Sakic Not Keeping Up With the Jones

If the reports out of the Denver Post saying the Colorado Avalanche won't take Seth Jones with their 1st overall pick are true, we could see the Avalanche making a once model franchise become the punchline of many jokes to come. While there are many who think Sakic could be using this in order to get a better offer in a trade, odds are that they are serious about taking a forward because.....well, I really don't know why.

While the debate rages whether or not you should pick for need versus picking for want, it seems the Avalanche are taking the latter, thinking that it could boost their offense to pick either Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin, or Alexander Barkov. Any of the top-three skaters would help out the Avalanche for the short-term and for personal numbers, the long-term vision may be skewed. Sakic saying the forwards are too good to pass-up is one thing, but on his first months onto his job; it seems that he didn't take a full vision of his roster.

Any of those players will be projects, but it seems that the Avalanche are looking more towards a quick fix with a forward who can blend in with the crowd rather than take the time to build up a franchise defenseman like Jones is projected to be. While Erik Johnson is the top guy on the Avs roster, the depth behind him isn't the best. Jones would be a franchise player and help the offensive output for the defense. With the free agent market being somewhat unspectacular-- the trade market could be the only way for them to improve their blue line this summer.

This whole report is adding to the reunion of the better years that the Avs have put in the front office and behind the bench. It almost seems that, instead of trying to improve the team, the Avalanche are trying to bring the shiny names from the past and preach patience to the fan base as they go through some clunky times. There was a small light with the Avalanche's 2010 performance, but since then it's been quite shaky and doesn't look to be going too much better in the long-term. Not to mention that Greg Sherman is still the team's GM is another target for ridicule for this team, but the bigger legend names who used to be with this team coming on board with the front office mask that as much as the struggles during the season.

Yet, in the end-- Sakic could be swerving everyone and trying to get more talk for a trade for the first pick to leap over the 2nd and 3rd picks to get Jones and make sure other teams don't get there. Of course, if Sakic is misleading people-- especially after saying they wouldn't hire a coach out of the major junior system-- you have to wonder if it's good to have a guy who has no front office being so quick to lie about what's going on with his franchise.

On the Topic Of the Colorado Avalanche 1st Overall Pick

 There's something to be said about the top three prospects in the NHL Draft all playing in the 2013 Memorial Cup Finals, which lead to the Halifax Mooseheads beating the Portland Winterhawks 6-4. Nathan MacKinnon had a hat-trick and two assists, Jonathan Drouin with five assists, and Seth Jones with only a goal to show.

With the joy of Twitter, it made people wonder whether or not the Colorado Avalanche will shy away from what they need most in Seth Jones's defense prowess for Nathan MacKinnon's scoring touch or even Jonathan Drouin's passing ability. Yet, if the Avalanche don't go for Jones-- then maybe they really should look at another rebuild of their front office after a couple of seasons because of it.

There is no denying that MacKinnon and Drouin are going to be studs wherever they land and it looks like it'll be Florida for MacKinnon and Tampa Bay for Drouin. However, when you look at the Draft, it should be more about necessity rather than desire of player to get. Jones is the player that the Avalanche need. They have little to nothing on defense now and they have a stockpile of forwards already. While Adrian Dater of the Denver Post is playing the "Who do you pick??" game with the stats on one game, the broader scope of things should have all signs point to Jones.

Though, with the changes that the Avalanche have made this off-season, bringing back a lot of former legends to make this team a force again-- there's always that off chance that the Avs would go for someone who's much more explosive and will garner a lot more attention than a solid defenseman like Jones. Scoring will always get people talking rather than a solid two-way game, which could sway the Avalanche's thoughts.

Even with all of that-- if the Avalanche don't pick Seth Jones with the #1 Overall Pick, they better make the playoff with MacKinnon in the first year or else they will be kicking themselves for not going with a defensive prospect who wants to play there and who could actually be the keystone to fix their defense.

Colorado will not outscore many teams, so while getting pucks in the net is great in theory-- they'd also have to find a way to keep them out, too. For a team who has let up an average of three goals a game in the past three seasons; it should be clear that the Avalanche need to get someone on that blue line to help out Semyon Varlamov keep the shooters at bay and maybe support in their own end a little bit.

Neither Jones or MacKinnon or Drouin will be the quick fix for the Avalanche. They are long-term project players who will be able to be an asset in time-- some quicker than others. However, if you need defense on your roster and you have a defenseman who is highly touted on the board-- why would you choose otherwise?? Sure, the one-on-one was a bit lopsided, but one game over an eight-month season does not a prospect's worth make.