Colorado Avalanche Should Make a Move To Bolster Their Blue Line

The Colorado Avalanche are in the midst of an up and down season right now.  Not too long ago, they had a six-game winning streak going, and had just snagged a small lead over the Vancouver Canucks in the Northwest Division.  Now, about two weeks later, the Avs are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games, 1-4-1 in their last six home games, and 10 points behind the Canucks in the Northwest Division. 

The Avalanche are a very young team, so some ups and downs have to be expected.  They stand a very good chance of making the playoffs, especially if they are able to go on another run of wins at some point soon, because the Western Conference is so close. 

At the moment, seeds No. 4 through 13 are separated by only five points, which is just insane.  One thing that has contributed to the recent struggle of the Avalanche has been their very inconsistent play on defense.

The Avs have played seven defensemen a few times these past couple of weeks.  The usual pairings are looking like so:

John-Michael Liles and Ryan O'Byrne

Adam Foote and Ryan Wilson

Kevin Shattenkirk and Matt Hunwick

With Jonos Holos the odd man out.

Liles and O'Byrne have probably been the most steady defensive pairing on the team.  Liles is not only playing well in his own end, but he is having an amazing offensive year, with 5 goals and 25 assists.  O'Byrne has been very consistent, and is really the only big, strong, very physical defensemen on the team.  In fact, Joe Sacco has said the O'Byrne may be the most underrated player on the whole roster right now.  High praise.

Adam Foote has had a few injuries this year, and he is definitely looking his age.  He is still a physical presence, but not nearly the intimidating presence that he used to be.  He has also definitely lost a step in regards to his speed. 

Ryan Wilson has been playing better, of late, but has been quite inconsistent this year, and has had issues with turning the puck over.  Lately, as I mentioned, he has definitely picked things up after coach Sacco used him as a healthy scratch a couple of times.

Kevin Shattenkirk has been the surprise of the year for the Avs.  Most people were expecting him to make the team out of camp, and were very disappointed when he didn't. 

After the Avs were bit by the injury bug, he was called up and made the most of his opportunity.  His 5 goals and 14 assists (19 points) is tops among rookies defensemen.  Currently, he is in a bit of a scoring slump, and seems to be struggling to find his touch again. 

Then there is Matt Hunwick.  Hunwick gets his own paragraph because of exactly how bad he has been.  If you watched the Avs' last game against Phoenix, you see what he has been doing pretty much ever since he got to Colorado.  He's -7 since he was traded to Colorado, and it's only that low because of how many goals the Avs have been scoring, and he's been coughing things up left, right, and center in his own zone. 

Never was this more apparent than against Phoenix where he gave up 5 fantastic scoring chances to Phoenix forecheckers by making bad, and sometimes just plain stupid, plays in his own zone.  He lacks the ability to be physical with opponents in his own zone, and frequently appears to be avoiding contact while watching people put pucks past his goalie. 

If you ask me, Hunwick should be getting a lot of healthy scratch time about 10 games ago.

The Avs need more help back on defense, plain and simple.  Some help could be available.  Yesterday, Columbus placed 6'5", 225 lb defensmen Mike Commodore on waivers.  This means that, if there are no teams before them that make a move, the Avs could simply snatch him up.  He provides something that the Avs desperately need on the blue line.  Size!  Plus, he's a veteran, and not overly veteran, like Adam Foote. 

This guy is 31 years old, and he's physical.  A brief look at his stats will show that this is a guy that isn't unfamiliar with the penalty box, which can also bring some much needed intensity to the Avs.  Imagine a penalty kill pairing with 6'5" 225 lb Commodore, and 6'6 228 lb O'Byrne.  Who wants to go stand in front of the net now guys? 

Chris Phillips, of Ottowa, is another player that is on the trade market right now that could help the Avs.  Phillips also has some good size, at 6'3", 217.  He is struggling this year, but just ask Tomas Fleischmann what a change of scenery can sometimes do for you? 

Other than that, there aren't really that many names out there being shopped at the moment, but if the Avs start putting together some wins, look for them to try and acquire another good sized, veteran defensemen at, or around, the trade deadline, because, as it is, their defense is clearly their weak link.