AVALANCHE!!
 

But seriously, folks, do you really think you can stop these guys? And for all the talk about no goaltending, Roy was on his last leg anyway and Aebischer, uh, looks pretty good to me. Not to mention the best two lines in hockey. Bar none.

Aebischer is not a goalie who can take you down the stretch in March, April, May, June. And that's what you need to win the Stanley Cup. Goaltending. Anaheim proved this last year. And seriously man, do you think playing against Chicago and soundly thumping them 5-0 proves that the Avs will be the best team in the West? I don't think so. If they put up those kinds of numbers against Dallas and Detroit, then I'll be impressed. But until then, they won't get a very serious test.

Roy was still great, and Aebischer is not even close to Roy's level. End of that discussion.

And what's with the recent rash of posts regarding teams like the Avs, Cubs, and such that just say, "My team is amazing! No one can stop them!"

Have to agree

they will be a tough high scoring team during the season, but will not get far in the playoffs.

Talk about buying the Cup..

/me ducks ;)

Karia took a multimillion dollar paycut to be on the team. He's not the only one that took a paycut, either. That's not buying the cup.

Gimmie a break! It was CHICAGO, afterall. And against their BACKUP GOALTENDER. Aebisher has even been challenged yet. The Avs will be a powerful offensive machine, but they will give up a lot of goals.

Grrr! Avalanche = Bad. Blackhawks = Good.

The Blackhawks have not been the same since Roenick left for the Phoenix Coyotes (does anyone else find it odd that Phoenix has a hockey team?).

To reittorate- Avalanche = Burn in hell. Blackhawks = Nice and loveable.

Karia is an idiot. Went from a respected demi-god of Anaheim to just another face on the Av(erage)s.

he had 31 saves, not bad for a debut #1 to get a shut-out. Not to mention he was replacing one of the best goalies ever. Honestly if the Av's don't make this a 10th division champion, I'd be amazed. Now to get past the wild again.

Damn isnt that the truth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

but Colorado is gonna be the best this year even if Aebischer sucks

Last night the Blues beat the Avs 2-1 All that offense and they couldn't beat the blues. Osgood played a good game for St.Louis.

Hey at least they arent the Rangers. We are only 2 games into the season, and things already look bleak. I'm already looking forward to next season.

http://www.coloradoavalanche.com/Ima...scoreboard.gif
That was quick.

Well, they haven't bought it just yet. Remember Lacroix likes to wait until the end of the season before he gets the like of Fleury, Bourque, Blake, Lemieux, etc.

They'll buy the cup probably in March when they realize their goaltending resembles Chris Osgood and go out and get a Kolzig, or a Turek, or someother goalie that's playing for a horrible team. Don't be surprised if the Leafs tank it that the Avs will make a run at Eddie Belfour.

The Rangers' roster would have been deadly 10 years ago. But, with Bure hobbling around, Lindros still tripping from head injuries, Messier forgeting his career ended two years ago, and Holik truely showing the Devils' system made him the player he isn't, the Rangers are gonna suck for a while.

I feel bad for Leetch; maybe the Avs or Red Wings will save him from this sinking ship.

That reminds me, damn it, Lindros was going to be awesome before he developed this chronic concussion buisiness. He was absolutely unstoppable. Now we don't here a peep from him. That's really too bad. The league doesn't have too many players as sportsmanlike as he was.

There's always a smartass. Let's compare wins at the end of the season and then we'll see who's funny.

Karia took a one year contract that is below the league average so that he can become an unrestricted free agent next year

Sure, my team is Ottawa.

Well I'm not going to be as bold as to suggest I can compare wins at the end of the season with Colorado, but I sure enjoyed watching the game Sat. night against Edmonton.

http://www.allsports.com/store/image...H-OILE-LOG.gif

6-3 final with Edmonton getting two shorties!!!

I said in another thread that a medium team with great goaltending will go a lot further than a great team with medium goaltending. This I still believe to be true.

This may be my only chance to say this....Edmonton is currently first in their division, and second place in the Western Conference.

Lindros coulda been a contender but In two years he'll be fishing with his brother Brent who had to leave the league after his concussion.

I think the AVS are gonna wipe the league up.

The Redwings riegn is over. I don't care if Hasek came back or not .. I believe he had a mafia debt to pay and thats why he bailed.

Rangers.... sorry

Minnesota... come on boys!!!!!! Kick some ass!!!!

Yup...they are astounding!!!!

Loved watching Boston totally dominate every aspect of the game last night!!!! 4-1 Bruins...and that spanking coming at the end of a 6 game, 13 day road trip for Boston...

The Avs will slowly but surely become the class of theNHL. Redwings are getting way to long in the tooth.

The Avs usually start slow and get hot towards the end of the season. Lacroix has never hesitated to make changes when necessary, even if everyone else thinks he is insane when he does it. The Avs will contend for the Stanley Cup for sure.

stars


thats all i am saying

Once minnesota gets gaborik back they will look like a better team,and i'd like to see the avs play the lighting.. See how they stack up. As for karyia, didn't he take a pay cut this year so he is an unrestricted free agent next year and is going to beable to charge a boat load?

Detroit, who will sadly have to play the season without Hatcher.:( GO WINGS GO!:D

oh my. avs probably do have the the best 2 forward lines in hockey, which will be great if any injuries pop up.

veterancy is even greater now too, with additions of kariya and selanne. this will be one high scoring offense this season...

ALTHOUGH, goals will get you to the playoffs, but defense will win the stanley cup. the avs' defensive pairings are decent, but in the pipes is where it's really gonna matter. im interested in seeing how aebischer will do in the clutch.

Aebischer's going to be pretty good by the time the cup comes around. We've got a good defense, and a heavy-shooting offense. We're going to take the cup this year.

GO AVES!

You can't win a Stanley Cup without goaltending

St Louis Blue with Turek= ousted by the San Jose Sharks in 2000 and in the 2nd round by the Avalanche in 2001

Vancouver Canucks= (even though they're my favorite team) lost 4 straight to Detroit after winning Games 1 and 2 in 2001 with Cloutier and Skudra. And then lost 3 straight to Minnesota last year with Cloutier playing like crap. Love Cloutier but if he faulters again this year, he's done in Vancouver.

Sorry to say but the Av's need a goaltender to make them contenders. You can have all the successes and scorers in the regular season but if your goaltending fails in the playoffs, you can't make up for it. Ie 1995-1996 Detroit Red Wings. 62 win season but lost in the playoffs to the eventual Stanley Cup winners (Avalanche) Guess who was in net? Patrick Roy.

Don't be too terribly surprised if the Avs go after Kolzig in Washington. With the way the Caps are playing and Kolzig having all kinds of playoff experience, it just makes sense. Plus, with the recent Konowalchuk trade from Washington, it proves that Lacroix has been in contact with the Caps and can deal with them. The only question remains is if the Avs can pull Jagr away from Washington, too. Christ. We'd have the 1980's Oilers all over again.

I like the kolzig idea going to the Avs because it makes sense but I can't see them having any interest at all in Jagr unless the Caps take a large portion of his salary. For all I care, he can go rot in NY with all the other overpaid, selfish bums.

The Av's Do need a solid starter. If they can find the right goalie, they could be doing quite well this year.

stickyrice: Clouts is going to have to get more consistent.. personally Hedburg is looking like the Canucks choiec at this point to me (esp for playoffs) - haven't seen him let in a weak goal as of yet.... or did I forget/miss a goal?

Well, yes, Jagr does make, not earn, a lot of money. BUT, with the Avs luring Kariya and Selanne for next to nothing and Roy's contract out the window, they do have money to spend. I think Jagr could be a force again if surrounded with the right talent. Imagine a line of Forsberg, Jagr, and Sakic; not any fun there if trying to defend. I seriously doubt the Avs will go into the playoffs with their current roster.

Are there any other goalies they might go after? Kolzig is the only one I can think of. Cujo won't be going to Colorado; thank Claude!

Shadowz- Hedberg didn't look to great in Nashville (even though they won) or all that sharp in Philly (4-3OT loss). Hedberg has been exposed on the long range shots and his puck handling ability is best since Kirk McLean. As for him being solid in the playoffs, I'm not all too sold on him yet even though he had an incredible run as a rookie in Pittsburgh. Check back with me after the All-Star break.

Clouts is looking good so far into the season. But yeah, come playoff time, I think he'll be under the microscope from only Canucks fans but the entire league. This is pretty much his last chance to get them deep into the playoffs. I say if he doesn't deliver them to the Conference finals, then he'll be gone from Vancouver.

dylanmarsh- I do agree that Jagr COULD be a force on a team like the Avalanche but there are a lot of factors to take when surrounding a mega-star with more mega-stars. I'm assuming you're an avid hockey fan too so I won't get into ice-time, power-play etc. There is the matter of the contract too and with Selanne and Kariya, they were landed as free agents so their contracts could be discussed. Jagr still has like $55 million left on his awful contract. What would you rather do if you were Pierre Lacroix: Take on say 5 million of Jagr's salary and push him into a lineup filled with stars, or take that money and bid for a solid goaltender?

The Avalanche have no need whatsoever for Jagr. They already have all the offensive weapons they need. Why would they pay for Jagr? If anything (even though I like Aebischer) they will get a new netminder.

Aebischer, our so called "lacking" goalie, has more wins than any other goalie so far. Booyah.

Good for him. Don't think he'll ever get the credit he deserves playing on the Avs though. If they're winning, it's all about the superstars scoring. If they're losing, it'll be blamed on Aebishcher guaranteed.

Canucks vs Avalanche Dec. 11th. Gonna be a doozy!

btw, any word on when Kariya is off the IR?

Agreed. But, if Aebischer can keep this up, people will definitely take note. Of course, it means next to nothing that he's doing so well right now, but still, he's off to a damned fine start. And that's got to be a huge confidence builder to him as well as his teammates.