I've got a few minutes to kill today (sitting at Panera Bread with nowhere else to go for now), so I figured I'd share something I was thinking about. Everybody's now pretty much given up on the season, and everybody wants to see the current roster scrapped and new personnel brought on board.
Not a bad idea.
While the Avs are shopping, what they need to find is a player who can actually put up strong numbers consistently. Paul Stastny peeks his head on the top scorers list every once in a while, but he's young and prone to big scoreless slumps. He's still not as consistent as his team needs him to be.
The following teams have a player (or players) on the list of top 25 scorers in the NHL. Multiples are in parentheses and current place in their conference is in italics:
- Pittsburgh (2) 11th
- Washington (2) 3rd
- Boston (2) 1st
- Anaheim 6th
- New Jersey (2) 2nd
- Detroit (2) 2nd
- San Jose (2) 1st
- Calgary (2) 3rd
- Philadelphia (2) 6th
- Atlanta 14th
- Phoenix 5th
- Vancouver 11th
- Tampa Bay (2) 12th
- Buffalo (2) 7th
- Minnesota 7th
Of the fifteen teams with a player or players among the top 25 scorers in the NHL, eleven are currently in playoff position. Of those eleven, six are among the top three teams in their conference. There's no doubt that top scorers generally mean a stronger, better-performing team overall. Of course, there's always an Atlanta or a Tampa Bay that's top heavy with one or two stars and nothing else, but generally speaking, you add a guy like Joe Thornton or Marc Savard to your lineup and the whole team gets better.
The Avalanche sometimes have a top-scorer in Stastny, but not always. And we can pretty much just accept the fact that Joe Sakic's best days are behind him (if he has any days left in front of him at all). Even if the team is weak in spots, a lights-out, sure-thing player up front can make a world of difference.
Either start trading or start losing (as to grab Tavares in the draft). Otherwise, keep coasting along in mediocrity.