Lots and Lots From Dater Today

by David Driscoll-Carignan on Jun 26, 2009 7:15 AM MDT in News Comment 25 comments

A lot of print journalists have stayed home this year, but, thankfully, the Denver Post has ponied up the dough to send Adrian Dater to cover the draft in Montreal. And he's working it, with all sorts of Avalanche chatter. His article is well worth the read, but I'll bullet point it here so that you can comment on it below.

No one really know who the 1st overall pick is going to be.

Brian Burke (the real one, not the fake twitter version) says he thinks it's going to be Duchene, but he could certainly be posturing to help his own situation. Others have speculated that Hedman is going to go #1 and, of course, the consensus (by a narrow margin) or the scouts has Tavares going to New York. I still think Duchene is going to be an Avalanche (and no, I don't buy the story that the Avalanche will pass on all three). I do think there are scenarios out there for any of the big three to end up in Colorado and I will make sure my fat ass is planted in front of the TV tonight at 7 to see how it unfolds.

Duchene likely would be looking at another year in Juniors.

Angelique has mentioned this a few times here, so that shouldn't come as a huge surprise. I think that statement is especially true if Duchene does land in Colorado, as his cap hit is going to be close to $3 million and...well...see the next item.

The Avalanche are looking to shed salary.

This has been talked about recently both here and around the World Wide Wolski. This isn't so much about this coming year, but about beyond as the salary cap is probably going to come down next summer, possibly by a significant margin. I suspect that's why Tucker hasn't been bought out - the team doesn't want any dead contract money next summer. We've been hearing rumors that the Avs are looking to move Smyth / Hannan since the end of the season, so it's no shock that chatter to that effect would be heating up again (thanks to Twitter, there are a TON of trade rumors coming from the draft).

I'm not sure I'm ready to buy that the Avs are going to be close to the cap floor, but I know the club isn't in a great spot financially at the moment, so it certainly wouldn't come as a shock to me. It could be a tough couple of years ahead.

Lappy is gone.

You knew this was coming, unfortunately. It doesn't make it any more palatable.

Gustavsson too.

I scratched my head when I saw that quote from Gustavsson about meeting Roy too. I'm really curious to hear the explanation behind that. But, yeah, it doesn't sound like he's choosing Colorado.

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WHERES THE BEEF?

link to the Gustavsson quote?

Pujols takes out "I" in BIG and "A" in MAC, previously considered to be an unyielding, consonant threat

by DESTROYER on Jun 26, 2009 7:39 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I already posted this yesterday in the comments of my Gustavsson FanPost.

Hotshot goalie Gustavsson goes on U.S. tour
By Anders Rönmark
Special to The Denver Post
Posted: 06/25/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT

After visiting Denver, San Jose, Dallas and Toronto, Gustavsson is back in his native Sweden, pondering with which team he’ll sign a free-agent contract.

"Well, now I have to let everything just sink in. It’s going to be a really difficult decision," said Gustavsson, who was voted the best goalie in the Swedish elite league last season and led Färjestad to the championship after a record-breaking season.

"All four clubs made a great impression on me. Beautiful cities, great people, professional organizations. . . . They’ve really made it hard for me."

But within a week Gustavsson will make up his mind.

"Yes, I will make my decision before the first of July. That will give the other three teams the chance to sign another free-agent goalie," Gustavsson said.
In Dallas, Gustavsson was introduced at a Texas Rangers game and met with George W. Bush. Gustavsson’s tour of Denver on June 14-15 wasn’t quite as eventful, but he said he was nothing but satisfied with his visit.

"Denver seems like a nice city, and (assistant general manager) Craig Billington really took great care of me. They showed me the arena, I met a lot of people and I got to see for myself that the Avs is truly a professional organization," Gustavsson said.

He also got the chance to meet with a childhood hero when he visited Denver.

"Yeah, I got the chance to talk to Patrick Roy. He was my idol when I was growing up, so of course it was fantastic to get to meet him," Gustavsson said. "He told me a bit about his passion for the franchise and how much the Avs meant to him. Colorado sure has a great goalie tradition, and that’s inspiring."

http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/ci_12684059

Interesting article for the DP by who looks to be a Swedish author. Sounds like we can expect a decision soon enough.

And Dater’s words from the blog post that DDC is summarizing in this post:

I don’t think Jonas Gustavsson is coming to the Avs either. I tried to follow up today, too, about a quote he gave a Swedish correspondent for our paper, that mentioned he met Patrick Roy in Denver during his tour of the city last weekend. That would mean Roy made another trip to our fair city, then, which raises questions. But I haven’t gotten the lowdown on that yet. Maybe the kid meant something else, talking to him on the phone or something. We’ll see.

by c0nquistad0rian on Jun 26, 2009 7:47 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

thanks

Hyphens cause writers more trouble than any other form of punctuation, except perhaps commas.

by David Driscoll-Carignan on Jun 26, 2009 7:55 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think daters statements just moronic, why would Gustavvson say he met Roy if all he did was talk on the phone. Thats not meeting someone. He’s probably pissed that he didn’t know Roy was back in Denver and wants people to believe him when he says he wasn’t.

The Savage has spoken. Let it be done

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"
R. Frost

by Savage33 on Jun 26, 2009 8:26 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for the synopsis....but

we really should all at some point go to the Denver Post’s website and check out the stories too. I’d hate for them to cease ponying up the dough just because they didn’t get as many site visits as they were expecting.

softpillowcase

by Selanne on Jun 26, 2009 7:58 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Hopefully all of the links that we provide will only get them more hits. The important message for anyone writing a post being: cite your work! ;)

by c0nquistad0rian on Jun 26, 2009 8:02 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I absolutely hope that you go there to check out the article – I provided the link and the encouragement to do so in the first paragraph

Hyphens cause writers more trouble than any other form of punctuation, except perhaps commas.

by David Driscoll-Carignan on Jun 26, 2009 8:13 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

My favorite part of that article is the comments. Everybody telling “AVSFAN” to chill gives me hope for this fanbase yet. Maybe the muppets largely fall away during the summer and only the rational people are left to have the discussions? Lord I hope so…

2008-2009 Colorado Avalanche: Dry Humping Mediocrity

by Mike @ MHH on Jun 26, 2009 8:37 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

totally agree

I’m not saying drink the cool-aid, there’s alot of rebuilding to do, but the negativity from the fanbase has gotten pretty extreme, imo.

by jd21 on Jun 26, 2009 9:23 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

They need to follow MHH’s lead: more sarcasm, less anger.

Go Avs! Let's get some goals!

by Joe Dunman on Jun 26, 2009 9:43 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sarcasm meters are becoming more and more expensive in this economy…

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 Jun 26, 2009 9:54 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Odd, you’d think with mass production the per unit cost would drop…

by Hopfenkopf on Jun 26, 2009 10:02 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think this was what Yoda originally tried to tell Luke.

The 2008-2009 Colorado Avalanche: Slumpbusters

by Jibblescribbits on Jun 27, 2009 10:59 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m also very curious on what this note Dater says he has today on Sakic. I assume it’ll just be something like “He’s going to need a while to decide”, but it’d be fantastic if we knew what our cap situation was for sure going into July 1.

One down, three to go

by FiveJeffFingerDiscount on Jun 26, 2009 9:14 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

yep

Hyphens cause writers more trouble than any other form of punctuation, except perhaps commas.

by David Driscoll-Carignan on Jun 26, 2009 9:29 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I may be wrong

But I think all Dater had to say about Supe Joe was that Stevie-Y is eye balling him for 2010.
http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/ci_12692991?source=rss

by smoky201 on Jun 26, 2009 9:31 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, that’s what I thought. Way to tease us about absolutely nothing, Dater.

by Rather Dashing on Jun 26, 2009 11:45 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

that passing on the top 3 thing

that’s a pretty irritating article and headline. i mean the scout was saying pretty generic, well known things but because he didn’t say “we’re taking whichever of the top 3 that falls” flat out the headline and subject is AVS MAY PASS ON TOP 3.

ugh, that’s just trying to get a rise out of people.

by thedoctor on Jun 26, 2009 9:43 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

No doubt that the Avs need scoring forward prospects. But If it comes down to Duchene and Tavares both being gone by the third selection, I think that I’d rather see the Avs select a projected blue chip defenseman in Hedman and possibly trying to move one or more of the other defenseive prospects already in the pipe line (Shattenkirk, Gaunce, Montgomery, Cohen, Williams and Cumiskey, Holos) for prospects at the forward position.

by c0nquistad0rian on Jun 26, 2009 9:46 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Better yet, existing ~~defensemen~~ cap sponges (Clark, Hannan) for current forwards/keepers and/or prospects.

by Hopfenkopf on Jun 26, 2009 10:54 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

wat

With the frequent busts from defensemen, why would you break up a solid group before seeing what they really have?

If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding! HOW can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?!

by SlamDunkTheFunk on Jun 26, 2009 11:49 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

How is keeping Hedman over one of Shatty and Co. any more of a risk than keeping Shatty and Co. intact and drafting a forward that was projected out of the top 3?

2008-2009 Colorado Avalanche: Dry Humping Mediocrity

by Mike @ MHH on Jun 26, 2009 11:58 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Uhhh

I suppose it’s not anymore of a risk? Drafting a forward projected out of the top 3 will cause me to cry, though, and nobody wants that.

If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding! HOW can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?!

by SlamDunkTheFunk on Jun 26, 2009 12:32 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hedman is being compared to guys like Pronger and Bouwmeester. Top defensemen like that have far more value to their respective teams than any scoring forward outside of Ovechkin, Malkin, Crosby, who are generational type players. The asking price is also a lot higher for top defensemen and they are traded with far less frequency than are scoring forwards. And Jibbles said it: Defense wins championships.

This is why If Tavares, who at least has the hype of a generational player going for him, and Duchene, who sounds like he could be a franchise player for the Avalanche, are both off of the draft table, I’d prefer to see them take Hedman over one of the remaining forwards. Then, the Avs would have a cornerstone defenseman and could address their need for forward prospects by trading one or two of their other solid defensive prospects (and of course, having a solid draft the rest of the way).

The bottom line is that in general, defensemen have more valuable than do forwards.

by c0nquistad0rian on Jun 26, 2009 12:38 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs