Despite Losses, Avalanche Is Team to Beat

Four days before the start of the NHL season, Colorado Coach Bob Hartley sounded like a man who knows his secret has been uncovered. Ray Bourque and Peter Forsberg weren’t the only reasons the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup championship last season; they also won because of superior depth and a core of talented young players.

Which makes the loss of Bourque and Forsberg a little easier to take as the Avalanche tries to defend the title.

“You can’t win with the players you don’t have,” Hartley said. “You have to find ways to win. My job is to not find excuses. We won’t replace a Peter Forsberg, we will not replace a Raymond Bourque. We have to do it as a team. We can’t ask one young player to replace either one of those two ....

“We have to do it as a team. That’s how we won the Cup and that’s how we’ll have to play in order to win it again. There’s no magic recipe.”

Hartley would love for people to believe Colorado is primed to be dethroned because the Avalanche lost one of the NHL’s all-time best defensemen to retirement (Bourque) and one of the most dominant power forwards to an indefinite leave of absence (Forsberg) since it defeated New Jersey in the finals four months ago.

But most experts still give the Avalanche the nod as the league’s best team.

“They are still going to be the team to beat,” King veteran Ian Laperriere said. “In order to win it all in this league, you cannot count on just one or two players. You have to have depth and that’s why they are so good. That’s how they won last year.

“They have guys like Alex Tanguay and Chris Drury. With Forsberg out, they will have more ice time and more responsibility. They will also have [former King defenseman Rob Blake] for a full season.”

Not having Bourque isn’t really a surprise because he gave strong hints that he would retire if the Avalanche won the Cup.

But not having Forsberg is a different story.

After suffering several injuries over the last two seasons, Forsberg, a six-time NHL all-star, surprised everyone when he decided that he was taking this season off.

“He showed up to camp and we were in our third or fourth day when he came in and announced it to everyone,” Hartley said. “He told us he was taking a leave of absence. Obviously, it was a big shock for us but Peter has to be in peace with himself.”

It would be one thing if Forsberg were a greedy free-agent skipping camp in order to gain to get a larger contract financially. This isn’t a ploy to get more money. Forsberg, who won’t be paid during his absence, would be the highest-paid player in the league this season at $11 million.

“I’m not retiring,” Forsberg told reporters last month in Sweden, where the Avalanche opened training camp. “I just feel that right now, in my current frame of mind, I can’t go out and play at the level I expect out of myself. Over the last few years, the numerous injuries and the recent surgeries made me come to this decision.”

Forsberg suffered a ruptured spleen against the Kings in the Western Conference semifinals May 9, an injury that sidelined him for the rest of the Stanley Cup playoffs. He said his body needed a rest after missing 34 games in 1999-2000 because of five injuries and eight games last season because of a torn rib muscle.

“My body has been taking a lot of abuse, a lot of beatings over the last couple of years,” Forsberg said. “I’m taking a little break ... I think I’ll be back. How long it’s going to take, I don’t know.”

Forsberg did leave the door open for playing with Team Sweden in February’s Olympics, which is a good sign according to Team Sweden linemate Markus Naslund.

“My gut feeling is the Olympics mean quite a bit to him,” said Naslund, captain of the Vancouver Canucks. “I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t play in the Olympics. [Reuniting the line] was something he was really looking forward to. We’ll see.”

Colorado General Manager Pierre Lacroix said his team has the depth to withstand Forsberg’s absence and isn’t looking to make a deal for a replacement.

“We’re not going to do anything to jeopardize or show Peter we’ve lost our hope,” Lacroix said early in training camp. “Our hope is he’s going to heal his body and feel better about everything and come back. We’re not going to rush to do any drastic move.”

Added Hartley: “Peter is the only one who has the answers ... I’m certain that he gave it a lot of thought before he made this decision. He is the only one who knows when he will be ready to play hockey.”

Whether or not Forsberg decides to return is something Hartley is not worried about.

Right now, Hartley is more concerned with making sure such young talented players as forwards Milan Hejduk, Drury and Tanguay and defenseman Martin Skoula are prepared to take on more responsibility during the season.

“We have some players who acquired lots of maturity and lots of experience in our Stanley Cup run,” Hartley said. “I think that should help us. The expectations are still very high with this team. We want to repeat.”

In order for that to happen, Colorado needs to get consistent play from its young guns. Which they seem more than ready to provide.

“At least by it happening now, we’ve had a chance to prepare,” Tanguay said. “But Peter is one of the best players in the world. To be missing a guy like that will definitely affect how a team plays. It’s not going to be one guy who is going to step up and replace Peter. Every single one of us is going to have to do a little more. That means me, Chris Drury and everyone else. It will be a good challenge for us.”

Added Drury: “I’m really excited. Obviously, it’s hard losing Peter because he is such a good friend and teammate. But that opens up a lot of opportunity.”

The Avalanche, which also will start the season without defenseman Adam Foote (sidelined until November after shoulder surgery), prides itself on its mixture of veterans and youth.

“This is just another start of another year,” said Avalanche captain Joe Sakic, the league’s most valuable player last season. “I know everyone wants to look at the big picture but we have to keep our sights on short-term stuff. We’re going to have some different faces this year but if everyone works hard and plays well, we should have the same success as we’ve experienced in the past.”