Aaron Musick: Is Joe Sacco smarter than we thought?

I'm biggest problem with Sacco is his CONSTANT changing of the lines.

His resigning was a bit of a shock to me (many of us), however Sherman is proving me wrong with his assesment of Talent, which I believe Sakic has to have a part of as well. But if Sakic and co didnt have an issue with Sacco, I can accept that for now.

I'm biggest problem with Sacco is his CONSTANT changing of the lines.
- veilofdarkness

I hope that he now has two lines set that he won't HAVE to.

McGinn-Stastny-Jones/Parise? (I still have a dream)
Landeskog-O'reilly-Downie

That leaves Mueller-Duchene-_____ to go with.

All of those lines could be good. Then again, they could just as well bump up Landeskog and move Mueller to RW.

No

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_N1OjGhIFc

Sacco is the problem . . . . . you got a team full of kids. kids that are full of spunk, you shouldnt have to say anything to get these kids pumped up to play!!! there is something wrong in that dressing room . . . . . either they dont want to play with that coach or its a buch of guys that just dont want to play, and looking at o'rielly, landeskog, duchene, mcginn, downie, i dont think that not wanting to play is the problem.

he made some improvements on the defensive side but he also got better defensive players this year compared to last year. O'brien was a huge help to this team and a full year of Jay Mac is a huge plus, Varly and JSG are a step up from how Anderson and Bujdi played for them.

this avs team has more talent then teams like Ottawa, Phoenix, St. Louis, and these teams made the playoffs because of great coaching! If the Avs had a coach that had a good coach to use a good offensive system this team well be hard to beat.

unless sacco learns a offensive system that fits this team, the Avs well be on the outside of the playoffs looking in for the next 2 years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_N1OjGhIFc
- LetsGoIsles

they are who we thought they were!

Sacco is the problem . . . . . you got a team full of kids. kids that are full of spunk, you shouldnt have to say anything to get these kids pumped up to play!!! there is something wrong in that dressing room . . . . . either they dont want to play with that coach or its a buch of guys that just dont want to play, and looking at o'rielly, landeskog, duchene, mcginn, downie, i dont think that not wanting to play is the problem.

he made some improvements on the defensive side but he also got better defensive players this year compared to last year. O'brien was a huge help to this team and a full year of Jay Mac is a huge plus, Varly and JSG are a step up from how Anderson and Bujdi played for them.

this avs team has more talent then teams like Ottawa, Phoenix, St. Louis, and these teams made the playoffs because of great coaching! If the Avs had a coach that had a good coach to use a good offensive system this team well be hard to beat.

unless sacco learns a offensive system that fits this team, the Avs well be on the outside of the playoffs looking in for the next 2 years.
- jonathonpeddle

while I accept your argument, there's a difference between wanting to play and being ready to play. Young guys sometimes have a trouble with the second part of that.

Sacco is the problem . . . . . you got a team full of kids. kids that are full of spunk, you shouldnt have to say anything to get these kids pumped up to play!!! there is something wrong in that dressing room . . . . . either they dont want to play with that coach or its a buch of guys that just dont want to play, and looking at o'rielly, landeskog, duchene, mcginn, downie, i dont think that not wanting to play is the problem.

he made some improvements on the defensive side but he also got better defensive players this year compared to last year. O'brien was a huge help to this team and a full year of Jay Mac is a huge plus, Varly and JSG are a step up from how Anderson and Bujdi played for them.

this avs team has more talent then teams like Ottawa, Phoenix, St. Louis, and these teams made the playoffs because of great coaching! If the Avs had a coach that had a good coach to use a good offensive system this team well be hard to beat.

unless sacco learns a offensive system that fits this team, the Avs well be on the outside of the playoffs looking in for the next 2 years.
- jonathonpeddle

While I do think the avs need a better coach than sacco, he still does some things well. Also its important to note that Tippet and Hitchcock play anything BUT an offensive system, they play trap. So if you want to say the avs need an offensive minded coach to win they aren't good examples.

The problem I have with sacco is I am not sure he will help our young players like duchene grow and reach their potential on the ice like stastny. I want a coach that can get the most out of every player, which is why I am a fan of eventually bringing in Quinn.

He is an average coach, however there are still a few good things that come with keeping him around. By not bringing in a new coach year after year It helps the younger players focus on their game and not have to worry about learning a new system every time a team gets fired. Also to sacco's benefit, the players that he has benched like Stewart and Galli have continue to struggle after they have been traded, so we cant blame him for that. However when you have a player as important to the avs as Duchene who is struggling, trading him is not an option, we need a coach who can get him playing well and that should trump all else, because its much easier to find another coach than it is to find another duchene.

I hope that he now has two lines set that he won't HAVE to.

McGinn-Stastny-Jones/Parise? (I still have a dream)
Landeskog-O'reilly-Downie

That leaves Mueller-Duchene-_____ to go with.

All of those lines could be good. Then again, they could just as well bump up Landeskog and move Mueller to RW.
- martok2309

Aaron do you know if Parise can play both sides? Unusually when I think of line combinations I try to keep players in the position their best at.

I would like to see McGinn with Duchene actually. I think McGinn is probably our second fastest skater behind Duchene now. At the very least he is our fastest LW & Power forward. I like how both Duchene & McGinn can carry the puck at high speeds.

I think you would see a lot less Duchene down low looking around with no one to pass to. I don't know how many times early in the season I watched him break into the offensive zone only to turn around and find out he was alone. Then he had to dump it, end up turning it over, or the other team would just setup and eliminate any chance at making a play. I don't know if anyone else remembers that (when he had his legs) but I do.

Another interesting thing about McGinn. He has 3 out of 4 seasons where his shooting percentage is 12.6 or better now. (10-11 is really weird considering)

08-09 14.8% @ 35GP & 27 shots

09-10 13.2% @ 59GP & 76 shots

10-11 1.6% @ 49GP & 63 shots

Sharks : 11-12 11.5% @ 61GP & 104 shots

Now this is whats interesting

Avs : 11-12 14.5% @ 17GP & 55 shots

His average for 11-12 is 12.6%

I think someone told him to shoot more lol, that's a huge difference in his shot's per game and he maintained a high shooting percentage. It actually even improved vs what he did with SJ this year.

I remember in his interviews he talked about getting more ice time and wanting to contribute offensively before he ever played a game.

I would like to see these guys together next season.

Parise - Stastny

McGinn - Duchene

Landeskog - O'Reilly

That would be one hell of a LW/C combination for the top 9

Dont give your hopes up guys, avs aren't gunna be the ones ending up with Parise

Dont give your hopes up guys, avs aren't gunna be the ones ending up with Parise
- Meeqsb

Why not? A couple playoff rounds are not fixing NJ's money problems.

We could easily over pay a bit depending on how bad we want him. Like say a conditional 2013 1st rounder that moves to a 2nd/3rd if he does not sign. (NJ has to give up a 1st round pick). It's a lot for UFA rights but I don't think it would be difficult to pitch the team to him going forward.

We are the closest of all the young teams to being a consistent playoff threat. We have a raved about city when it comes to family life. Strong ownership, and a strong core in place.

We are also in a way better position than Chicago was when they signed Hossa. We don't have any albatross contracts moving forward. We are also one of the few teams who have the cap flexibility to land both him and Suter if that's what they are looking for.

Both of those guys are thinking about what kind of cities their families live in as well.

Dont give your hopes up guys, avs aren't gunna be the ones ending up with Parise
- Meeqsb

honest question here, not trying to be a dink, but do you ever agree with anyone on here, 9 times out of 10 its negative nancy out of you.

honest question here, not trying to be a dink, but do you ever agree with anyone on here, 9 times out of 10 its negative nancy out of you.
- DDM-Coga

Haha he has agreed with me a few times but it's rare.

We agree that Sackhat sucks but that is a negative. lol

Over all there are a lot of Avs fans that are afraid to take the glass half full approach especially when it comes to UFA signings. So I am not surprised in the least most would say first that we have no chance while secretly hoping we do.

I think if management is proactive (Like trading for one or the others rights) even if it takes over payment. We have enough in our bag to use as a sales pitch. Especially when it comes to guys that have young families like Parise & Suter.

Hey it is Ek but at least we can say now that we have been linked as a dark horse to both Parise & Suter.

At the deadline Ek said the Avs like Parise when I asked him about AK46. Now he just mentioned Colorado as "Looking to put together an offer" for Suter.

Colorado is also known for surprising the hell out of the media and trade rumor markets. I actually like that we are a dark horse for either player but there has been at least a little confirmation that we are interested in both. Being the darkhorse fits our franchises historical profile when it comes to big signings and trades.

I think Colorado is the sleeping giant for this off-season. We are what? 4-5 years removed from being regarded as one of the biggest fish in the pool? We may have been forgotten about by the media but our tool bag has not gotten any lighter (Money & Strength of ownership). A lot of the young players these days grew up watching Colorado dominate the league as well.

It could happen, I just doubt it will. If parise makes it to FA, every team will be going for him and I see no clear advantage Avs have over any other team.

If it does happen great, but dont give you hopes up when it doesn't

I am hoping that Parise loved playing with Stastny so much that he wants to do it again, he was one of the leading point getters at 2010 playing with him, other than that who knows.

I have a dream, of a world that parise and suter play together in Colorado.

I could riff his whole speech but that might be in poor taste.

I am hoping that Parise loved playing with Stastny so much that he wants to do it again, he was one of the leading point getters at 2010 playing with him, other than that who knows.
- DDM-Coga

Thats my point though, thats not really alot to go on.

Avs still have a ton of holes to fill and to me if at the end of FA day, if the avs walked away with Carle for a reasonable price and a depth signing, I'd be happy

I have a dream, of a world that parise and suter play together in Colorado.

I could riff his whole speech but that might be in poor taste.
- martok2309

...wow...

I have a dream, of a world that parise and suter play together in Colorado.

I could riff his whole speech but that might be in poor taste.
- martok2309

They do look good on the ice together. Just photoshop some Avs jerseys on those 3 and we are in business

They do look good on the ice together. Just photoshop some Avs jerseys on those 3 and we are in business
- DDM-Coga

Bonerville

This is about as close to man love as I will ever get. But it's there I admit it lol.