WHEATMAN
05-13-2006, 10:40 AM
Canadian Press
5/12/2006 6:56:34 PM
DENVER (AP) - A lifetime in hockey has both robbed and rewarded Pierre Lacroix, who stepped down as general manger of the Colorado Avalanche on Friday, one day after his team was swept from the playoffs.
''I can say I'm 58 and I'm 88 inside,'' Lacroix said. ''For 40 years I've been involved in a field that I love and my family did a lot of sacrificing, and I think it's time for me to give back.''
Lacroix will remain president of the team and will appoint the new GM, who will basically serve as his apprentice.
''I'm going to be involved. I'm going to be doing everything I can to make sure this team wins for another decade,'' said Lacroix, who built the Avs teams that won two Stanley Cup championships.
Lacroix and owner Stan Kroenke said they decided before the lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season that Lacroix would spend one more year as GM.
Lacroix and his wife, Colombe, have two sons, one grandson and another grandchild on the way. He said he wanted the time ''to be a better grandpa.''
Still, he said leaving his GM duties was like confronting an empty nest: ''When your kid leaves for school, you're still a parent. But you're emotional because they leave. That's how I feel.''
Kroenke said in a statement that Lacroix ''is and will remain an outstanding executive and one of the main reasons why this franchise has achieved so much.''
Lacroix has had plenty of time to think of GM candidates but didn't reveal any names. The new GM will have to be able to work with his predecessor looking over his shoulder at times.
''I'm probably going to be less and less involved, but it might take a couple years,'' Lacroix said. ''I don't feel old enough to just stop. I feel there is a lot of things to be accomplished, and good if I could help somebody else deliver another decade of success.''
Earlier this month, Kroenke, who also owns the NBA's Denver Nuggets, decided not to renew Kiki Vandeweghe's contract as general manager. So, two of his enterprises are now seeking new leadership.
Lacroix was appointed to the job in 1994, when the club was in Quebec. The former agent was celebrated for making big trades to help Colorado challenge for the Stanley Cup.
Under his watch, the Avalanche collected a record nine consecutive division titles and won the Cup in 1996 and 2001 with stars such as Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Ray Bourque, Adam Foote and Rob Blake.
But the past several years have been leaner for the Avalanche. The team was hit hard by the NHL's new rules that opened up the game and the new salary cap that closed Kroenke's chequebook.
Always one of the freer-spending teams in the sport, the Avs had to slash one-third of their payroll and bid farewell to Forsberg and Foote before the season started. Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya left, too.
Instead of their usual star-studded lineup, the Avalanche made do with a reduced roster mixed with youth and experience.
They reached the playoffs for the 11th straight time despite losing leading scorer Marek Svatos to an injury. Their gamble at goalie paid off when Jose Theodore, acquired from Montreal for David Aebischer at the trade deadline, helped them upset Dallas in the first round.
The Anaheim Mighty Ducks, however, easily beat Colorado in four games - the first sweep of the franchise in 26 playoff series since moving from Quebec to the Rockies in 1995.
Even at altitude, the Ducks were glaringly faster than the Avalanche, which failed to convert any of their 24 power plays in the series.
''Look at the teams that are leading and still alive in the playoffs, from top to bottom they have quickness,'' Colorado coach Joel Quenneville said. ''They have size, they have speed, they have skill, and they have youth.''
It's the blueprint the Avalanche want to follow in the off-season. The roster has 13 players who are eligible for free agency, most notably Sakic and Blake, who are unrestricted, who have both said they'd like to stay.
Among the Avs players whom the Ducks really made look their age were forward Pierre Turgeon, 36, and defenceman Patrice Brisebois, 35, two of Lacroix's final acquisitions as GM.
Both have a year remaining on their contracts, but if the Avs are serious about adding speed, they'll have to take a hard look at buying them out to get more room under the salary cap, which is expected to be about $43 million US next season.
5/12/2006 6:56:34 PM
DENVER (AP) - A lifetime in hockey has both robbed and rewarded Pierre Lacroix, who stepped down as general manger of the Colorado Avalanche on Friday, one day after his team was swept from the playoffs.
''I can say I'm 58 and I'm 88 inside,'' Lacroix said. ''For 40 years I've been involved in a field that I love and my family did a lot of sacrificing, and I think it's time for me to give back.''
Lacroix will remain president of the team and will appoint the new GM, who will basically serve as his apprentice.
''I'm going to be involved. I'm going to be doing everything I can to make sure this team wins for another decade,'' said Lacroix, who built the Avs teams that won two Stanley Cup championships.
Lacroix and owner Stan Kroenke said they decided before the lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season that Lacroix would spend one more year as GM.
Lacroix and his wife, Colombe, have two sons, one grandson and another grandchild on the way. He said he wanted the time ''to be a better grandpa.''
Still, he said leaving his GM duties was like confronting an empty nest: ''When your kid leaves for school, you're still a parent. But you're emotional because they leave. That's how I feel.''
Kroenke said in a statement that Lacroix ''is and will remain an outstanding executive and one of the main reasons why this franchise has achieved so much.''
Lacroix has had plenty of time to think of GM candidates but didn't reveal any names. The new GM will have to be able to work with his predecessor looking over his shoulder at times.
''I'm probably going to be less and less involved, but it might take a couple years,'' Lacroix said. ''I don't feel old enough to just stop. I feel there is a lot of things to be accomplished, and good if I could help somebody else deliver another decade of success.''
Earlier this month, Kroenke, who also owns the NBA's Denver Nuggets, decided not to renew Kiki Vandeweghe's contract as general manager. So, two of his enterprises are now seeking new leadership.
Lacroix was appointed to the job in 1994, when the club was in Quebec. The former agent was celebrated for making big trades to help Colorado challenge for the Stanley Cup.
Under his watch, the Avalanche collected a record nine consecutive division titles and won the Cup in 1996 and 2001 with stars such as Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Ray Bourque, Adam Foote and Rob Blake.
But the past several years have been leaner for the Avalanche. The team was hit hard by the NHL's new rules that opened up the game and the new salary cap that closed Kroenke's chequebook.
Always one of the freer-spending teams in the sport, the Avs had to slash one-third of their payroll and bid farewell to Forsberg and Foote before the season started. Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya left, too.
Instead of their usual star-studded lineup, the Avalanche made do with a reduced roster mixed with youth and experience.
They reached the playoffs for the 11th straight time despite losing leading scorer Marek Svatos to an injury. Their gamble at goalie paid off when Jose Theodore, acquired from Montreal for David Aebischer at the trade deadline, helped them upset Dallas in the first round.
The Anaheim Mighty Ducks, however, easily beat Colorado in four games - the first sweep of the franchise in 26 playoff series since moving from Quebec to the Rockies in 1995.
Even at altitude, the Ducks were glaringly faster than the Avalanche, which failed to convert any of their 24 power plays in the series.
''Look at the teams that are leading and still alive in the playoffs, from top to bottom they have quickness,'' Colorado coach Joel Quenneville said. ''They have size, they have speed, they have skill, and they have youth.''
It's the blueprint the Avalanche want to follow in the off-season. The roster has 13 players who are eligible for free agency, most notably Sakic and Blake, who are unrestricted, who have both said they'd like to stay.
Among the Avs players whom the Ducks really made look their age were forward Pierre Turgeon, 36, and defenceman Patrice Brisebois, 35, two of Lacroix's final acquisitions as GM.
Both have a year remaining on their contracts, but if the Avs are serious about adding speed, they'll have to take a hard look at buying them out to get more room under the salary cap, which is expected to be about $43 million US next season.