Chris Stewart could be an elite player. He currently sits at 24 goals and 27 assists for 51 points and second on the team in terms of overall points.  Stastny leads, but is certainly benefiting in terms of points production from playing with Stewart.

Stewart isn't afraid to drop the gloves, give a hit, take a hit or just plain be an agitator.  His speed isn't answered well by many teams and it will take some creative coaching to answer that speed(If David Jones recovers well from his ACL repair and keeps the speed he had, we have two great  power forwards).

Stewart's hat trick two nights ago shows what an asset he is to the team.  When he is on a roll the Avs play well.  Like all of the other young players he needs to learn consistency but Sacco's system of accountability will provide just that.

Galiardi is doing well and is just a balanced player.  He can kill penalties and is worth his paycheck in terms of top six minutes.  Hats off to him for raising his game.

Stastny is about at his usual point per game pace and will likely increase that next year.  He is fully capable of pushing the 100 point mark and will likely do it if he can continue to play with a goal scorer like Stewart.

Duchene is a likely candidate for the Calder.  Myers from Buffalo and Duchene are the two standouts for the award this season.  Looking forward to that race and being the homer that I am think he deserves it.

In The Pipe:

VANCOUVER!!!!!!!!!  There is a possibility that I may be attending this game.  If that happens i will tell you all about the experience afterwards.  The Avalanche MUST win this game in order to tie up points totals for the NW division lead.  Hopefully Luongo is off of his game and McLeod and Stewart can get into his head early.  Shut down the Sedin's as well.

Rebuild Notes:

Players worth keeping and giving better contracts to include Kyle Quincey and Peter Mueller.   If Clark leaves an extra million per season per player still gives them an extra million to go towards Stewart and eventually Duchene.  Let Salei and his three million per season go and you can afford to pay Stewart 3 million a season without losing any sleep.

Foote can and should resign if he intends to finish his career with the Avs.  He will take a pay cut though because he doesn't want to leave.  This will free up some space for Defenseman with new contracts including Kevin Shattenkirk.

A Liles trade this summer would be great but isn't likely.  In two seasons he will come off of the books as well as Preissing freeing up close to 6 million a season.  Svatos and Tucker will not likely be back as much as I love Tucker's heart.  He just can't play the game anymore at the level necessary to even play a checking role.  If he wants to stay as a part of the organization I would welcome that but he needs to hang them up.

If we play the contracts right we could be set for a VERY long time!

Written by :

Scott Reekers