The Colorado Avalanche have hit a Rocky Mountain low.

And, the talk amongst league executives is the heat is on.

The Avs have been treading water for the past 13 months and they’ve started off this season with a lousy 4-9-1 record.

If they don’t get their act together quickly then they’ll miss the playoffs for a second straight year under the guidance of General Manager

Joe Sakic and VP of hockey operations/coach Patrick Roy.

The Avs have started this year the way last season finished and the word is Sakic has been calling around desperately trying to get help.

The club starts a seven-game road trip Tuesday in Philadelphia that will make or break their season when it wraps up Nov. 23 in Winnipeg.

Sources say the Avs badly want help on defence.

They overrated their blueline and it has been a big issue for them.

Ideally, Sakic would like to get someone who can make an impact because the group Colorado has right now will have a tough time getting this club to the playoffs.

From the outside, it looks like Sakic and Roy are a package deal because they make all the important hockey decisions that matter.

Neither had much in the way of management experience when they came into the league and as an executive noted Saturday “there’s a learning curve for sure.”

Sakic and Roy are learning the hard way that winning off the ice isn’t that easy.

THIS ‘N’ THAT

The NHL’s 30 GMs will gather Tuesday for their annual meeting during the Hall-of-Fame weekend but there’s not many huge items on the agenda. You can bet they will discuss the league’s rule about compensation for fired GMs, coaches and executives. That has been a bitter pill for a lot of teams to swallow giving up a draft pick to get a replacement who has already been let go by another team. Also on the agenda: Giving different direction to the officials on the coaches’ challenge for goalie interference, the new 3-on-3 OT and an update on supplementary discipline ... Calgary GM Brad Treliving has been trying to gauge the market for defencemen Dennis Wideman and Kris Russell. While the Flames like Wideman, getting his $5.25-million deal off the books for next season could be a priority because the Flames have work to do. Top young players Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau will both be looking for significant raises from the $925,000 they’re making this season when they become RFA’s on July 1. You’d have to think they’ll both want north of $5 million and as for the 28-year-old Russell, he’ll be a UFA. The belief is he’ll command $4-to-$4.5 million on the open market so there’s a good chance he’ll be dealt.

OFF THE GLASS

As reported in this space last week, Toronto GM Lou Lamoriello has been sniffing around for a goalie and he’s pretty much willing to discuss any player on the roster with the exception of D Morgan Rielly ... Much has been made of the injury to rookie Edmonton C Connor McDavid. Yes, it will keep him on the shelf for awhile but he’s not gone for the year. The reality is he’s got a broken collarbone, it will heal and with any luck he’ll return early in the New Year ... New Jersey GM Ray Shero isn’t in any hurry to make moves because he just took over the Devils last summer. There is talk New Jersey is checking around to see if there’s any market for D Eric Gelinas ... The talk around the league is all is quiet on contract talks between the Tampa Bay Lightning and captain Steven Stamkos. If that’s true, and there’s been a media blackout on these discussions, it sounds like an odd approach ... There’s plenty of talks between a couple of teams and the Carolina Hurricanes are heating up for goalie Cam Ward. Interesting to see if this happens.

RUMOURS DU JOUR

A guy looking to make moves is Flyers GM Ron Hextall but he isn’t having any luck. He’s been trying to wheel and deal to clear cap space and hasn’t had any success. Heading into Saturday night against the Winnipeg Jets, the Flyers were 4-6-3 with 11 points and were only four points out of a playoff spot, so it’s not like the season has gone down the tubes. According to generalfanager.com, Philly has only $95,000 in cap space which leaves them no wiggle room at all. While the Flyers have tried to move D Luke Schenn, they haven’t had any success and if given the chance they’d likely bring D Andy MacDonald back from their AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley. You have to wonder what’s going to happen to C Vincent Lecavalier. He has suited up for only five games this season and is making $4.5 million per year on a deal that runs through 2017-18. He has a ‘no move’ so he can’t be sent down — so only way out from underneath the cap hit for the Flyers would be a decision by Lecavalier to retire and that likely won’t happen ... The Hawks wouldn’t mind adding another blueliner before the deadline in February. On that front, they need to get in line because Buffalo, Columbus, Colorado, St. Louis, Boston and Anaheim have all been sniffing around for help on defence.

Have a nice Sunday.