There are no two players more controversial and/or talked about among Avalanche fans than ex-Av superstar Peter Forsberg and ex-superstar goalie Jose Theodore.
Let me go ahead and get this out in the open for everybody to know: I think BOTH players are wrong for the Avalanche.
You'd think saying "Theodore is wrong for the Avalanche" would be common sense, that everyone would instantly agree with it. You'd be wrong. If you've ever been to the Avalanche.com message boards, you already know that a small but annoyingly vocal group of (mostly young, mostly female) Avalanche fans adore Jose Theodore and think the only reason he has sucked consistently for years is because nobody gives him a real chance in net. This, of course, is false. But some people still proclaim that Peter Budaj is the bad goalie on the team.
Let's be absolutely clear: I don't hate Theodore. I'm sure he's a nice guy, even if his choice of female companionship is a bit questionable sometimes. But there is no getting around the fact that he is simply bad at his job. That's the problem. The Avalanche, for two seasons now, have paid Theo $6 million to be bad at his job, to sit on the bench, and to draw negative attention. Peter Budaj is not an amazing goalie like St. Patrick was, but he's good at his job and requires $5,200,000 less than Theodore to do better work. How anyone can favor Theo over "Boots" is beyond me. But I guess he's cute so that's all that matters.
As for Forsberg, or "Floppa", as I like to call him, I think his time with the Avalanche has passed. He was an indispensable asset to the team during the time he was with Colorado, but he's a physical disaster area now and worse yet, he's getting old. He's 34, has two rotten ankles and is missing his spleen. Even if the surgery he just underwent turns out to have saved the sorry mess he calls a right foot, he'll still be an injury time bomb, just like he has been for the last three seasons. Don't get me wrong, he's a great player and still a great scorer, but the Avs don't need him back and can spend the leftover cap money they still have in more constructive ways. Don't be suckered by sentimentallity. Forsberg is gone and should remain so.
The great memories he left the Avalanche aren't going anywhere, though.