I just went back there, and some comments on the right side of the page are clearly from that post as well. But no title, and no post. Weird.

I can’t believe I’m even writing this, first of all. I can’t believe, in the year 2009, that I’m still writing about Eric Lacroix maybe having some big role with the Avalanche.

It was the year 1998 in a Hershey, Pa., coffee shop that two Avalanche players sat with me for breakfast, and after a bit of the usual small talk, unloaded on me about how I had to write a story about how Eric Lacroix needed to play for any other team but the Avalanche.

And let me correct the record to all the smug Avalanche front office people who have falsely accused a good man of being one of those two men. It was NOT Warren Rychel. For 11 years now, Pierre Lacroix has gone around telling people that Rychel was one of the two snitches. But he wasn’t, and it’s to Lacroix’s disgrace that he’s spread that around the league all these years.

And that’s all I’m going to say about that, because I’ll never tell who the real two people are.

It wasn’t that the two players hated Eric Lacroix personally. Yeah, they thought he was something of a snitch himself, but I don’t think they ever had any proof of that, and I always thought that was unfair to Eric. What made it a bad move to bring his son in as a player in 1996, and why it would be a bad move now to bring him in as GM now, I believe, is because it was/is always going to be a convenient thing for players to point to as the reason why things are not going well.

It just doesn’t work well when a management person brings his son in as a player, or later as a management person himself. Other than Cal Ripken and his dad, I can’t think of too many pro sports father-son situations that have worked out too well.

If Pierre Lacroix hires his son to be the GM of the Avs, here’s fair warning: it might not be fair, but every single hockey person, and every single hockey media person, is going to say that this was nepotism. "You only got the job because your dad is the team president" is what Eric Lacroix is going to hear everywhere he goes, whether it is said to his face or not.

The Denver media, and I’m part of it, is going to put Eric Lacroix under the most intense media microscope he’s ever faced. Like I said, it might not be fair. After all, why shouldn’t Eric Lacroix be considered for a GM job? He’s had the title of director of hockey operations and video coach with the Avalanche previously, and he’s been a part-owner with the Arizona Sundogs of the minor leagues. I can just hear Pierre touting his credentials now: "He’s learned the ropes of the hockey business since he retired as a player, and now he’s ready to bring a winning tradition back to the Avalanche as the general manager."

OK then. Better have one hell of a first year, because any kind of mediocrity or worse, and the media mocking is going to be intense. And I know Pierre Lacroix well enough to know that he goes absolutely ballistic with any kind of criticism – especially of his son. This is why it would be unfair to Eric. He would be under impossible expectations.

If Pierre makes his son the GM, and bypasses those with much more experience and accomplishment (people like Jay Feaster, for instance) he’s just going to set himself up for charges of cronyism. It’s going to be an absolute field day for second-guessers.

And if Eric turns out to be a great GM? Then we’ll have to tip our hat to him. I don’t care either way. I’m not a fan of the Avalanche, I don’t root for them to win or lose, and whatever they do, that’s their business.

But I’m just writing this as someone who, I think I can say after this long covering the team, is an informed observer. I think this team needs a clean break from a lot of things, and that may include the people making the big decisions.

The fact is, this team has not been past the second round of the playoffs for seven years now. While I believe there are lots of good, smart people still around – and I do respect Pierre Lacroix and certainly give him proper credit for his record as GM – making Eric Lacroix the GM of this team would just send too many easy-to-second-guess signals to everybody. People are going to call him the George W. Bush of hockey.

Everybody will think this is still a good old boys club, where everybody basically is Pierre Lacroix’s puppet. That’s what too many people think of Tony Granato already, and it’s going to be 1000 times worse if Eric is the GM. If Pierre Lacroix can say with a straight face that Eric is the most qualified, most able, best experienced man to lead the Avs out of this darkness, then I’d be tempted to nominate him for an Oscar.

Again, I want to reiterate that it’s nothing personal against Eric Lacroix. He’s a nice guy and I don’t wish him any ill will. And again, I don’t care. If Pierre thinks he’s the best guy for the job, then fine, name him to it. Won’t matter to me. It’s your team, do with it what you want.

I just hope he realizes the kind of pressure he’ll be putting on his son.

It’s been seven years since we were past the second round? Jesus.

Seven years? That makes me feel nauseous… ohh, the good old days.