Wednesday, October 08, 2003

By Dejan Kovacevic, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

There is a chance this NHL season, some say, that the Colorado Avalanche could break the Penguins' league record for 17 consecutive victories.

By, oh, 65 games.

Look at the forwards working in Denver this winter, and 82-0 might seem possible, if not plausible.

Peter Forsberg, reigning league MVP and scoring champion ... Milan Hejduk, the league's only 50-goal man last season ... Alex Tanguay, who has 83 goals in his first four seasons and improves with each. And the second line might be better. Joe Sakic, still dangerous 1,315 points later, is flanked by newbies Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne, two of the game's fastest and most creative.

On July 3, the day close friends Kariya and Selanne opted to take pay cuts and sign one-year deals with the Avalanche with the goal of winning their first Stanley Cup, the balance of power in the league shifted a mile high.

Already, Colorado had one of the league's most dynamic offenses. Already, it had a defensive top four of Rob Blake, Adam Foote, Derek Morris and Martin Skoula. Anything more seems like piling on.

Except ...

The Avalanche still has two large questions entering the season, and they are not to be underestimated:

One is goaltending.

With the retirement of Patrick Roy, the sport's winningest goaltender, David Aebischer was left with the No. 1 job. He has played 69 games in three seasons as Roy's backup and produced a pedestrian 32-25-3 record. His backup is Philippe Sauve, who spent the past three years in Hershey.

To put that into perspective, Colorado's goaltending tandem has 77 fewer games and 24 fewer wins than Jean-Sebastien Aubin.

The other great unknown is the coaching.

Tony Granato engineered a 32-11-4-4 turnaround for what had been a stagnant team to earn votes for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year. But the praise halted when the Avalanche was stunned by the less talented Minnesota Wild in the playoffs and veteran coach Jacques Lemaire widely was seen as outsmarting Granato.

General manager Pierre Lacroix prefers a path of patience in personnel matters, so it is not likely Aebischer or Granato would have a quick hook. But the one-year window with Kariya and Selanne could make him itchier than usual.

At any rate, the Avalanche is sure to dominate discussion of favorites for the Cup and for the league's individual awards:

Hart Trophy

Peter Forsberg,
Colorado Avalanche

Mario Lemieux was asked last week to describe the perfect hockey player by identifying who had the best hands, biggest heart and greatest vision. His reply: "Probably vision would be Gretzky, heart would be Forsberg ... and I'll take the hands."

That is the level to which most inside the game hold Forsberg, that his name can be mentioned in the same sentence with those men.

Get a good look at him, for he might not be back.

The Avalanche sought this summer to extend Forsberg's contract to a lifetime span, but he agreed to only one year, as he retains a deep desire to return home to Sweden.

He is sure to make the most of his year, especially given his mind-bending supporting cast.

Runners-up: Mike Modano, Dallas Stars; Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils

Art Ross Trophy

Peter Forsberg,
Colorado Avalanche

Last season, he became the first in 39 seasons to win the scoring championship without scoring 30 goals, finishing with 29 goals and 77 assists. That is a testament to his sensational and underappreciated playmaking gifts.

Imagine the damage he will do when opponents cannot determine which line to check.

Runners-up: Sakic; Markus Naslund, Vancouver Canucks

Maurice Richard Trophy

Milan Hejduk,
Colorado Avalanche

Why is he the best pure finisher in the game?

Consistency.

He attempted 244 shots, or three per game. He nailed 20.5 percent of them. And he had only one stretch of more than three games without a goal while playing the full season.

It will not hurt that his center is so good his name will be mentioned in this space a total of seven times.

Runners-up: Todd Bertuzzi, Canucks; Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta Thrashers

Norris Trophy

Rob Blake,
Colorado Avalanche

The truly great defensemen have won the Norris at least twice, and Blake has only the 1998 trophy on his mantle. That will change.

It will not be easy, as the Detroit Red Wings' Nicklas Lidstrom has won the past three. But ... his Red Wings showed their age with their withering display in the playoffs last spring, and his play might actually appear mortal.

Moreover ... have you heard that Blake will have a mind-bending supporting cast?

Runners-up: Lidstrom; Ed Jovanovski, Canucks

Vezina Trophy

Martin Brodeur,
New Jersey Devils

If they gave out the Vezina in proportion to the size of a goaltender's pads, Brodeur would have been able to stick his trophy of last season in his vest pocket.

Garth Snow or Jean-Sebastien Giguere, by comparison, would need to rent a Boeing 737.

Or two.

It is amazing that Brodeur's Vezina was his first but expect a second. With other goaltenders sure to struggle with the NHL's new equipment rules, Brodeur should stand out even more.

Runners-up: Patrick Lalime, Ottawa Senators; Tomas Vokoun, Nashville Predators

Calder Trophy

Eric Staal,
Carolina Hurricanes

No one had more goals in this preseason than the seven of Staal, the player chosen after Marc-Andre Fleury in the June NHL Entry Draft. More impressive, he was so effective at center that the Hurricanes moved Ron Francis, the No. 5 scorer in league history, to the left wing to play with him and sniper Jeff O'Neill.

Fleury figures to get just as much a chance to play but perhaps not as much a chance to stand out statistically, as his numbers will be far more dependent on the team.

Runners-up: Peter Sejna, St. Louis Blues; Joni Pitkanen, Philadelphia Flyers

Jack Adams Award

Jacques Martin,
Ottawa Senators

Although this has become a reward for generating a dramatic turnaround rather than a genuine recognition of the coach of the year, Martin's work in crafting such a disciplined team with such a talent-laden roster should not go unappreciated.

The Senators, boring no more, were the Eastern Conference's highest-scoring team even as they allowed the third-fewest goals. A star such as Marian Hossa or Daniel Alfredsson carries the same duty as a plugger such as Mike Fisher or Shaun Van Allen.

That starts behind the bench.

Runners-up: Mike Babcock, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim; Ken Hitchcock, Flyers

Stanley Cup

Colorado Avalanche: Lacroix has never been timid about making the one big move needed for a playoff push as he nears the March trading deadline. This year is sure to be no exception.

Runner-up: Senators

Conn Smythe Trophy

Peter Forsberg,
Colorado Avalanche

The losing team's goaltender with the inflatable pads will not win it this year.

Runner-up: Whichever veteran goaltender the Avalanche ends up getting to take Aebischer's place

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