Colorado Avalanche: Sakic and Roy's Plans for the Team

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Jun 30, 2013; Newark, NJ, USA; Colorado Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy (right) talks with executive of hockey operations Joe Sakic (left) during the 2013 NHL Draft at the Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports /

Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic and head coach Patrick Roy have been catching flak this year. Find out what some of their plans are for the team.

The Colorado Avalanche started off very poorly. Their record at the end of October was 3-6-1 with a 1-3-1 home record. That seemed rattle Avalanche fans, and the hullaballoo has never entirely died down. Now, no matter what move they make, fans question that they know what they’re doing.

I think the general perception is that the two are just throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks. While it’s true they’re only in their third year of their respective positions, they do have to answer to Kroenke Sports Entertainment as well as the Pepsi Center’s vendors. In other words, that kind of approach wouldn’t fly.

That’s also never been those two men’s type of approach. Both Sakic and, especially, Roy are inveterate competitors. They know hockey inside out. They have a plan.

I’m not privy to their inner sanctum, so I can’t tell you every aspect of their plan. However, I’ll cobble together what I can glean from their words and actions along with what I know of their histories.

Next: Blueprints

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Colorado Avalanche Blueprints

Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy won their two Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cups with Pierre Lacroix as their general manager. Lacroix is still known as the architect, the man who built teams that won two Stanley Cups. He was especially renowned for astute trading, being the GM responsible for bringing Roy, Ray Bourque and Rob Blake to the team.

For sure Sakic and Roy, who has the last say in personnel as VP of hockey operations, think about Pierre Lacroix’s eye for trading. They’ve certainly proven they’re not afraid to pull the gun on trades.

Even more than that, though, the pair learned to build according to a set of blueprints. Make no mistake — Sakic and Roy know exactly what kind of team they want to have. Patrick Roy especially hasn’t been shy about stating what he wants to see his team become — big, skilled and gritty.

Whatever moves the pair make, it’s with that blueprint in mind.

Let’s look at some of the details of that blueprint.

Next: Rush Offense

Dec 11, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) during a breakaway with the puck in the first period of the game against the Winnipeg Jets at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

Rush Offense

First of all, Colorado is a rush team. Whatever your opinion of that style, the Colorado Avalanche are built for speed and size. Head coach Patrick Roy remarked in an interview with The Fan Morning Show that while the team is trying to work on possessing the puck more, they’re never going to be a team that possesses the puck a lot:

“I know we’ve been criticized a lot for puck possession… But we’re more a transition team. If you look at most of our scoring chances, they come from turnovers, giveaways, a lot of rush plays.”

Part of Colorado Avalanche hockey has always been the excitement factor. And with a style of hockey based on the rush, their games are usually exciting. Indeed, coach Roy remarked that he strives for the excitement factor when guiding his team to focus on rushes.

Next: Forward Lines

Nov 10, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Matt Duchene (9) and left wing Gabriel Landeskog (92) against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period at Wells Fargo Center. The Avalanche defeated the Flyers, 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /

Forward Lines

Head coach Patrick Roy likes fluidity in his forward lines — beyond going on the rush. Roy has become infamous for changing up his forward lines.

Coach Roy has remarked that he thinks the players like the change to keep from getting stagnant. What’s more, in a different The Fan interview, he talked about how changing his lines keeps the other teams on their toes.

Roy has also talked about what he wants his line combinations to look like. More than once in the past seasons he’s outlined the ideal forward combination — power forward, skill player, shooter. While discussing line combinations, Roy went into more detail with The Fan:

“Dutchy loves to have the puck. You cannot have three players who want the puck. Someone has to go to the net. We like to bring the puck quickly to the net.”

You need a power forward to open up the lanes, a skilled puckhandler to get to the net and a shooter to finish the play.

When it comes to line combinations, it’s all about creating a scoring spark. And if that means shuffling lines around, coach Roy is going to do it.

Next: Defensive Pairings

Nov 3, 2015; Denver, CO, USA;Calgary Flames center Sam Bennett (93) attempts to score past Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov (1) and defenseman Nick Holden (2) and defenseman Tyson Barrie (4) in the third period at Pepsi Center. The Avalanche defeated the Flames 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

Defensive Pairings

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Patrick Roy’s love of shaking up the forward lines corresponds directly with his reluctance to shake up defensive pairings. These pairs need a lot of chemistry to be effective, and Roy’s content to leave them intact as much as possible.

We saw this last season when Brad Stuart failed to gel with Erik Johnson — and then went out with an injury. Roy put Johnson’s old defensive partner, Jan Hejda, back on the top pairing. Indeed, even when Johnson was out after knee surgery, Roy kept the other defensive pairings the same and put Zach Redmond with Jan Hejda.

The same thing has happened this season as Johnson is on a very brief break with an injury. Roy put the new guy, Andrew Bodnarchuk, on the top pairing to maintain the integrity of the other pairings.

Prior to Bodnarchuk’s acquisition, I would have said Roy and Sakic primarily want only big defensemen. However, Bodnarchuk is only 5-foot-11. His acquisition shows Colorado is committed to strong-skating, puck-moving defensemen, which coincides with their offense-first game strategy.

Next: Shots on the Goalie

Dec 15, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov (1) makes a save during the first period against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /

Shots on the Goalie

The Colorado Avalanche are a rush team with puck-moving defensemen. They don’t focus as much on puck possession as much as they focus on offense.

That means Colorado Avalanche goalies face a lot of shots. More than most other teams, perhaps.

What coach Roy has said more than once is that it’s more important to him that the team minimizes scoring chances more than actual shots on goal. If teams are getting a lot of shots, but they’re all from the perimeter, coach Roy has expressed being fine with that.

At the end of the day, there’s no right or wrong way to build an NHL team. There’s just levels of effectiveness. Roy and Sakic are taking a team that was built to a philosophy about which they don’t agree. They’re working to change the makeup of the team to conform with their own vision.

Once again, Colorado Avalanche hockey all comes back to those blueprints. I’m certain Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy see themselves as architects, too, and they want a Stanley Cup-winning team.

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