2013/14: The End of the Beginning

(Ed note: This was written both for you and for us. Sometimes venting after a tough loss is the only way to get over a tough loss. We hope you find solace in our words, and it, in some way, helps you cope with losing game 7.)

The end in deed. You all know what happened so we won’t waste your time recapping. We would just like to say a few words.

First off: The Avs would win this series if Tyson Barrie was in the lineup. They just would. With Barrie, the 5 minutes at a time of the Wild peppering us with shots would not be there. The lack of offense would not be there. The neutral zone giveaways would be cut in half. The breakouts would actually be broken out. The Avs would have won in 6. Fact.

Matt Cooke. Ahhh Matt Cooke. As Don Cherry called him, the “6 time loser” will be playing in game 4 of the 2^nd round. How unfair is that? He is the playoff MVP for the Wild as far as we’re concerned. The injury to Barrie isn’t the fault of the Wild, Mike Yeo, or even really Matt Cooke for that matter. The NHL is at fault here, 100%. The guy ended a player’s career (Marc Savard) and has been suspended now 7 times. That doesn’t even count the dirty things he has done that have gone unnoticed by the Dept. of player Safety. NHL, this is YOUR fault for letting a player as gutless and disrespectful as Matt Cooke to be allowed to lace up for an NHL team. The next player that gets hurt and misses time over this goof had better sue the league, because they are not doing everything, or anything in their power to keep these players safe. Department of Player Safety? We scoff at that misguided name. More like the Department of Trying to Make The Game Look Respectable, But Not Harsh Enough So We Can Still Whore Ourselves Out To Sponsors. What does it take, NHL? Does Cooke need to decapitate Toews or Kane or Ovechkin or Crosby for you to actually understand how much of a threat he is to other players? Do you actually have to lose money and a key interest of the league to realize he doesn’t belong on the ice? Well shame on you for letting these players get hurt at the expense of a low life loser. Get real NHL.

But apart from the Cooke/Barrie stuff, let’s be honest. The Wild didn’t win that series. The Avs lost it. Games 3 and 4 were so awful. The worst games the team has played all season, and what a time to totally implode. Varlamov deserves the Vezina trophy just for those two games alone. He is the #1 star of the series. The number 2 star? Nobody. 12 shots in game 4. Horrible defense the rest of the way. The Avs got lucky in game 1. They deserved to lose game 3 and 4. They deserved to lose game 5. They deserved to lose game 6. Game 7 was just an epic failure. 4 leads and they blow it. This is not on Matt Cooke, or the loss of Barrie, this is on the players who were playing the games. Ryan O’Reilly’s iconic picture, looking dejected and crushed after the game: he has every reason to feel that way. The whole team has every reason to feel that way. His quote after being asked about the great season: “Who cares?” Who cares is right. They messed up and no one can feel bad for them. Because it is what it is. They’re mad that they let a 2-0 series lead turn into a 4-3 loss. They’re mad they couldn’t score a goal in Minnesota. They’re mad they couldn’t skate past the Wild defense, get into the zone, and take a shot that wasn’t from the mysterious beyond. (Self props for the Land Before Time reference). They’re mad that the moment their goaltender had a below outstanding game they didn’t have the skill to win it themselves. And they should be. They should be mad at themselves and kick themselves for a long time. This might sound harsh, but it is true. And the experience they gained from this will surely help them throughout their careers going forward. Their pain, anguish, and regrets they all deservingly feel will make them better players, and will make this a better team. Look at the Blackhawks. They are a team most comparable to the Avs. Build through a few horrible seasons, draft future stars, have some tough playoff losses, gain experience, and then win it all.

That is what Avs fans have to look forward too. The upcoming years of winning games, winning series’ (serieses?) and eventually winning the Cup. This team will do great things, and we know you’ll all be along for the ride.

If you still need some consoling, think of this: The Minnesota Wild fans who were so pathetic over the course of the series, won’t be smiling for long. We don’t know about you, but every goal scored by the Hawks, every win at the Xcel Energy Center, and every frown, sad thought, and crying face amongst the Wild fans will be another gratifying sigh of relief. Sound petty? It sure as heck is. And take this into consideration: As of this second, the Wild have $0 in cap space. As of this second, the Wild have about $22M in cap space for next season, but only 17 players signed. So when they inevitably give Thomas Vanek 6-7M, they will be in bad shape to round out their team. The Wild are going to be bottom feeders for a lonnnnnng time, so there is always that to look forward too. Sound petty? Yea, it probably is. Is it helping? You bet it is! Wild fans don't deserve to smile. Not after the disrespectful display they put on this series. Even the true and honest Wild fans, who haven't done a thing wrong, don't deserve to smile on behalf of their deplorable bretheren. 

And last but not least: you guys, the fans, deserve the biggest round of applause. We are 100% truthful when we say this: The Avs family on Twitter, in Denver, and around the world, is the most collaborative actual family out of all the 30 teams in the league. Never has such a fan base been so friendly, so open to new people, and so close to people they have not even met. Friendships are always being made, whether it be in 140 characters or less, at a Burgundy Brigade party, at a podcast recording, at a random Denver pub before the game, or even on the streets of Europe where 2 people, representing the Avalanche A bump into eachother. You fans have made every game, every management decision, every roster move, and every goal, hit, save, icing, powerplay and so on the most fun out of any fan base in the league. We starting noticing this halfway through last season and it carried over to this season. We would look through other teams’ fans during game days and wouldn’t even see half the conversation. So maybe the best part about this season being over is that you all have close friends and comfortable strangers to help you through the idea of the Wild advancing over the Avs. Until next post, hang in there. The next few years are going to be a lot of fun. From the thousands and thousands of views all our posts have gotten, to wonderful conversations we have had with all of you amazing fans and friends, from The Most Famous Avs Blog You've Never Heard Of, we'll see you thoughout the summer, and most important of all, we'll see you next year.

This is the end of the beginning. The rebuild, the years of turmoil, Joe Sacco and Greg Sherman. All that has manifested itself into Patrick Roy, Joe Sakic, Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, Tyson Barrie, Gabe Landeskog, and Semyon Varlamov. Enter a new era.