The Avs are so bad they’re hazardous to marital bliss.
A hockey lover sitting on the sofa in Denver has no claim to the television remote when Colorado is getting run off the ice in a 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh, the defending Stanley Cup champion.
I have a theory of why the Avalanche’s television ratings have plummeted by 57 percent from a year ago, and it goes beyond the fact Jared Bednar is in over his head as coach and castoffs from bona fide NHL teams are playing big minutes on offense (Matt Nieto) and defense (Mark Barberio) for Colorado.
Denver is a good hockey town, which helps explain why attendance at the Pepsi Center has been decent, averaging in the neighborhood of 15,000 per game despite the Avalanche’s wretched 7-19-1 record on home ice. (We will not mention that crowd on Thursday night was more Pittsburgh than a Primanti Brothers sandwich.)
But in households across Colorado, even a hockey-loving guy or gal must relent and turn over the TV remote, when the significant other wants to switch over to “Family Feud” at the end of the second period. Heck, the Avs provide even worse entertainment value than “Scooby-Doo,” a bad old movie.
The rewards of watching are few and far between. Yes, the big, clean hits by big, 21-year-old defenseman Nikita Zadorov rattle the imagination that Colorado might have reason for optimism at the blue line. On the other hand, the surgery that ended the season for goalie Semyon Varlamov and gave Calvin Pickard a shot to stake his claim on the job has revealed that Pickard might be big on compete but not quite big enough to be the future between the pipes.The official role of Gabe Landeskog is Avalanche captain. His unofficial role has become game coroner, to put on a brave face and explain as compassionately as possible the ugly reasons for defeat.
“I definitely wouldn’t say that all year long we’ve been happy with the way we’ve played. It’s definitely been ups and downs. But, to be honest with you, in this one, we gave them the first three goals … The first three goals, we handed to them,” said Landeskog, keeping a stiff upper lip after getting blown out by Pittsburgh.
The only reason to stay tuned to this game was to see if Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby could score the 1,000th point of his storied professional career. With a contingent of Penguins dads in the house, the Avs didn’t give Crosby the satisfaction of reaching the milestone. He left the building stuck on 998.
“We’re happy we’re not on the highlight reel for his 1,000th point,” Landeskog said.
So there you go. It’s come down to moral victories for hockey in Colorado.
If the Avalanche loses and nobody watches on television, does it count in the standings? The loss to the Penguins was Colorado’s 34th of this forgettable campaign. Since moving to Denver in 1995, the most games the franchise has never lost more than 44 times in a single season.
While I feel for everybody who gives their heart and soul to this hockey club, from Landeskog to radio play-by-play voice Marc Moser, there’s a part of me that hopes the Avalanche keeps on losing, to 50 defeats and beyond, so bad that a sense of outrage is unavoidable and significant change is inevitable.
What this franchise has become is unacceptable. It’s an insult to a fine tradition built by the efforts of Patrick Roy and Peter Forsberg.
While TVs across Denver are turned off by the Avs, here’s hoping somebody is paying attention to this disaster on ice.
Josh Kroenke, are you watching this, Mr. Team President? Benign neglect by franchise ownership is not an option. Do you care the Avalanche is so bad the city covers its collective eyes and turns away?
If you do care, show us you care. Do something. Please.
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