Midseason Grade: C

Season Stats: 17 GP, 4 G, 3 A, 7 Pt, +1, 26 shots

Minutes: 173 total (14^th out of 18 F), EV 8:31, PP 1:36, PK 0:02, ATOI 10:09

Splits:

1^st Half: 13 GP, 4 G, 3 A, 7 Pt, +1, 26 shots

2^nd Half: 4 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 Pt, -2, 5 shots

Positions: LW (11 GP), C (6 GP)

Lines: 4^th (9 GP), 3^rd (8 GP)

Linemates:

C: Stastny (6 GP), Guite (3), Richardson (1), Arnason (1)

LW: Rycroft (2 GP), Richardson (2), Laaksonen (2)

RW: Svatos (6 GP), Rycroft (5), Laperriere (4), Klee (2)

Career: Over

Report: After fizzling out in the playoffs last year, I didn’t think Turgeon had anything left in the tank…However, after missing the first 27 games of the season with a rotator cuff injury, Turgeon seemed revitalized…He scored 7 points in his first 7 games, had good energy, and even played a little defense…And then reality stepped in…Put up a goose egg in the next 10…Was a healthy scratch for 12 out of 16 games before a face-saving “calf injury” put him on the shelf for the rest of the year…Convenient, eh?…Turgeon could be fun to watch, with the creative passing and the sneaky shots from behind the net…When his tank was on empty, though, it was really empty…His defensive game basically amounted to a poke check in the neutral zone or taking a hooking penalty.

Fast Fact: Turgeon is one of five #1 overall picks to play for the Quebec / Colorado franchise, along with Wendel Clark, Owen Nolan, Mats Sundin and Guy Lafleur. Four of those five guys were drafted in a 5-year period between 1985 and 1990.

2007-2007 Salary: $1,500,000

2007-2008 Status: UFA

Outlook: Turgeon has long been one of my favorite players and I thought he might be able to revitalize his career a bit with the Avalanche. There were some flashes, but not enough. Turgeon is about two months younger than Joe Sakic, but looked about five years older on the ice. I expect him to retire this offseason.

Midseason Grade: D+

Season Stats: 33 GP, 1 G, 10 A, 11 Pt, -5, 36 shots

Minutes: 624 total (7^th out of 10 D). EV 13:43, PP 2:58, PK 2:14, ATOI 18:55

Splits:

1^st Half: 33 GP, 1 G, 10 A, 11 Pt, -5, 36 shots

2^nd Half: IR

Linemates: Vaananen (16 GP), Liles (16), Sauer (1)

Career: This abbreviated season resulted in Brisebois’ worst point total since 1992.

Report: An offensive defenseman without the offense…Inconsistent and prone to bad decisions in his own end…Is more physical than people think…Could have been a pretty good defensive player, but the boneheaded errors like passing to players on the other team just don’t stop…Seemed to have particularly bad communication with Vaananen – neither seemed to have a clue what the other was going to do on the ice…Was rather invisible on offense this year, especially the powerplay (5 points in 33 games)…No point in going past that…If he’s not providing offense, there’s no reason for him to be in the lineup…Okay, actually he was a good penalty killer, which seems contradictory to the rest of his game.

Fast Fact: Brisebois’ -5 +/- was worst among Colorado defensemen.

2007-2007 Salary: $3,000,000

2007-2008 Status: UFA

Outlook: Brisebois is gone like a freight train, gone like yesterday. There’s talk that Brisebois won’t be back at all after having back surgery this spring. That would be a shame, as I think he’s still got some hockey in him. However, even if he does return to the NHL, it almost definitely won’t be with the Avalanche, and I have to admit I’m glad to be able to type that.

Midseason Grade: C-

Season Stats: 33 GP, 1,748 Min, 3.26 GAA, 13 W, 15 L, 1 T, 0 SO .891 Sv%

Splits:

1^st Half: 22 GP, 1237 Min, 3.10 GAA, .899 Sv%

2^nd Half: 11 GP, 510 Min, 3.64 GAA, .870 Sv%

Career: Not a career year for Jose.

Report: Closing these out with this week with three Quebecois who have seen better days in the NHL…For Theodore, it was not quite the rebound season he was hoping for…Ditto for Avalanche fans…Struggled out of the gate, lost his job in December, and then played worse in the 2^nd half…Some people put some of the blame on coach Quenneville, which certainly has some merit…Only had one stretch of more than 3 consecutive starts all year…That stretch was a typical Theodore up and down stretch: 2 goals, 5 goals (pulled), 1 goal, 2 goals, 4 goals…Hot and cold like that all year – the antithesis of Budaj…There’s talk that the team played better in front of Budaj…Statistically true, but only by a slim margin…Goal support is 3.26 for Budaj, 3.12 for Theo…Shots against average is 28.1 for Budaj, 29.8 for Theodore…In other words, that’s not the reason…Honestly, it seemed to me like he just has a hard time focusing for a full 60…Gave up way too many goals from beyond the faceoff circles…Didn’t fight hard enough on pucks moving through a screen…His GAA while shorthanded was 8.05 (Budaj’s was 6.75)…Just a meh performance all-around.

Fast Fact: Theodore has not had a shutout since the lockout (75 games)

2007-2007 Salary: $5,500,000

2007-2008 Status: signed ($6,000,000)

Outlook: There’s a lot of debate out there on what the team should do with Theodore. Some say we should buy him out and sign a cheap veteran backup. It wouldn’t amount to much in the way of cap savings, but it would rid the club of the baseball-cap wearing albatross and might even improve our goaltending. Unfortunately, there aren’t a ton of attractive options – cheap or otherwise – on the free agent market this summer. Michael Wall was added at the deadline, but it’s too early to expect him to be backup in the NHL (he did play 4 games with Anaheim this year). My money is on Theodore spending one more year on the bench in Denver.

Midseason Grade: N/A

Season Stats: (with Colorado) 2 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 Pt, -1, 0 shots

Minutes: 7 total (18^th out of 18 F), EV 3:33, ATOI 3:33

Splits:

1^st Half: (with Colorado) 2 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 Pt, -1, 0 shots

2^nd Half: n/a

Positions: RW (2 GP)

Lines: 4^th (2 GP)

Linemates:

C: Richardson (2 GP)

LW: Laaksonen (1 GP), Rycroft (1 GP)

Career: Amazingly, Parros did not set any career highs in the 2 games he played with the Avalanche.

Report: Well, I did promise to do one of these for every player…Ironically, with all the Manchester Monarchs games I’ve attended, Parros is someone I’ve seen a lot of in person…Of course, he played just 2 games with Colorado, and I missed one of them…Looked extremely slow, even by enforcer standards…Has a great mustache.

Fast Fact: Parros wore #57 with the Avalanche. In his first year with the Manchester Monarchs, #57 was worn by one of his teammates – former NHLer Steve Heinze. Yes, Heinze 57.

2007-2007 Salary: $450,000

2007-2008 Status: RFA (Anaheim)

Outlook: Parros was a great move for GM Giguere, as he turned a waiver claim into a 2^nd round draft pick. Parros has always been a favorite of mine, but I’m glad we let Brian Burke turn him into a free draft pick for us.

Midseason Grade: C+

Season Stats: 78 GP, 15 G, 20 A, 35 Pt, +8, 134 shots

Minutes: 1061 total (8^th out of 18 forwards), EV 11:42, PP 1:06, PK 0:48, ATOI: 13:36

Splits:

1^st Half: 37 GP, 7 G, 8 A, 15 Pt, +5, 66 shots

2^nd Half: 41 GP, 8 G, 12 A, 20 Pt, +3, 68 shots

Positions: LW (71 GP), C (8)

Lines: 2^nd (51 GP), 3^rd (18), 4^th (9)

Linemates:

C: Arnason (51 GP), Stastny (18), Richardson (2)

LW: Laaksonen (7 GP)

RW: Laperriere (41 GP), Hejduk (29), Svatos (5), Rycroft (3)

Career: McLean hit a career high in goals (15) and +/- (+8). This was also the first time McLean has played consecutive seasons in the same city since 1998.

Report: A nice, consistent season for McLean…Decent – but not great – at many facets of the game…Passes well and works okay in the cycle game…Not a physical presence at all (12 hits)…Rather Klee-esque on the powerplay, with just 1 assist in 86 minutes of ice time…Didn’t play very well defensively at even strength…However, did well on the PK, and his ice time on the kill increased as the season wore on…50% on faceoffs – 2^nd best on a lousy faceoff team…Bottom line: a good role player who can help out in a lot of situations, but doesn’t really excel at any one thing.

Fast Fact: 12 of McLean’s 15 goals came on the road.

2007-2007 Salary: $750,000

2007-2008 Status: UFA

Outlook: McLean has done a great job the last two seasons as a relatively inexpensive option while the team transitioned into the salary cap era. He was a good depth player to have around, but with the young talent on the team and the anticipation of one or two more talented forwards joining the team this summer, I assume McLean’s time with us is over.

Midseason Grade: INC

Season Stats: 9 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 Pt, E, 8 Shots

Minutes: 121 total (10^th among 10 D), EV 11:31, PP 1:55, PK 0:01

Splits:

1^st Half: 3 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 Pt, +2, 4 shots

2^nd Half: 6 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 Pt, -2. 4 shots

Linemates: Sauer (9 GP)

Career: This season was Cumiskey’s first taste of the NHL

Report: I couldn’t get a good read on Leopold, but Cumiskey wasn’t has hard…Moved extremely well with the puck… I thought he looked more comfortable and creative with the puck in the defensive zone…Offensively, he seemed hesitant, but I’m confident that he’ll be just fine in that area…Seems like a good skater and a solid passer…Couldn’t get a read on his shot…He had twice as many hits as Tyler Arnason, in just 73 less games…Looked decent on the powerplay (although no points)…Didn’t embarrass himself defensively at all, although he might want to go for the simpler (read: safer) play more often.

Fast Fact: Cumiskey’s first NHL goal came against Manny Fernandez in Minnesota on January 6^th.

2007-2007 Salary: $475,000

2007-2008 Status: $513,000

Outlook: I really liked what I saw from Cumiskey in his short (9 game) stint. Obviously, the comparison to John-Michael Liles is hard to avoid – they both are listed as the same size, and have similar skill sets. I have a hard time picturing 2 5′10″ offensive defensemen on the same roster for any extended time, so I don’t envision seeing the 20-year-old Cumiskey much on the parent club much next year. I do think he could develop into a nice offensive player down the road.

Midseason Grade: INC

Season Stats: 15 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 5 Pt, -4, 19 shots

Minutes: 297 total (9^th out of 10 D), EV 16:09, PP 1:46, PK 1:51, ATOI 19:46

Splits:

1^st Half: 5 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 Pt, -2, 3 shots

2^nd Half: 10 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 5 Pt, -2, 16 shots

Linemates: Sauer (8 GP), Vaananen (3), Liles (3), Klee (1)

Career: With just 15 games, Leopold did not set any career highs this season

Report: Missed the first 25 games after hernia surgery, 17 games from a groin injury, and the final 25 games with a broken wrist…Honestly, I had a really tough time evaluating his game…15 games should have been enough, but I really don’t have a grasp on what he’s capable of…Is supposed to have offensive skill, but has just 25 points in his last 89 games…Had 19 blocked shots and 19 hits…It’s just a small sample size, but that was a pace for 104 for each over the course of the season…That would have been 4^th best and 2^nd best on the team… Although I suspect both numbers would be lower over 82 games…One of just two Colorado players with both a SH and PP goal (Hejduk being the other)

Fast Fact: On February 8^th (Game 54), Leopold finally gave the Avalanche four defensemen with a powerplay goal this year.

2007-2007 Salary: $1,250,000

2007-2008 Status: RFA ($1,250,000 QO)

Outlook: I wish I had a better feel for what Leopold can do. I’ve seen a lot of talk that he’d be a good #2 guy next year, but I haven’t seen enough of him to really predict that myself. Maybe he’s just a #3 or #4 defensemen. Either way, it’s hard to imagine that a full season with him in the lineup won’t be an improvement to an already decent squad.

Midseason Grade: B-

Season Stats: 66 GP, 15 G, 15 A, 30 Pt, +1, 179 shots

Minutes: 823 total (10^th out of 18), EV 9:54, PP 2:33, PK 0:01, ATOI 12:28

Splits:

1^st Half: 36 GP, 9 G, 14 A, 23 Pt, +7, 114 shots

2^nd Half: 30 GP, 6 G, 1 A, 7 Pt, -6, 65 shots

Positions: RW (58 GP), LW (8)

Lines: 1^st (29 GP), 3^rd (14), 4^th (13), 2^nd (10)

Linemates:

C: Sakic (29 GP), Guite (16), Stastny (11), Arnason (9), Turgeon (1)

LW: Brunette (22 GP), Wolski (10), Rycroft (9), Richardson (7), McLean (5), Turgeon (5)

RW: Hejduk (5 GP), Klee (2), Rycroft (1)

Career: Svatos didn’t really come close to matching any of the career highs set in his rookie year

Report: Now that is a sophomore slump…Dropped from 32 goals to 15 and from 50 points to 30…Had a decent first half, with 9 goals and 23 points…Nosedived in the 2^nd half, where he had as many points (7) as Karlis Skrastins…Is creative with the puck, but often gets caught making one too many moves…Has good hands and a solid shot, but needs space to work…That makes him a little too reliant on having teammates who can wait until he gets open and can feed him the puck…At even strength, 13 of his 19 points came while with Sakic…With Sakic, his numbers project out over a full season to 50 points…That’s still low, but not as disastrous as the 30 he put up…Wasn’t very good in the 10+ games he put on each of the other 3 lines…In those games, he reminded me a bit of a hamster on a treadmill – lots of work, but nothing to show for it…Has nice “little guy toughness”…Takes a hit, gets up, and gives a hit right back…Of course, also prone to injuries…He’s missed 115 games the last 3 seasons…Takes way too many bad penalties…Laperriere was the only forward with more minor penalties…Had nice goal production on the PP (8), but his PP point total (11) was a big drop from last year (22)…Is better defensively than many people think…Spent 8 games at left wing, and looked surprisingly good.

Fast Fact: At even strength, Svatos had just 6 points in the 37 games he played on a line other than Sakic’s

2007-2007 Salary: $1,050,000

2007-2008 Status: RFA ($1,050,000 QO required)

Outlook: I like Svatos, and enjoy watching him play. After his terrific rookie year, I think many people projected him as the next Milan Hejduk. He isn’t. He’s a 20-25 goal scorer with the right linemates, but an offensive black hole if he’s not. Nothing against Ben Guite, but spending 16 games pairing Svatos with a Guite-like player is just a complete waste of a roster space. More than any other player on the team, if there isn’t room among the top 6 for him, it probably makes sense to move him. The Avs have 5 top 6 guys locked up already, and, of course, there’s talk of them adding another this summer. If the Avs don’t upgrade their 3^rd line, or if Svatos can’t crack one of the top two lines, it might be another long season on the treadmill for the young winger.

Midseason Grade: C

Season Stats: 82 GP, 16 G, 33A, 49 Pt, -8, 211 shots

Minutes: 1179 (5^th out of 18 F), EV 11:55, PP 2:20, PK 0:08

Splits:

1^st Half: 41 GP, 11 G, 16 A, 27 Pt, +1, 120 shots

2^nd Half: 41 GP, 5 G, 17 A, 22 Pt, -9, 91 shots

Positions: C (78 GP), LW (4)

Lines: 2^nd Line (41 GP), 3^rd (40), 1^st (1)

Linemates:

C: Stastny (3), Sakic (1)

LW: McLean (51), Richardson (20), Laaksonen (3), Rycroft (2), Turgeon (1), Wolski (1)

RW: Laperriere (56), Hejduk (14), Svatos (9), Rycroft (2), Brunette (1)

Career: Arnason matched a career high in assists (33) and his 49 points represents the 2^nd highest total of his career

Report: An interesting player…One night, he’d be the best player on the ice…The next night? Invisible…22 games where he had 4+ shots…24 games with 1 or none…Showed some slick moves with the puck…Was wonderful weaving through two or three players and then either shooting or passing off to the open man…Has an unorthodox shot that seems to catch some goaltenders by surprise…Really shies away from contact…No really: just 2 hits last year…I bump into more people in line at the dinner buffet…Good numbers at even strength (37 points, 5^th best on the team)…Terrible production on the powerplay…Just 12 PP points, and 5 came in the last 11 games…That’s not terribly surprising – he seems to do his best work in traffic…He does have good hands, but not a lot of other attributes that make him a compelling powerplay option…Still, 1 PP goal in 191:52 of ice time is anemic no matter how you cut it…Not really a factor defensively, and awful (43.8% on faceoffs)…I generally stay away from judging non-playing qualities, but Arnason strikes me as a guy who doesn’t enjoy the game and isn’t all that concerned with winning or losing.

Fast Fact: Arnason was one of just 3 players with 82 games and less than 10 hits. All 3 played in the NW (Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Petr Sykora were the others).

2007-2007 Salary: $950,000

2007-2008 Status: UFA

Outlook: Arnason certainly put up decent 3^rd line numbers last year, but his lack of consistent effort was maddening. It’s tough to really judge what Arnason will demand in the open market this year. Last summer, he was coming off his embarrassing stay in Ottawa and got almost a million bucks. After an improved season, what will he command this year? Two million? Three? For that kind of cake, I personally would prefer someone who will show up every night and have the kind of character you’d want to see in the playoffs. I don’t mean to be that down on Arnason, as we certainly could have done worse at that position. I just feel there are better – and perhaps cheaper - options for our 3^rd line center.

Midseason Grade: INC

Season Stats: 48 GP, 0 G, 6 A, 6 Pt, -3, 29 shots

Minutes: 878 total (6^th out of 10 D), EV 15:39, PP 0:04, PK 2:35, ATOI 18:18

Splits:

1^st Half: 8 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 Pt, +1. 3 shots

2^nd Half: 40 GP, 0 G, 6 A, 6 Pt, -4, 26 shots

Linemates: Clark (20 GP), Liles (10), Cumiskey (9), Leopold (8), Brisebois (1)

Career: Sauer’s 6 assists were a career best, and his 6 points matched a career high set in 2004.

Report: Sauer finally managed to crawl out of his two-year stay in coach Quenneville’s doghouse…Was a scratch for all but 3 of the first 36 games…Got a chance when Leopold and Brisebois both went down over a 7-game stretch and made the most of his opportunity…Only was scratched once in the last 46 games…He played solid, consistent hockey and was with Clark as the top pair over the last 20 games…Oh, by the way, the Avs were 15-3-2 in that span…He made several key improvements in his game…First, he cut down on puckhandling errors when he was pinching in – no more high-profile breakways in the other direction to raise the ire of the coaching staff…Second, he started blocking shots – 76 this year, up from just 27 the previous season…Finally, he stopped wasting his size and started hitting…His hits increased from 12 (!) to 52 this year…Sauer is not fast, but plays the angles well…He excels at taking away pucks in front of the net…Also very good at making sure that the pucks he gets his stick on get out of the zone…Isn’t flashy, and doesn’t line up for the big hit, which may explain why he isn’t appreciated by fans as much as he should be…Although his penalty minutes were unchanged from the previous season, he seems to have cut down on “bad” penalties…Offensively? Not pretty…He has the coolest accent on the club.

Fast Fact: Sauer was a healthy scratch in 77 of his first 111 games under Quenneville.

2007-2007 Salary: $685,000

2007-2008 Status: RFA (needs a QO of $719,250)

Outlook: Sauer improved by leaps and bounds this year, and finally seems to have earned some trust, appearing on the top pairing and in key defensive situations towards the end of the season. He’s just 26 years old, and should still have some potential to grow into. He was paired all season long with offensive-minded partners, and did a great job holding down the fort in his own end. He needs to be back with the club next year.