Final Grade: Paul Stastny

This report card is a joint effort by Beachie, Sandie, Paul, SlamDunktheFunk and DDC. Stats courtesy of hockey-reference.com and NHL.com

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Final Grade

Final Grade: B

Midseason Grade: A-

Last Year: A

Position: C (74gp)

1^st line 47gp, 2^nd line 27gp

Vitals: 6'0" / 205 / Age 25 / Shoots L

Drafted by Avalanche in the 2nd Round (44^th) in the 2005 Entry Draft

Joined Avalanche: Debuted on the 2006-2007 season opener, October 4, 2006, against the Dallas Stars

MHH Nicknames: SoS (Son of Stastny), Stazz

Linemates:

LW:

• Galiardi 18gp 6g 9a 15pt Even
• Jones 16gp 3g 8a 11pt -9
• Porter 14gp 3g 4a 7pt -3
• Stoa 12gp 3g 5a 8pt -1
• Winnik 4gp 2g 1a 3pt +1
• Yip 4gp 3g 5a 8pt +5
• Duchene 3gp 2g 0a 2pt +2
• Hejduk 2gp 0g 2a 2pt -1
• O'Reilly 1gp 0g 0a 0pt -1

RW:

• Stewart 29gp 9g 14a 23pt -10
• Jones 22gp 5g 9a 14pt -1
• Hejduk 15gp 6g 5a 11pt +1
• Yip 4gp 2g 3a 5pt +3
• Porter 2gp 1g 3a 4pt +2
• Galiardi 2gp 0g 0a 0pt -2
•  

Avs with Stastny in the lineup: 27-39-8 (.419 pt%) 2.77 GF 3.52 GA

Ice Time:

• TTOI 19:44 (1^st)
• EV 15:38 (4^th)
• PK 1:02 (8^th)
• PP 3:03 (1^st)

Career Highlights: Stastny was named to the All-Star game for the 2^nd time in his career, playing for the first time (damn you, appendix).

Report: Stastny was quite disappointing last year. His offensive numbers were pretty dismal, especially when compared to the expectations of what he *should* have generated. Clearly, his stock has fallen, and there's little hope he'll return to that 'face of the franchise' player we thought we had in our #1 center. The Avs would be smart to talk trades now - while he still has some value - and I can't see any better place to look than the Toronto Maple Leafs. /steps back through the looking glass.

Okay, now that we've returned from that drug-induced visit to La-la Land, let's get real. As others have mentioned, Stastny was victim to some pretty crappy linemates over the season. Certainly, that was a big factor in those less-than-Stastny-esque numbers. Pre-All Stars, he racked up 43 of his 57 points. That leaves only 14 pts coming in after that mark. (Hint: post-All Stars is when he started playing with guys like Stoa on his wing.) So basically, he started out the year looking for career highs; the injuries hit and, well, you know what happened. For the most part, he was pretty solid defensively all season long, especially considering the crap-fest the team was as a whole.  His face off percentage improved some this season as he led the team with a 53.2% win rate vs. 50% last season. And his -7 was in the middle of the pack despite usually facing the most difficult opposition. His tendency to take bad penalties seemed to get worse, however. In 2008-2009, he accumulated 22 penalty minutes. In 2010-2011, it was 56. (Keep your damn stick on the ice, Paul.) Still, SoS is a strong, playmaking forward whose on-ice performance makes him highly valued and leadership puts him high in the running for the Avs' next captain.

Fun Fact: With 321 points, Stastny is one of 10 Avs / Nordiques to score at least 300 points in his first five years in the league. The others: Peter Stastny (591), Joe Sakic (472), Peter Forsberg (440), Michel Goulet (435), Anton Stastny (391), Dale Hunter (349), Milan Hejduk (341), Mats Sundin (334) and Alex Tanguay (322).

The Paul Stastny Drinking Game: Drink whenever you see the Stastny lasik commercial  Drunk potential: Give someone your keys.

What We Said Last Year: Maybe the problem is his talent for playing a quiet game, even when he is dominating. He isn't big or physical or blazing fast so maybe he isn't wowing certain people but he is very, very good. If we pick up Kovalchuk (still not sure about that) his numbers next year could be sick. [Editor's Note: FML]

 2010 Cap Hit: $6,600,000

2011 Status: Signed through the 2013-2014 season

Outlook for Next Season: Okay, here's the deal. Even though Stastny had a tough season last year (along with about 38 other unipronned warriors), he's still a cornerstone of the franchise. However, he's arguably the Avs' most trade-able asset; he's one of the few veterans who would have value to another team and he plays a position that the Avs have some good depth at. Yes, he makes a gazillion dollars, but we've already seen that that's not an automatic stumbling block (Ryan Smyth, anyone?). The Avalanche still have to acquire assets for the rebuild (goalie and scoring wingers being two areas of concern) and, if they don't feel they can fill those needs via free agency (ha ha) or the draft, we could be looking at another splashy deal from GM Greg Sherman. If that's the case, Stastny may be the guy on the block. If not, maybe we'll finally see that formidable 1-2 punch of Stastny and Duchene next season?

Next Up: Kyle Quincey