Eurolanche

Spotlight on the Avalanche defense

The Avalanche defenders obviously weren’t getting it done in their own end but they weren’t able to contribute offensively either, totaling just 5 goals. Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy publicly stated that they planned to address the team’s defense. Here’s how things have changed from last year’s trade deadline, this year’s offseason trades and free agency.

OUT

Ryan O’Byrne (42GP, 2G, 4A, -4) traded.
Shane O’Brien (28GP, 0G. 4A, 0) traded.
Greg Zanon (44GP, 0G, 6A, -16) bought out.

O’Byrne was just big and soft. He had countless turnovers in his own end and was rarely physical despite his huge frame. We should thank the Toronto Maple Leafs for taking him at the deadline. Zanon blocked a lot of shots and had a great beard but that’s about it. O’Brien rarely cracked the line up but when he did he was subject to taking dumb penalties and rarely did anything to merit a spot in the lineup.

IN

Cory Sarich (28GP, 0G, 2A, -8) trade.
Andre Benoit (33GP, 3G, 7A, -3) UFA signing.

Sarich comes in as a veteran stay at home defender. He’s not exactly an upgrade but he will provide much some needed experience and leadership. Benoit comes in having scored three goals with the Ottawa Senators last year. That would have led the Avalanche defense last year.

Just like Roy announced his projected forward lineups, he recently also announced his defense pairings. They are as follows:

Ryan Wilson - Erik Johsnon
Jan Hejda - Tyson Barrie
Stefan Elliott - Cory Sarich

But with these changes will the defense actually be any better? Maybe, but it probably won’t be enough. Unless Johnson can really step up, the Avs still seem to lack a true #1 defenseman. Many people had already slotted 18-year old Seth Jones into the lineup next year as that future #1 but the Avs elected to pass him up for forward Nathan MacKinnon with the first overall pick.

Where we might see the biggest difference next season is having a healthy Ryan Wilson back in the lineup. He’s usually looked good when he’s been healthy. Expect him and Erik Johnson to eat up a lot of minutes this year. 

Another year of experience under young guys Tyson Barrie and Stefan Elliott will also help a lot. With the addition of Benoit it remains to be seen whether Elliott starts the year up with the big boys or down in Lake Erie.

On another note, the Avalanche also put Matt Hunwick through waivers. This move really shows that the new management wants things to change as Hunwick led the Avs in time on ice last year. Where he’ll fit in now remains to be seen as he basically serves the same purpose as Benoit and Elliott. He can still be a serviceable number six or seven defensemen.

While the defense doesn’t look great it looks like we’ll just have to be patient. The future doesn’t look that bad with former first round pick Duncan Siemens and this year’s second round selection Chris Bigras (who isn’t out of the question to make the team this year) in the pipeline. Assuming they pan out to be NHL players and you factor in Elliott, Barrie and Johnson, the Avalanche might just have a solid defense core for years to come.