Trade Tanguay, Don't Sign Blake... Next Move: Fire Giguere

Francois Giguere has been the Colorado Avalanche GM for less than 2 months, and he has already dismantled 8 years of former GM Pierre Lacroix's hard work. Alex Tanguay is gone, even after he expressed interest in returning to the Avs. Rob Blake is gone, even after he expressed interest in returning to the Avs. The same Rob Blake who led the Avs to a Cup in 2001. The same assistant captain Rob Blake who has been one of the only solid defensemen on the team since he was acquired in 2001. I'm guessing the next thing to come off the presses is that Dan Hinote is gone too.

What happened to the statement Giguere made a week ago about keeping the team together? The Avs were one of the most solid teams in the NHL last year. It's true they were swept by the Ducks in the second round, but that was after beating the second best team in the Conference in 5 games. In his statement, he said he would put the current Avs roster (the 2005-06 roster) up against any team, even the Carolina Hurricanes or Edmonton Oilers, and still expect to win. I guess he wasn't even planning on giving them a shot.

The Avs are in the toughest division in the NHL. Edmonton and Calgary both made the playoffs, and both were favored to win the cup all season long. Vancouver and Minnesota were in the playoff race until the very end. There was a time with less than 3 weeks left in the season when all 5 Northwest Division teams were set to be in the playoffs. How can the Avs expect to compete in the toughest division without their second-leading scorer, without their best defenseman, and if we lose Hinote, without one of the emotional leaders of the team.

The Avalanche have been one of the premiere teams in the NHL every year since they arrived in Denver. They have the best attendance record in the NHL year in and year out, one of the best records in the league every year, and haven't missed a single playoff since the moved. Most of this was due to the fact that Pierre Lacroix kept the team together, and made amazing acquisitions to further excite the fans. All Giguere has done is break down that work, and the way things are going, I won't be suprised if the Avalanche slowly slip to the bottom of the division, and lose some of the loyal fan base that's been around for the past 10 seasons.