Last season was an unmitigated disaster in Colorado. The Avalanche scored the fewest goals in the league and they gave up the most in the Western Conference.So there was sweeping change in Denver. Out went general manager Francois Giguere and most of the front office, along with head coach Tony Granato and his assistants. In comes GM Greg Sherman and head coach Joe Sacco.
"It's been good," Avalanche center Paul Stastny told FanHouse by phone. "There's a little more structure. We don't ever want to repeat something like last year again. It's not just stricter, but everything is done to a 'T' -- either you're doing it right, or you're doing it wrong. Everyone is accountable. Everyone is still having fun, but we're making sure we do the job."
"We have to turn things around. With the history here, everyone is used to winning. No one is going to accept losing. We went to bring back that (successful) history and add to it."
There's an even bigger difference for the Avs than all the higher-ups getting replaced. The only captain in Avalanche history and the franchise's all-time scoring leader is gone. Joe Sakic announced his retirement in July at the age of 40.
The team had some time to get accustomed to playing without him, since injuries kept Sakic out of all but 15 games last year, but they are still finding it strange.
"We knew it would happen eventually," Stastny said. "Every day with practice, we're slowly trying to get used to him not being here. Obviously, his leadership was huge, but everyone here knows what we have to do."
Put simply, the team has to do pretty much everything better. That's a tall order, especially when it comes to scoring -- Ryan Smyth, who was tied with Milan Hejduk for the team lead in points last season, was traded to the Kings during the summer.
Colorado does have some promising youngsters, though. The team's poor showing last season translated into the third pick in the draft, and forward Matt Duchene -- whose idol growing up was Sakic -- will be on the roster to open the season, as will second-round pick Ryan O'Reilly, though both 18-year-olds could be returned to their major junior league teams in the next month.
"They're both really young, but they're really mature for their age," Stastny said. "Every time you see them on the ice, it's really exciting. They'll be counted on to help this team."
Colorado generally gets dinged for its goaltending, with a tandem of Craig Anderson and Peter Budaj, but Stastny said that both have looked good during camp, with Anderson looking especially sharp.
"It all starts there, so that's great," he said. "If we have all three parts of our game clicking, I think we'll be good."
The Avalanche won't have it easy in the early going. They open Thursday against the President's Trophy winning Sharks, and they also have Vancouver, Chicago and Boston in the first two weeks.
"Every team is good," Stastny said. "There is so much balance in the league from top to bottom, so it really doesn't matter who you're playing. Everyone's a top team."
