Say hello to Tavares/Duchene and goodbye to Wolski?

Dater thinks so. He also says that trading Svatos would be another possibility. Thoughts?

10 months ago Rather Dashing 8 comments 0 recs |

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I’d rather float Clark and Svatos in trade before Wolski.

2008-2009 Colorado Avalanche: Dry Humping Mediocrity

by Mike @ MHH on Apr 23, 2009 4:36 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Wolski at wing is still a better performer thus far than is Svatos and I would not give up on Wolski yet.

In four seasons Svatos has 89G 64A 153pts and he has never played 70 games in a season (69 this season).

Wolski in three seasons has 56G 96A 146pts and has played 70+ games every season even having been in Q’s doghouse last season.

Wolski has also been better in the playoffs than Svatos, though not by much.
Wolski 15games 3G 6A 9pts
Svatos 11games 1G 5A 6pts

Wolski is a little more flexible and if he doesn’t end up being a top 2 center for the Avs he can be dangerous as a 3rd line center, if not placed back on the wing. He seems to be much more durable and can actually create chances better than he seems to be able to finish.

MHH: Like the Avs organization, we’ve now officially lost our minds.

I'm The Canary - but I'm not cute nor cuddly, and I don't sing.

by Americanario on Apr 23, 2009 6:58 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

You do have to wonder what becomes of Wolski if Duchene is drafted. Is he a 3rd line center? back to a top 6 LW? He’s also got some serious trade value, something that can’t be said about Svatos, Clark, or the other obvious bits of trade bait.

I imagine we’ll keep him this year for sure, but if he doesn’t grow this year — again — he could be traded next offseason.

We’ve gotta dump Svatos this offseason though. I’m done with his black-hole, inconsistent, and always-hurt ass. Time for Jones, Stewart and even Hensick to be RWs.

by thedoctor on Apr 23, 2009 7:03 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

it’s killing me not to, so lineups!!!

(Assume Duchene makes the lineup, Svatos is traded, and Sakic retires)

With Wolski as third line center:

Smyth – Stastny – Hejduk
Galiardi – Duchene – Stewart
Stoa – Wolski – Jones
McLeod – Guite – Lappy

Wolski as a LW and Sakic returning:

Smyth – Stastny – Hejduk
Wolski – Duchene – Stewart
Stoa – Sakic – Jones
McLeod – Guite – Lappy

Honestly, without Wolski as a LW this team is criminally weak at that position And no, Jones and Stewart are both awful when forced to play LW. Maybe we should move Wolski back to LW.

by thedoctor on Apr 23, 2009 7:16 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs

While Wolski

is reported as saying he prefers playing center, as posted earlier in the season by DD:

We now are 32 games into the Wojtek-Wolski-as-center era, which means we now have some decent statistical data to help us evaluate the change.

Wolski’s first game at center was January 4th, and, for the most part, that’s where he’s been at even strength ever since. Here are The Baron’s stats at left wing (as in, through January 2nd):

37 GP 7 G 12 A 19P, -7, 20 PiM, 1 PPG, 1 SHG, 0 GWG, 63 SOG, 26 Hits.

And here are his stats since the change:

32 GP 7 G 12 A 19P, -2, 6 PiM, 1 PPG, 0 SHG, 3 GWG, 76 SOG, 23 Hits.

So far it doesn’t seem to make much difference which position he plays. Now granted I would like to give him another season at center, with a better coach/system and see if those numbers change. But if we take/get Duchene and he’s ready to make the jump, you either have to play Wolski at LW again or use him to center the third line. He’s versatile in that regard which will be important if the Hockey Gods continue to punish us for the “Unipron” and we lose 1-2 of our centers for extended periods of time next season.

MHH: Like the Avs organization, we’ve now officially lost our minds.

I'm The Canary - but I'm not cute nor cuddly, and I don't sing.

by Americanario on Apr 23, 2009 8:00 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

the move to center did get Wolski more involved defensively, and he really excelled in that role. But he can be a PKer still as a winger, and that was really the revelation, I guess — Wolski is a brilliant PKer.

The issue with Wolski really comes down to whether he’s capped out or not. We all know he’s got talent for miles and he’s shown flashes of that dominant scorer he COULD be if he went to the net more and just showed more want-to consistently…but will he ever be consistent? If you don’t think so, shouldn’t we trade him while his value is high?

so I see the argument, kind of. But with as starved for offensive talent as we are, you can’t really justify cutting bait on Wolski.

and as I look at these lines, I don’t think there’s any way they play out with Stastny centering the vets like that if Duchene makes the team. You’ve gotta give him some vet support. Also, it might be premature to pencil Stoa in and assume Tucker is gone. So maybe more like…

Wolski – Stastny – Hejduk
Smyth – Duchene – Stewart
McLeod – UFA – Jones
Tucker – Guite – Lappy

You know, I kinda like that. Except for Tucker, I’d rather stick Galiardi there. But this is pretty close to the opening day lines, I would wager.

by thedoctor on Apr 23, 2009 10:35 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

As long as the NHL insists on awarding real points for a silly after-practice game, Wolski is worth every penny he’s paid. The avs essentially go into every shootout up 1.5-0 between him and Hejduk. For a competition where the average is 1 goal in 3 shots, that’s quite the advantage.

The 2008-2009 Colorado Avalanche: Slumpbusters

by Jibblescribbits on Apr 23, 2009 11:19 PM MDT reply actions 2 recs