This Season Feels Different Than Previous Years

   In this post we are just going to be honest when it comes to the recent history of the Denver Broncos. The standard that Pat Bowlen set the day he purchased the Broncos is gone, and it left when Payton Manning retired. Being born in Denver basically makes you a Bronco fan at birth. I am an 80s baby, so I got to watch the Elway era, and some of the best memories of my life are walking into the original Mile High Stadium with my dad who would take me to games there. There was a standard of excellence here, and up until we had some losing seasons after Super Bowl 50 the Broncos had been to more Super Bowls than they had losing seasons. 

    A large part of the problem for a few years was the Bowlen family was fighting about keeping the team, or selling the team. They ended up selling it to the Walton-Penner group, and immediately there was a change in culture in the front office, but they didn't have a coach that could change the culture here on the field. To put it as honestly as possible, we were flat out a soft team. Nathaniel Hackett, who was supposed to be an offensive genius, is only a genius when he had Aaron Rodgers running the offense. The team was just as soft under Vic Fangio, and Vance Joseph. Enter Sean Payton, who is from the Bill Parcells coaching tree, and is exactly what the Broncos need. A guy who is about discipline, teaching, and demanding the best out of his players everyday, at every practice. When you listen to the reports of camp this year you hear about the heated competition for every rep. Players trash talking with each other, little pushing and shoving matches, and stuff like that where you can tell the intensity is really turned up, but they respect each other, so it never goes too far. Thanks to Sean Payton for changing the culture back to what we as Bronco are used to. Coach Payton has to have the right players for his system on offense which is essentially based on timing. What this means is that Payton's offense gets people open, but your QB has to know when, and where to throw the ball for each route. He has to deliver the ball to the receiver accurately, and on time (meaning during the window of time when the receiver comes open). That is not how Russel Wilson has ever played the game, so the writing was pretty much on the wall when Sean Payton was hired. 

    "With the 12th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos select: Bo Nix, QB, from Oregon". It was pretty clear after the draft Sean Payton got "his guy" with Bo Nix. There might have been even a little gamesmanship from the Broncos to help build up JJ McCarthy so that the Vikings would take McCarthy leaving Nix for the Broncos to draft. So what were some of the things the Broncos liked about Bo Nix going into the draft that led them to taking him at 12? Personally I think they actually like that he is an older QB at 24 than other QBs being taken. Nix has played in a LOT of college football games, so he has more experience than other QBs who were taken. Nix played in the SEC, and then transferred to the University of Oregon in the Pac-12 where he was going to have to throw the ball a lot more. What really stands out with Bo is his accuracy, and decision making. During his first year at Oregon Nix threw for 3600 yards, had a 71% completion percentage, and threw 29 TDs to 7 INTs. Bo Nix 2023 season was absolutely incredible. Bo threw for 4508 yards, had 77.4% completion percentage, threw 45 TDs, and only threw 3 interceptions! Going back to how Sean Payton runs his offense he needs a QB who is accurate, can read a defense, and that doesn't throw interceptions. Bo Nix looks more comfortable with this offense than Russel Wilson was at any point last year! 

    This season feels like a corner has finally been turned. The ownership is in place, the GM and head coach seem to have a good relationship, and I think we finally have a QB that is going to turn out to be the real deal. The team is taking camp far more serious than pervious years, and players are competing for the few open positions on the team. It feels like there are far less questions going into this season than there has been in a long time. There are still questions regarding this team, but to have the big questions of team ownership, who the GM is, who the HC is, and who is QB answered things just feel different going into this season.   

The Position The Broncos Have Neglected for years.

    What does the Orange Crush defense, and '05 AFC Championship runner up defense, and the Super Bowl 50 defense all have in common? The answer is dominant inside linebackers! The Orange Crush had Randy Gradishar and Tom Jackson, the '05 AFC Championship team had Al Wilson, and the Super Bowl 50 team had Danny Trevathan, and Brandon Marshall. No offense to Josey Jewell or Alex Singleton, but they are not anywhere near the linebackers any of the above mentioned players. 

    Josey Jewell and Alex Singleton are the definition of special teams players. They aren't quite the athletes that we need to be starters, but they are good football players, and have the mentality to be special teams players. The cash strapped Broncos aren't in a spot where they can go out and spend on the top guys like Patrick Queen who signed with the Steelers, or even Devin Bush, but they need to have a plan to bring in guys who have the mentality Jewell and Singleton have, but more athletic ability. 

    This draft is full of inside linebackers that fit the bill for the Broncos. Athletic guys, who can cover, and tackle. The guy I would draft is Trevin Wallace from Kentucky. Wallace is 6'1, 231lbs, ran a 4.51 in the combine, and had a 1.62 ten yard sprint. Denver needs a leader on the defense like we had with Al Wilson, and when you look at the film, It is my belief that Trevin Wallace would be a guy who could come in, start, and make an immediate impact. With guys like Travis Kelce, and other TE's in the AFC West it's important we have inside linebackers that can cover, The guys we have at the position now are great at a very few specific things, but don't have everything needed to be starting LBs in the NFL today. 

 

Avalanche add variety of players for the playoff run

     "What are the Avs going to do about the 2C?" "What are the Avs gonna do about all the defensive problems?" "Who will be the defenseman to get traded Girard or Byram?" These, and MANY other questions were circulating about the Avalanche leading up to the trade deadline. The trade deadline came and left, and the Avs added a group of players that all provide various skills to the lineup. 

    One thing that all of the players we added have in common is the they are a little bigger players than we are use to having on the roster. This team looks FAR more like the Cup winning team than last years team, or even this years team leading into the trade deadline. I know prior to the trade deadline there were people in the media, and a growing number of fans saying that the team as constructed prior to the trade deadline would either be eliminated in the first round, or win one series, and be done in the 2nd round.

    All, or at least most of those opinions went away as the Avs began to make moves going into the trade deadline. The first trade was one that didn't go over well with the fan base, and that was trading Kurtis MacDermid to the New Jersey Devils. The team saved just under a million dollars, but lost the heavyweight champ of the league as far as enforcers go. This trade made sense however because MacDermid didn't get more than 5-7 minutes of ice time per game. It was after this trade that the chaos began. 

    The next trade was the one that would end up being the most notable trade for the day. The Avalanche reached into their pool of talented young defensemen, and sent the 22 year old Bowen Byram to the Buffalo Sabres for 25 year center Casey Mittlestadt. Ever since the Avalanche lost Nazem Kadri to the Calgary Flames they have been in need of a second line center to play behind Nathan Mackinnon. They tried with JT Compher before they looked outside the organization, so when Compher didn't work out the Avs traded for veteran Ryan Johansen, and when he didn't work out the Avalanche front office decided to make a move. Getting a young player like Mittelstadt not only solves the 2C problem, it makes what was once a weakness a strength. 

    Losing Byram created a hole in the defensive core. To solve this problem the Avalanche made another rather large trade in trading Ryan Johansen, and a first round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for the defenseman Sean Walker. Walker is 29 years old, brings experience, and is an offensive defenseman like Bo Byram is. Walker is grittier than Byram, and will throw his body around more than Byram would. Being 22 years old Byram has a much higher upside than Walkers, but for what we are asking out defensemen to do Walker is more than sufficient. 

    The next two trades are trades that are just as important as the trades for Mittlestad, and Walker. They players we got in these trades are exactly the type of players teams need to win in the playoffs. They are players who will be fan favorites. The first player we traded for was wing Brandon Duhaime from the Minnesota Wild. Duhaime is known as a player who can get under other teams skin, and he is a talented fighter when it comes time to drop the gloves. While he isn't on the level of MacDermid, he is a better hockey player than Macdermid, and will be on our 4th line in the playoffs. Duhaime is known to be a player who gets other teams to take bad penalties, and will always stand up for his teammates, which will be a nice change here for the Avalanche. Duhaime is 6'2, and 200lbs, and while he is not known for his scoring ability, he is known for his skating ability, so he should fit in just fine with the Avs. 

    Yakov Trenin was the last player we were able to get prior to the trade deadline. We traded a 2025 3rd round pick, and a Jeremy Hanzel to Nashville for Trenin, and a minor league player named Graham Sward. The central piece of this trade was Trenin. While he played wing in Nashville, the Avs are going to turn him into their 4th line center. Trenin is known as being one of the best forecheckers in the league, and is also a very physical player as far as throwing his body around, and dropping the gloves when need be. Having a 4th line with guys like Trenin, Duhaime, and Cogs brings speed, and toughness to the bottom six we haven't seen in a long time. 

    Other than the obvious reason to trade for Mittlestadt, why would the Avs bring in a Brandon Duhaime, and Yakov Trenin? I can hear the Avs fans now saying "don't we already have Miles Wood, Ross Colton, Logan O'Connor, etc for that?" The answer is yes, that is why they were brought in, but playoff hockey is a different animal all together. In a 7 game series having a 4th line with Duhaime (he is an amazing skater), Trenin (known as one of the best forecheckers in the game), and Cogs (known for his speed and forechecking) where not only will they forecheck, they will wear down the defense by hitting them over, and over again how playoff series are won! Imagine the roaring 20s line as the 3rd line, and Duhaime, Trenin, and Cogs as your 4th line? They will wear down other teams with their skating ability, and physical play. This will make the top two lines jobs much easier. This team is now built for a playoff run. 

What Are The Differences Between The 2022 And 2023 Avalanche ?

    A new hockey season is kicking off, and every team is has playoff hopes, and Stanley Cup dreams! Last years team couldn't get out of the first round, so what has changed between last years team, and the 2022-2023 team? Simply put this years team is built for a playoff run, and not just to simply win games in the regular season like last years team. The core of this team has been solidified by the front office, and most of the core of the team are all locked into contracts for the foreseeable future. So what is different about this years team than last years team? Who are the new players on the team, and what role will they look to play? These are all things I will touch on in this blog. 

    The great thing about being an Avalanche fan right now is we have the best core of players we have had since the Joe Sakic, and Peter Forsberg days. I would say that the argument could be made that the core of this team is actually better than the core of the at least the 95-96 Stanley Cup winning team, and if they haven't surpassed the 00-01 team they are certainly nipping at their heels. The challenge each year is finding the right mix of players to put around them. There were of course many reasons the Avs weren't able to repeat as Cup champions like the health of the captain Gabriel Landeskog, who Avs fans were told was going to be coming back all year up until just before the playoffs, or the overall health of the team in general last year. At times it looked more like a Colorado Eagles game than an Avalanche game at Ball Arena last year.  It's hard to argue that Landeskog is the best captain in the NHL, and he simply brings so many things to the team that simply cannot be replaced. Issues like these made it hard to assemble the right players around the core. Simply put last years team was not built to win in the playoffs. The Avalanche front office is able to evaluate the skating ability of players better than any other team in the league as it seems like year in and year out the Avs are the best skating team in the NHL. Unfortunately that has led to the Avs being a little on the small side for a NHL team, and without the bigger body guys that will go into the dirty areas of the ice, and do what is necessary to win the battles for the puck you will not have much success in the playoffs. 

    

    In order to remedy this issue the Avalanche went out in free agency, and were looking to target a certain type of player. Obviously this player would have to be able to skate extremely well to be able to keep up with the core of the team as was mentioned above, but they also needed to be a little bit bigger than the 5'10-5'11 180lb players we had last year. The type of player they were looking for would also need to play with an edge, and be towards the top of the league in hits. Who would be able to fill all these roles? Enter Miles Wood, and Ross Colton. Miles Wood is one of the fastest players in the league, is 6'2, 195lbs, plays the body, and isn't hesitant to stand up for a teammate. Ross Colton has been among the league leaders in hits for the last few years. To put it in perspective last year Erik Johnson was the team leader with 120 hits. Last year Ross Colton had 188 hits. They also added guys like Frederick Olofsson who is 6'2 190lbs, and Riley Tufte who is 6'6 and 230lbs who came over from Dallas who both play physical, and are fantastic skaters as well. 

    Two bigger pieces the Avs were missing due to the departure of Nazem Kadri after the 2021-2022 season, and the injury to Gabe Landeskog were a second line center, and another top 6 winger. To fill the second line center role the Avalanche went out and traded for Ryan Johansen from the Nashville Predators. Following the narrative of adding more size Johansen is 6'3 and 218lbs, has put up some great numbers in Nashville, and due to him getting older the Predators were willing to retain half his salary, so he was relatively cheap to get. The Avalanche are not looking for him to have the numbers he did in Nashville when he was on their top line, but they are hoping he can be a productive second line center for them. In what might be the biggest low risk/high reward signing in the NHL Nathan Mackinnon's former teammate in the minors Jonathan Drouin was signed for a very team friendly deal in hopes he can reignite his career being back with Mackinnon. Again, Drouin being 5'11 and 200lbs he's able to win the battles in the corners when he needs to, but still has the speed to play with Mackinnon and Rantanen. 

    The additions to this team make them an instant threat in the playoffs. They now have the "dogs" to play the style of hockey you need to in the playoffs if you want to win. The skating ability of this team is still among the best in the NHL, and they managed to get bigger! They were able to find players to fill the second line center roll, and a top 6 winger without breaking the bank. This Avalanche team has all the makings of a team that could bring the Cup back home to Denver, and they will be absolutely one of the most fun teams in the NHL to watch! 

Concerns About The Avalanche After Beating Vegas

The Colorado Avalanche are starting to get healthy, putting some wins together, and settling in for the playoffs. They beat Vegas last night 3-0, and seemingly had the game in hand from 14 seconds into the contest when Mikko Rantanen scored a goal with a great play to knock the puck out of the air, and put in the back of the net. The Avs looked fast, and Alexander Georgiev had another amazing game in net! On the surface everything looked really good, but as the game went on I began to have some concerns.

The first thing I thought of was that Vegas has completely changed the way they play, and they are going to beat teams by grinding them down, and playing a more "boring" style of defensive hockey where they wait for you to make a mistake, and generate their offense that way. They really try to take away all the open ice, and make it hard for us to use our speed. I realize the Avalanche will be getting Cale, and hopefully Gabe back, but even with them back Colorado still needs to make a couple moves to set themselves up in order to repeat. 

Vegas has built a roster of players who have all bought into the defensive, grinding style they play. They have plenty of playmakers on the team, but they have bought into the system. It's almost like they know they have to play us that way because trying to skate with us, or get into a high scoring game with us doesn't work. While we won the game last night, the way Vegas plays is tailored to winning in the playoffs. Watching the game last night I couldn't help but think that Vegas is going to be a problem for a lot of teams, and I started thinking about all those years prior to last year when we would get beat in the 2nd round of the playoffs. All season we would look amazing being able to out skate, and out score teams, but the playoffs are a grind which is why we would get beat in the 2nd round. Last years team had guys like Kadri, Sturm, Aube-Kubel, Landeskog, and Darren Helm who all had different roles, but were either just under, or over 200lbs, and would throw their weight around. Eric Johnson was also healthy, and he plays a crucial role in shutting other teams top players down.

Even once we get Landeskog back I am hoping we make another move for a top 6, two way player with some size. The two names I am hearing the most are Max Domi, who is the style of player we need in our top 6, and the other name is Kevin Hayes from the Flyers who is 6'5 and 220lbs. Either one could slide right into the second line center position. I personally also think we need another bigger, stay at home defenseman because while Manson and Jack Johnson are great players, last year they had Eric Johnson who played a big role in the playoffs against opposing teams top players. I don't think it would hurt to bring a veteran guy to play the role Ryan Murray played last year where if he is called upon due to injury he can step in, play consistent, and won't get rattled. Regardless of what happens at the trade deadline this week the NHL playoffs are shaping up to be pretty incredible!

It's Time For The Avalanche To Make Moves

I didn't realize it had been so long between my posts! Seems fitting that my last post was about the Avalanche, and that's what my first post back will be about as well. 

Watching the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup brought back a lot of memories of the Cup runs with Joe Sakic playing, and not running the organization, Peter Forsberg, Adam Foote, Patrick Roy, and all the other big names of those teams. Something that I don't think people who aren't hockey fans truly grasp is just how hard it is to win the Stanley Cup. Winning back to back Cups is so difficult only 8 franchises have ever accomplished that feat. There are a number of concerns on this team going into the playoffs, and it is getting to that time where Chris Macfarland, and Joe Sakic need to make some moves in order to give the team the best shot to repeat. 

Going into the season there was talk that Colorado's one weakness could be their second line center. Losing a player like Kadri was going to leave a noticeable gap in our top 6, and team goal scoring prowess. The Avalanche have also been hit hard by the injury bug this season. All year the Avs have been playing without major pieces in their line up, and it doesn't look like that is going to improve anytime soon with Eric Johnson, and Cale Makar both missing time.  Here are a few moves I feel would benefit the team to make a push to be the 9th team win back to back Stanley Cup Championships. 

Trading Chicago for Jonathan Toews. 

Chicago is rebuilding, and are looking to trade Jonathan Toews, and Patrick Kane, who are the last two remaining members of their most recent Stanley Cup runs. He has a considerable cap number, but I am sure the Avs front office would be able to negotiate Chicago eating a good chunk of it. Toews would bring a bigger bodied, two way player, who is also very good at faceoffs. 

Trading Montreal for Sean Monahan

Monahan is another player similar to Toews. Both are team captains of their respective teams (Toews and the Blackhawks, and Monahan the Canadians), both are good at faceoffs, they are similar in size, but I would say Toews has the advantage on scoring ability, but Monahan is the more physical, and plays with more of an edge. 

Trading Florida for Radko Goudas

Eric Johnson just went down with an injury that is going to keep him out for what they said will be "weeks". Losing EJ takes away one of our two bigger, physical, shut down defensemen. One thing we know for sure is in order to win during the playoffs you need veteran, physical players for when the series start to "grind". Goudas has been linked to Edmonton, Pittsburgh, and Tampa Bay. He only has a $2.5 million dollar cap hit, and is a free agent next year. 

Trading St. Louis for Igor Barbashev

He's 6'1 195lbs, has a $2.25 million dollar cap hit, and he could provide us with the number 2 center we need. He can skate, score, and would provide a bigger forward that would wear on the opposing teams defenses.

Trading Chicago for Jack Johnson

After Eric Johnson going down bringing back Jack Johnson who played such a huge role for the team last year back.  

Trading Edmonton for Jesse Puljujarvi

There has been talk all year that Edmonton is going to trade him. We currently have another 6'4 Finnish guy on the team, but he is a goal score. Puljujarvi is a player who plays a physical, gritty game, and that is something we need, and especially in the playoffs. 

Finally......for my last suggestion, any player from the Vancouver Canucks. That is a dumpster fire if I have ever seen one, and if we can get a player like a Luke Schenn from them it wouldn't be the worst thing that's happened. 

 

Do The Colorado Avalanche Have Any Weakness? I Say Yes.....

      After taking pretty much the whole year off from writing anything, I figured rather than making another Broncos post I would write about the Avalanche, and how they might not be as ready to dominate as a lot of people around town might think!

     Growing up an Avalanche fan in the 90's and early 2000's I didn't realize how spoiled I was as far as hockey teams go. Watching guys like Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Patrick Roy, Adam Foote, and the countless others that made those Avalanche teams perennial Stanley Cup contenders was amazing. When you look at the rosters of the Avalanche teams that won the Cup there is literally no real weakness to be found. They had the star power, leadership, and of course goaltending to give themselves a chance in any game they played. 

     Coming into the 2020-2021 season it is very easy to be just as excited for the current team playing down at Ball Arena as it was in either one of the years the Avalanche won the Cup. The 20-21 Avalanche might be the best all around skating team we have ever had in Colorado, and that is saying something considering the players I mentioned above. When the Avs put out their top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen, and Nathan Mackinnon along with defensmen Cale Makar, and Devon Toews it is the equivalent of another teams number 1 power play unit, where teams put their best players on the ice at the same time in hopes of scoring. Their second line would be the top line on most other NHL teams, and they have kids like Bo Byram, and Samuel Girard on the blue line with the big veteran Eric Johnson. When this team is skating well watching them play is a thing of beauty. Add in steady goaltending from Philipp Grubauer, and there's no stopping this team right? Not so fast!

     The sport of hockey has gone through a variety of rule changes to make the game safer. These rule changes have all be in favor of creating more scoring, creating harsher penalties for getting too physical, or dirty play. Despite all that, hockey is still a very physical sport, and as such you need a couple guys on your team that play with an edge, or are what some people would call "dogs". The days of the 'goons' are gone in hockey, so I am not talking about specifically fighting (though players like this should be able to at least be proficient in fighting). I am talking about guys who take pleasure in going into the corners and fighting for the puck. The big bodies that just grind on people, and wear them down especially over course of say a seven game series? Guys who finish checks, and don't let their teammates get pushed around. The Colorado Avalanche, as currently constructed don't really have anyone who fits this role. 

     What 'role' am I talking about? I can't really say, but the best way to describe it is by mentioning players who fit this role. Looking at the '95-'96 Avalanche roster players who fit this role are guys like Adam Foote, Mike Ricci, Mike Keane, Claude Lemieux, and others. The '00-'01 team had again, Adam Foote, but also guys like Dan Hinote, Rob Blake, Eric Messier, and others that fit the role I am speaking of. In a game of pond hockey with no walls, and no real physical play to speak of this Avalanche team might be the greatest team ever assembled, but when you add in the physical play suddenly that huge gap in talent becomes a little closer. Currently the Avs are ranked number 24 out of 31 as far as team size goes. The biggest team in the NHL is currently Las Vegas tipping the scales, on average at 203lbs, the Avs are number 24 weighing on average 197lbs. So if the difference isn't just being a smaller team, what is it? In my opinion it is attitude. Comparing rosters there is nobody on this team like Adam Foote who was big, played with an edge, and could shut down just about anyone in the NHL in his prime. I of course am not talking about his skill, as that is very tough to replicate, I am talking about his willingness to do the dirty work for his team. He, and others brought an edge to this team that was very important to have in my opinion with the star power that team could put on the ice. 

     My hope is that the skill on this team, and the way the league has changed will help the Avalanche in the playoffs when those bigger teams like Las Vegas, Dallas, Anaheim, St. Louis, etc start literally throwing their weight around. I think at some point the Avs will need to look to make a move or two in order to bring in a couple bigger bodies, that like to play physical to go along with the guys they have now like Matt Calvert, Eric Johnson, and Nazim Kadri who on the team now.