Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

O’Byrne played 172 games in the Colorado Avalanche uniform over the course of three seasons. He scored two goals and 19 assists, while leading the team in hits last season, along with blocked shots.

I’m not hugely surprised that the Avs moved him, considering the number of defensemen that the team has, and the fact that he is in the last year of his contract. He hasn’t had a great season this year (in fact, he’s been pretty awful some nights), so perhaps a change of scenery, and heading to a team in the midst of the playoff push will help him reboot.

Anyone who watched the dismal 2010-2011 season remembers that Ryan O’Byrne’s best friend and defensive partner that year was John-Michael Liles (they lived together, and O’Byrne said, in response to some ribbing about living together in a one room apartment,”he is a great man and I love him.”) Hopefully those two will be reunited as a pairing.

I’m more frustrated over how little Greg Sherman managed to obtain in exchange for O’Byrne. The Avs now have an extra fourth round pick. Because a fourth round pick is equal to a verified NHL player, right? I mean if Toronto was only willing to give a pick, couldn’t the Avs have wrangled a second rounder (someone more likely to make the team, and make it soonish?)

It appears that the Avs made only two trades before the deadline. Both players dealt were defensemen (Gaunce and O’Byrne) and in return the Avs earned a 4th round pick and Tomas Vincour (a power forward with 15 points in 86 games).

Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

Someone needs to go to the Colorado Avalanche lockerroom, play the scene from The Help in which Emma Stone’s character sobs “you broke her heart”, and then show a picture of my gravestone. This season has been a nightmare. (Or, a dramatic mic drop gif. That was my reaction to Legwand’s goal in the final minute and a half.)

» Continue reading “Avs Reduce Me To Cave-Woman Communications”

Everyone, I promised you that this week would be LAKE ERIE MONSTERS WEEK AT GET HIGHER (LEMWAGH), and to kick things off, we have a post written by brand new GH contributor Todd Mathias! Todd will be helping me by bringing you Monsters information 1-2 a week. -Sarah

The American Hockey League (AHL) can be a very fluid league. It’s one where you get the chance to see future National Hockey League (NHL) players develop and become the stars of tomorrow. Being a feeder league for the NHL, the AHL is a place where faces can change at the drop of a hat. Your parent club has an injury and the player can be on a flight that day up to the show. While it is great to see guys get a chance at their dreams, it leaves holes at the lower level. This process is something one has to accept as a fan of an AHL team. The benefits though are that you do see some great hockey and again great talents as the season progresses.

Goal¬tending

This year the Lake Erie Monsters will have a totally new look in net. Cédrick Desjardins and Trevor Cann are both moving on, Desjardins to the Canadiens organization and Cann having not received a qualifying offer at the end of his contract term. There will be four goaltenders fighting for the two spots in Cleveland this year. Calvin Pickard, who played two games for the Monsters at the end of last season, is looking to make the jump into the AHL. Finnish tender Sami Aittokallio will also be poised to move to North America after playing in Finland. The Colorado Avalanche also have two goalies fresh from college. Kent Patterson comes from the University of Minnesota and Kieran Millan from Boston University. These two are very competent goaltenders but from everything I’ve seen they will be starting with the Denver Cutthroats of the CHL. Training camp will be very competitive though and there could be a surprise or two when all is said and done.

Forwards

The Lake Erie Monsters corps of forwards is once again on the younger side of things. With the loss of veterans like Greg Mauldin and Ryan Stoa, the influx of players such as Paul Carey, Michael Sgarbossa, and a healthy Joey Hishon will have to step into the AHL ready to go. Again this year one gets the feeling that it will be a scoring by committee type team where each goal will be a hard fought one. Fan favorite Patrick Bordeleau will also be returning this year and will hope to improve on his AHL career high 4 goals while being a welcomed presence on the ice. Another player that will be returning this year is David Van Der Gulik. After splitting part of last season with the Avalanche, and receiving an extension this offseason Van Der Gulik will be looking to keep on pace for another solid season.

Defense

Defense for the Lake Erie Monsters this season will have some familiarity, with Cameron Gaunce, Tyson Barrie, and Stefan Elliott at least starting the season here in the AHL. All three cut their teeth in the AHL and are well on their way to breaking into the Avalanche roster eventually. One new face to look for will be Duncan Siemens. Duncan brings with him size and a physicality that will have to adapt to playing in a league with men as it will be his first full season out of the WHL. Some veteran signings will also bolster the defensive end of the Monsters. Sean Sullivan and Thomas Pöck will bring more size to the team as well as 512 combined games of AHL experience.

Zanon in his Bruins “St. Patrick’s Day” jersey. Photo: Margaret (cerebusfangirl)/Flickr.

Many Avalanche fans, myself included, were skeptical about the signing of Greg Zanon on July 1. Zanon was added to an already full defensive core, and is seemingly another similarly-styled player to Ryan O’Byrne, Jan Hejda, and Shane O’Brien. He’s not particularly tall (5’11″), and he tips the scales at 201 lbs.

Adrian Dater, of the Denver Post, recently included a link to an older interview between Jan Hejda and the Eurolanche. In this interview, Hejda says:

I just talked with the manager of the Czech team today. Unfortunately, I had to say him I am going to surgery of the wrist on Monday. I though it is possible to delay it after the tournament. But the team has said the clear no. The therapy could take 4-6 months. They had worries I would not catch the start of the new season. I thanked to manager of the national team for the interest. I was also in Columbus recently. I met with the doctor who treated me in the past. He also said me the surgery is necessary as soon as possible.

Dater feels that the possibility of Jan Hejda missing the beginning of the season explains signing Zanon. I, however, still feel that the Avalanche are being overtly cautious. This surgery took place prior to the World Championships (which started in May). If Hejda’s recovery takes six months, he would be recovered in October, just as the season is starting. Should unforseen complications arise, the team still has enough strong defensemen (O’Byrne, O’Brien, Wilson, Johnson, Hunwick are five players with ample NHL experience. Elliott, Barrie, and Gaunce could have fought it out for the sixth spot to take the ice, and the seventh spot when Hejda returned) to play well. Signing Zanon means that there are now seven defensemen who are absolutely NHL players, and three players who are all either very close, or very ready to take the next step and become a full NHL-er. With 10 competent defensemen, the team will be forced to make a trade early in the season.

So which players seem likely to be on the trading block?

Jan Hejda still has three years left on his deal, and it is very unlikely that any teams will be willing to trade for him until seeing him play post-wrist surgery. Shane O’Brien and Ryan Wilson each signed new three year deals, and Erik Johnson just signed a four year extension. It seems unlikely that the team would agree to such contracts, and then just trade the players involved away. If the team wants to stick with Elliott, Barrie, and Gaunce as they develop, that leaves Ryan O’Byrne, Greg Zanon, and Matt Hunwick. Hunwick and Zanon each signed for two years, but I think both could find themselves on the trading block should they have a poor start. Unfortunately, O’Byrne will be on the last year of his deal this season, making him an attractive option for other teams, as they can part ways at the end of the season should O’Byrne not fit in.

To put it mildly, Greg Zanon’s addition has caused quite the pickle on the Avalanche blueline. Still, he has an opportunity to come in and play in a shut-down defensive role-and actually shut down the other teams. If his plus/minus remains solid, and he throws the body around, he could very well be a strong addition. However, if he is on the ice for too many goals against, he does not have the offensive upside to make up for his defensive mistakes.

Either way, welcome to the Avalanche Mr. Zanon. Apologies for your lukewarm reception, but forgive our skepticism. We want a winner. And missing the playoffs three years in a row is unacceptable.

Last week, two big trades united brothers. Jordan Staal was traded to his brother, Eric’s team. (Jared Staal is also in the Carolina Hurricanes system.) Luke Schenn was traded to Philadelphia, where his brother Brayden plays.

In the spirit of these trades, I thought I would look at what brotherly pairs the Avalanche could bring together.

Yan (L) and Paul Stastny.

Paul& Yan Stastny: Paul Stastny’s older brother, Yan, is another member of the family’s storied hockey tradition. Yan has played 91 games in the NHL, scoring six goals and 16 points overall. In 2010-2011 he played in the KHL, and last season he played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The DEL is the premier hockey league in Germany, and is the league with the most Canadian and American players outside of the NHL.

Ryan& Cal O’Reilly: Ryan O’Reilly’s older brother is a center, currently playing in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. Cal has played 113 NHL games with the Nashville Predators, the Phoenix Coyotes, and the Pittsburgh Penguins, scoring 13 goals and 41 points.

Jamie, Tye& Brock McGinn: Jamie McGinn has two younger brothers. Tye is 21 years old, and a prospect in the Philadelphia Flyers organization. Brock was just drafted this year, in the second round, by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Matt& Shawn Hunwick: Matt Hunwick’s younger brother, Shawn is a goaltender. He has played in one NHL game, for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He only played a few minutes at the end, and thus was not credited with either a W or a L. However, his goals against average was 0.00.

Mark& Darin Olver: Mark Olver has played 42 games for the Colorado Avalanche over the past two seasons. His brother, Darin plays in Germany, in the DEL.

Cameron& Brendan Gaunce: Cameron Gaunce played 11 games for the Colorado Avalanche in the 2010-2011 season. He didn’t receive a call-up last season; however he remains one of the most promising defensemen in the Avalanche system. His brother, Brendan Gaunce, was taken 26th overall by the Vancouver Canucks last week.

In actual news, Dean Chynoweth was announced as the head coach of the Lake Erie Monsters yesterday. He will be the third head coach in Monsters history (current Avalanche head coach Joe Sacco and assistant coach David Quinn were the previous ones). Chynoweth spent the past three years as an assistant coach for the New York Islanders. He has also served as a head coach in both the CHL and the IHL.

Last year, we got this dude + Duncan Siemens in the first round. This year, nobody. Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

The Colorado Avalanche did not have a first round draft pick this year, after trading for Semyon Varlamov. However, I watched the round one in case General Manager Greg Sherman decided to make a trade. I’m not surprised that he chose to stay out of the first round. This draft has been touted by many as “underwhelming”, and it seems foolish to lose proven talent for an untested commodity. However, I do have a few notes (some random, some understandable) for the Avalanche.

-The Washington Capitals had the 11th overall pick from the Avs. Fittingly, they chose a player who shares a name (but no relations) with one of the Colorado Avalanche’s most important players in franchise history. Filip Forsberg was the 11th overall pick, which was surprising to a number of scouts who believed he would be gone after the top five.

-You may recall a player named Cameron Gaunce. He played a few games for the Avalanche in 2010-2011, and is probably the Avs most promising defensive prospect behind Stefan Elliott and Tyson Barrie. (Side Note: It feels weird calling Elliott a prospect. Technically this year was his rookie NHL season. However he did bounce in between the Monsters and the Avs. Should we call him a ‘tweener?) Anyways, Gaunce’s little brother Brendan was drafted 26th overall by the Vancouver Canucks. It will be fun to see them play against eachother in a couple of years. (Side note Number Two: I call Gaunce “NPC”. Any guesses why?)

-I know a lot of people, myself included, were perplexed as to why the Avs did not have a second round pick from the Liles trade. Alas, that pick was also sent to Washington for Varlamov. I am not sure, but I think that must be one of the most-traveled pick prior to a player’s name ever being attached to it. First, the Bruins gave it to the Leafs in the Tomas Kaberle trade. Then the Leafs gave it to the Avs in the Liles trade. Then the Avs gave it to the Capitals in the Varlamov trade. Then the Capitals gave it to the Stars in the Ribeiro trade. Basically, it traveled like a communicable disease, or a piece of gossip.

-Pierre Maguire said “woo” or “ooh” at least nine times.

-”Gabriel” was pronounced “Gabrielle” twice.

-Also, a lot of people on twitter have been claiming that the Devils are in the process of trading Parise to the Avs for Giguere and Kobasew. You guys are idiots. Let’s think about this: Zach Parise, captain, one-time 40 goal scorer. Giguere, an aging goaltender; and Kobasew, a player who has failed to meet the 20 goal mark for the past three seasons. The Devils have Martin Brodeur. They are going to play him as long as they can, and then they are going to need a YOUNG goaltender to pop in and hopefully fill the void. DID YOU PEOPLE LEARN NOTHING FROM PATRICK ROY’S RETIREMENT? (Note: I think the Avs could and should make a good case for Parise. However, wait until he hits the free agency market.)

Tomorrow, the Avalanche will be focusing on drafting, but they need to focus on re-signing Shane O’Brien before free agency on July 1. Letting O’Brien go would be a HUGE mistake. Come on Sherman.