Caught In the Avalanche

^{2nd Year-Center
Height: 5' 11"  Weight: 170 lbs.
GP: 73 G: 14  A: 8  P: 22 
ATOI: 13:20  PIM: 28 +/-: +4
2006-2007 Salary: $550,000}

Brad Richardson spent the majority of his season with the Avalanche, but he also spent part of the season with Lowell in the AHL. He topped his points total for his rookie season. Richardson has some very Sakic-esque shots on net and is a key penalty killer. It’s not uncommon for Richardson to breakaway up the ice shorthanded and score goals. He scored 3 of his 14 goals shorthanded and added one in overtime (the only others to score in overtime were Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk). He is one of those few players who has more goals than assists.  

While he’s certainly not the biggest guy on the ice, he has shown that he can stick with the big NHL players. Richardson has gone from a line with Ian Laperriere, who is known for fighting and physical play to a line with Joe Sakic and Andrew Brunette who are skilled offensive players and back. His versatility makes him a useful player to have on the roster and so far he has proven that he may be small, but he’s not weak. He can be counted on to score in difficult situations with his speed up the ice. Richardson’s contract extends to next year and he will see a slight increase in salary if the Avs keep him in the big leagues.  

12^th Year - Defense 
Height: 6’ 0” Weight: 214 lbs.
GP: 81 G: 3 A: 16 P: 19 
ATOI: 20:37  PIM: 68  +/-: +18
2006-2007 Salary: $700,000

 
Ken Klee is one of the Avs off season signings, and right away they knew he liked living in Colorado as he already lived in Morrison during the summers. He was brought in to be a veteran presence on the defensive core. Klee has not been a disappointment on the blue line, providing a physical presence for the D. He also led the team in +/- rating for much of the season, finishing with a team best +18. He got a lot of ice time and played in nearly every game. Klee was a big part of the Avs penalty kill and for a long time played really well with Ossi Vaananen.

Klee was always going in behind the net to fight the puck away from his opponents and he threw a lot of hard hits on forwards who got in his way. Klee had the second most shifts per game for the Avs with approximately 32. He was one of our better defensive defensemen and probably one of the better all around blue liners. He didn’t score as much as Clark or Liles, but did a good job of making sure the puck stayed out of our net. He is another free agent at the end of the year, and I think the Avs would be wise to bring him back.

3^rd Year – Right Wing
Height: 6’ 0” Weight: 193 lbs.
GP: 66 G: 6 A: 6 P: 12 
ATOI: 9:25  PIM: 31  +/-: +3
2006–2007 Salary: $550,000

 
Mark Rycroft may not be a big points producer and he didn’t play every night, but he definitely played with heart. For much of the season, Ian Laperriere was the only player on the Avs that had any fighting majors. Rycroft finally stepped up to be the second Avs player to fight anyone. He may not have been the best fighter, but you have to give him credit for playing hard and trying to keep his spot on the roster. He is loyal to his team and he still proudly talks about his years with the Denver Pioneers college hockey team. He may not have a lot of ice time when he does play, but you can be sure he does play with heart. That might not be enough to carry you in the NHL, but it sure doesn’t hurt.

With 12 points, Rycroft had his second best year offensively (in his rookie campaign with St. Louis he had 21 points). The impressive thing is that out of his six goals, two of them were game winners. Mark Rycroft does not exactly come to mind as a hero, but in a pinch he can sometimes come through big. With this summer, Rycroft will become an unrestricted free agent and it’s borderline as to whether the Avs will be interested in bringing him back or not.

Rookie – Right Wing
Height: 6’ 1” Weight: 211 lbs.
GP: 39 G: 3 A: 8 P: 11 
ATOI: 12:16  PIM: 16  +/-: -4
2006–2007 Salary: $450,000

 
Ben Guite was initially called up for the Avs at a time when they were plagued by injuries. He earned a spot on the team by playing consistently well each game. Guite is not exactly a goal scorer, but when he does put a puck in the net, it seems to come at key moments. As time rolled on, Guite became an integral part of the penalty killing unit.  

Guite is not your typical rookie as he has been in the minors for 6 years since graduating from college. At 27 years old, Guite has played in one previous NHL game for the Boston Bruins. This may have been his last shot at an NHL career as he is getting older and he was certainly able to impress the Avs. The Avs were going nowhere fast and he stepped in and showed that he could play. He may or may not have a future with the Avs, but has proven that he’s a dependable forward. He will become an unrestricted free agent in the off-season and it’s hard to say if he’ll be back or not.

15^th year-Defenseman
Height: 6’ 2” Weight: 203 lbs.
GP: 33 G: 1 A: 10 P: 11
ATOI: 19:22  PIM: 22  +/-: -5
2006-2007 Salary: $3,000,000

 
In his second year as an Av, Patrice Brisebois was another player who found a stroke of bad luck. His season was also cut short by injuries. When he was healthy, he had a lot of ice time each night, but was not great defensively. A lot of times he was out of position and ended up screening his own goalie on shots that lead to goals. Offensively, Brisebois was not bad as he had a pretty powerful shot from the point. His lone goal came on the power play.

Brisebois would jump up in the offensive zone and made some good passes to his teammates. While he was certainly not the best defenseman on the team, he did bring a veteran presence to the game. He played most of his career in Montreal, which is not an easy environment for hockey players to play in. He brought experience and leadership to the team on and off the ice. His contract is up this season and he will become a free agent. The Avs would be fine if they chose not to sign Brisebois again and instead opted to pick someone else up via free agency.

*After looking through hundreds of pictures I honestly could not find any shots of Brisebois in his gear that were not either blurry or only of the back of his head.

7^th year-Defenseman
Height: 6’ 1” Weight: 210 lbs.
GP: 68 G: 0 A: 11 P: 11 
ATOI: 21:13  PIM: 30  +/-: 0
2006-2007 Salary: $2,400,000

 
This season Karlis Skrastins was in the spotlight as he approached the NHL record for most consecutive games played for a defenseman. The quiet defenseman from Latvia is not used to the media attention, but seemed to enjoy the spotlight. He approached the record of 486, tied and then passed it with a celebration and media recognition. Unfortunately the new NHL record is set at 495 because shortly after he set the record, Skrastins suffered a knee injury which caused him to miss about a month of play.

When Skrastins was healthy he anchored the top defensive pair with Brett Clark. Skrastins was once again a leader in blocking shots. At times before he was injured, watching his play was frustrating because it seemed like he was always facing the wrong way in the defensive zone. However he was a leader in blocked shots and could be counted on to put his body in harm’s way to stop the puck from getting through. He takes a lot of physical punishment and for 7 years, he did not miss a single game, one hell of an accomplishment these days. Skrastins’ contract extends for another two seasons with the Avalanche and his pay will remain the same.

6^th Year-Defenseman
Height: 6’4”  Weight: 215 lbs.
GP: 74  G: 2  A: 6  P: 8 
ATOI: 14:19  PIM: 69  +/-: 6
2006-2007 Salary:  $998,000

Ossi Vaananen had a pretty average year as far as his career goes. He has never been one to score a lot of points, but he provides a big physical defensive presence. One frustrating aspect of his play is that while he is physical, he does take some bad penalties. Vaananen was paired for a while with veteran Ken Klee and the pair did a very good job of keeping pucks out of the net. Vaananen was healthy for the entire season, but often Quenneville chose to sit him when the Avs had too many healthy defensemen.

Vaananen does not put a lot of shots towards the net, but the Avs have already got scoring well under control. One of Vaananen’s two goals this season was a game winning goal. He worked often on the penalty kill with defensive partner Ken Klee. Vaananen becomes a free agent when free agency begins this summer and it is unclear whether the Avs plan to re-sign him. Vaananen does his job defensively, but having him on the roster is not crucial to the Avs success. It would be nice to see him back, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if he wasn’t.

19^th year-Center
Height: 6’ 1” Weight: 200 lbs.
GP: 17 G: 4 A: 3 P: 7 
ATOI: 10:10  PIM: 10  +/-: -1
2006-2007 Salary: $1,500,000

Pierre Turgeon is the most veteran player on the Avs roster this season and unfortunately his age is starting to show. Turgeon only managed to get into a handful of games this year and missed most of the season with various different injuries. He’s pushing forty years old and has already seen nearly two decades of play in the NHL. It’s hard to watch a player get older, but Turgeon has declined in the number of games played and in points production over the last few seasons.

When Turgeon is healthy on the ice, he brings a lot of character and leadership to the team. He did score 4 goals when he was healthy this season and could have been a key part of the power play. It’s not that Turgeon didn’t try when he was playing, he brought a lot of heart and determination, but just couldn’t stay healthy this season. Given his decline in health and his overall decline in scoring, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Turgeon could retire at the end of this season. He would become an unrestricted free agent and after nearly 20 years of play in the NHL no one would blame if he called it quits.

*This is the only picture I had of Turgeon as he missed most of the games/practices that I went to.

4th year-Defenseman
Height: 6’ 4” Weight: 220 lbs.
GP: 48 G: 0 A: 6 P: 6 
ATOI: 18:19  PIM: 24  +/-: -3
2006-2007 Salary: $685,000

Kurt Sauer was having déjà vu for about the first half of this season. Just like last year, he sat out most of the first half of the season without much explanation as to why. Again, rather than being waived, traded or sent to the minors, Sauer practiced with the Avs and didn’t see much action. Never did he complain or get down; instead he worked harder at practices and finally earned himself a roster spot. Initially he got the spot due to injury, but with hard work and good play, Sauer earned himself a permanent spot for the rest of the season.

As time wore on, Sauer really made a name for himself amongst the D, and was able to keep his spot even when players returned from injury. When the Avs called up rookie Jeff Finger, he was paired with Kurt Sauer defensively, which proved that the coaches had confidence in Sauer’s teaching skills. Sauer’s a pretty big guy at 6’4” tall and he was not afraid to bring a physical presence to his game. When Karlis Skrastins sat out with a knee injury, Sauer stepped in and took up a lot of the extra ice time and was even paired with Brett Clark. Sauer does not contribute a lot of points, but he is more of a defensive defenseman. He becomes a restricted free agent at the end of the season and given his play this year, I think the Avs might offer him a contract and let him play a full season this time.