Avs Fire Crackin' In July (Part I)

Just in time for the week following July 4th, the Colorado Avalanche have put on a colorful display of reorganization, hirings, firings, retirements, trades, and free agent signings. With all these rockets blasting in an Avs red glare, it's time to look forward to what this July means and brings to the Colorado Avalanche's next season and beyond.

For those that follow the NHL regularly, there is no doubt that the Avalanche franchise has cooled off in recent years. Nearly a full decade removed from their last Stanley Cup Championship, Colorado has now made significant changes from top to bottom in an effort to better the franchise. No stone has been left unturned. With every member of the franchise going under full review, the organization as a whole has been revamped.

The goal has been to implement a fresh approach to get back to being one of the best professional hockey franchises in the league.

Front Office Moves

Pierre Lacroix, the former General Manager who brought two cups to the Denver market, has more say after stepping down as GM a few short years ago. The Avalanche fell short in the area of continuity while carrying on their tradition of winning hockey.

Lacroix’s new title is President and Alternate Governor, reflecting the fact that owner Stan Kroenke wants the Avalanche franchise to return to their once dominant ways. Pierre Lacroix has taken the direction from Mr. Kroenke to heart by revamping the rest of the front office, coaching staff and team roster. 

Most of the front office moves avalanched only one day after the end of the 2008-09 season. Francois Giguere was fired as General Manager. Next, Director of Player Personnel Michel Goulet stepped down from working with the club. Goulet apparently wanted to become the next GM, however it was not the direction the team wanted to go.

Moreover, incumbent head coach Tony Granato and his staff became an after-thought during the search for a new head coach when Patrick Roy’s name surfaced in serious discussions to become the new bench leader for the Avs. Roy turned down the team apparently due to the fact that the Avalanche are rebuilding.

Welcome the new Head Coach of the Colorado Avalanche

After Patrick Roy turned down the Avalanche for the head coaching position, Joe Sacco, of the Avalanche minor league affiliate Lake Erie Monsters took over the reigns. This all occurred only one day after Tony Granato was let go. 

Granato had been with the Avalanche since the 2002-03 season when he replaced Bob Hartley as head coach. Eventually, Granato was replaced for the 2004-05 season but remained with the franchise as an assistant under Joel Quenneville. After Quenneville was fired Granato had his second stint as head coach with the team for the 2008-09 season.

Granato was a perfect fall guy for the Avalanche since he failed to even get one of the most under-achieving teams of all-time past the second round. In 2003, the Avalanche were stunned by the Minnesota Wild in losing the series four games to three, with the last two games being taken by the Wild in overtime. In 2004, the Avs knocked off one of their arch nemesis, the Dallas Stars in five games but failed to get past the San Jose Sharks.

This past season the Avs were still retooling but failed to make the playoffs.

With these sorts of dubious shortfalls, and attendance dropping rapidly at Avalanche home games in the wake of poor product, poor play, and a worse economy, the team has had little choice but to get serious about the net result.

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