Our Take On The New Avs Alternate Jersey

Icethetics tweeted out the potential Stadium Series jersey for the Avs, and have now made it official.  Icethetics is usually pretty bang on with their predictions, and they seem to have a wicked insider for this kind of stuff. If they are ever wrong, its usually some small detail like stripe size or shoulder yokes. Just trivial stuff. So it was a good idea to take this leak seriously. For those who haven't seen it yet, although most probably have, here it is:

The only thing missing is the Colorado state flag on the left shoulder of the jersey (Our right looking at the picture)

It is safe to assume the Avs will have a separate jersey for the Stadium Series game versus the Red Wings, maybe in the form of a throwback to the old 1995-2007 jerseys, which would be awesome.

So our take on the jersey? Awesome concept. That logo with Avs colors just works, and its a great way to make sense of the new shoulder patch. The rest of the jersey? Boooriiing. The white shoulder yoke is too square and doesn't really fit with the overall color scheme of the jersey. The sleeves: awesome 3 color scheme, but the template isn't that great. the small white stripe separating the overall blue and blocky burgundy is just too plain and doesn't look good. What would look good? Take that white stripe and add 2 black stripes around it. Or continue with the blue down the sleeve and keep a similar striping pattern that was found on the blueberry alternates:

The sleeves just look to blocky. The blue is just halted by a white line and the rest of the sleeve is red. That's a lazy template. And apart from that, it just doesn't work.

One of the flaws of the blueberry Avs jersey in our opinion was the bottom. it was just blue and nothing else. A product of the new RBK Edge system, there was no striping or anything on the bottom of the jersey and it was left bland. What would make this new jersey look better? Maybe the bottom striping scheme of the very first burgundy alternate:

And if that looks too busy, maybe something simple like the bottom striping from the Florida Panthers old alternate jersey:

Of course, imagine this on the Stadium Series jersey using Avs colors. Or, using that same color transformation, the scheme from the St. Louis Blues alternate.

These are just ideas we are throwing out there. The bottom line: Do something with the bottom of the jersey! Oh and make the shoulder yoke black or something. That would look sharp. White just throws everything off.

Overall grade of the jersey? D. Not a fail, but not that great. There could be a lot of additions that could turn this potential-filled template into a great, crisp jersey.

Who Wore it Better: #16

In an effort to make the offseason more bearable, we here at Avaholics Unanimous are committed to bringing you Avs related stuff to read. This could come in the form of senseless drabble, or things that are actually interesting to read. We hope these "Who Wore It Better" segments fall under the latter category.

Number 16 is not a celebrated number in Avs history. The most any player ever wore the number: Darcy Tucker with 134 games. The Nordiques half of the franchise: That's a different story. Michel Goulet played 10 years in Quebec, amassing 456 goals and 945 points, finishing his career with 548 goals and 1152 points. His number was retired by the Nordiques. But, we're strictly talking Avs here so....

The Best: Jay McClement. This is like picking the least runty in a litter of runts. But McClement's solid 2 way game, penalty killing, and splash offence makes him the winner! Duncan Siemens was a close second, which just goes to show how unfortunate this number is.

The Worst: Darcy Tucker. This was a tough one because Tucker has the most goals and points out of any number 16, but hear us out. His contract was awful, and he ended up getting bought out after two underwhelming seasons. Coming in as a pest who could score goals (Tucker scored over 20 goals 6 times) and get dirty, Tucker did not adjust well to the team and his play showed it.

Mr. Irrelevant: Warren Rychel. Rychel won a Stanley Cup with the Avs and after the 1996 season, left for Anaheim. Rychel came back after two seasons abroad to score 0 goals and 2 assists, rarely dropping the gloves, which could be seen as his specialty early on in his career. He had 1336 PIMs before his second stint with the Avs, averaging 4:44 on ice per game in his last season. That is pretty irrelevant.

Other #16's:

Jeff Odgers (The other tough guy 16)

Corey Sarich (Winner of the "Get Well Soon" and "Thanks for bringing Tanguay Back to Colorado" awards)

Duncan Siemens (Not irrelevant only because his work here isn't done)


Also in the Series:

1    2   3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10    11    12    13    14    15    16    17    18    19  

20   21    22    23    24    25    26    27    28    29    30    31    32    33    34    35    36    

37    38    39    40    41    42    43    44    45    46    47    48    49    50    51    52    53   

54    55    57   58    59    60    62    63    71    77    87    88    90    92    94    97

Who Wore It Better: #15

In an effort to make the offseason more bearable, we here at Avaholics Unanimous are committed to bringing you Avs related stuff to read. This could come in the form of senseless drabble, or things that are actually interesting to read. We hope these "Who Wore It Better" segments fall under the latter category.

The number 15. Not a number any Avs fan really thinks about when ask who their favorite players are, save for maybe one gem. Once again, we were surprised by the amount of number 15's in Avs history, but after looking at the list, we decided it was just a number the Avs brass gave to guys who had no hope in heck in sticking with the team. So without further adieu...adeu? Adeau? This computer doesn't have french SpellCheck (Eric Lindros would love this computer) so we don't know...anyways, here is #15!

The Best: Who else but Heart And Soul, Mr. Nice Guy Andrew Brunette? This guy was a workhorse with the Avs who slotted in nicely along side Joe Sakic and pretty much anyone else who he got paired with. He only played 3 seasons with Colorado but he never missed a single game and he always scored 19 goals or more. His point totals in 246 games? 205. Ridiculous. Apart from scoring, Brunette was a great leader for the team and did a lot of good around the Denver community. Almost enough to forgive him for scoring the last goal on Patrick Roy. Almost.

The Worst: Brian Rolston. Remember him in an Avs jersey? He was brought over in the trade that sent Claude Lemieux back to New Jersey. He came in as a young guy with a heavy shot that had potential to score 20 goals a year (he had 24 for just a few seasons previous with the Devils) but totally dudded out in Colorado. 50 games, 8 goals, and 18 points. And he was getting 2nd line minutes (over 16 minutes a game). He crapped out in Colorado, but luckily the Bruins still saw some potential in him as he was a piece to the Ray Bourque trade. Rolston would go on to score over 30 goals in 4 seasons in the league, racking up 761 points. Decent career, bad for the Avs.

Mr. Irrelevant: Mike Gaul. Gaul in the epitome of irrelevant. He played 1 game with the Avs, playing just under 11 minutes with 1 shot on goal in the 98/99 season. He would later go on to dress in 2 games with the Jackets in 2001. Not being able to crack an expansion roster for at least 5 games? That's Gaul awful. We'll see ourselves out.

Other #15’s:

Josef Marha (Winner of the "Went on to Better Things" award)

Yves Sarault (Winner of the "Why is he on the 3rd line in NHL 98" award)

Ted Crowly (Winner of the "Makes us think of an Ozzy song" award)

Brad Larsen (15 was one of 3 numbers he wore for the Avs, (9, 40))

Matt Hendricks (Solid 4th liner and wait we traded Johnny Boychuk for him?)

P.A. Parenteau (The Mother Truckin one)

The Ozzy song was "Mr. Crowley" by the way. Look it up. Good song.


Also in the Series:

1    2   3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10    11    12    13    14    15    16    17    18    19  

20   21    22    23    24    25    26    27    28    29    30    31    32    33    34    35    36    

37    38    39    40    41    42    43    44    45    46    47    48    49    50    51    52    53   

54    55    57   58    59    60    62    63    71    77    87    88    90    92    94    97

The Current 5 Best Trades in Avalanche History

Earlier on, we listed the 5 worst trades in Avalanche history. They stunk, fans hated them, and it always came back to bite the management in the rear end. We felt bad for putting you through the agony of reliving those dark moment in Avs history, so we figured we'd cheer you up with this: The 5 BEST trades in Avalanche history! 

#5. The Colorado Avalanche traded David Jones and Shane O'Brien to the Calgary Flames for Alex Tanguay and Cory Sarich.

We have done this before, and the previous #5 trade was the Galiardi, Winnik, 7th rd pick for Connolly, Sgarbossa, and McGinn. Since the last similar article 2 years ago. Galiardi has gone on to become an effectiv 4th liner, and Winnik has still managed to play a very good two way game. Connolly had his cup of tea for the Avs and Sgarbossa never did much for the team. McGinn was unfortunately the throw in the O'Reilly trade, so the deal hasn't really worked out for the Avs. Enter this trade. The Avs got Tanguay back who has been one of our best players since the trade, and we managed to get a decent year out of Sarich. The best part though? Unloading David Jones and the useless Shane O'Brien. Jones has done okay in Calgary since the trade and O'Brien has bounced around the NHL and Minors since. And we got the hero of game 7 (2001) back. Good stuff.

#4. The Colorado Avalanche traded Wendel Clark to the New York Islanders for Claude Lemieux.

This trade is perhaps the least talked about trade that had the most influence. The Avs got rid of a guy who wanted nothing to do with the franchise and in return they got a clutch playoff performer, future Avalanche legend, and a big piece to puzzle of the championship team of 1996, and the Avs domination in the late 90’s.

#3. The Colorado Avalanche traded Adam Deadmarsh, Aaron Miller, a 1st round pick in 2001 (Dave Steckel), a 1st round pick in 2003 (Brian Boyle) and a player to be named later (Jared Aulin) to the Los Angeles Kings for Rob Blake and Steven Reinprecht.

This trade is a catch 22. On one end, they Avs lose a heart and soul, skilled, tough player in Deadmarsh as well as a solid defenseman in Miller. They also lost a few 1^st round picks that they probably could’ve used. But in return they got what many call “the final piece to the puzzle” in Steven Reinprecht. Just kidding, but Rob Blake is what pushed the Avs across the line from potential NHL Champions to legitimate contenders. It was a steep price, but well worth it in the end. Reinprecht would provide some solid 3^rd line play until phasing out and being traded, and Blake would provide leadership and act as a role model to young Avs players for years to come. Great trade.

#2. The Colorado Avalanche traded Brian Rolston, Martin Grenier, Samuel Pahlsson and a 1st round pick in 2000 (Martin Samuelsson) to the Boston Bruins for Ray Bourque and Dave Andreychuk

Ahh Ray Bourque. Mission 16W, Sakic handing the Cup over, his kids crying as he hoisted it. What a story and what a memory for Avs fans everywhere, forever. We all know the story so we won’t bother explaining. But what is the best part of this trade? All we gave up was Rolston, who was useless to the team at that time, Grenier who amounted to nothing special, and Pahlsson. These three players, plus a 1^st rounder, for RAY BOURQUE? Ray Shero must have been watching Pierre Lacroix closely as a young adult. Oh right, Dave Andreychuk. Neat.

#1. The Colorado Avalanche traded Andrei Kovalenko, Martin Rucinsky and Jocelyn Thibault to the Montreal Canadiens for Patrick Roy and Mike Keane.

If you started reading this article unsure what would be the number one trade in Avs history, then we don’t blame you. The Blake trade, Bourque, and Roy all have significant meaning to the success of this franchise. But it was our call and we had to choose this one. The Avs got one of the best goalies in the league at the time, and a skilled checking forward in Mike Keane, for pennies! I know the Habs just wanted to get something for one of the best goalies in the NHL, but come on. They could've done better than that! Not that we’re complaining. This trade set the stage for the franchise and set it up as an absolute powerhouse. If the Avs didn’t get Patrick Roy, think of how differently things could be right now. It’s scary. Sacco might still be our coach for pete’s sake! This isn’t only the greatest trade in Avs history, it is one of the best trades in the history of the NHL.

  

Honourable Mentions:

The Colorado Avalanche traded Ryan O'Reilly and Jamie McGinn to the Buffalo Sabres for Nikita Zadorov, Mikhail Grigorenko, J.T. Compher, and the 31st overall pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

The Colorado Avalanche traded Bates Battaglia and Jonas Johansson to the Washington Capitals for Steve Konowalchuk and a 3rd round pick in 2004 (Casey Borer).

The Colorado Avalanche traded Frederic Cassivi to the Atlanta Thrashers for Brett Clark.

The Colorado Avalanche traded a 3rd round pick in 2004 (Peter Regin) to the Nashville Predators for Karlis Skrastins. 

The Colorado Avalanche traded Scott Hannan to the Washington Capitals for Tomas Fleischmann.

*Note: This does not include the Nordiques, or the Lindros trade would be on here. Where would you rank the Lindros trade on this list?

Why Ryan O'Reilly is Probably Addicted to Gambling, Drugs, and Betting

Note: This post is in no way defamatory or accusatory of Ryan O’Reilly. This is JUST a theory. So, Ryan O’Reilly’s dad, if you’re reading this, you don’t need to tweet about it, okay? Because no one cares. We just… don’t care. Oh, and no. we don’t have Terry Pegula’s phone number so don’t even bother asking. So you can’t ask him to give your son more ice time. When Tyler Ennis is out on the powerplay and O’Reilly is on the bench, don’t bother trying to do anything about it. And since we’re on the topic, nooo, you can’t call Tim Murray and get him to trade for Sidney Crosby to play alongside O’Reilly to inflate his point totals so he can try and justify his ridiculous contract. And noooo. Don’t even bother trying to get O’Reilly’s dressing room locker stall outlined and studded with precious gems and jewels, an elevated chair, and a platinum staff with “#1” engraved in it. We know you think he deserves it, but it’s just not possible. AND NO. He can’t have his own private bathroom in Buffalo with a gold toilet to sh-okay we’re getting off topic. Anyways…

Gambling, drugs, and betting. That is the only answer for all this craziness going on with Ryan O’Reilly. Let us explain:

The gambling: This is something that happens to lots of people. They go to a casino. Put a quarter in the machine. Pull the lever. They win. They go to a roulette pool. Always bet on black folks. They win, then they play again. They lose. But they need the rush of winning again, so they keep going and going.

The betting: just as addictive and much the same. You always think you can win. You but up big bucks, then all of the sudden: upset city. You try to win your money back the next game, but it fails.

Drugs: Now, we aren’t saying O’Reilly is the next Ryan Malone or Jaret Stoll. But you never know. Lindsay Lohan’s cousin is at the Capitals Development Camp. So maybe they’ve met sometime down the road. Maybe they hang out from time to time. Who knows.

The reasoning for these outlandish statements? Well think of this way; and we’ll explain ourselves in the form of the probable conversation between Ryan O’Reilly and Joe Sakic at the negotiating table:

Now, the Avs probably went to ROR with an initial offer of 5.5 Million bucks long term that was obviously laughed off the offer table. O’Reilly counters with 8 million long term. The Avs, trying to hold back their own outrageous laughter, give the ROR party a final generous offer of 6.5 million bucks a year, long term yet again. And here is where O’Reilly really pipes up:

“Look guys, who do you think I am? Some bum on the street? Why are you throwing me chump change? I am unable to function as a proper human being without that extra 1.5 million dollars over 8 years? You expect me to live on just 6.5 a year? How do you suppose I do that? Start shopping at WalMart? I mean, I know I’ll make as much in 1 year as an average middle class family makes in a lifetime, but for me this is unsustainable. Just like my possession numbers if I move to a team that tried to tank last year.”

Avs Management: “we don’t get it. What do you possibly need that extra 1.5 million for over 8 years? We know you have to support your brother Cal, who only makes 800,000 dollars a year, the poor soul, but come on.”

Greg Sherman in the background: “Let’s trade him for Jay McClement”

We’ll cut it there, but see what we mean? The guy is obviously strapped for cash and really stressed about it. His life would apparently be over without that extra 1.5 million. More like 2 million by the sounds of what the Avs figured he’s worth. And what are some of the most expensive, money wasting pastimes? Casinos, betting, and narcotics. That sound you just heard: your mind blowing. We cracked the case.

So let’s not feel bad for O’Reilly, this guy is a charity case. He is probably so in debt with the mafia, bookies, and the gangsters that he really needs all of his 7.5 million dollars a year he’ll make in Buffalo before being bought out. And before you go thinking “stressed or not, his defensive game isn’t good enough to make up for his overall lack of allstar offense” think again. O’Reilly now makes more than Duchene, Alex Steen, Seguin, Stamkos, and so on, so obviously now that the added stress of huge debt is off his shoulders, he can start performing offensively to the tone of what he thinks he’s worth. And we all know he is capable of putting up Seguin, Benn, Stamkos type numbers. I mean, he scored 64 points once. That is HUGE! And nothing about his offense had to do with the fact he was playing along side Matt Duchene, MacKinnon, and Landeskog among others. He is still going to be very good offensively playing with Tyler Ennis and Jack Eichel. So what if he has only got more than 30 points 3 times. Look for this guy to win multiple Art Ross trophies, as his salary and his own expectations would have you think.

We’ll miss you Ryan O’Reilly. Even though an old Alex Tanguay and an old Jarome Iginla managed to outscore you at a fraction of the cost. Oh, but you led the non-playoff team in takeaways. Nice.

Free Agency: Avoid These Guys Like The Plague

Everyone is posting stories and opinions about who their team should get in Free Agency on July 1^st. There are the obvious ones. Everyone should get Oduya of they can swing it. Everyone should get Justin Williams because he is awesome. But we’re going to take a look at who the Avs should avoid the plague.

Paul Martin, Defense.

Martin carried a 5 million dollar cap hit ast year during a boring, disappointing season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. With 3 goals and 20 points last year on a Pens team that was riddled with defensive issues, he can just keep on walking. Obviously he won’t get his cap hit of 5 million dollars this year unless Dale Talon wants him in Florida, but he is not worth the time or money.

Michael Frolik, Right Wing.

If the Avs want another 3^rd line depth forward who can put up a couple of goals and never reach potential, then they might as well sign Galiardi and Hensick back to the team. The former 10^th overall draft choice (2006) shows flashes of brilliance at times, but for the most part he disappears for long stretches of time. Agin, this would be a waste of time and money. If the Avs want to be competitive, they should fill their bottom 6 with some 2-way guys and tough checkers.

Francois Beauchemin, Defense.

Due to the Bieksa trade to the Ducks, and Beauchemin wanting about 5 million bucks a year, it looks as though this defender will be hitting the open market. 5 million bucks? 35 years old? Nope.

Antoine Vermette, Center.

Vermette showed that he can be a clutch guy with the Hawks on route to his first Stanley Cup. Or, if we are in the real world, Vermette scored 3 goals at very important times because of crazy nice setups by Krueger and the rest of the Blackhawks. The Vermette we all saw after the Arizona trade, throughout the playoffs, and in the press box, is the Vermette you will be signing as a Free Agent. Not to mention the Avs have enough depth at center already. He might be good for a bottom feeder team, but not the Avs.

Martin St. Louis, Right Wing.

St. Louis is the kind of guy that was good once, got old, started sucking, got mad at his GM for not selecting him to the Olympic team, went anyways ahead of Claude Giroux, sucked, won gold anyways that he didn’t deserve, demanded to be traded from his team even though he still got to go to Sochi, and now has no team at the moment, and still sucks. Don’t you just hate guys like that?

Matt Belesky, Left Wing.

22 goals, 13 assists, playing much of the year with Perry and Getzlaf. Belesky wants a big payday. Remember a few years ago when Winnik started the season with Perry and Getzlaf, and racked up 13 points in like 9 games? Sorry Belesky, but your inflated goals total and non-impressive assist mark tells us that you just played with good players. You don’t deserve a payday. You are the Brendan Morrison of this era. Remember that? When Morrison thought he was worth a huge payday and the arbitrator pretty much laughed at him and said he was only good because of Bertuzzi and Naslund? That’s you Belesky. Tyler Arnason could have scored 20 goals with Perry and Getzlaf. Yea. We went there.

Mike Green, Defense.

Injury prone. Slowing down offensively. Not very good defensively. Never was. Sentence fragments. Mike Green will obviously take a pay cut, a la Paul Martin, but his shakey defensive game is unwanted on an Avs team that needs solid defensive help. We already have the offensive d-men. Green will find a home somewhere though, and probably have a decent year.

Mike Riberio, Forward.

Sexual assault allegations, and Nashville wants him back? Wait for the verdict David Poile. People have a problem with homosexuals playing sports, which is ridiculous, so let’s shift our focus to having a problem with sex offenders playing sports. That is actually a good reason. All of this pending a verdict of course.

Alex Semin, Forward.

Being bought out of a ridiculous $7M contract is the beginning of the end for Semin. He just doesn’t have it anymore. And by “it” we mean Alex Ovechkin, Nik Backstrom, and the Washington powerplay to inflate his numbers. Where does he fit on the Avs? We could make a press box or stick boy joke here, but we won’t. Because he would probably be bad at that too. Remember that fight he got into? You don’t? Oh okay, here it is! You do? Watch it again.

 Ok now we kind of feel sorry for Semin. Sign him Avs. Poor guy.



Other Reading:

The Jobs of our Avs if They Didn't Get Into Hockey

Daniel Briere's Buzzer Beater Against the Bruins

Colorado Avalanche Jersey Concepts, pt 1

Avs Jersey Concepts, pt 2

The Jobs of Our Avs if They Didn't Get Into Hockey

Do you ever wonder what NHL players would be doing with their lives if they never got into hockey? We did. And here is what we came up with:

Brad Stuart: Fry cook at McDonalds. Based on his ability to turn pucks over on the ice, he would be a shoe in for turning over those “all beef” patties at the golden arches.

Matt Duchene: Country music fan groupie. Can they get paid for this? Well, even if they can’t, Duchene would be so good at it they would have to pay him.

Marc-Andre Cliché: An extra in any TV show or movie he can find a role in. Because he never really contributes to the big picture, he is just sort of there.

Nate Guenin: Assassin. He has already killed his career, so he might as well move on to bigger things.

Ryan O’Reilly: Skyscraper window cleaner. Because that’s the only way he’ll get as high as he thinks of himself. Or: Oil Tycoon. Because he’s all about the money and doesn’t care how much it hurts the environment around him.

Jarome Iginla: Stay at home dad. If you can’t see that then you’re dead inside.

Gabriel Landeskog: Underwear model. We hope.

Cody McLeod: Boxer. Not a good one. The one future stars fight to boost their confidence early.

John Mitchell: Cody McLeod’s punching bag. Because he can take a hit from pretty much anything, anywhere.

Erik Johnson: Olympic medalist in another sport. Just to show the US that he deserved to be on the 2014 team more than Justin Faulk and Brooks Orpik.

Alex Tanguay: Human cannon ball at a circus. Because that’s the only way we’ll get him to shoot.

Ryan Wilson: The part of the car that connects the axle to the wheel. Then breaks. Then gets fixed. Then breaks again. Then gets fixed. Then breaks.

Reto Berra: Cheese taster. Favorite kind: Swiss. Get it? Because he is from Switzerland and lets in a lot of goals? Swiss cheese? It has holes in it. It is part of the process of making it. Air bubbles get in there and yea. So he has lots of holes when he plays in net. For pucks to get through. Remember that 6-5 loss to Winnipeg? Brutal.

Semyon Varamov: Bond villain.

Nathan MacKinnon: The guy who follows what Sidney Crosby did if HE never got into hockey.

Nick Holden:  Joke writer at the NHL Awards. Because he is already so good at making people groan in agony, burry their head in their hands, and wish they didn’t see what they just saw.

Danny Briere: Short-Round’s stunt double in the next Indiana Jones movie.

Tyson Barrie: Head of the Department of Player Safety. Because someone has to get this stuff right every once in a while.

Patrick Bordeleau: The boxer that beats Cody McLeod on his way to the heavyweight championship.

Freddie Hamilton: Psychologist specializing in patients who have names reserved for 5 year old. He has experience in dealing with this. His first patient: his brother Dougie.