After missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, this is a make or break year for the Colorado Avalanche.
The two people who were largely responsible for bringing exciting hockey to Colorado in the late nineties will be the first two to go if they can’t recreate it once more in 2016.
Executive vice president of hockey operations Joe Sakic and head coach Patrick Roy were able to do the unthinkable during the 2013-2014 season, Roy’s first as a head coach in the National Hockey League. Roy helped the Avalanche to a 52-win season and first place in the Central Division, a mark the Avalanche haven’t come close to since.
The Avalanche have come plummeting back down to earth since then, and both Sakic and Roy may be starting to feel the heat.
On Sunday, Tim Stanovich joined The Final Word on Mile High Sports Radio 1340 AM | 104.7 FM to discuss what this offseason means for the Avalanche.
“I think is obviously a year for Patrick Roy that’s playoffs or bust,” Stanovich said.
“That leads you to believe, OK, they’re gonna go through the draft, they’re gonna build through the draft,” Stanovich said. “The Avs don’t draft well.”
If both Roy and Sakic know the end may be near, the big trade waiting around the corner could be the one that bumps the Avalanche back into contention or the one that haunts them for seasons to come.
“They do have some pieces,” Stanovich said. “They can skate with a lot of teams, and if we saw anything from the NHL playoffs and the especially the Stanley Cup Pittsburgh Penguins, if you have skaters, and you have speed and you have a little bit of size, you can kind of dictate how the game is played and you can be very successful.”
The Avalanche have seemingly been one or two pieces away from making a serious run at the Stanley Cup for a few seasons now, and with Sakic and Roy on the hot seat, the pressure to add that final piece may cause them to do something drastic that not only does them in, but hurts the Avalanche for years to come as well.
To hear the rest of the conversation, as well as talk on the Stanley Cup Finals and Gordie Howe‘s legacy, listen below …
https://soundcloud.com/milehighsports/6-19-16-the-final-word-recaps-the-stanley-cup-playoffs-talks-gordie-howe-avs-with-tim-stanovich
Catch The Final Word every Sunday from 10a-12a on Mile High Sports AM 1340 or FM 104.7, or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.