Good news had been at something of a premium for the Colorado Avalanche in recent months. Notice we said “had” as in past tense.
The stunning loss to the Minnesota Wild in the Stanley Cup Playoffs certainly wasn’t what the Avalanche envisioned about the 2003 postseason. The subsequent retirement of goaltender Patrick Roy was a bittersweet moment for Colorado and its fans.
Consternation over the status of center Peter Forsberg’s future was relieved when he signed an extension with the team. Having the Hart Trophy winner back in the fold is always a good sign for a team.
But Colorado set off some early fireworks prior to the Fourth of July holiday weekend in the United States with the news that the club had not only signed Teemu Selanne, but Paul Kariya as well. Both unrestricted free agents add unprecedented depth to the Avalanche’s offensive arsenal and certainly cast Colorado as a bona fide Stanley Cup contender in 2003-04.
Now that is good news! Both Selanne and Kariya for well under 10 million? Staggering considering each is in the 7-10 mil negotiation range as it is. Fucking awesome!
Man I hate the Avs, I can’t stand em… Dirty Bastards… Stems from the Claude Lemieux days.
It will be exiting to see Kariya skate with them though. He’s one of the more electric players in the league. I’ve seen him play live a few times and his speed is difficult to comprehend.
They’re all fast. I like how colorado is bulking up their offense, but how they looking on defense? These past playoffs it was all about the defense winning games. MAybe Ray Bourque will come out of retirement, eh?
People hate the AVS cuz they fear a team that can beat their team. Just like any sport. No matter what it is . The Avalanche organization is vary committed to winning . An as for this time no one can say they are buying a cup " this time"?. I mean come on you would be an idiot not to take Kariya an Selanne both for 7 mil. They both wanted to come to the AVS an play together again .
ExHITer Scott: Hatcher belongs in Detroit - home of the little bitches of the NHL. Now they just need to sign Bertuzzi, Roenick, Brashear, and Ricci to have a complete All-Star Asshole Lineup.
There was an editorial in one of our newspapers about how the league should overturn the contracts because of the ridiculous pricing and how this would be a bad move for hockey as a sport.
How fucking ridiculous is that?!
First, everyone bitches about how sports are no longer played for the love of the game or even for the sake of winning - but are played for the almighty dollar. Players left and right are signing ridiculous contracts at losing teams just so they can make a buck. Now, people are bitching because two amazing players recognize that their playing style would be a perfect fit for an already winning team and they’ve shown they don’t give a flying fuck about the almighty dollar. They just want to play and win.
So what do the public and the pundits want? Do they want billionaire assholes sucking up outrageous salaries and losing? Or do they want players making enough money to live on, playing to win and not raping the ticket holders?
I knew the joy I felt after Patty Wah’s retirement couldn’t last forever.
Sure, watching all those guys fly around the ice is definitely going to be fun to watch, but I for one will parade around the streets naked when the Avs lose again in the playoffs. Unless David Aesbischer suddenly turns into the next Marty Broduer (see above), Lacroix is going to have to either pick up a stud goalie (the ability to do so is a luxury that only a few teams, including the Avs, actually have) or watch the finals from the links again.
And yes, I hate the Avs because they could easily clobber the Pens (aka, an AHL team currently masquerading as an NHL team). Unless you know what it is like to root for a struggling NHL franchise, let me say that it is very disheartening to watch the rich get richer for practically nothing.
StevenF: Bitter? Nah. They couldn’t pull themselves together; so they deserved to lose. I’m not going to try to whitewash their poor effort or belittle a stellar effort by the Wild. I was just commenting on how ridiculous the whole “overturning the contract” thing is.
Oh yeah, yeah, well we got Chris Drury from you sons a bitches (Buffalo Sabres). Take that!
Indestructible, I know how you feel rooting for a losing franchise. I don’t really watch the Sabres anymore because of the fact that if I did watch the Sabres I’d get pissed off, then that would lead to hopelessness, then that would lead to complete all-out depression and schitsophrenia.
Thats also why I don’t really watch my baseball team except for highlights on SportsCenter, thats all I’m able to stomach nowadays (New York Mets). Although they have been winning a couple games lately.
Fact of the matter is, we got Chris Drury. We’re still gonna lose. See Chris is a good player, but when you come to Buffalo, your +/- rating tends to drop quite dramatically. We’ve just sucked another lifeform into our dying organization.
