Dear Avalanche Front Office: Fans will not tolerate mediocrity

Lately on MHH there has been a handful of Avalanche fans going around and blasting others for their criticisms of Coach Sacco and the underperforming Colorado Avalanche. I’m here to tell those people that although they have the right as American (or Canadian) citizens to do so, the same rights apply for those who are critical of the Avalanche organization. I for one am a Denver, Colorado native… I live here, breathe here, work here; and I (still) give my hard earned money to this very undeserving organization.  I believe that I have a right to speak up because it is my hard earned money this team seems to piss away with their “uninspired” performances as of late.

I am the first to drink whatever Kool-Aid this hockey organization throws at me even if I don’t like the taste, but lately I cannot swallow what they have been trying to pour down my throat in water boarding-style fashion. First, this is a team that doesn’t just hug the cap floor, they downright hump it. Does spending money equal success? Just ask the Columbus Blue Jackets and you will find that isn’t always the case. However, I do believe that this organization fails (chooses not) to find the right pieces when given the chance to fire on a free agent that could potentially change the franchise into a contender (see Kovalchuk, Ilya) and instead settles for journeymen, could-be-greats (Joakim Lindstrom), should-be-greats (Eric Johnson), and has-beens (Chuck Kobasew) to fill in critical roles in the Avalanche roster; not because the Avalanche organization knows something that we don’t know, but because THEY’RE CHEAP. So I asked myself after that uninspired loss last night to the Minnesota Wild, “Would I demand a refund if I saw a game like that at Pepsi Center?” Oh wait… I did! It just so happens that a friend and I went to a Colorado Avalanche vs. Minnesota Wild game on a cold, frozen winter night at the Pepsi Center a year or so back that also had the awesomely exciting score of 1-0 Wild over the Avs. I had the flu, went out in the cold and spent $35 dollars (plus parking) to watch the NZT (Neutral Zone Trap) for 60 minutes. When leaving after the Wild scored to make it 1-0 with 3 minutes or so left in the game I turned to the KSE staff member standing in rear-guard formation at the curtained entrances out and said, “Who do I talk to about a refund?” the KSE staffer replied in a fashion that would have made the German Wehrmacht proud, “No refunds, no standing during action” I replied, “Actually, I’m leaving…and what action?!”.  

Secondly, YES fire Sacco, and NO don’t give me the “He almost won the Jack Adams award two years ago” excuse. Dave Tippet actually won the award that year for the Phoenix Coyotes and look at them now; I believe that trophy is WORTHLESS when it comes to evaluating the skill of a head coach in the NHL. Jim Pracey’s drafting, the stellar play of the then-rookies Matt Duchene, Ryan O’Reilly, Brandon Yip, and TJ Galiardi, and Craig “Money-Money-Money-Money- MONEY!” Anderson standing on his head made Sacco look like a genius. But I believe that Joe Sacco is an inept NHL coach who not only shows favoritism towards players who have done nothing (Cody McLeod, Matt Hunwick, Chuck Kobasew, and Darcy Tucker) but puts star players in sometimes undeserved dog houses that only kills confidence (Matt Duchene, John-Michael Liles). He shifts the lines around so much in a way that what have made Coach Q proud leaving little to no chemistry between players. He coaches a straight ahead brand of hockey, and the Avs players seemingly NEVER attack the corners anymore. Joe Sacco should be coaching in the AHL or the CHL and not the NHL. But who do you replace him with? Sylvain Lefebvre? Adam Deadmarsh? David freaking Quinn?! None of those choices sit well with me, mainly because none of them have the experience to coach an NHL team.

Thirdly, fire Greg Sherman… an accountant should NEVER be allowed to run a franchise. That is all.

                Fourthly, this story is not just another “RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE” as some of you have implied that some of us Avalanche fans are doing. Some of us are fans who actually attend the games night in and night out, not just watch them from the confines of our homes. I’m vocalizing my displeasure because I don’t appreciate the effort the Colorado Avalanche have given on the ice and I don’t appreciate the Avalanche front office thinking that we fans are so stupid as to spend outrageous prices to see a rebuilding project. I have a right to this opinion, if you don’t share it, fine but don’t think that all of this is unjustified. The Colorado Rockies (MLB) organization plays the same tight wad money making game the Avs play, with one difference… I can enjoy a Colorado Rockies game for $10-$15 plus $5 for parking.

              To sum up this epic rant that means absolutely nothing, because it won’t change the world, feed the hungry, clothe the poor or change the stubborn minds that run the Colorado Avalanche I leave with this… The CBA talks are coming up after this year and this organization will finally know where that damn salary cap is going to be for the next decade (hopefully) they can finally stop running like they have been since 2004. If this team continues to hump the cap floor after the CBA of 2012 I don’t know if I can continue to cheer for this team… I feel like a part of me dies when I say that because I love the Colorado Avalanche so much… But I cannot watch my beloved team be handled this way. It is almost disrespectful how this organization has allowed itself to fall out of grace this much. Doesn’t anyone who runs this franchise have any pride anymore? Pierre Lacroix are you still there (French: Le Pierre Lacroix vous est toujours là?)? Anyone? Do you understand that you changed our lives forever when you brought your team from Quebec in 1995? We love the Colorado Avalanche and we have come to expect nothing but excellence from the players. There was a reason there was over 500+ sellouts for this team and there is a reason why Pepsi Center is now only half full. FANS WILL NOT TOLERATE MEDIOCRITY! BUT THEY WILL REWARD VICTORY! GO AVS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!