Colorado Avalanche Sign Shane O'Brien

Will they make the playoffs? Probably not. Will they contend? I’d have to think so. I like Varlamov in front with 55 protecting him.

I don’t get this argument of the Avs making the playoffs. Do people forget where this team finished last year? I’m still don’t like the Johnson / Stewart trade and I don’t see them being in the playoffs either.

Varlamov isn’t proven, at the age of 23, his numbers are good over last seasons 27 games but from a very limited sample size. He could easily go either way, if they are banking on riding him into the playoffs, I think they have a surprise coming…

Thanks. So you guys protected him somewhat. Hope the Avs do the same.

This was a question answered by DP and Trotz tonight: What replaces SOB and Franson. The answer was summarily that Franson will be replaced by depth, O’Brien’s toughness they are look at addressing. I saw someone mention on HFBoards that Tollefsen was a target, but he has a 2-yr contract with Modo.

So, rest assured they are looking for a suitable Obie replacement.

Maybe I’m being too optimistic, but I think the Avs might be a playoff team next year too. Reasons:

1) New players – we’ve signed 7 new guys this off season, and that’s not counting rookies like Landeskog (almost guaranteed – we are weak at LW and his OHL team gave up his rights so they could get another import), Hishon, Elliott or Barrie. We’ve lost 8 to UFA/Retirement/Trades too. We’re a VERY different team than we were last year, especially with 8 returning from injury.
2) No plan B – we can’t tank because we don’t have that draft pick anymore. It belongs to Washington. The Varly trade shows we are committed to winning now, and Sherman the GM has the balls to make the trades that need to be made. Whether he has the brains is the question. We’ll see (btw – I like both the Johnson and Varly trades)
3) Strong offense – when this team was semi-healthy during the first half of the year, they lead the league in scoring. Most of those guys are back, and we have replacements for the ones that aren’t.
4) MUCH better and bigger D – Last year’s staring lineup averaged 6’0" 203lbs and had Scott Hannan as a top pairing guy. This years? 6’3" 220lbs with EJ and probably Hejda.
5) New goalies – Varly and Giggy show promise. Elliott and Budaj? Well, as backups maybe…. Let’s just say last year’s goaltending still gives me nightmares.
6) Fewer injuries – the seamless glass is gone league wide, including at the Pepsi Center. (more on why this is a good thing here) We also have 8 players returning from a season-ending injury, half of which are top 6 forwards or top 4 defensemen.
7) Organizational depth – It’s way better. Still a little weak on wing, but if we do need to suit up 17 defensemen again, we’ll still have decent players by the end of the year.
8) Contract year – Contracts are up for 17 of our roster players, plus our head coach. 13 of our farm players are also due on July 1, 2012. (We only have 13 players in our ORGANIZATION signed past next July). Why did O’Brien get a 1 year? Because everyone else did too.
9) Emotional Blows – Fleischmann came in and scored 21 pts in 22 games and had unreal chemistry with Duchene, then was out the rest of the season with pulmonary emboli. That was Jan 20th, about the time the losing streak started. Then Forsberg came back (YAY!!!!), but retired after 2 games. We lost the game the night after his announcement 9-1. I doubt something like that happens again this year, let alone twice.
10) Sakic’s Guidance - the Avs are proabably going to be on average younger than they were last year (didn’t think it was possible, but there you go), but they do have Sakic in the front office as a guide and resource for them now. He went through the rebuild in Quebec that was like this, so he can point them – and the organization – in the right direction.

So, sorry for the length, but I just thought I’d share some of the facts from an Avs perspective. For what it’s worth. :)