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Varlamov posts bond, travels to Dallas; Downie dealt for Talbot |
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Rick Sadowski
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Goalie Semyon Varlamov accompanied the Avalanche to Dallas on Thursday for Friday night's game against the Stars, but coach Patrick Roy said he wasn't certain if Varlamov or Jean-Sebastien Giguere would start.
Varlamov on Wednesday was arrested on second-degree kidnapping, a Class 4 felony, and assault in the third degree, a misdemeanor. He spent the night in a Denver jail and had a court appearance Thursday morning while the Avalanche was on the ice at its suburban practice facility.
Varlamov posted a $5,000 bond and was given permission to travel by Denver County Judge Claudia Jordan. He also was ordered to stay away from his girlfriend and not to contact her.
(I suggest you check out the Denver Post web site for the bulk of the legal stuff, along with an interview with the woman Varlamov allegedly assaulted. I have a copy of the affadavit and arrest warrant, which is on the Post site, and it is very disturbing.)
Before learning that Varlamov was permitted to travel, Roy was still considering how to deal with his goalie situation. Varlamov was originally scheduled to start in Dallas, but Roy apparently won't make his decision until Friday morning.
"It's important that for me as a coach to keep my focus on my team and we keep our focus there," Roy said during a media session that was a lot more crowded than usual. "We'll play (Friday) and we'll see how we have to do. The beauty of coaching is every day you have to make adjustments. We will always make adjustments. We'll make the adjustment that has to be made to make this team win."
Varlamov has played a key role in the Avalanche's 10-1 start, posting a 7-1 record with a 1.76 goals-against average and .945 save percentage. But Giguere also has played extremely well with a 3-0 record, two shutouts, a 0.67 average and .981 save percentage.
Giguere was originally scheduled to start Saturday when the Avalanche plays Montreal at the Pepsi Center. It is supposed to be a night of celebration, as Adam Foote's No. 52 jersey will be retired in a pregame ceremony.
Giguere, 36, said he's prepared to take on the lion's share of the goaltending load if needed.
"That's the job of a backup," he said. "You have to be ready for all kinds of scenarios. Sometimes a goalie might get sick, sometimes he might get hurt in warmup. Sometimes he might be out for a month and the team isn't necessarily going to (make) a trade. You have to be ready physically and mentally for those kinds of challenges.
"I don't know what's going to happen coming up. For me, it doesn't change the fact I try to approach every day as a day-to-day thing. Whatever happened today, I'll take care of it, try to face it, and move on to the next day and see what happens."
Avalanche players chose not to comment on Varlamov's situation.
"We have very few details," Giguere said. "We don't know what's going on. We'll wait and see. I feel bad for Varly, the guy. But, I don't know, I don't know what happened. It's hard to tell. We'll see."
The question for the Avalanche is, can players prevent the matter from becoming a distraction?
"We're focusing on what we can control right now, and that's preparing the best way for (Friday's game)," team captain Gabriel Landeskog said. "We're going to keep doing what we're doing in here, keep working hard. We're going to focus on what we can control. That's preparing for (Friday). The rest I can't comment on because of the ongoing investigation. I can't comment on it."
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As if there already wasn't enough Avalanche news, the team traded right wing Steve Downie to Philadelphia in exchange for forward Maxime Talbot, who can play center and either wing. Downie practiced Thursday and was informed of the deal after he came off the ice.
Roy said Talbot, 29, who has one goal, one assist and two penalty minutes in 11 games, will skate at right wing against Dallas on the Avalanche's third line with John Mitchell and Nathan MacKinnon. He'll also kill penalties.
Mitchell will replace Jamie McGinn again as the left wing on the line. McGinn remains sidelined with a knee injury. He didn't practice Thursday and didn't make the trip to Dallas.
"Talbot is a centerman and that gives us flexibility," Roy said. "We can put Mitchell on the third line with McGinn, we can put Talbot at center on the fourth line. He's a centerman and can play both wings very easily."
Talbot helped Pittsburgh win the 2009 Stanley Cup with eight goals and five assists in 24 playoff games. He scored both goals in the championship series-clinching 2-1 win against Detroit in Game 7.
"He's great at penalty killing," Roy said. "We feel that he's going to bring a lot of depth to our team. He's a guy that has performed really well in the playoffs. We think he would be a great addition."
It's not as if the Avalanche hasn't done a good job killing penalties. Colorado has an NHL-best 92.3 percent success rate killing penalties and Cody McLeod, who has been on the first penalty-killing unit, will finish his five-game suspension Friday and be eligible to play Saturday.
"Losing Cody, I thought we were a little short on PK players and Talbot is very good in that regard," Roy said. "He's a really good PK guy. I think it's going to help a lot. It went well in the first month, because we played 11 games in the month of October. In the next three or four months, we play 14 games in every month. I don't want to overplay some guys. It's important to share the ice time. I think Talbot is going to be very important to us."
Talbot, who is 5-feet-11 and 190 pounds, has two more years remaining on his contract after this one; it's worth $1.75 million per season. Downie, 26, has one goal, six assists and 36 penalty minutes in 11 games. He is in the final year of his deal, worth $2.65 million this season, and will be eligible for unrestricted free agency in July.
A native of Lemoyne, Quebec, Talbot has 77 goals and 77 assists in 515 career games with Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, along with 18 goals and 21 assists in 77 playoff games. An eighth-round pick (234th overall) of the Penguins in 2002, Talbot played six seasons with them before he signed with the Flyers as a free agent in July 2011. He had a career-high 34 points (19 goals, 15 assists) in 81 games in 2011-12.
"It's really exciting," Talbot said in a phone interview. "Playing in Pittsburgh for so long and in my first year in Philly we made the playoffs every year and you kind of get used to that. It was kind of a battle last year and again this year. Now I get traded to a team that has a great deal of momentum right now. It's exciting. They're on top of the league and there's a reason for that. They're a young team. They have a deep roster with a lot of young skill and they should be good for years to come.
"I guess my bread and butter is killing penalties . Two years ago I had a breakout season with 19 goals, which I enjoyed. I can bring versatility to the game and I like to play with emotion. I've heard nothing but good things about Patrick Roy, so I'm really excited to be part of it now."
Talk about a small world: Talbot said Avalanche video coach Mario Duhamel coached him in pee wee when he was 13 years old.
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