There isn't anyone out there who doesn't know that this coming weekend may be the last time we see Joe Sakic on the ice...this year (Joe Sakic Rule). While Joe will certainly be back next year, there are some Avalanche players who we may not see in the dopey uniprons next year. Here's a list of upcoming UFAs:
- Tyler Arnason
- Ian Laperriere
- Ben Guite
- Brian Willsie
- Per Ledin
- Daniel Tjarnqvist
- Lawrence Nycholat
- Aaron MacKenzie
- Andrew Raycroft
A couple of guys in Lake Erie - Chris Durno, Matt Hendricks, Darcy Campbell, Nathan Smith, Jesse Boulerice and, yes, Tyler Weiman - are also UFAs this summer, but it doesn't look like we'll get a chance to give them a proper goodbye (or, in most cases, a proper hello).
Obviously, there's two big names on that list: Ian Laperriere and Ben Guite. It's always tough to tell what this team is going to do in the offseason, and the uncertainty surrounding the front office muddies up the waters even more. But the Avalanche don't have a lot of cap room and really do need to fix the ratio of grinders to skilled players so I think it's a very real possibility that this is your last chance to see Lappy and Guite playing their hearts out for us Lappy is slated to play his 1,000th NHL game on Saturday, but both players need to be feted over each of the next 3 games. For the 10,000 or so who will attend one of the games in person (all of whom read this blog, natch), let's make sure these two get huge cheers every time they are on the ice. They've definitely earned it.
Oh, and Ben? Is it too late to ask you to grow the fu one last time?