GDT: Avalanche at Jets 11/23/15, Game 21

The Avs are at the quarter-pole of the season and sit in a flat-footed tie for last in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers. The optimist in me sees improvement in a few key areas and a little stagnation in some others. The pessimist in me sees a directionless mentally fragile team that chronically underachieves relative to their capabilities. If there is a light at the end of the tunnel, it's probably a locomotive heading our way at full speed.

As fans we're faced with some options. For those that enjoy being happy, we can watch Mack & Dutch score goals and Grigo go from throw-in to solid NHL player and maybe even look at the progress of youngsters like Rantanen, Zadorov, Bigras & Siemens. For those that enjoy being miserable, we can bemoan every transaction made in the last 5 years, make fantasy trades that will never happen and pick apart the play of every single player that makes a mistake. There's really something for everyone here, just because the Avs are incredibly frustrating to root for doesn't mean there isn't fun to be had for the next 5 months.