This makes no sense at all. We got swept because we played a better team that was playing extremely hot. We also had a bunch of injuries to deal with. That's Coach Q's fault? Another coach could have done better in these circumstances?
The problems that this team had were beyond injuries! With the lineup they had, they should've been a pretty dominant team. The bottom line is that Q's system just wasn't working! The Avs have never been a defensively based team, and with all their fire power, Q's defense first mentality was a total misfit. Getting swept by the Dead Wings wasn't just because of injuries, although that was a HUGE part. The guys that were in the lineup looked like they had never seen their teammates before, missing passes, missing defensive assignments, just overall sloppy play. Q just can't seem to motivate this team! Q was hired by Lacroix, which was a mistake. Let's let Giguere bring in his own guy (an offensively minded one). I'm extremely happy that Q is finally gone, but i just wish they would've canned him sooner! This team needs a change of scenery bad after that meltdown in the playoffs
....and yet the Red Wings did it to the Stars last night as well. Injuries had nothing to do with it. Coaching maybe could have been better, but it is the Avalanche GM who is the problem. I believe that JQ showed some real genius getting as far as he did with the currently fielded team. The Red Wings being on an unbelievable run shouldn't make the coach look worse. The season series tells a story about two teams that don't match up very well. Again, that is the GM's fault. I think JQ will make the Leafs very happy next year, if their GM doesn't mess it up, too.
This doesn't seem like the right thing to do. Didn't Colorado beat a higher seeded team to get to the Wings? Considering Sakic was out for a big part of the year, and Forsberg came back before the playoffs and then was injured during the Wings' Game 1 skatearound, I don't see what else JQ could have done. Perhaps there was some animosity between Quenneville and the GM, so this is the excuse for their poor performance against Detroit.
I've been hoping to see Pat Quinn back in the league for some time now... Not to say he is perfect for the Avs, but there is now ANOTHER opening in the league.
What do you mean this makes no sense at all? He started Jose Theodore for games 1 and 2 when he had flu like symptoms. Thats just stupid coaching. In a game like hockey you cannot let your goalie play when his reaction time is slower than normal. To top that off he left Theodore in net longer then he should have so Colorado had no chance to catch up. In game 3 after Jose Theodore gave up 2 goals in less than a minute he should have been pulled. If he would have been pulled Colorado could have had a chance to get at least 1 win in the series. After losing that game they gave up in game 4.
most Avs fans (like myself) have been calling for his firing for a while now! It's not like this was a huge shock! All of these people thinking that this is all cuz of the Dead Wings series...it's not! He needed to go. The Avs have too much talent for what he brought us. Our powerplay was one of the worst in the league despite usually being one of the best! A lot of our younger players (Wolski, Liles, etc.) weren't developing the way that they should be because of his system. There were rumors that Brunette clashed with Q as well. Maybe Bruno will re-sign now that he's gone! Bring in John Tortorella!!! His high energy offensive system is a perfect fit for our players!!
Whatever the reasons leading up to the firing game 4 was the final straw. Lots of people (i.e. fellow Wings fans) were saying Detroit played a great game. That was part of it, but the Avalanche looked like a team that just quit in the final game. Once a coach can't motivate the players to play he has got to go.
This is nothing new.... Hartley was fired by the Avs just acouple of years after winning the cup. When Hartley was fired, the Avs were still in the midst of thier 10 consecutive division championships and were regular players deep in the playoffs. I don't blame Q for the Avs of late. Yeah, I think Budaj should have been in goal after Theo's 2 game meltdown, but really, would that have mattered? The Wings were going to beat the Avs no matter who the goalie was. To me the success or failure of the team falls on the shoulders of the GM and basically, since Pierre stepped down, we have not had the success he had (salary cap didn't help either).
How is the GM to blame? He brought in all the right guys. It was Quennville's job to fit them in and make everyone play at their best. Noone could do this because every game there seemed to be flip-flopped lines. The chemistry just wasn't there and that falls directly on Quennville.
How is the GM to blame??? Hello...The GM makes all the trades and FA signings. The coach works with what he's got and if you are an Avs fan then you know half the team was hurt for half the year. Q is the one who kept the team together just to get to the playoffs. The GM brought in an ancient defenseman in Footer and a Broken forward in Forsberg. The best pickup was Salae. What the team needs is a goalie that can stand up to the pressure of the playoffs not a couple of guys they let slip away in first place.
If we didn't have Foote or Forsberg we wouldn't have even got through the first round. I agree we should have gotten a goaltender but really, who was out there to get?
Yeah I hear you, but I still am convinced they should not re-sign Forsberg. That guy can't stay healthy to save his ass. I love to watch him make stuff happen, but when he is always injured, the team suffers. I think Foote still has some game, not to mention leadership. I think the answer at goalie is to do their homework and develope one. Nobody wants to part with an allstar goalie and Theo is a prime example of why not to go out and throw big money at one.
Good call on Forsberg! Being in and out of the lineup like that has a negative effect on players lower on the depth chart - you could play an unreal game, then be bumped out for the next one to make room for Foppa to play his first game back from another injury.
Not to mention the Avs were injury riddled last year with Smyth, Sakic and Statsny all missing significant chunks of time. Why add another piece of glass to an already fragile lineup?
