Re: Splinters From The Pine
You asked, Clay - so no bitching about having to read the whole thing!
</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
As an Avs fan, I am sure that you are geeked, but I know you can distance yourself as a journalist. What do you think?
<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">
The Avs will be awfully entertaining (imagine the power play!), but their defense is thin (just let de Vries go, and Selanne and Kariya aren't exactly know for their forechecking...), and they have a gaping hole in net.
Roy's presence will be greatly missed - and I mean presence, not ability. Roy's been cheating (figuratively) for a few years now, and while he was still better than the average goalie, he was a shadow of his former self on the ice - and was exposed dramatically in the last two playoff runs.
However, having the greatest netminder in history behind you is a big confidence boost, and Roy's fiery personality often shook an otherwise mellow team out of it's slumber on more than one occasion. In that sense, he's irreplaceable.
On the ice, David Aebischer is better than a lot of people think, and so is youngster Phil Sauve. Blake and Foote are still forces on the blue line, and Derek Morris is coming along nicely. If the Avs avoid injury, they'll be in the hunt for the Cup. If any of the wrong people get hurt (Blake, Foote or Forsberg) though, they could be in a lot of trouble.
This is a one-year, all-or-nothing gamble. If they even play the 2004-05 NHL season, the Avalanche will very likely look dramatically different - no matter what happens this year.
***
</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
Isn't a title for Malone with this team tainted?
<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">
Lakers tainted? Nah. Payton's getting decent money, so I don't think that's illegitimate...
Malone put in yeoman's work in Utah for an awfully long time. It's a shame to see him leave (and I think he would've stayed had Stockton not retired), but I don't think anyone can begrudge him an opportunity to win a title at the end of his career.
That said, I don't think this is a lock. The Lakers' aren't young, they didn't look hungry last year, and then there's the personality issues...
Kobe vs. Shaq, Kobe vs. Phil, Phil vs. Shaq, and then you add Payton and Malone? Those two guys don't have the world's most submissive personalities, and they're used to having the ball.
Both Shaq and Kobe whined at times last year that they weren't getting the ball enough, and after a while, they each just stopped passing entirely. Malone and Payton know their roles - but they aren't role players, and I don't think it's realistic to expect them to become role players, either.
Put it this way - the Lakers can (and they should) win the title, but if they do, then Phil Jackson did a much better job coaching than he'll ever get credit for.
***
</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
How often has the "Superstar team" really worked? (See NY Rangers)
<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">
Superstar teams? Well, we've never seen one like we will this year with the Lakers - at least not in this era...
I don't count the Rangers because they're the "Clippers East" - it looks so good, but something always goes horribly, horribly wrong...
If anything, the Avs are the anti-Lakers: everybody wants to pass, but nobody wants to shoot. I assume Selanne will help change that by himself - he could have a huge year.
Assuming they stay healthy, my concern with the Avs is with their coach, Tony Granato. In my opinion, he's been completely outcoached since the moment he was hired, and it was shockingly obvious against Minnesota and Jacques Lemaire.
I'm not convinced that Granato is the man (at this point, at least) to handle this club. Some great coaches have come through Denver since they moved from Quebec (Marc Crawford, Jacques Martin, Joel Quenneville, and the underrated Bob Hartley), and Granato may become one of them. He's not one right now, though - and there's not a lot of time for him to grow into the role...
***
</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
Would 3 titles in LA for Payton mean as much as 1 with the Sonics?
<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">
You'd have to ask GP, but I don't think so. Payton talked about leaving the Emerald City for years prior to his trade. I never thought he was really dedicated to Seattle as much as he was dedicated to George Karl and his "Glove-friendly" system.
***
</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
Did the Avs do the right thing? NJ and the Ducks rode great goaltending and D to the Cup Finals. Offensive teams faultered. At the price it's worth a try, but would a run at Hatcher or Leetch with the money been wiser?
<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">
Well, I don't see how signing Kariya and Selanne for $7M combined could be construed as a bad thing - every other GM in the league would've done it - system be damned...
I think it works for the Avs, though.
They weren't going to get Hatcher anyway, so why not up the firepower and try to compensate for your defense by scoring five goals a game? I guarantee you, teams are going to be intimidated by those first two lines - it's like facing an all-star team, and they will wear down even the staunchest defenses over the course of a game.
They're definitely bucking the current NHL trend - although I'd rather watch the Avs' freewheeling style of hockey than watch the grind-it-out, one-nil, style of hockey that I've seen recently in the NHL - and I think a lot of hockey fans would agree.
If nothing else, they'll be fun to watch, and any hockey fan should be excited to watch them play - okay... maybe not Red Wings fans...but won't those Colorado-Detroit matchups be something?
Oh, and don't assume Leetch won't be an Av - the longer he's unsigned, the more likely it becomes...it's just how GM Pierre LaCroix works...
You asked, Clay - so no bitching about having to read the whole thing!
</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
As an Avs fan, I am sure that you are geeked, but I know you can distance yourself as a journalist. What do you think?
<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">
The Avs will be awfully entertaining (imagine the power play!), but their defense is thin (just let de Vries go, and Selanne and Kariya aren't exactly know for their forechecking...), and they have a gaping hole in net.
Roy's presence will be greatly missed - and I mean presence, not ability. Roy's been cheating (figuratively) for a few years now, and while he was still better than the average goalie, he was a shadow of his former self on the ice - and was exposed dramatically in the last two playoff runs.
However, having the greatest netminder in history behind you is a big confidence boost, and Roy's fiery personality often shook an otherwise mellow team out of it's slumber on more than one occasion. In that sense, he's irreplaceable.
On the ice, David Aebischer is better than a lot of people think, and so is youngster Phil Sauve. Blake and Foote are still forces on the blue line, and Derek Morris is coming along nicely. If the Avs avoid injury, they'll be in the hunt for the Cup. If any of the wrong people get hurt (Blake, Foote or Forsberg) though, they could be in a lot of trouble.
This is a one-year, all-or-nothing gamble. If they even play the 2004-05 NHL season, the Avalanche will very likely look dramatically different - no matter what happens this year.
***
</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
Isn't a title for Malone with this team tainted?
<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">
Lakers tainted? Nah. Payton's getting decent money, so I don't think that's illegitimate...
Malone put in yeoman's work in Utah for an awfully long time. It's a shame to see him leave (and I think he would've stayed had Stockton not retired), but I don't think anyone can begrudge him an opportunity to win a title at the end of his career.
That said, I don't think this is a lock. The Lakers' aren't young, they didn't look hungry last year, and then there's the personality issues...
Kobe vs. Shaq, Kobe vs. Phil, Phil vs. Shaq, and then you add Payton and Malone? Those two guys don't have the world's most submissive personalities, and they're used to having the ball.
Both Shaq and Kobe whined at times last year that they weren't getting the ball enough, and after a while, they each just stopped passing entirely. Malone and Payton know their roles - but they aren't role players, and I don't think it's realistic to expect them to become role players, either.
Put it this way - the Lakers can (and they should) win the title, but if they do, then Phil Jackson did a much better job coaching than he'll ever get credit for.
***
</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
How often has the "Superstar team" really worked? (See NY Rangers)
<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">
Superstar teams? Well, we've never seen one like we will this year with the Lakers - at least not in this era...
I don't count the Rangers because they're the "Clippers East" - it looks so good, but something always goes horribly, horribly wrong...
If anything, the Avs are the anti-Lakers: everybody wants to pass, but nobody wants to shoot. I assume Selanne will help change that by himself - he could have a huge year.
Assuming they stay healthy, my concern with the Avs is with their coach, Tony Granato. In my opinion, he's been completely outcoached since the moment he was hired, and it was shockingly obvious against Minnesota and Jacques Lemaire.
I'm not convinced that Granato is the man (at this point, at least) to handle this club. Some great coaches have come through Denver since they moved from Quebec (Marc Crawford, Jacques Martin, Joel Quenneville, and the underrated Bob Hartley), and Granato may become one of them. He's not one right now, though - and there's not a lot of time for him to grow into the role...
***
</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
Would 3 titles in LA for Payton mean as much as 1 with the Sonics?
<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">
You'd have to ask GP, but I don't think so. Payton talked about leaving the Emerald City for years prior to his trade. I never thought he was really dedicated to Seattle as much as he was dedicated to George Karl and his "Glove-friendly" system.
***
</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
Did the Avs do the right thing? NJ and the Ducks rode great goaltending and D to the Cup Finals. Offensive teams faultered. At the price it's worth a try, but would a run at Hatcher or Leetch with the money been wiser?
<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">
Well, I don't see how signing Kariya and Selanne for $7M combined could be construed as a bad thing - every other GM in the league would've done it - system be damned...
I think it works for the Avs, though.
They weren't going to get Hatcher anyway, so why not up the firepower and try to compensate for your defense by scoring five goals a game? I guarantee you, teams are going to be intimidated by those first two lines - it's like facing an all-star team, and they will wear down even the staunchest defenses over the course of a game.
They're definitely bucking the current NHL trend - although I'd rather watch the Avs' freewheeling style of hockey than watch the grind-it-out, one-nil, style of hockey that I've seen recently in the NHL - and I think a lot of hockey fans would agree.
If nothing else, they'll be fun to watch, and any hockey fan should be excited to watch them play - okay... maybe not Red Wings fans...but won't those Colorado-Detroit matchups be something?
Oh, and don't assume Leetch won't be an Av - the longer he's unsigned, the more likely it becomes...it's just how GM Pierre LaCroix works...
You had me at hello...
Comment