Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic recently stated there will be no untouchables this off season, which is exactly the kind of mind set the Avalanche need if they want to get on the winning track.

One of the most frustrating, yet persistent, mindsets when rebuilding teams is what I like to call the “one more year philosophy.” This is the mindset that either the core just hasn’t matured yet, or the team needs one more good draft pick before they can compete. It’s essentially the procrastinator’s view of building a hockey team.

And it’s one that the Avalanche are dangerously close to falling into. Head coach Patrick Roy is tapped to stay in the control even though his points per season has consistently declined since he took the helm. And we’re currently watching other teams around the league struggling with the effects of this mentality; namely, how the hell is Edmonton going to take an insanely gifted roster and, you know, win some hockey games?

This is why I’m extremely pleased to hear that Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic is taking all offers this summer:

“We have to look at our core right now — the entire team, actually, but the core’s a big part of learning how to win. We have to see, take a couple of weeks off to reflect, discuss and figure out if these guys want to learn what it takes to win and show it on the ice by playing the right way.”

Because if Roy is staying in charge, that implies that A) Roy isn’t at fault (at least not completely) for the team’s performance, which further implies B) the players/roster are. And the core isn’t that young anymore! Nathan MacKinnon just completed his 3rd year, Matt Duchene and Landeksog have been along plenty long enough, and Tyson Barrie has now completed his 3rd full(ish) season with the club.

So this isn’t a team whose core is just needing to age, which is why Sakic’s frame of mind is perfect heading into the off season.

When pressed later, he added that you don’t always look at the coach:

“For us right now we have to look and see if the players are going to buy into doing what it takes to win, not just trying to do it the easy way.”

Wayne Gretzky metaphor, that even The Great One got traded. That’s where the “No player is untouchable” idea comes from. The implications are there — buy in, or you’re out, no matter who you are. Someone asked about trading core players directly, and Sakic referred to the oldmetaphor, that even The Great One got traded. That’s where the “No player is untouchable” idea comes from.

An article in ProHockey Talk Article points out that even Gabriel Landeskog and Semyon Varlamov are available for offers.

And that’s awesome, not because I inherently dislike Varlamov or Landeskog, but it shows to me that Sakic has identified a problem and he’s not going to sit around and let it fester.

True, now the hard part comes of making the right moves, but identifying the problem is half the battle. It seems like it’s been 5 years since anyone in the Avalanche organization has said anything remotely similar to “our roster and/or players need to be better.” Yet that’s exactly what Sakic is saying now.

Joe Sakic is at last acknowledging there has to be a change for next season. And it’s so relieving to hear him acknowledge that.