Business Insider - 23 Best NHL Players Earning Less Than $1 Million

I sent this link off to our puck-link providing overlords and said "I didn't look at it yet b/c I'm supposed to be working!". But curiosity got the better of me and I sneaked a peek. If you're reading this boss, I swear I'll make up the time!

It turns out it was very worth it as an Avs fan. Let's move past the inclusion of Kyle Cumiskey on the list as it's a debatable point and I want to make this quick. Also, Jimmy Howard can suck it.

Instead, skip to the last entry in the list and let me know if it didn't tickle your emotion bone just a little bit.

And remember, Matt Duchene didn't make the list because he's not making less than a million.

Avalanche Defeat Sharks 2-1, Take 1-0 Series Lead

When Chris Stewart took a penalty less than 30 seconds in, you could hear the hockey nation say "Oh, here we go...". It looked like the Avalanche weren't even going to get their wheels under them before being crushed by the Sharks.

But that penalty ended up being the turning point of the hockey game.

It forced the Avalanche to calm down and focus immediately on a single task - kill the penalty. There was no time for nerves or shaky passes. There was no need to bemoan getting locked in their own zone early because now it was going to happen. All that mattered next was how they responded.

They were able to weather the storm, Craig Anderson got some early action to get into it, and the Avs walked away with the 2-1 win. So much for the sweep, folks.

The vast majority of Avalanche players played their part and then some today. I'm going to single out a few of them that I really focused my eye on, but that's no slight on the rest of the team.

Kevin Porter - Particularly in the first period, I really enjoyed Porter's play. He was physical, defensive and showed a bit of offensive flair on breakouts. He was credited with four hits but I think he had that many in the first period alone. Besides, I call BS on the hit numbers as there's no way San Jose laid more checks than the Avs did tonight.

Kyle Cumiskey - Some people thought Cumiskey should be out in favor of Clark. They wanted Clark's shot blocking and feared Cumiskey's size would be exploited. Tonight, Cumiskey showed that Joe Sacco made the right choice. He was quick, physical and extremely solid defensively. This could be his breakout series.

Craig Anderson - Playoff virgin? It sure didn't look like it tonight. He was calm, cool and collected from start to finish. But please, stay in the net.

Matt Hendricks - Eight minutes of ice-time and five hits? That's what an energy guy has to do and Hendricks did it very well tonight.

Scott Hannan - The last playoffs Hannan was in with the Avs, I really felt he was soft. He turned that right around this game. He was very strong in front of the net and punished guys behind the net, including our old buddy, Jumbo Joe Thornton. He still has no idea what to do with the puck on his stick, but if he keeps pounding bodies I'll be more than happy.

T.J. Galiardi - Finally, we get to the man of the hour. Tonight, he got beat up, high sticked and probably kicked in the junk at some point. Yet it was Galiardi who drove the net, got knocked down, got right back up and stayed in front of the net, leading to the winning goal which banked off ol' Rob Blake's skate as Blake unsuccessfully tried to remove T.J. from the crease.

I don't know what Adam Foote said to this team in their closed door meeting before the game, but he should say it again on Friday.

And all of you should follow the same routine Friday that you did today. You don't want to jinx the team, do you?

Avalanche @ Canucks - Game Preview

The Avs are going to get smoked tonight. I mean, bad. Epic proportions.

See what I'm trying to do there? The last time I got cocky, the Avs got destroyed. So this time, I'm reverse jinxing them.

Avs surge ahead

After Calgary laid an egg against Chicago last night, the Avalanche now have a firm grip on first in the Northwest division. And by firm, I mean 3 points of course. Would you rather that be a pliable hold? Tenuous, perhaps?

Liles and Galiardi return

Sweet! I'm stoked to see both of those players back. Galiardi's impact was missed on the PK and anchoring that fourth line. Hopefully there's no rust from their lengthy layoffs.

Wilson not suspended

Totally agree with Jib here and it's unfortunate that he wasn't suspended for a game. I'm guessing this was the "first time offender" sentencing at play. Which I don't agree with either.

Twit death

Dater is done with Twitter. Ok. Not much to say there except if I misused a hammer by trying to tighten a pipe with it...I probably wouldn't stop using the hammer. I just wouldn't use it in that way.

Though I will say that I've been a long-time twitter user and recently took a break - as I did with many online ventures such as this blog - and feel a bit refreshed because of it.

That I'm on vacation for a week as of right now probably helped that feeling along.

Game time

The puck drops at 10:08pm ET (yikes!). Be there or be...sleeping.

Footnote

That call against the Wings was terrible. I can understand the frustration and anger. I don't like it because it makes hockey look bad and the idea that the ref is infallible in his judgment is ludicrous when all evidence says to the contrary. But it was the Wings...

Game 2 Preview: Avalanche vs Canucks

(Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood / Getty Images)

Skyrockets in flight....peeewwww....afternoon delight. That's right, it's an afternoon game today as the Colorado Avalanche take on the Vancouver Canucks at 3:00pm ET.

It's also the last home game before the Avs embark on a 7-game road trip that will test their testicular fortitude pretty early in the season.

If they want to head out on a good note, what better way than to beat
Bobba Lu and the Canucks and still be home in time for supper?

Last game

The ceremony brought tears to everyone's eye's, the puck dropped and the Avalanche walked away with a "W". I expected the first two but not the last one. I'm not sure anybody expected the last one. The team was fast, energetic and had a will to win. Sure, they coughed up 19 shots against in the third period but those first two periods were lights out. If they keep playing with that energy, it's going to be a fun season.

The forwards

We finally got to watch the up-tempo play we were promised last season and it was about darn time! Fast breaks, crashing the net, utilizing the entire offensive zone to cycle rather than just below the goal line. Be still my beating heart.

The players have bought in to Sacco's system right from the start so there will be no struggles to identify roles. Everybody knows what they have to do and appear willing to do it. If the first game is any indication - and let's be honest, it often isn't - the Sacco hiring was a good one.

The one thing I still want the wingers to do is cover their defenseman better. Wingers have a tough assignment in the defensive zone in that they have to be ready to receive the first breakout pass, but also have to watch that the opposing D aren't getting free for point shots. Last season, I harped on it a lot. Last game, the D were still too open for my liking.

The defense

Ryan who? Kyle Quincey seems to have eliminated any doubts anyone - including myself - had about the Ryan Smyth trade. I know Detroit is deep on the blue line but how did they let this guy slip through waivers?

The first two defensive lines were solid Thursday but the third pairing of Brett Clark and Kyle Cumiskey was questionable. Cumiskey seems to be having trouble making puck decisions and ends up holding it too long, which led to San Jose's first goal Thursday night. And everyone's favorite overpaid D, Clark, continues to play a perimeter game and constantly looks to block shots as opposed to stopping players from shooting.

I'm curious is Sacco will swap out Clark for Salei today, showing that vets have to pull their weight too, or if Cumiskey will sit showing that rookies are held to the same standard as the vets. From what I understand of Sacco, he'll give Cumiskey some more rope before tying him to the press box.

The goaltending

How pleasant was it to not cringe/cross your fingers/pray to vishnu/cover your eyes on a shot from beyond the hashmarks? Or on a scramble in front? I found myself very confident with Craig Anderson between the pipes.

Anderson stopped all 19 shots he faced in the third, earning chants of "Anderson" from the Pepsi Center faithful, to pick up his first win in the burgundy sweater. I like Anderson's style as he looks like he's willing to do whatever it takes to make a save. And it looks like this team might need a lot of them.

The lines

With Ruslan Salei and TJ Hensick as healthy scratches, coach Joe Sacco went with the following lines:

Wolski-Stastny-Hejduk
McLeod-Duchene-Svatos
Tucker-Galiardi-Stewart
Koci-O’Reilly-Hendricks

Quincey-Hannan
Foote-Liles
Cumiskey-Clark

It's tough to say if Sacco will try and inject Hensick into the lineup and if so, who would come out. Although he played well on Thursday night, it's entirely possible that Ryan O'Reilly will sit this one out to let Hensick work his stuff. Whatever that may be.

The return of howler

Howler is coming home! At least, I hope he is. The Avalanche said they were bringing back a mascot this season and they currently have a teaser splash page up on their site with a silhouette that looks an awful lot like a comical yeti. Anything less than Howler will bring out two thumbs down from this guy.

I wish I was in Denver

Did you hear it? Yep, that's what you thought you heard. A fresh set of rookies taking their freshly sharpened skates onto a fresh sheet of ice. I wasn't there, but I heard it.

Colorado Avalanche rookie camp got underway today and following along on Dario's twitter feed had me wishing I was in Denver catching the action first-hand rather than through the Inter-tubes.

There's nothing quite like seeing hockey players heading onto the ice. And when that group includes some promising rookies in Matt Duchene, Ryan Stoa, T.J. Galiardi, along with the returns of Steve Konowalchuk and Sylvain Lefebvre? Invigorating. And that's from 1700+km away. I can only imagine what it felt like to be there.

Is it Oct 5th yet?

Related Links
Training Camp Day Discussion (thoughts from mfrured20)
First day of rookie camp, with video (AD brings back the blog)
Rookie Camp Roundup - Day 1 (Angelique gathers it all up for us)

Avalanche Thump Canucks, Win 4-1

I gotta tell you, that felt good. No, it didn't help the Tank it 4 Tavares standings, but I was getting sick and bloody tired of watching this team lose.

So with four rookie defensemen and a rookie centering the top line, the Colorado Avalanche took down the Vancouver Canucks and dealt a blow to the Canucks race for the Northwest crown.

I cheered like hell on every goal and ran around the room giving high fives when the buzzer sounded. Which is a bit weird since nobody else was in the room at the time. If my neighbours didn't know better, they'd have thought the Avs were having a good season and had just secured a playoff berth.

Sigh.

Random thoughts
T.J. Galiardi now has three goals in seven games - all coming against Vancouver - and is building up my expectations for next season.

Wojtek Wolski made his return after battling the flu. Apparently the team was worried it could be mono. Or possibly a broken leg.

I like Ryan Kesler's style but I didn't like him moving in on Ian Laperriere without reciprocating on taking off his helmet as Lappy did. But on the other hand, I can see why some guys are a bit reluctant to lose their lid these days. I'm torn on the fighting issue and during the offseason, I might put my thoughts to bits and explain why I'm so torn.

Milan Hejduk scored to overtake Ryan Smyth for the Avs goal scoring "race". It might not be the Avs finest year but Hejduk has been a consistent performer for this team and I'm glad he's leaning towards coming back.

How disappointed was everyone that Peter Budaj just missed the goose egg? Once the first period was over, I thought to myself "Budaj's got a shot at a shutout tonight." But alas, it wasn't to be.

Upcoming Schedule
The Avalanche play the Sharks tomorrow night and I don't expect anything near the same result. Brace yourselves, this one may get ugly.

Then it's back home for the final three games of the season. And as you may recall, I will be in Denver for all three.

I'll be checking out one game with with my girl and then I'll be taking in the final game with Mr. Jay Vean of the Avs Hockey Podcast.

I've still got my fingers crossed that Joe Sakic will suit up for Sunday's game but even if he doesn't, I'm still somewhat comforted that it will be Lappy's 1000th NHL game. So either way, it should be a historic night.

Related Links
Sakic Eyes Olympic Gold

T.J. Galiardi Called Up; Joe Sakic Skates Before Practice

With Paul Stastny out due to another shot-blocking injury, the Avalanche have recalled T.J. Galiardi as they work diligently to complete the transformation to the Colorado Monsters.

I'm quite excited to see what Galiardi can do. So excited that I've cancelled my weekly trip to Vegas just to watch the game tonight. Ok, that would be plain silly if I did that but nonetheless, I'll be watching with intrigue.

Galiardi spent a year with Dartmouth before moving up to the WHL, amassing 70 points in 72 games with the Calgary Hitmen during the regular season. Then the playoffs began and Galiardi stepped it up, tallying 24 points in 16 games - though only notching five goals - to lead all playoff scorers as the Hitmen bowed out in the Eastern Conference finals.

And then it was off to Lake Erie where his play hasn't been quite as spectacular. I have yet to watch a Monsters game, but scoring doesn't seem to be their strong suit. So it's a bit early to start judging the heights to which Galiardi might climb with the big boys.

Oh, and in an unrelated, inconsequential tidbit, Joe Sakic skated this morning before the team practiced.

Related Links
The T.J. Galiardi Era begins - geez, AD, lay off the hype-pipe ;)
T.J. Galiardi Profile on Hockeys Future
Galiardi's Turn
Galiardi Recalled
Avs Sakic back on ice

Avalanche Sign T.J. Galiardi to Entry-Level Contract

The Avalanche have just announced their first roster move of the summer as they have signed T.J. Galiardi to an entry-level contract.

If you follow Jori's blog you might have noticed she actually scooped the Avalanche website on this one. I unfortunately missed it amidst the post-season fervor. The tears must have blurred my vision.

Galiardi appears to be an excellent prospect as he was 2nd in the WHL in rookie scoring (18g, 52a - 70pts in 72 games) and led all playoff scorers with 24 points in 16 games for the Calgary Hitmen.

He appears to be quite a playmaking left-winger and if there's one thing teams need, it's a slick left winger.* He is rated #6 for Avalanche prospects by HockeysFuture with a 7.0C rating. And he played for Dartmouth so the team could be adding another Ivy Leaguer to go along with David Jones.

*Disclaimer: Played left-wing through most of my "career" so may be biased towards the position.

Related Links
Next season begins: Avs sign Galiardi
Global Interview with T.J. Galiardi