Roto Exclusive : Guest Contributions and Featured Articles

Paul Stastny
A lot of people in Colorado thought that Paul Stastny would have been next in line to don the C,
however with his father’s public criticism of the franchise during the Chris Stewart/Erik Johnson trade,
and with back-to-back sub 60 point seasons at $6.6 million per year all but sealed his alternate captaincy
fate. Stastny began turning things around last season in the New Year as he ended up bumping his ppg
pace from 0.57 (in 2011) to 0.76 (in 2012) ppg. There appears to be some chemistry between Stastny,
Jones and McGinn and look for that line to stay together as the Avalanche are more likely to roll three
2 nd lines as opposed to a true first and second line. It’s hard to envision Stastny will return to his 70 point
ways with those wingers, however with some chemistry to build on from last season and a chip on his
shoulder look for Stastny to get back into the 60’s this season.
Ryan O’Reilly
A lot of people were calling on Ryan O’Reilly to become the next captain of the Colorado Avalanche, or
at the least be an alternate this season. His breakout season last year as two-way force saw him post a
career high 55 points while playing tough minutes against the oppositions top lines night in and night
out. Despite his iron man-like work ethic, often being the last one off the practice ice to the point where
he was found to be running the arena stairs in hooded sweatshirt disguise after home games, the fact
remains he is still without a contract and remains a RFA. By comparison at the same point in his career, a
20 year old Ryan Kesler scored 58 points in 78 games with the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. Former
Avalanche Kyle Quincey refers to O’Reilly as “one of the best players he’s ever played with and by far the
hardest working player he’s ever worked with”.
There is no reason why O’Reilly can’t surpass 60+ points in a season in the near
future as he had 50 points in his first 63 games last year before he slumped and
hit a wall finishing the year with 5 points in 18 games. Even without the
captaincy, O’Reilly relishes leading his team on the ice, through his play, and
despite the team retaining Stastny and Hejduk as alternates, there is reason to
believe that O’Reilly will also be rewarded for his efforts. Landeskog and O’Reilly
have quickly become really good friends and the duo will only come back
hungrier this upcoming season. Look for last season’s NHL leader in takeaways
(101), to capitalize on more opportunities as he develops offensive consistency
night in and night out. As long as he gets a contract, and we actually have an
NHL season this year.
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