If you love somebody and he or she feels the same, the distance between you does not matter. Hundreds and maybe thousands of Colorado Avalanche fans live in Europe, and none of them have given up on their love for the team. Many of them are members of the first European Avalanche fan club, called Eurolanche.

By David Puchovsky

The Eurolanche fanclub was founded in the summer of 2007 by David Puchovsky, a Slovak journalist. Now, in 2011, the fan club has entered its fifth season. Over the course of this time, its members have experienced exciting and mainly unbelievable things.

It was just a simple website in 2007. There was only a list of European fans. Nothing more. The number of them was increasing. That momentum was what made David decide to build something better. It took seven months of professional design and then Eurolanche.com was introduced. Later in 2008, lucky members met with former Avs goaltender Peter Budaj in his hometown in Slovakia. Fans had another great chance to meet a different Avalanche player in Slovakia one year later when Paul Stastny visited his father´s homeland.

Then, during the second year, Eurolanche organized two separate trips to Denver for six members from Slovakia, Czech Republic and Austria. They saw 12 games in total. Budaj helped them with game tickets and the Avalanche organization joined in as well. That was unbelievable.

The third season brought the third revision of the website and the third trip to Denver. Eurolanche Invasion III consisted of six members from Slovakia, Austria and Romania. They again got help from the team and also met with Joe Sakic.

The fourth season didn’t consist of big changes, upgrades or trips to the USA like the previous years. Members had several meetings in Slovakia where they did sports and watched live Avalanche games.

As we said earlier, Eurolanche is now in its fifth season. It has a new website which is simple, but very nice. It focuses more on stories and news. Its goal is to offer everything about the Avalanche in a complete package.

Also, at least three members from Slovakia, Czech Republic and Austria will visit Denver again between the 15^th and 30^th of December 2011, during the six game home stand. It will be another Eurolanche Invasion – but with a new face and a new message.

The fan club offers free of charge membership for fans from all around the world. It does not matter where you live, you can show your support through this project, which is absolutely unique in the entire National Hockey League.

At present, Eurolanche has almost 100 members; many of them are also from the USA and Canada. Eurolanche’s editors and staff work voluntary; it is a not profit organization. Every member has a chance to become an editor and write articles about the Avalanche in their native language.

Eurolanche has opened to the rest of the world, but the goals are the same: Support the Avalanche and help expand its fan base. Full-service and high quality coverage is available exclusively for Europe. There are annual meetings of members and trips to Denver.

Eurolanche would also like to co-operate on these goals with other all Avalanche fans and other fan club organizations like the Burgundy Brigade. Everyone in the fan club hopes for a successful personal meeting between Eurolanche and the Burgundy Brigade during this coming trip. See you in Denver, the Avalanche fans!

Eurolanche.com includes a breaking news ticker, game-by-game updated team section, current and all-time statistics, registration form, live scores, photo/video gallery and list of our partners. There is a mobile website available also.

If you have any questions about the Eurolanche project you can contact David Puchovsky at eurolanche@eurolanche.com. Follow Eurolanche on Twitter and on Facebook.

Now that Peter Forsberg has officially retired from his beloved sport of hockey, he has plenty of time on his hands. It appears though that he hasn’t decided to leave the world of hockey behind entirely.

According to a wonderful micro-documentary starring Forsberg himself, the Swedish national hero and Colorado Avalanche fan favorite is involved in a campaign to bump the start time of weekend NHL games to earlier in the day. This would allow Scandinavian countries, and some of Europe, the opportunity to watch live games during primetime.

As it stands now, many evening games in the United States require diehard hockey fans across the pond to stay up until the wee hours of the coming morning in order to cheer on their favorite players and teams. This is an unfortunate circumstance considering that the NHL contains many foreign players from countries around the globe. Featuring a variety of cameos, including familiar faces Joe Sakic and Adam Foote, this short looks at Foppa’s efforts to bring the NHL to a larger audience by limiting barriers to access.

While it is important to note that this effort is also sponsored by a sports betting service, ODDSET, the fact remains that this is a feasible solution given it is for weekend games only. Watch the video below (warning: profanity at the beginning):

“Support the fight for better sports schedules”

If you are interested in more information or would like to support the cause, be sure to join the movement (make sure you know your Swedish).

Thanks to Pucks Across the Pond for finding this one.

What do you think?

It was an electric atmosphere to start off the night as all the members of the current Colorado Avalanche roster lined the ice in honorary Peter Forsberg jerseys as Peter The Great, himself, walked along a red carpet around the ice to a long lasting standing ovation during his jersey retirement ceremony.

Forsberg’s heartfelt speech brought the crowd at Pepsi Center to its feet several times as he thanked former teammates, ownership and the fans in Denver for the great times he had in the league.

The crowd continued to roar as #21 rose to the rafters to take its place next to Patrick Roy’s, Ray Bourque’s and Joe Sakic’s as the fourth number in Avalanche history to be retired. It would have been a perfect way to end the evening right there, but there was still a game to play.

The Avalanche began their quest of ridding themselves of the ghosts of last year’s monumental collapse against their arch enemy, the Detroit Red Wings.

As one would expect after such an emotional beginning to the night, the Avalanche jumped out of the gate fast and put a lot of pressure on the visiting Wings, shooting the puck any moment they had the chance. What made this quick barrage of shots even better was the fact that a lot of them were on goal from the beginning, forcing the Red Wings goalie, Ty Conklin, to make a lot of early saves.

Paul Stastny had the best early chance when he nearly chipped home a backhander off a rebound that ended up trickling just wide.

Unfortunately for the Avs, not a single shot managed to get through Conklin all night long, and the frustration began to show as the game moved on.

The Avalanche showed much improved defensive awareness and penalty killing over last season, blanking the Red Wings on each of their power play opportunities and keeping their shot totals down through much of the first period.

The Avalanche started off the second period quite a bit slower than they did the first, but they were also starting on a penalty kill and they did manage to get a few more chances throughout the period as time went along, with several flurries that Conklin was able to hold at bay.

The first goal of the game came on a well set up 3 on 2 situation for the Wings. Johan Franzen blasted home a laser over Semyon Varlamov’s glove hand. Varly was partially screened for just long enough that he was unable to react fast enough with his glove.

The third period was downright dismal to watch. The Avalanche started out the period close to even in shots with Detroit, but some sloppy play in their own end, coupled with an inability to set up anything in the offensive zone and an incredibly passive forecheck soon led to a rather lopsided shot count and another Detroit goal from Henrik Zetterberg on another beautiful shot. Pavel Datsyuk later added an empty netter.

All things considered, this wasn’t a bad game by the Avalanche. They got off to a hot start, were responsible defensively, seemed to find some good chemistry on their lines and Varlamov looked very solid.

The big downside of the game was the third period. Truly an abysmal period of hockey from the Avalanche. It looked like last season all over again with their inability to make a decent pass out of their own defensive zone, blatant turnovers and the abandoning of their goalie.

Plus, the Avalanche didn’t make any type of adjustment in their game when their lone forechecker trap wasn’t yielding any turnover opportunities. They refused to get more aggressive until there were about five minutes left and things were pretty much out of reach. An early sign that Joe Sacco may have missed the lesson from last year about changing strategy, especially when you’re down in the third period and desperately need a goal and haven’t been generating any offense.

Still, there are a lot of positives to take. Varlamov looked great, Jan Hejda continues to play smart and be involved all over the ice, Kyle Quincey looks solid and very mean, Shane O’Brien may be a very underrated signing, the PK was solid, and Gabriel Landeskog played with intensity and great intelligence throughout the night as the line of Ryan O’Reilly, Dan Winnik, and Landeskog was easily Colorado’s best.

There is a lot for this team to still work on and it might be hard to see from a 3-0 loss on opening night, but the Avalanche actually did put a decent foot forward tonight.

The next couple of weeks will see the Avalanche playing on the road until October 20th and it will be a huge measuring stick as to how this team is going to perform this year.

Count on several ups and downs this year, but the Avalanche are finally back and hockey is running again! Let’s make it a great year Avs fans!

What do you think?

While there has been little important news as of late, and August looks to be a quiet month, there have been minor hits involving the Colorado Avalanche. The most frequent of which involves the training of Semyon Varlamov.

Courtesy of Russian Machine Never Breaks via Sasha Stole My Heart

The new Avalanche goaltender has been spotted on the ice, wearing his Avs jersey (#1) for the first time. This image compliments a video interview of Varlamov, who was in Pennsylvania training with Steve Saunders. ABC27 was in the house and managed to get some choice words out of Varlamov.

“When I was young I was watching a lot the Colorado Avalanche because lots of good players played there. My favorite goalie played there too, Patrick Roy and lots of good players too. Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg.”

According to the website Russian Machine Never Breaks, who found the video also, the full piece will air on ABC27 in Harrisburg, Pa. on Monday night. Varlamov previously stated that he would return to Colorado to train – after visiting his parents – around August 15th. Training isn’t the only thing Varlamov has on his plate though. According to Dmitry Chesnokov, the young Russian netminder “will hold an open training session for young goaltenders in his hometown of Samara this weekend.” What’s not to like about this guy?

While it is apparent that every player on the team is in the middle of offseason training in order to be ready for camp in September, Matt Duchene has offered fans a glimpse of his own personal workout facilities, located in his home, which he has constructed himself.

Duchene was quick to qualify the tweeted photo with another regarding his summer training regimen.

“I know someone is gonna say ‘so you’ve just been training for 3 weeks?’ The answer to that is no, I’ve been training all summer elsewhere”

Staff Adjustments

Earlier in June, the Avalanche announced that former Avalanche player and assistant coach Steve Konowalchuk would be taking a coaching position with the Seattle Thunderbirds and that former player and video coach Adam Deadmarsh would be stepping into the vacancy. The team recently announced another shuffle of staff but this time it was with the Lake Erie Monsters.

Former General Manager David Oliver has become not only the Director of AHL Operations for the Monsters club, but also an assistant coach under head coach David Quinn. This is because former assistant coach Daniel Laperriere has become a Pro Scout for the Avalanche organization.

What do you think?

Not even a year ago it was quite shocking for some to see the Colorado Avalanche organization implementing social media as a means of promotion. Starting with a Facebook page and a Twitter account, fans began wondering if they’d ever see an Avalanche player take on a social media role.

The NHL caught up with former players Craig Anderson and Chris Stewart earlier in the season and asked them about their thoughts on using social media. At the time it seemed quite the long shot that any Avalanche player would end up engaging with fans or sharing their life as a professional athlete.

Then Matt Duchene emerged. Talking with Adrian Dater about joining Twitter, Duchene said:

“Growing up, I was always wondering ‘what was Joe Sakic like or what was Peter Forsberg like as a person, or Patrick Roy. This way, anybody who is a fan of the team – or me, I guess – would get to see that more, and make them feel closer.”

The tweeting was few and far between, about what you’d expect coming out of the media controlled state of the Colorado Avalanche, but it provided some nice glances into what made Matt Duchene tick. A scandalous comment about vodka during the All-Star Game and Duchene all but vanished for the second half of the season, yet he reappeared, more talkative than ever in the off season.

Duchene joined quiet Norwegian defensman Jonas Holøs, who’s largely inactive Twitter account saw less than once monthly action.

Conspiracy theorist’s suspicions about the Avalanche organization stifling individual voices reignited anew as almost immediately after Chris Stewart was traded to the St. Louis Blues, he was tweeting all of the time – despite his above comments about not intending to use the service.

Less than a month after the season ended, two new additions to the Avalanche roster also joined their fellow NHL comrades in using the social media service to spread the gospel of themselves. The first was Dan Winnik, who likely gave in to peer pressure from his friend and social media sports icon Paul Bissonnette from the Phoenix Coyotes. With a enjoyably refreshing twist, Winnik was the first of the current Avalanche roster to consistently interact with fans and frequently responds to questions while also leaving his opinions on the current Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Winnik also called out fellow teammate Ryan O’Byrne, exposing his presence on Twitter before O’Byrne had even sent his first message out into the interwebs. O’Byrne, who is moonlighting as an analyst for the NHL Network, is likely to pick up tweeting more consistently, though it will be hard to beat out Winnik in instant social media popularity.

But it isn’t just current players who are active online. There are both prospects and alumni using the medium as well. Colorado’s 2010 first round draft pick Joey Hishon is somewhat present on the service, as is up and coming goaltender Calvin Pickard. They are joined by alumni Marc Denis, Matt Barnaby, Curtis Leschyshyn, Theo Fleury, Shjon Podein, and Rick Berry, and John-Michael Liles.*

Wouldn’t it make sense to have Joe Sakic be the online face of the front office? It could be similar to how local football hero John Elway behaves in regards to his work with the Denver Broncos. Who wouldn’t listen to every word Joe had to say?

*More prospects have joined the Twitter game as well as some new draftees including: Tyson Barrie, Stefan Elliott, Brad Malone, Duncan Siemens, Garrett Meurs, and Dillon Donnelly. Fan favorite and current Lake Erie Monster Greg Mauldin has also joined.*

*Newly signed defenseman Shane O’Brien and recently signed forward Joakim Lindström are also on twitter.*

*TJ Galiardi is the latest comedian to join the online crowd and he hit the ground running. He has been joined by the newly married David Jones as well.*

What do you think? Who will be the next to join Twitter? Who would you want to see active on the site?

Former Colorado Avalanche captain and current Avs Executive Advisor/Alternate Governor Joe Sakic continues to display his sports prowess despite having retired from the game of hockey in 2009.

Yesterday at the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship the local hero managed to crush a hole in one on the second to last hole – a par-3.

Using an 8-iron, Sakic managed a nice 167 yard shot that landed on the green and was in the hole before he knew what happened. As a result of the shot, Sakic was awarded $1 million by the tournament sponsors. Classy guy that he is and always has been, Super Joe turned around and donated half of that reward to the Livestrong Foundation.

Sakic had 625 goals and 1641 points across 1378 games before hanging up his skates.

What do you think?

With Tomas Vokoun expected to sign with the Colorado Avalanche today, fans were surprised to see that the first of four goalies acquired was former Washington Capitals goaltender Semyon Varlamov.

Semyon Varlamov | Courtesy of Jim Young, Reuters

According to the Avalanche official Twitter feed, the Avs traded for Varlamov, who went 11-9-5 in just 27 games for the Capitals last season. The move is shocking to most because the Avs had to give up two draft picks for a goaltender who has yet to play over 30 games in a single season. In fact, Varlamov has never been in a solo starting goaltender role. In a highly criticized and risky move, Colorado delivered a first round pick in 2012 and a second round pick in either 2012 or 2013 to Washington.

“In Semyon Varlamov we are acquiring a highly touted NHL goaltender,” said Avalanche General Manager/Executive Vice President Greg Sherman. “At 23 years old, he is regarded as a solid and talented netminder by our staff. We definitely feel we have addressed our top priority this offseason and for many years to come.”

“Semyon is an elite goaltender who is a key part of our future success,” said Avalanche Executive Advisor/Alternate Governor Joe Sakic. “Avalanche fans should be very excited with this acquisition, as we all are.”

Colorado is now under pressure to have a highly competitive and extremely productive season if only to prevent Washington from taking a high round pick in 2012. The Avs drafted second overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. It is incomprehensible why Colorado would sacrifice the integrity of an ongoing rebuild for an largely unproven netminder. Colorado now has the challenge of signing Varlamov, who was an restricted free agent that many expected to play in the KHL this season.*Varlamov has signed with the Avs for three years worth $8.5 million total.*

There is still no word on the situation with Tomas Vokoun.

What do you think? Was this a smart move?

With the Colorado Avalanche looking to regroup and find the missing piece of their rebuild at this year’s NHL Entry Draft, it is important to understand who is available and what sort of impact they might have in Denver. The Avalanche own both the 2nd and 11th overall picks, which gives them plenty of room to move.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

Courtesy of the Red Deer Rebels

Eighteen year old center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins sits at the top of  Central Scoutings draft rankings for domestic skaters. He had an impressive season with the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL, nearly doubling his point production from the previous year with 106 points (31 goals) across 69 games. Add to that 11 points in the postseason and a beauty of a plus-29 rating and you have a decent, all-around player on your hands. Rebels head coach Jesse Wallin even admits that he hears frequent comparisons of Nugent-Hopkins to Joe Sakic.

“I think I try to use my abilities ’cause I’m not the biggest guy. I’m not the heaviest guy. So I try to use what I have.” – Nugent-Hopkins

From the scouts:

“(Nugent-Hopkins) has very good puck-handling capabilities. His on-ice awareness is very good. He’s one of those guys that knows where everyone is and where they should be and where the puck should go . . . He can dish both right or left, either on his backhand or forehand with that kind of vision. But not just the vision, but the fact he can lay that puck between the skate boot and the skate blade — that’s hard to find.” – B.J. MacDonald

“A couple of people high up — and not naming names — said Hopkins has the best vision since No. 99 (Wayne Gretzky). That’s the highest compliment you can get. But the other thing is the way he competes. He never takes a night off and he works as hard in his own end as he does in the offensive zone and that takes a special player with a special set of skills to do that.” – Peter Sullivan

From the coach:

“He’s very coachable. He leads by example on the ice but he leads in the dressing room as well. He’s got a very quiet confidence about him… he’s very grounded, very humble, very down to Earth but yet he knows he’s a good hockey player and he takes charge when he’s out on the ice… he’s got a very strong understanding of the game and when he’s on the ice he wants to make a difference.” – Wallin

Analysis

Nugent-Hopkins is at the top of nearly every draft list, including Central Scouting and International Scouting Services. You can bet he is strongly being considered by the Edmonton Oilers as well, who hold the first overall pick. With his speed and playmaking abilities, it would be hard to see Nugent-Hopkins fall from the top spot. As far as the Avalanche go, the kid is small for his size – 164 pounds – and is a center, which Colorado has an overabundance of – not to say he can’t play another position.

Expect him to go first overall to the Oilers.

What do you think?

The NHL is currently running a head to head competition, pitting the vast number of “History Will Be Made” advertising campaign videos against each other.

With Round 1 now over, the field has been narrowed to 32 candidates, including one of the most iconic moments in Colorado Avalanche history: Ray Bourque lifting the Stanley Cup for his first and only time.

Bourque has a tough battle ahead though, as he is paired against “The Fog Game” which saw the Buffalo Sabres defeat the Philadelphia Flyers in an erie matchup with heavy indoor fog. While the fog is a bizarre moment in hockey history, it isn’t as immediately recognizable nor emotionally connected as that of Bourque receiving the cup from former Avalanche captain Joe Sakic and hoisting it to the rafters, finally satisfied with his storied career.

In order to guarantee that Bourque makes it to the next round, the video needs your votes. An easy rally as an Avalanche community could see this video go a long way in the competition.

::VOTE NOW::

What do you think? Is this one of the most iconic moments in Avalanche history? What is your favorite moment?

The latest episode of Avalanche Weekly is now available for your listening pleasure.

Tune in to hear Dan, Justin, and Rick discuss Brian Elliott and the work he has put in, the Avalanche being “officially” eliminated from playoff contention, and the announcement that Joe Sakic will be joining the organization.

There are also two very special guest appearances on the program. The first is former Colorado Avalanche forward Shjon Podein. Podein played in 699 NHL games, including four seasons with the Avalanche and finished his career with 100 goals, 106 assists and 439 penalty minutes. He called in to talk winning the Stanley Cup, wearing his gear for 25 straight hours, and more.

Podein now runs Team 25: The Shjon Podein Children’s Foundation, which is dedicated to improving quality of life for children with illness while also providing a community of support. He is also on Twitter.

Former Avalanche forward and current Columbus Blue Jackets assistant coach Dan Hinote also joined the program. Hinote played in 503 NHL games, including five and a half seasons with the Avs. Through hard work and passion he earned every one of his 38 goals and 52 assists and was considered a leader, the heart and soul of his team. Hinote discussed roles on the Avalanche, coaching the Blue Jackets, and becoming a friend with benefits of the program.

Hosted by Dan Bettlach, Justin Goldman, and Derek Armstrong,  and joined by Rick Berry, Avalanche Weekly can be heard live on Sunday nights from 8-10 pm MST on Mile High Sports Radio AM1510|FM93.7 and online at Mile High Sports.

What do you think?

The Colorado Avalanche announced Friday that former captain and all around fan favorite Joe Sakic would be joining the club’s front office at the end of this season.

Sakic has been hired on as an Executive Advisor and as an Alternate Governor, meaning that he will be involved in both hockey operations and club business. He will also be available to attend the NHL Board of Governors meetings if called upon, where the league discusses important issues such as hits to the head and sales agendas for teams on the market.

The fact that the organization has brought Joe Sakic on in any capacity is a reassuring sign as many have criticized Colorado for being bean counters instead of hockey guys. Sakic brings with him many years of hockey experience but he also has quite an honorable reputation and no doubt has a plethora of contacts and favorable relationships that could benefit this organization during his tenure.

“Joe has been the face of our franchise for two decades,” said Avalanche President Pierre Lacroix.  “He led our organization to success with his contributions both on and off the ice.  Right after his retirement we kept him involved, and now his presence and contributions to our team will be a huge asset going forward.  Joe will not only serve as an advisor but will also be an invaluable resource.” – Colorado Avalanche

It wouldn’t be a far stretch of the imagination to assume that Sakic will immediately start being groomed to take over a major position with the Avalanche, should one be available to him. His commitment to his family would likely rule out President for the time being, should Lacroix retire, or General Manager, as Greg Sherman seems to have developed a decent reputation. Though his insight will be invaluable in hockey operations and business development as he knows what works from a player’s standpoint regarding not only the game, but the energy in the building also. With the recent signings of key pieces in the ongoing rebuild, next season is looking brighter with each new day.

“I feel that now is the time for this new challenge,” said Sakic.  “Two years after retiring from the game of hockey, and having had the opportunity to attend the Board of Governors Meeting, I feel excited about getting involved more with the organization.  The fact that the Avalanche is giving me this opportunity shows how much they trust my background and hockey experience.  I look forward to this new expanded role with the franchise.” – Colorado Avalanche

What do you think?

While this may appear as a flip flop to my previous defense of Colorado Avalanche head coach Joe Sacco, I will admit that I struck that position merely to counter the spreading opinion that he may be the real problem in Denver. That said, it is starting to appear like a lot of the trouble that this team is having could be the result of the guy in charge night after night.

Fans have heard it over and over again, Joe Sacco announcing to the world that he would play the players who gave the team the best chance to win each night. It was his go to line when asked why so and so was benched. Essentially he was calling out that player for lack of effort even after sending the message via benching. If this was the team motto, the impetus for players to give a full effort, then why has Matt Hunwick, who is largely the failure of the team to this point, continued to play as much as he has?

With players like Cameron Gaunce and Jonas Holøs waiting to come up and contribute with smart, strong, and often physical play, how is the continued presence of Hunwick justifiable when Matt Duchene, Daniel Winnink, Ryan O’Reilly, and even Chris Stewart have been benched at some point this season for failing to perform their duties? It’s possible that it is because Hunwick refuses to challenge Sacco’s collapsing status quo.

Rumblings of dissent are beginning to trickle through Denver. Talk of players, whether current or former, clashing with the coach is something that, while unconfirmed from the organization itself, should not go unnoticed.

When Stewart recently slapped Denver fans in the face with his comments about playing his first game in St. Louis, it was infuriating at first. But looking back at the comments, he could be targeting the organization instead:

“That was great. That was probably the best crowd I’ve ever been in front of. It’s going to be easy to play here if the fans are like that every night.” – Courtesy of the Denver Post

It was clear almost immediately that many fans were upset at the loss of Stewart and the up and coming Kevin Shattenkirk. Despite obtaining a potential solution to the fledgling defense in Colorado, Erik Johnson, and a first round pick, Avalanche supporters were shocked that a team in the midst of a rebuild would give up young talent so quickly. Even worse though, was the response from analysts, experts, and former players from around the league.

Hall of fame player and former Quebec Nordiques winger Peter Stastny became so irate at the situation that he lashed out, lambasting the organization while on a St. Louis radio broadcast:

“This young team was ready to challenge, almost, for a Stanley Cup this season. They were so good. All they needed was some more chemistry, and some synergies. Instead, they destroyed the team. I mean, that was a one-way deal. Mr. Armstrong will look like a genius. I don’t know what they were thinking in the Colorado organization. I should not have said this, but I’m so, so mad what they’ve done to this team. They’ve moved the team about two to three years back again.” – Courtesy of the Denver Post

Biting commentary from a former legend isn’t something to be taken lightly, but it can be dismissed as the grumblings of an angry father. Yet still the deluge of negativity continued, with goaltender-turned-analyst Kevin Weekes questioning the state of the team in a blog entitled “Avalanche of confusion”. Weekes writes:

“I know first-hand that deals happen in pro sports, but trading two core pieces leaves me wondering not only where the Avs have fallen to but where they’re going, and most important of all, what blueprint they are following.”

Later he added:

Clearly the recent moves in Colorado are making splashes around the league. Dan Tencer, the Edmonton Oilers radio man, cited reputable analyst Pierre McGuire as also hoping on the Avalanche bashing bandwagon:

This comment is almost the most shocking, because it flat out questions the entire, albeit young, legacy of Colorado’s current front office.

These comments lend credence to the idea that the Avalanche are beginning to seem like an organization lost, adrift at sea, unable to control the ship now that the waves are picking up. Tencer also sourced the Denver Post’s Terry Frei, stirring up the pot about the Stewart situation:

Frei’s comment suggests that perhaps the organization was fed up with behavior that Stewart exhibited during the All-Star break, whether neglecting to stay in shape or two much partying around town. It wouldn’t be out of the question then to assume that tensions were high between Sacco and Stewart, based on something that was brewing just before the largest downturn in franchise history. It is apparent that goalie Craig Anderson took issue with something in Colorado and perhaps Stewarts’ lackluster return from injury was also the result of a loss of passion for his first NHL team.

The hardest part to swallow of all of the Avs woes is the fact that this team was competing on some level with the same players right up until a point in late November or early December. There is no question that the team aspect of the game fell apart after the All-Star break but what could be poison enough to take the steam out of every player?

Merely one or two tainted personalities in the locker room shouldn’t be enough to smack the compete right out of the rest of the team. Yet constantly walking on eggshells, wondering when the next benching will happen or how long a line will stay together or even how many times a goalie will be pulled in one game is ultimately going to have a detrimental impact on the quality of the game. Playing goaltender Russian Roulette each night doesn’t help inspire a team to build upon current successes.

Strategies in Colorado are failing, being easily picked apart by the rapturous gulls that prey on a cowering team that is unable to defend itself. Many in Denver are left wondering if the fire sale is near, unable to fall asleep at night for fear of another midnight express whisking valued talent off to another part of the NHL. With a team that supporters know can compete with the best of them, the time to sell off experience in return for prospective talent has long since passed.

Fans are wondering how many players have to leave the team before management more closely examines another possible solution to the loss of luster in Denver: the possibility that the players are no longer responding to their coach. While ridding the man in charge of an ongoing rebuild may take the team a step backwards, it isn’t nearly as big a step back as losing talent, experience, and leadership in favor for draft picks, promising players in the system, and a league minimum bottom line would be. There is no need to hit the panic switch when the dreary state of the Avalanche can be remedied so easily from within.

What do you think?

Avalanche Weekly was joined by two very special guests this week, the first being Ian Laperriere.

:: ::

Lappy was kind enough to call in to the show on Monday night and talk with the boys. Topics included the youth movement of the Colorado Avalanche, what it takes to block shots in the NHL, a possible modeling career in the wake of a pending nose job, and Avalanche great Joe Sakic.

Laperriere is a paragon of virtue and sportsmanship and is widely considered a fan favorite in Colorado. Playing just four seasons for the Avalanche, Lappy quickly won the fans over with his hard work, fearless shot blocking sacrifice, pugilistic skill and the occasional scoring flash. He played in 307 games for the Avs and accrued 112 points and a beautiful 552 penalty minutes.

Hosted by Dan Bettlach, Justin Goldman, and Derek Armstrong, Avalanche Weekly can be heard live on Sunday nights from 8-10 pm MST on Mile High Sports Radio AM1510|FM93.7 and online at Mile High Sports.

What do you think? Do you miss Laperriere? Did you listen to the show live?

The new NHL season begins at Pepsi Center on Thursday afternoon starting at 6:45 pm when the Colorado Avalanche presents the historic Joe Sakic Retirement Ceremony. And in order to bring Sakic fans from all over the country together for a night of entertainment only the Guild can provide, we proudly bring you the first-annual Avs Board Bash!

Members from the Avalanche Message Board will be attending the game as a massive group in order to celebrate Joe Sakic’s career together while having the opportunity to take advantage of some great discounts throughout the night.

Then we turn things up a notch by hosting one of our exclusive After-Hours games for the group as well. So once the Avs are finished wiping the floor with Dany Heatley and the Sharks, you can catch close to 30 die-hard Avalanche fans playing in a friendly game of drop-in hockey on Pepsi Center ice, which caps off what will easily be one of the most memorable home games in Avalanche history!

Click above to learn more about the first-annual Avs Board Bash and remember, it’s still not too late to join us at the game. Just purchase your discounted tickets by clicking here!