Tough Decisions Ahead for Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche’s roster features the league’s best player (Joe Sakic), its best playoff goaltender (Patrick Roy), its best-loved defenseman (Ray Bourque) and its best hip checker (Rob Blake).

That’s why, even with all-star center Peter Forsberg sidelined for the postseason after having his spleen removed May 10, the Avalanche holds a 1-0 series lead over the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup finals.

That’s also why Pierre Lacroix, Colorado’s clever general manager, had better savor these finals while they last.

“Right now is the time to enjoy the moment,” Lacroix told the Denver Post. “It’s a great moment for the game of hockey. Financial distractions will come anyhow, so you might as well take them when the time comes. I’d rather talk about payroll in the summer.”

Win or lose, Lacroix must decide--if he hasn’t already--which of the Fab Four he will re-sign. Sakic, Roy, Bourque and Blake each will be unrestricted free agents July 1, free to sign new contracts with any NHL team. And that includes the Kings and New York Rangers, two teams believed to be gearing up to chase Sakic, in particular.

Lacroix could keep all four in the fold, but it’s a good bet that it won’t happen. Colorado’s payroll when the season began was $53 million, third-highest in the league behind the Rangers’ $57 million and the Detroit Red Wings’ $55 million. Retaining all four would mean a significant increase for next season.

Bourque could make things easier by retiring after 22 seasons, but that assumes he wins his first Cup. Lacroix would be the first to wish Bourque a fond farewell.

It gets more complicated after that, but here’s one scenario:

Lacroix could re-sign Sakic, Roy and Blake before July 1. He could then trade Forsberg for a package of young players and/or prospects and draft picks to keep the payroll from soaring past the $60-million mark.

The rationale is that Sakic and Forsberg are almost as valuable to the Avalanche, but Forsberg is four years younger than the 31-year-old Sakic and could fetch more in a trade.

Sakic has spent his entire career in the organization, dating to the lean seasons of the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the team was in Quebec. He won’t talk about the future, mainly because he is focused on the present.

“I’m not going to worry about it until the end of the year,” said Sakic, who is thought to be willing to accept something in the neighborhood of the $8 million he was paid this season to remain with Colorado. “You hope this isn’t our last chance [to play for a Stanley Cup championship]. But you never know who is going to be back.”

Since Forsberg was sidelined, Sakic has proved himself to be the heart and soul of the Avalanche. Going into Game 2 tonight at the Pepsi Center, he has a playoff-leading 11 goals and is second in postseason points with 20, although he missed two games and a good portion of a third during his team’s second-round series against the Kings because of a shoulder injury.

Sakic was brilliant with the puck in Game 1, scoring two goals and setting up a third in the Avalanche’s 5-0 romp over the Devils. His skillful play ignited talk about Sakic winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the postseason. He also is a leading candidate to win the Hart Trophy as the regular-season MVP after finishing second to Pittsburgh’s Jaromir Jagr with 118 points (54 goals, 64 assists).

“He’s a true professional,” Colorado Coach Bob Hartley said of Sakic. “He’s a simple man. He loves to play. Joe Sakic is not the loudest guy in the locker room, but it’s a great privilege to have him around. He’s great with the kids in our organization.”

Re-signing Roy should be a no-brainer.

Blake could be more difficult because he is something of a rent-a-player, having joined the Avalanche (along with rookie forward Steven Reinprecht) in the Feb. 21 trade with the Kings. He could be swayed by bigger and better offers elsewhere (Hello, Mighty Ducks, are you interested?).

The Desperate Devils

With right wing Randy McKay sidelined for the rest of the series after breaking a bone in his left hand in a Game 1 collision with Bourque, New Jersey Coach Larry Robinson plans to shuffle his lines for Game 2.

Bob Corkum, a former Duck and King, will replace McKay in the lineup and join Bobby Holik and Scott Gomez on a line of three centers. Robinson also put together an all-Russian line of Alexander Mogilny, Sergei Brylin and Sergei Nemchinov.

Robinson hopes to get all four lines skating purposefully tonight, which was the Devils’ method of operation in their Eastern Conference victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“It wasn’t like we did a lot of things wrong,” Robinson said of Saturday’s loss. “It was the same thing over and over again. We gave them too much room to skate. The biggest thing is we stood and watched and they skated.”

Asked what it will take to snap Mogilny from an 11-game goal drought, Robinson said, “When he was playing well during the [regular] season, he was shooting the puck and hitting the net. Right now, all he needs is one goal to break the ice. I’m sure he feels pressure to score.”

Mogilny had three shots in Game 1. His best scoring chance struck the knob of Roy’s goal stick in the second period Saturday.

Ducks Get Their Man

Bryan Murray, hired Friday as the Ducks’ fifth coach in their eight-year history, doesn’t have the toughest job in the league. But it could be a close second to the challenge rookie Coach Peter Laviolette will face with the New York Islanders next season.

Murray has been asked to turn a group of young players with potential into a cohesive playoff contender. He has done it before with the Washington Capitals in the 1980s and the Detroit Red Wings in the early ‘90s. And he sounded eager last week to establish a winner in Anaheim, where the Ducks have finished out of the playoffs six times in eight seasons.

“You have to teach every day--not just how to play hockey, but how to play with other people,” said Murray, 58, a former high school history teacher and hockey coach in Montreal. “You have to put people in the right positions. You have to give them options.”

Asked what fans can expect to see from the Ducks next season, he said, “I hope they see effort and skill with the puck. One player can’t do it all. I hope we use our speed. We’ll pursue the puck. There’s not going to be a lot of trapping.”