own individual performance will decide that. The Avs missed the playoffs last season but Sakic scored 100 points, so he didn’t go anywhere. Expect the same reaction from him if the scenario is the same.
If the problem is clearly a failure of team chemistry, that’s Coach Q’s fault . Shoddy line combinations rest on the shoulders of the coach, and if that’s the reason behind missing the playoffs, then he should go. Tony Granato should not replace him.
But, if the problem is goaltending, and it’s Budaj’s fault (Theodore is already not expected to be worth anything), look for the Avs to make a HUGE push for Kipper when he comes up for free agency next summer. Also look for the fabled Bryzgalov trade.

But this is a silly question because the Avs aren’t going to miss the playoffs again.

Shane - Colorado Avalanche Talk – Next question.
Ok that’s too simple, but to give an honest answer truly does depend on why they missed the playoffs. Last season they missed the playoffs because they lacked that killer instinct early in the season. The remedy was to go after Ryan Smyth and Scott Hannan, arguably the two grittiest players available on the free agent market.
Sakic won’t retire if the team misses the playoffs. He will retire if he feels his performance isn’t helping the team. He’s said so publicly and there’s no way I would doubt him on it.
Quenneville will go if a suitable replacement for him exists. Tony Granato is certainly not suited if his previous head coaching stint is any indication. This team has the ingredients to make the playoffs so if Quenneville can’t mix them right, he could be burned out of town. Wow, I really forced that last sentence together.
The team won’t be blown up unless they go 0-82. At which point all the fans will have blown up anyways so it won’t matter.

Tapaleg – Jerseys and Hockey Love – If they miss the playoffs, it’s going to be due to injury, or the team not playing like a team. If it’s injury, Q will be given another half season. If not, he’s out of here.
Super Joe will never retire. He will play until he is 85, and will die while hoisting the Stanley Cup for the 22nd time. That’s just the way it is.
As for blowing up the team, what is there to blow up? There is a great core here, with a solid mix of youth and vets, talent and toughness. If anything, a few players on the fringe would be sent walking (Rycroft, Clark) but blowing up the team is a bit much to think of right now.

Justin G. – The Hockey Guild – Due to my excessive superstitious nature, I will not be answering this question either.
Super Joe will always be the best hockey player in the world, in my heart and in my soul. Nobody will take that away from me. Whether he is retired or not.
This team will never blow up and start over. They have their own AHL organization, so the team will always be feeding solid rookies into the system. Trades will come as always, but this team has a system in place at the AHL level now, and even at the CHL level with the Sundogs [edit: Sundogs are no longer affiliated with the Avs, now you know and knowing is half the battle], so there’s no need to “blow up the team and start over.”

Post Pessimist - Hockey Rants – I’m not terribly worried about them missing the playoffs, so I haven’t given this much thought (the power of positive thinking) , but: they invested too much in Smyth and Hannan to make level everything/start over an option. I don’t see Sakic retiring after a bad season, but yeah, it’s probably goodbye Quenneville and some combination of Hejduk/Leopold/Liles if they miss the playoffs. But really, I don’t like to even THINK about this — I’m going back to practicing my 2008 playoff beard.

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