bongo_guy

Victoria, BC • Canada • 31 Years Old • Male

Colorado and Grit, Part 1

My friends can testify to the fact that, prior to the 2007 Free Agency period, I was almost SCREAMING for Colorado to get two guys: Ryan Smyth & Scott Hannan. Why you might ask?

Ryan Smyth is an obvious choice, if for no other reason than his leadership ability - something our team sorely needs due to all the new guys coming in (Svatos, Hensick, Wolski, etc). He also provides the Avs with a higher degree of grit - something that has KILLED us in recent years because of our lack of it.

Scott Hannan - remember him from the playoffs when he was touted as the shutdown defenseman against Sakic & Forsberg? Now he's on our team. Sure his $4.5M seems hard to justify with only 11pts and a -11 rating, but he too provides some necessary grit for this team. I think he is GREAT shutdown defenseman but may need someone else who is good at it too to either play with him or as a second pairing to ease the load.

However you look at it, Colorado DID improve drastically in the off-season. Now it's time to see how it all plays out and what moves Giguere makes to help the Avs down the road.