How things can change in one brief moment.
Yes, the Avalanche have been stinking it up lately. Yes, they continue to fall in the standings. Yes, some alot of the players are coming back down to earth.
Things happen. Teams go through tough stretches, and the good teams are able to come out of them.
With the loss of David Jones, I'm no longer convinced the Avalanche are a good team.
Other than Anderson, Stastny, Hannan, Quincey, and maybe Hejduk, Jones has been the Avalanche's best player this year. The man has been the perfect example of why rebuilding teams give their young players a chance.
Jones was on pace for 30 goals, and then bam! Colorado loses their most important winger for the rest of the season.
If I can dig up one positive out of this, it's that Chris Stewart should have an uncontested chance to prove to the Avalanche what skills he may or may not have. Does that outweigh the increased ice time Marek Svatos and Darcy Tucker will likely receive thanks to the Jones (and Hejduk...and possible Galiardi, don't know where he was tonight) injury?
Nope, but that's why I think Colorado will miss (or barely make) the playoffs this season.
I really feel terrible for David Jones. He was making the most of his opportunity, but now will likely be an after thought.
By the time next offseason rolls around, Jones will likely have missed the previous 55 games, so I doubt management is going to be saying to themselves "we don't need to sign a top line forward because we have that David Jones guy who was good for 20 games half a year ago."
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