Colorado Avalanche: Analyzing the Bourque PTOs

The Colorado Avalanche have signed Rene and Gabriel Bourque to Professional Try Outs (PTOs).

Earlier this summer I voiced my opinion on some free agents who could have bolstered the Avs attack. Unfortunately, 2 of the 3 players on my list have since signed with other teams, one of whom is a division rival. Obviously I’m not thrilled about that and even go so far as to say I’m disappointed, but not necessarily surprised.

That being said, it would be unfair of me to criticise general manager Joe Sakic for sitting on his hands as he’s clearly been active. In addition to signing the Bourques to PTOs he had to find a new head coach with next to no notice. Replacing an NHL head coach is not a common occurrence even in the best circumstances (unless you’re the Ottawa Senators).

So without further ado lets look at the two Bourques and what it could mean for the Avalanche.

Rene Bourque

Rene is definitely the more widely known Bourque as he’s achieved a decent amount of success in his 14 year NHL career. He’s hit the 20 goal level three times and has flirted with 30 goals twice.

The good news is that there’s absolutely a precedent for top 6 production and that’s probably why teams continue to be interested in him. The bad news is that the returns haven’t materialized. He’s been pretty terrible with essentially every team that’s given him a shot since his time in Calgary.

Mar 13, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Rene Bourque (18) against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Nationwide Arena. The Lightning won 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Last season he played 49 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets and registered just 8 points. That’s an uninspiring stat, especially given he does not have a reputation as a defensive guru.

An interesting tidbit is that this isn’t the only time Colorado has been linked to Bourque. There were rumours about a trade that would have sent P.A Parenteau to Montreal for him.

While Parenteau was eventually dealt to the Canadiens, it was for Daniel Briere. I always assumed head coach Patrick Roy was the big advocate for Bourque since he very much fits the big, grinding style that he wanted to implement. This PTO seems to indicate that it was more likely joint interest rather exclusively Roy’s.

Gabriel Bourque

Full disclosure: the only thing I knew about Gabriel Bourque before I began writing this article was that he played for Nashville. After doing some more research and watching a lot of video I feel pretty good about this PTO.

Bourque missed most of last season due to injury, but his best year was in 2013-14 when he put up 26 points. While that’s fine for a depth role, if the Colorado Avalanche are expecting an offensive push from him they are unlikely to find it.

Logic would dictate that Colorado isn’t giving him a top 6 role, which begs the following question – why are they giving him a look at all? Colorado already has a glut of depth options such as Andreas Martinsen, Rocco Grimaldi and JT Compher. I’m not sure where Bourque will fit into the lineup if he’s able to earn a contract.

Bourque Vs. Bourque

It remains to be seen whether either player earns a contract, but if you put a gun to my head and told me to sign one of them today, I would pick Gabriel without hesitation. There are a couple reasons for this, the first of which is that Gabriel is significantly younger than Rene. He’s only 25 whereas Rene is 34 and his decline is approaching light speed.

The second reason is illustrated by the above HERO chart (courtesy of OwnThePuck.blogspot.ca). From last season it seems pretty clear that neither Gabriel or Rene are going to tilt the ice very much, but Gabriel appears to be significantly better defensively. The chart also says he’s more of an offensive threat which stands up to the empirical evidence of recent seasonal point totals.

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Digging a little deeper into previous years I was surprised to see that Gabriel might actually be much better from a possession standpoint than last season suggests. Although his possession statistics do seem to be trending downwards, his teammates are consistently better possession players when he’s on the ice versus when he’s off it. His injury last year along with potentially different usage since Laviolette arrived are plausible explanations for his decline, but admittedly this is merely speculative.

My final point goes hand in hand with the first. Bourque is only 25 and its entirely possible he hasn’t hit his peak yet. That being said I would be infinitely surprised if he ever became a top 6 contributor, but he has skills and is potentially a diamond in the rough. I think if he were to maximize all of his talent, his ceiling is a third line player. If that happens, the Avs just landed a tangible asset for free.

Verdict

Personally, I’m sold on Gabriel Bourque and if it was up to me I would sign him today because literally no risk in doing so. If he plays well enough for the 4th line that’s great. If not, stick him in the AHL and use him as a call up when injuries hit.

NHL teams can never have enough quality depth players. Colorado Avalanche fans can attest to this since a lack of depth throughout the organization has led to dressing players such as Van Der Gulik, Olver and Cliche. I’d rather not see history repeat itself.

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That brings me to Rene. Gabriel is better than him at virtually every aspect of the game, so it’s fair to question why Sakic gave him a PTO in the first place. I believe the reason is so the Avalanche actually have someone to play during the preseason. Colorado is in a pretty awkward position with Matt Duchene, Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Carl Soderberg, Erik Johnson and Semyon Varlamov all attending the World Cup of Hockey.

All teams must dress a minimum number of players with at least 100 games of NHL experience. Bourque helps them fill that requirement, while also providing competition for the young guys looking to break into the league. It would be unwise, in my opinion, to just hand a roster spot to a guy like JT Compher without making him earn it. Bourque being there helps him earn it.