In yet another blcokbuster move the Colorado Avalanche put an eye towards their future in acquiring goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and forward Guillaime Latendresse. Its a deal that made a lot of sense on many fronts and has signaled that the Avalanche are serious about this club, but at what cost?
Going into this season there were many high hopes for this club and after a 7 game winning streak that had them sitting on top of the division briefly, it appeared as though those predictions were warranted. However, since that time it has been a roller coaster ride for this team.
The one consistentcy in the team however seemed to be the play of goaltender J.S. Giguere who was solid whenever he got the call. Needing to change goaltenders mid stream seems a bit unjustified at this stage of the season, yet in bringing in Lundqvist, the Avalanche have set themselves up for a brighter future, even if it seems detrimental to them at the present time.
In pulling off what can only be described as a desperation move, the Avalanche dealt Giguere, forwards Paul kariya and Maksim Mayorov and highly touted prospect Reilly Smith to the Washington Capitals for Lundqvist and forward Guillaime Latendresse. The deal makes the younger, stronger and also saved them some salary despite Lundqvists whopping 6.5 million deal.
The "King" as he has come to be known has struggled this season to say the least, but this deal could turn out to be a gem for the Avalanche come next season.
"No question it was dificult to part with a goalie who was playing well for us, a team needs that kind of consistency especially when we are still intending to make a push to the playoffs. However, the opportunity to acquire a world class goaltender doesnt come along everyday, and it could not be passed up. We get younger and lose salary in this deal and in my opinion, get better in the long term. It really was a no brainer" states GM Sentinel20
With the additons this year of Brad Richards, Dustin Byfuglien, Sam Gagner, Jason Pominville and now Lundqvist and Latendresse, this team is well set up to make a serious run for next season. There may not be alot in the prospect pool left, but that should not be a problem since this team has many log term contracts to players in their mid to late 20s. a lot of guys coming into their primes.
Henrik Lundqvist is the right choice for this team, and hopefully will be the missing piece for the future.
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