Slip and slide

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

How bad have things been for the Colorado Avalanche this year?

Well, their best old player lost a battle with a snowblower and their best young player is out for at least another month after forearm surgery. Those two facts combined to make Tyler Arnason their No. 1 center until recently, when Wojtek Wolski moved over from the wing, which is a sure sign things aren’t going your way.

All that happened after they signed Darcy Tucker last summer in the hopes he could add a little toughness and scoring grit to the front lines.

Injuries to Joe Sakic and Paul Stastny and impaired judgment on personnel moves have combined to make this a miserable season in Colorado, a city once firmly on the road map of any Western Conference team hoping to advance to the Cup final.

A fairly barren prospect cupboard means it’s time for a complete rebuild in the Rockies.

The Hockey News ranks the teams 1-30 each Monday based on a combination of last week’s play and a squad’s overall outlook.

For more great profiles, news and views from the world of hockey, Subscribe to The Hockey News magazine.