My Analysis of the Steve Downie/Maxime Talbot Trade

I will have to admit at first upon hearing of this trade I was not very happy, I personally am a big fan of the style of hockey that Steve Downie plays and thought that he had a big impact on the Avs success this season. As I took a few hours to think about the trade, it started to make a little more sense to me why the Avs made this move. For starters, Steve Downie is a UFA at the end of the season while Talbot has 2 years left on his deal after this season. Downie's cap hit is $2.65 million while Talbot's is $1.75 million, so the Avs have a player for 2 more years and free up a million in cap space. For the long run I like this trade for the Avs, but for this year I think that the Flyers won the trade (at least in terms of offensive upside).

The simple facts of this trade is that Downie is much more offensively gifted than Talbot, while Talbot possesses a much more important defensive skill that is very important in the NHL. I think Downie will go to Philadelphia and find some success on a line with Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell, he brings a combination skill and toughness that really can get under opponents skin. Downie started his career in Philadelphia, and at age 26 he returns for what he hopes will be a more successful stint. This trade will certainly provide a spark for the Flyers, who are in desperate need of some more scoring depth. However, in acquiring Downie for more offense they had to pay a big price in losing their most responsible defensive player that isn't Claude Giroux. Talbot is one of the top penalty killers in the NHL, and the Flyers PK will certainly miss him

Now more on Talbot; at age 29 he still has a lot of good hockey left in him, and the Avs think he will be an important part of their future going forward. Head Coach Patrick Roy talked about Talbot, especially noting his past playoff experience as a reason they traded for him, "Talbot has won a Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh. He's a great penalty killer. We feel that he's going to add a lot of depth to our team. He's a guy that has performed well in the playoffs and we think he'll be a great addition." Avalanche VP of Hockey Operations Joe Sakic added, "Maxime is a veteran forward who has won a Stanley Cup and has a lot of NHL experience." From both Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic's comments it is evident that they love the experience Talbot brings, and they think he will become a big role player for the Avs.

While Talbot won't score as much as Downie, he will become a very important part of the team's PK unit (which is #1 in the NHL already). He is a versatile center who can also play wing, so expect him to switch between 3rd line winger and 4th line center. As much as I didn't like the Avs getting rid of Downie, I have to say that I have always been a fan of Talbot since his days in Pittsburgh. He is a guy who gives it 100% every night, while he may not be the most skilled guy on the ice he works as hard as anyone. The Avs gain a guy with leadership and experience, as well as a player who will play 200-feet of the ice. At first the Avs fans might have a little trouble understanding this trade, but in my opinion Talbot is going to become a fan favourite in Denver much like he did in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia before. I think he will also have a great impact on rookie Nathan MacKinnon, hopefully he can help Nate with the defensive side of the game.

Overall a shocking 24 hours for the Avs, with the Varlamov arrest and the Downie trade. However it is not time to panic, remember the Avs are still 10-1-0 and have a lot of hockey left to play. Varlamov will be able to travel with the team and looks to be in line start tomororw night vs. the Stars, as he is awaiting whether prosecutors will charge him or not (as he posted $5,000 bail to get out). I think that this trade is one that we will have to wait and see how it plays out, as Talbot is now here for at least the next 3 seasons while Downie is a UFA at season end and could walk from Philly. Who knows if this is the right move or not, only time will tell, but for now best of luck to Downie in Philly and welcome to the Avs Max Talbot!

-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff

Game #11 - Colorado Avalanche 3, Winnipeg Jets 2

Ryan Wilson and Ryan O'Reilly celebrate with Matt Duchene after his 9th goal of the season

Goals:

COL - Matt Duchene (9) - from Steve Downie and Ryan Wilson (8:04 1ST)

WPG - Brian Little (6) - from Adam Pardy and Blake Wheeler (11:00 1ST)

WPG - Blake Wheeler (4) - from Brian Little and Grant Clitsome (10:02 2ND)

COL - Jan Hejda (2) - from Paul Stastny and Gabriel Landeskog (7:13 3RD)

COL - Paul Stastny (2) - from Gabriel Landeskog and Alex Tanguay (14:32 3RD)

WG - Semyon Varlamov (23 saves on 25 shots) LG - Al Montoya (33 saves on 36 shots)

The Avalanche are off to their best start in franchise history, improving to 10-1-0 on the season with a 3-2 come-from behind win over the Jets. The Avs finish October tied with the Sharks for an NHL-best 10 wins and only 1 loss, what a start for Patrick Roy's team. The Avs faced some adversity tonight; as it was the 1st time all season the Avs trailed going into the 3rd period. The result? They responded with one of the best periods of the season, as the Landeskog line got the tying and winning goal in a dominant 3rd period. The Avs came out flying in the first, nearly scoring several times in the opening minutes but Al Montoya made a series of great saves on Duchene and Landeskog. Matt Duchene then opened the scoring for the Avs, converting on Steve Downie rebound for his team leading 9th goal of the season. However, the Jets would tie the game 3 minutes later as a weird bounce off the back-boards went right to Brian Little who beat Varlamov before he could slide over to the other side of the net. The Avs would end the period tied 1-1, outshooting the Jets 10-8. The 2nd was a bad period for the Avs; they seemed sloppy and took 4 penalties in the period. Blake Wheeler put the Jets up 2-1 seconds after a PP expired, as Blake Wheeler beat Varlamov with a slap shot five-hole (Varly's 1st weak goal of the season). Shots were tied 19-19 after 2 periods, with the Jets up 2-1 and outshooting the Avs 11-9 in the period. If the Avs wanted to continued their winning streak, they needed to respond and push back. That is exactly what thee Avs did as they came out flying in the 3rd period, Patrick Roy clearly said something in the intermission because the Avs looked like a different team then in the 2nd. Jan Hejda would tie the game at 2-2, as a nice shift by the Landeskog line led to Hejda ripping a slapshot off the cross-bar past Montoya. The Avs would then take a 3-2 lead seconds after killing of their 5th penalty of the night, as Paul Stastny converted a Gabriel Landeskog pass for the goal with 5:28 left. The Avs would hold on for their 5th straight win, outshooting the Jets 17-6 in the 3rd and 36-25 in the game. The Avs had a strong game defensively, winning 30 of 51 faceoffs and blocking 19 shots (Cory Sarich a game-high 4). Most importantly, the PK was very integral to the Avs success tonight as they stopped all 5 Jets PPs and have now killed off 18 straight overall. What a month of October for the Avs, who stand at 10-1-0 withn 4 days off until their next game on Friday.

Paul Stastny celebrates his 3rd period goal

Three Stars:

3. Gabriel Landeskog - Landeskog has been on a roll the past few games, and he was a big part of the comeback win tonight as he picked up 2 assists on the tying and winning goals.

2. Paul Stastny - Stastny had a very strong game tonight, assisting on Jan Hejda's tying goal and scoring his 2nd goal of the season with 5:28 left to give the Avs the lead.

1. Matt Duchene - Duchene continued his great start to the season with his 9th goal, which opened the scoring for the Avs. Duchene now has 9 goals in October, tying Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Chris Stewart as the most in October in Avalanche history. 

Play of the Game - Stastny's goal gets it tonight, a great passing play from Tanguay to Landeskog to Stastny for the game-winning goal.

Game #12 - The Avalanche now have 4 days off until their next game, as they start off November with a road game vs. the Dallas Stars on Friday night (@830PM ET)

The Avs celebrate their 10th win of the season

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #10 - Colorado Avalanche 4, Carolina Hurricanes 2

Matt Duchene had a dominating performance vs. the Hurricanes

Goals:
COL - Erik Johnson (2) - from Paul Stastny and Alex Tanguay (11:30 1ST)
COL - Matt Duchene (7) - from Ryan O'Reilly and Steve Downie (17:33 1ST)
CAR - Drayson Bowman (1) - from Jordan Staal and Andrej Sekera (0:12 2ND)
COL - Alex Tanguay (3) - from Matt Duchene and Andre Benoit (10:11 2ND)
COL - Matt Duchene PPG (8) - unassisted (0:36 3RD)
CAR - Andrej Sekera (1) - from Jiri Tlusty and Alexander Semin (2:40 3RD)

The Avalanche improved to an NHL-best 9-1-0 with a 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, a very impressive feat considering the Avs have a rookie Coach in Patrick Roy. But after 10 games can anyone take this team lightly anymore? The Avs have been pushed around in the past under Joe Sacco, and it looks like under Patrick Roy that isn't going to happen very often. Simply put, the Avs are buying into Patrick Roy's system and Roy is buying into the players, they keep using the phrase "it's a partnership." The Avs opened the scoring in the 1st, as a 2-on-1 with Tanguay and Stastny left a puck in front as a sliding Erik Johnson knocked it into the cage. It was review as it hit Johnson's skate, but the goal counted. The Avs would then go up 2-0 on the highlight of the night, as Matt Duchene scored an absolutely beautiful goal. Duchene is a human highlight reel, the guy keeps scoring these amazing goals and he has been simply fantastic so far this season. The Hurricanes would get one back 12 seconds into the 2nd, as Drayson Bowman beat Varlamov after a nice pass from Jordan Staal. Midway through the period the Avs would restore their 2-goal lead, as a nice move by Duchene to get in the zone, stop and feed a streaking Tanguay who beat Peters five-hole. Duchene would make the game 4-1 in the opening seconds of the 3rd, as a he made a nice play along the boards to keep the puck in and cut to the middle, beating Peters high-glove. Andrej Sekera would make it 4-2 minutes later, but that's as close as the Hurricanes would get. At 4-2 the Hurricanes were pressing and on the PP, first Eric Staal nailed the crossbar and then Varlamov made a huge glove save on former teammate Alex Semin (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpNrm-yD-YY). The Avs are rolling right now at 9-1-0, and while it is impressive it still is very early in the season and they need to keep their foot on the gas.

The Avs celebrate Matt Duchene's first of 2 goals on the night

Three Stars:
3. Semyon Varlamov - Tonight wasn't Varly's best performance of the season, but he made 28 saves on 30 shots and really made some big saves at the right times.
2. Alex Tanguay - Tanguay had a solid game for the Avs in this contest, picking up 1 goal, 1 assist and the GWG.
1. Matt Duchene - Man is Matt Duchene on a roll right now, he continues to be the Avs best player every game. Dutchy scored 2 goals, and added an assist to improve his Avalanche best goals to 8 and points to 12.

Play of the Game - Matt Duchene's first goal get's it tonight, what a beautiful spin move and finish: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/matt-duchene-scoring-video-game-goals-season-video-023014717--nhl.html

Game #11 - The Avs look to continue their hot start with their last October game, as the Winnipeg Jets are in town on Sunday night (@8PM ET)

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #9 - Colorado Avalanche 1, Pittsburgh Penguins 0

Cole Harbour native's Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby battle for the 1st time

The majority of people looked at tonight's game as an automatic win for the Penguins; despite how good of a start the Avs have had many people questioned Patrick Roy's decision to start J.S. Giguere over Semyon Varlamov. The result? A 34-save shutout, his 2nd shutout in 3 starts and 3rd win overall. Not bad for the 36-year old goaltender many people called "washed-up" or "old." The Avs may not be winning pretty every night, but the bottom line is this team has shown the ability to grind out wins early in the season. Its hard to jump to conclusions considering it is only 9 games in, but talk about an ideal start for an Avs team that looks completely different under Patrick Roy. Tonight was also the first meeting between Cole Harbour native and 1ST overall pick's Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon, despite Crosby outplaying MacKinnon score 1 for the rookie. The Penguins outshot the Avs 34-14 in the game, except the lone goal came from Avs Captain Gabriel Landeskog. Landeskog, coming out of the penalty box, got the puck at the blue line after a nice pass by Ryan Wilson, and he threw it on net which beat Fleury low-glove. It looked like it may have tipped, but regardless a huge goal for the Avalanche. The Penguins peppered the Avs in the 3rd outshooting them 16-5 but unable to solve Jiggy. The Avs killed a season high 7 penalties, including 4 in the 1st period. The PK has been the biggest difference this season compared to the last few years, Roy has gotten the message across and the Avs are playing smart, aggressive penalty killing. Credit Giguere for making some really clutch saves, none bigger than 2-on-1 with Malkin and Crosby as he made a great glove save off Sid. After a slow start, Captain Gabriel Landeskog has really responded scoring goals in 3 straight games. Another played that deserves a round of applause is Jan Hejda, who had a monster night defensively logging 27:32 of ice time with 4 hits and 6 blocked shots (both game-high). Once again not the prettiest win, but the Avs are surprising the NHL and continue to keep things rolling.

Avs Captain Gabriel Landeskog celebrates his 2nd period goal

The Avalanche celebrate with G J.S. Giguere after a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins

Three Stars:

3. Sidney Crosby  - Crosby was the best player on the ice for the Pens, putting up 7 shots on goal but Giguere wouldn't let anything past him on this night.

2. Gabriel Landeskog - Landy had another big-time performance, scoring the lone goal for the Avs which was enough for a big 2 points. Gabe now has goals in 3 straight games.

1. J.S. Giguere - What can you see about the Avs goaltending this season, the tandem of Semyon Varlamov (4-1) and J.S. Giguere (3-0) has been arguably the best in the NHL early on. Giguere had his 2nd shutout in 3 games, making 34 saves tonight. What is even more impressive about the 36-year old's performance this season is that both of his shutouts have come against 2 elite NHL teams: Boston and Pittsburgh.

Play of the Night - J.S. Giguere's glove save on Sidney Crosby gets it tonight, possibly the scariest 2-on-1 combination in the NHL with Malkin and Crosby and Jiggy stands tall with the big glove save. Runner-up goes to Jamie McGinn's play on Sidney Crosby on the PK, saving a goal for sure.

Game #10 - The Avs head home for a 3-day rest as they don't play until Friday night in the 1st of back-to-back home games. The Avalanche (8-0-1) meet the Carolina Hurricanes (4-2-3) in Denver on Friday night (@9PM ET)

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avlanche News