Let’s celebrate Joe Sakic being alive

Joe Sakic is alive. I know many fans wondered whether or not that was the case following the most miserable season in franchise history, but Tuesday proved that Sakic does indeed have a pulse.

The Colorado Avalanche organization released assistant coaches Francois Allaire, Tim Army, and Dave Farrish. All three were holdovers from the Patrick Roy era, and all three have blood on their hands from this past season.

Allaire had already planned to step down after the season was over. He was the ‘Roy Whisperer’ throughout Patrick’s playing and coaching career. It’s no surprise that he and the organization wanted to cut ties now that Roy is gone. The Avs goaltending has fallen off a cliff the last two seasons. It would be unfair to blame Allaire for the poor play of Semyon Varlamov, Calvin Pickard, and whoever else the Avs put between the pipes given the team’s defense and Allaire’s track record, but a new voice could do the team a lot of good.

The releases of Army and Farrish should have Avs fans celebrating. Both had a big hand in the Avs poor special teams. Army worked with the offense and power play while Farrish worked with the defense and penalty kill. As we all know, neither were good.

Before we all begin to speculate over who will replace those three, let’s just soak this in. Joe Sakic did a good thing. He made us wait, but he did a good thing.

This signals that maybe, just maybe, Sakic knows what he’s doing. Yes, the bar is that low for Sakic right now. He was in a tough position last year with Roy’s shocking and untimely resignation. He couldn’t completely overhaul the coaching staff a month before training camp, and free agents that fit under Roy’s vision had already signed.

These releases were necessary. Things had to change after last season. Bednar certainly deserves another chance with a full offseason, his guys with him on the bench, and his players on the ice.

With the draft lottery over, we’re officially past last season. The draft lottery was one last painful reminder of all the failures the team experience in 2016-17. Now, there’s nothing to remind us but the record books. I recommend avoiding those.

The moves on Tuesday signify that the organization is ready to move on as well. Why didn’t these releases happen sooner? Who cares. Let’s just celebrate that it happened. Call your friends and invite them over for a ‘Joe Sakic is Alive’ party.

It’s going to be a long offseason. We’re probably going to see the departure of more important and beloved pieces than three assistant coaches. So, for today, let’s just celebrate.