Colorado Avalanche: Is Change Necessary?

The Colorado Avalanche are 0-3-1 in their last four games and are barely holding onto a playoff spot thanks to Minnesota’s recent entrenchment in losses. Something needs to happen to turn this ship around.

And something will happen because Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic will not stand idly by and watch their team sink into a hole that they can’t climb out of.

Some will shriek for a trade because of the ominous nature surrounding this team. Doomsday is near, striking its mark on Feb. 29.

Some may call for the head of Patrick Roy, or maybe even for a turnover amongst the entirety of the front office group. Is it even possible for Roy to be fired while under the protection of Joe Sakic?

Can one truly walk away blameless while the other is sent to be ostracized as the scapegoat to all that has gone wrong with the team?

If not, then what needs to happen for the Colorado Avalanche to again enjoy the playoffs this season, and contend for a Cup in the years to come?

The Extreme

The only way to ensure a new coach for the Avalanche is if Joe Sakic were also a part of the departures, and for that to happen Josh Kroenke would need to take the reigns and fire both of them.

The era of the former Colorado Avalanche would be hewn in half, and a new system would take over control, ready to start however it must, ready to bring in what all Avalanche fans and players want: a Stanley Cup.

Perhaps this is strewn into even more controversial light because of the recent championship by the Denver Broncos. John Elway and other front office management saw that John Fox could not bring the Broncos what they sought.

Is Josh Kroenke starting to see the same thing? Or is this team still far away from Roy’s aspirations, and Kroenke sees that he is not to blame?

More From Mile High Sticking: Colorado Avalanche Core Can’t Be Fighting

So many questions surround such a delicate subject. But the extreme nature of this endeavor is to cut all ties with the former regime, to enlist new services toward the ultimate goal, and to recreate from the start once more.

To me, this change seems too drastic, but one cannot avoid what is inevitable in the long run if this sort of atmosphere continues to surround the Colorado Avalanche.

You must also consider that Patrick Roy only signed a four-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche. Roy will be on the last year of his contract next season.

What happens if they give him that last year behind the bench and the team doesn’t come forth with a good season? Will he be fired then? Will Joe Sakic stay with the team if so?

These questions will not be answered anytime soon, hopefully… but they certainly embody the extreme nature of this situation.

Enact a Trade

A change is inevitable at this current rate, and seeing as the above mentioned scenario is of the severe category, a trade seems more likely, and certainly sooner rather than later.

I already went over possible trade scenarios in another post, and perhaps they seem more plausible now that the Colorado Avalanche are in obvious need of a change if they hope to make the playoffs.

Why was this change not needed earlier this season? Why were the Avalanche playing well in spite of it recently? You may ask.

As the season trucks its relentless head onward, teams become more engrained in their identities, the playoffs rear their magnificent feature in the distance, and the horse begins to move itself in the direction of ultimately finding that pasture.

More from Mile High Sticking

In other words, I don’t think the current roster of the Colorado Avalanche is good enough to compete — being the key word — with the rest of the teams struggling to make the playoffs.

Now is the moment when desperation strikes even the lowliest of the NHL, and the ones amongst the depths of perpetual uncertainty — as to the future of the playoffs — strike with competition at its most desperate cord.

The blue-line of the Colorado Avalanche is just not properly equipped to fight this sort of desperation, and as such needs an upgrade in order to fight this current.

I recant my previous Jonathan Drouin trade because Tyson Barrie is all too important to this Avalanche club. Still if they are able to acquire him through other means, then they should certainly ensure that it happens.

If you go back through that slide-show I linked to earlier concerning the tradable assets of the Colorado Avalanche, then you will stumble on two that include two targets the Avalanche should consider trading.

Conclusion

Perhaps I am harping on the desperate nature of this dilemma with too much ferocity, but it is evident that a change in some way or another is becoming more apparent.

It could even be questioned whether or not this recent losing streak could be easily fixed with a call-up of Mikko Rantanen, to that end, I have not spent much time considering the notion.

He is a prized commodity on this Colorado Avalanche team, and they may not want to rush his involvement into the NHL, but Roy has to at least be considering the notion because the Avalanche could use scoring along with defensive help.

Next: Avalanche Looking to Kickstart Their Offense

Perhaps the lack of defensive quality could be offset by the arrival of a scoring forward like Rantanen as well. So I leave you faithful Avalanche fans with that final stamp, consider the possibilities and respond accordingly.