Does Sacco Deserve To Stay?

When the Denver Post reported, with only a few games remaining in the Avs regular season schedule, that coach Joe Sacco would be returning for the 2012-13 NHL season behind the Avs bench, an outcry burst out from Avs nation on hockey forums, Twitter, and pretty much anywhere else fans could express their opinions. Left, right and center, readers of anything Avalanche could witness the utter disgust and disbelief in Avs management for bringing back the coach that was eventually going to miss the post season for the second straight season; the first time this has happened to the franchise since it moved here from Quebec.

There were of course, loyal supporters of Sacco who saw this season as an improvement over last year’s second to last finish. The supporters argue that Sacco has a young, inexperienced team that still needs to mature. They argue that it is not Sacco’s fault Colorado did not have a playoff team. In some ways, they are right. Colorado has the youngest NHL team and the lowest payroll. But, that does not mean Sacco should not cover some, or a majority of the blame.

But Sacco’s decisions weren’t all bad. The way he played the Varlamov situation was smart and effective. Varlamov was playing bad. He was inconsistent, and to add to another cliché, his confidence was shot. Sitting and watching his starting job fade to an older, wiser goaltender was just what the doctor ordered, and Sacco helped fill the prescription. Credit Joe Sacco as a huge part of the reason Varlamov got his game back.

Sacco did a lot of good with the Avs this year. He helped develop Landeskog into a future superstar, and he was keen enough to trust young center Ryan O’Reilly in pretty much any situation. But in today’s world, especially the hockey world, the mistakes made by players, GM’s and in this case coaches, gets noticed and talked about on a much larger scale than any positives.

Too many times this season, Avs fans have seen their team come out of the gate flat footed, slow, reckless, and carless. Top players were not playing like top players, and they were not producing at a rate that was deemed acceptable by anyone. And when top players were not producing, they were barely making up for it in other ways. There was no Ryan Kesler on the Avs this year, who could go through scoring slumps, but still be effective defensively, and an asset to the team. What does this have to do with Sacco you ask? Everything. Instead of trying to motivate players, and increase confidence levels, Sacco was too quick to put players in his doghouse. T.J. Galiardi is an example of this. Galiardi was coming off an injury plagued season last year, and he got off to a slow start. So when it got to the point of stick squeezing, low confidence, and a huge monkey on his back, what did the coach do to motivate him? He threw him in the doghouse, which leads us to our next portion.

Joe Sacco, like every coach in the league, has a doghouse. But unlike other coaches, Sacco uses it way to liberally. Not every player has a perfect game. Rarely do players go through an entire game without making mistakes, and when the inevitable happens, Coach Sacco is less than negotiable. Avs fans don’t need this blog to tell them anymore about the doghouse, or as we prefer to call it, the Galiardi Inn.

One highly questionable, and in our opinions, downright stupid move from Sacco, was the benching of Peter Mueller in late March. In a crucial game against the Canucks, Sacco sat #88 in order to send him a message, due his poor play in the previous game versus Phoenix. Sacco also sat Mueller the next game against the Sharks. Now we aren’t the kind of people to tell others how to do their job, but don’t you think the Avs would have had a better chance at beating the Canucks with Mueller in the lineup? They lost in overtime for those of you who forget, and that one point was a huge blow to the team. The next game, Colorado struggled offensively as they got trounced by the Sharks, another bubble team, 5-1. I’m sorry Sacco, but you do not bench one of your top 6 forwards, for Chuck Kobasew, to send him a message when your team is in the middle of a playoff hunt. That is just stupid. Sit McLeod or a bottom 6 guy. Not Peter Mueller.

Additionally, when Colorado was down 3-0 going into the 3^rd against Phoenix on March 22^nd, Sacco decided to sit both Mueller and Duchene. Colorado scored a goal early in the last frame, and another with about five remaining. Do you think Sacco played his top center and his skilled winger in an effort to comeback and gain a crucial two points? No. Dutchy and Mueller sat and watched while the Avs fell short to yet another bubble team. That was a very bad decision.

Another questionable move was the demotion of Avs Captain Milan Hejduk to the 4^th line in the last half of the season. On a team that struggled to score goals since late February, a proven sniper, and a player that can still be effective offensively should not be paired with Jay McClement and Cody McLeod.

So it all comes down to one question. Does Joe Sacco deserve to spend another season behind the Avs bench? As nice of a guy as he seems, the answer is unfortunately no. Even though this season’s end result was not entirely his fault, the coach is always easiest to blame. His inability to fire players up for big games, get players out of a slump, and his overall constant miscues and bad decisions should be looked upon as grounds for dismissal.

Prediction: If the Avs are slow out of the gate to begin next season, look for Coach Sacco’s reign on Colorado to be over. If this team underachieves again, there will be no one else for management to point fingers at.