How about some closure?

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/30/letter-implicates/

Who Screams Better?

According to Avs GM, Francois Giguere, the answer is Granato, who was announced yesterday as the man to replace Q on the bench and heckle refs. Admittedly, I wasn't expecting Q to get canned in the first place, but bringing back Tony is a tad bizarre and not terribly exciting. He was largely responsible for the Avs weak power play last year as an assistant and his prior head coaching playoff record (with a very stacked roster) is nothing to highlight on one's resume.

That said, Coach G(?), was pretty fiery on the bench last year, which is always good to see. Frankly, I'm still puzzled why Hartley got canned after his playoff success. At the same time, hockey is about the most difficult sport for me to see how the coaching affects the outcome, so what do I know. Line combinations and general schemes (will we still spend the majority of our time behind the goal when in the opponent's zone?) are visible, but I'm guessing a big part of whether someone is successful or not depends on how the players respond to the guy. Maybe Granato is the right guy from that perspective and has learned enough during his banishment back to assistant to now flourish as a head coach. I hope so. Sure, I (along with KTH Nation - Granato garnered 0% of the vote) was hoping for a sexier choice, but Tony is likable enough in my book. However, the real measure of whether this was a good move will be decided when the first GMC commercials air. He's got big shoes to fill in that department.

Hire Roy

Here at KTH, we ain't so much into the post-season breakdown of what went right, what went wrong. This is mainly a forum for complaining, moaning, bitching, and occasionally gloating. With the recent departures of the Avs and Nuggets from post-season play, I would certainly have put my scratch down on the bet that Coach Karl would be gone and Coach Q would be back. The Avs probably over-achieved (considering the injuries), while the Nugs clearly underachieved with what seemed like a disinterested coach.

Shows what I know. Coach Q is leaving town in a rocking GMC and (not so) Furious George is back next year. While my first vote would be to bring back Bob Hartley (why did he get fired in the first place?), there are already rumblings about Roy being considered to be starring in local GMC commercials. I must say I like this idea. The increase in goalie fights alone is reason for the Avs to pull the trigger on bringing St. Patrick back to town...Make it So....

Close Up View of the Carnage

I'm sure it looked bad on tv. Trust Steve and I, it looked horrible live, in-person, from 4 rows off the glass. Such a clinic by the Wings and now all I can do is prey the Sharks mount a miracle comeback so I don't have to, gulp, root for the Dallas freakin' Stars in the Western Conference Finals.

Getting past the 1st round of the playoffs has to be considered a success for a team that has been so decimated with injuries all year, but ending the season by getting completely schooled by the Wings in a sweep sure doesn't feel like success.

Still looking for my McLeod sweater (and a win against the Wings)

Things getting bleak 'round here. Down 3-0 to the hated Red Wings...a chance tonight to salvage some pride (or mount only the 3rd comeback from 3-0 deficit in NHL playoff history).

Not sure though that they can even put a full team on the ice. Out=Stastny, Smyth, Forsberg, Wolski. as well as the holdover injuries from the regular season Svatos, Clark etc... I know no one likes a whiner (except me, Danny.) but it's pretty ridic.

Would like to see a good gutsy performance from the remaining troops. Avoid the sweep.

On a happier note I did catch one of the t-shirts that those Copper Mountain chicks throw into the Pepsi Center stands during TV timeouts late in game 3. You got to take something positive away from these games.