Sure enough, the Avalanche slipped to 90 points last season and missed the playoffs while playing the same free-wheeling style. Further regression occurred this season, again due to their inability to control the puck.

(This is another franchise suffering from severe Kroenkeitis. The Avalanche will miss the playoffs for the sixth time in eight years. Stan Kroenke’s other winter sports team, the Denver Nuggets, will miss the playoffs for the third season in a row. The Avalanche have won one playoff series since 2006. The Nuggets have advanced past the first round just once since Kroenke bought the team in 2000. Fans in the Mile High City are subjected to steady mediocrity on the Ineptitude, er, Altitude Sports and Entertainment network. This is what happens when a billionaire puts his kid in charge of his teams. Or, in the case of the Rams, when he leaves somebody else’s kid in charge.)

After Saturday’s practice in Denver, Roy lamented his team’s high turnover rate while essentially acknowledging he has no clue what to do.