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Twice would be nice Talentwise, Avalanche have shot a Stanley Cup repeat
Now the question is, Will all that money be enough for a Colorado repeat? Ray Bourque retired after finally winning his ring and Peter Forsberg unexpectedly took a leave of absence because of mounting injuries. In addition, Western Conference rivals Detroit and Dallas improved their rosters in an attempt to catch the Avalanche. Nobody said winning another Cup would be easy, of course. "We did our share of beefing up also," Colorado coach Bob Hartley said. "We know we're in a tough conference. There are lots of great organizations, and they're all winning organizations. "Just looking at NHL rosters right now, it's already pretty safe to say there are almost 10 sure contenders to the Stanley Cup this year. Things are not getting easy, but we're going to be there." They'll be there under certain conditions: -- If Sakic, Blake and Roy continue to play at an All-Star level. -- If underrated defenseman Adam Foote makes a full recovery from shoulder surgery that probably will force him to miss the first month of the season. -- If veterans Shjon Podein and the newly acquired Todd Gill can fill the leadership void left by Bourque and Forsberg. -- If blooming young stars Chris Drury, Milan Hejduk, Alex Tanguay and Martin Skoula continue to improve. -- And if a few other youngsters have the type of breakthrough seasons Ville Nieminen and Dan Hinote had last year. Podein, for one, is confident the team has what it takes to pick up where it left off last season, which ended with the Avalanche beating the New Jersey Devils 3-1 in Game 7 of the finals. "This is the tightest bunch of guys I've ever played with," Podein said. "We're a proud bunch of guys and we believe we can reach the goal we've set for ourselves. As long as that belief permeates through everyone in the locker room, we'll be OK. The main goal we've set for ourselves is to get stronger every day, every game." It was that feeling that helped persuade Sakic, Blake and Roy to stay. "Very rarely do you have a situation like that where three great players can go anywhere they want in the league, and they all come back to their old team," Podein said. Even without the brilliant all-around play of Forsberg, the Avalanche figure to have no trouble scoring in 2001-02. Sakic, the league's MVP last season after finishing second in the NHL in total points (118) and goals (a career-high 54), has been one of the league's most prolific scorers for the last 12 years. Hejduk, 25, established career highs last season in goals (41) and points (79), and he tied for second in NHL playoff scoring (23 points). The 21-year-old Tanguay had 77 points and posted a team-high 11-game point streak. He scored two goals, including the game-winner, in the deciding game against New Jersey. Drury, 25, scored 65 points, including a career-best 24 goals, and he finished second in the league in postseason goals with 11, just behind Sakic's 13. Blake, acquired from the Los Angeles Kings last Feb. 21, gave the Avs a third formidable defenseman for their Stanley Cup run, along with Bourque and Foote. Roy set personal bests with 40 wins and a 2.21 goals-against average last season en route to becoming the winningest goaltender in NHL history. He saved his best, however, for the playoffs, earning this third Conn Smythe Trophy after leading the league in postseason GAA (1.70). The retirement of Bourque, the loss to free agency of Jon Klemm and the early season absence of Foote will put pressure on the suddenly thin defenseman corps. The 35-year-old Gill, who played in 68 games for Detroit last season, should help. "We realize this is a whole new year. If we're going to go out and successfully defend the Cup, it's going to take an even bigger effort," Podein said. "The nice thing is, we have 20, 25 guys who want it even worse now that they've had a taste of it."
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