The Avs will find themselves once more looking for another assistant coach after this season, as David Quinn has been hired to coach the Boston University Terriers next season. (He will finish out this year with the Avs.) The Avs put together a nice article on Quinn’s hockey career thus far here, along with a couple of quotes about his new job. I think that Quinn has done a really good job in the Avalanche organization, first in his time with the Lake Erie Monsters, and now this season as an assistant. I’m sure he’ll be very successful at BU, and wish him all the best.

However, this once again puts the Avs in the position of needing a new assistant coach. In 2011, Steve Konawalchuk left the team in order to become the head coach of the Colorado Avalanche. At that time, Adam Deadmarsh was promoted from video coach to assistant coach. In the past offseason, the Avs lost both assistant coaches, as Sylvain Lefebvre left to become the head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL, and Adam Deadmarsh was reassigned to be a player development coach (Deadmarsh’s career ended due to concussion problems, and he found that headaches began to return when he was an assistant coach). Now, the Avs will lose Quinn to BU. When one also considers that Joe Sacco should be could very well be fired before next season, the Avs will have two holes to fill on the coaching staff once more. The question is, who might be available for the job?

The Avs love to hire from within, so I think it’s important to look at those names first.

• Scott Masters-the Avs current video coach might be a candidate for a promotion, as both Deadmarsh and Tim Army found themselves transitioned from video coach to assistant coach (Deadmarsh after two seasons, Army after one).
• Dean Chynoweth-Both Joe Sacco and David Quinn were originally head coach of the Lake Erie Monsters. Chynoweth has only been around for a season though, so the organization might want to let him develop further.
• David Oliver-Currently Lake Erie’s assistant coach and director of AHL operations, Oliver has been involved with the Monsters since their inaugural season of 2007-2008, and has been the Avs director of AHL operations for two years now.

There’s also an outside chance that the Avs might look to former players to join the coaching staff. I know that Adam Foote has spent time coaching a junior team here in Colorado, and he might be interested in rejoining the Avs organization in a coaching capacity. As always, hope abounds that Patrick Roy will be hired as a head coach of the team, but I think that’s unlikely, as much as it pains me to say. I know that Mark Rycroft works as an analyst for the team currently, and I don’t know if he’s interested, but I think he could make a hell of a video coach.

If the Avs were to look outside of the organization for once, I think that Guy Boucher, recently fired from the Tampa Bay Lightning could make a nice fit. However, I don’t think he would be willing to join the Avs unless they made him the head coach.

I miss this face. Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

In Europe, the last couple of days have not been very productive for our Avalanche boys. Semyon Varlamov was not in net for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl’s win, although he was on the bench (from what I can tell, Lokomotiv has three goalies on their roster right now). Gabriel Landeskog was sick, and thus missed Djugarden’s last game too. (I’m not worried because they said he was ill; he should be recovered for the next game.) Matt Duchene also missed Frolunda’s game two days ago. I cannot find a reason for this, but the team did say it was nothing to worry about (according to the Eurolanche twitter). Frolunda played today, and lost to Skelleftea (former Av Joakim Lindstrom’s team), and I didn’t see Matt Duchene anywhere on the score sheet. As for the Avs who are coaching? The Clinton Radars, the team Ryan O’Reilly has been doing some coaching with, won their last game, and are now 4-1. Ryan O’Byrne’s team, the Victoria Grizzlies, play their next game tomorrow.

The Lake Erie Monsters lost 4-3 on Tuesday night against the Oklahoma City Barons. The Barons scored four power play goals on Calvin Pickard, ending his shut out streak at 132 minutes. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle, young NHL superstars really took over the game. As for the Denver Cutthroats, they have announced that they are partnering up with 9 News for “Make a Difference” day. If you bring toys, clothes, and non-perishable food items to donate to the game on Saturday, you will be given a “buy one, get one free” ticket offer to another game this season. The items will be distributed to food banks, Goodwill, and Santa Claus Shops in CO.

I’m off to read The Great Gatsby and take advantage of the chilly weather by snuggling into bed!

Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

The Avalanche have announced that they have signed Matt Hunwick to a two-year $3.2 million dollar deal. I was pretty surprised to hear this, and am worried about what it means for Shane O’Brien and Ryan Wilson. I believe that both these players are necessary for the Avs to be successful. Perhaps they intend to keep Stefan Elliott in the top 7 defense, and allow Tyson Barrie more time to develop? Once Barrie is a more ready player for the NHL, I can see Hunwick being traded.

Also, it was announced today that Adam Deadmarsh has stepped down from his position as assistant coach. He will still work in the organization, in the player development office. He states that family reasons were behind the position change. Tim Army (last year’s video coach) will replace Deadmarsh on the bench.