So, the final standings at last come! My apologies in how they've been coming -- I've been working my ass off, then in Mexico (Cabo) for the last week on vacation. I have quite a backlog of games to watch!

Standings

thedoctor: 17
Joe: 17
Americanario: 16
Tommelot: 16
DD: 15
Dario: 15

I win!!!! ...and so does Joe, but the tiebreaker goes to me with my guess of 51.5m (nhlnumbers puts us at 51.008).

Actually, everyone is grouped within a 2 point range, which I find fairly remarkable and awesome. Technically, there are some unanswered questions on the list -- the Forsberg ones -- that could change the final standings, but I'm just not willing to wait that long. Anybody disagree?

So Joe owes me a beer at the Official MHH game*, whenever that is. The KYGO Puck Pass events (2 lower bowl tickets + 2 drinks + $10 at the gift store for $100) are actually all on Ticketmaster even into next year, may I suggest one of those? Let's get the ball rolling on this and we can all decide if we want to out ourselves in person. :)

* Maybe. If he wants to.

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[promoted. thanks Doc! - Joe]

I'm certainly not as qualified or in the know as Jori is about the Avs' system, but I was at the development camp today (Saturday).  Honestly, I was a little disappointed.  There wasn't much actual play occurring, just drills, so it was difficult to really get a feel for some of the players.  Rookie camp is much better in this regard -- they run drills then just scrimmage.  On the other hand, there's no college prospects at rookie camp, so it's your only real chance to see them with the Avs.

- As Jori says, the 2 prospects expected to outshine the others did, for certain.  Hensick was head and shoulders above most of his group on all drills, and Jones made pretty much everyone around him look silly, even though he still can't finish consistently.  They're both ready.  Hensick lost an edge on one drill and went hard into the boards, which clearly hurt him a lot...but he didn't miss a drill.  Good man.

- Two of the guys I most wanted to see were Shattenkirk and Mercier -- I've heard a lot about them various places.  Well, they're both for real.  Shattenkirk is on the smaller side for sure, but he was aggressive and well-positioned on D, and a smooth skater with great puck-handling and passing skills.  He ate up just about everyone on the 1 on 1 drills.  I'd guess he's about 2-3 years out, but he looks like a good bet on the main squad. 

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The roster seems about set.  Joe is leaving for a week.  So let's talk line/pairing combos, eh?  Reply with your lines and pairings -- with/without Joey, pipe dream lines, lines you think will actually happen -- whatever you want.

I'll start:

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Without further ado, the latest standings!

Standings

Dario: 9
thedoctor: 7
Joe: 7
Americanario: 6
DD: 6
Tommelot: 5

Dario jumps into the lead with some nice calls on Foote's salary and Theo's leaving. The rest of us are in a tight little pack separated by 2 points. I feel good about my chances from 2nd place! Tommelot, what happened man? and DD, I thought you were like god of numbers?

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As promised, I said I'd update the standing for this little game (see here if you missed it).  I'll include how my guesses are doing.  If I goof something up with your stats, let me know and I'll fix it.

It's not too late to jump in if you didn't make any guesses yet!  Even though you've missed points for all signings/trades that have occured, most of us that DID make guesses aren't very far ahead.

Finally, I think I've decided on the prize we're all competing for:  a ticket to an Avs game, hopefully one to the rumored MHH game we'll all be attending.  Obviously it won't be a great one because I'm not that rich, or more likely one of the KYGO puck pass tickets (which is what we should do for our MHH meet), which are a great bargain and great seats if you've never tried it. If you can't make it to a game for whatever reason, I'll come up with something else.

Standings

Joe: 4
thedoctor: 2
Dario: 2
Tommelot: 1
Americanario: 1
DD: 1

Looks like Joe's got us all by the short hairs so far, with his correct Richardson and Liles guesses. Kudos to Dario for being the only person to correctly call the Foote would take a cut to return.

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[promoted to the front page - Joe]

Well, we're about a week away from the "actual" start of the offseason move period, the draft, and I'm bored.  Because I'm bored in the absence of hockey, and as I anticipate we'll start hearing about UFA re-signings and retirement decisions before then, this seems like a good time to start this discussion / game.  On each of the below decisions, what do you think will happen?

Go ahead and put your predictions on these issues in the comments, and I'll put my predictions in this post.  Just to add a little spice to this competition, if you beat me, there will be a prize (yes, a real one TBD by your distance to CO) for the person with the most points.  If I win, Joe has to fly out to an Avs game in CO and buy me a beer*.

Assuming people actually respond to this, I'll keep all the standings in the comments after decisions come down the pike.  The more trash talk and/or discussion of each other's choices, the better.

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Per Altitude employee at hfboards.

My initial reaction is...why?  Granato had one job the last few years, as far as I know -- the Power Play.  Which was certifiably awful last year at 29th in the league.  So lets promote him!

I'm usually an optimist about this kind of thing around here, but this is an awful move.  He was terrible his first time around, he was terrible last year in his role as PP coach...why would this be any different?

Edit -- Official Link

And I'm still in shock.  What an awful move.

The greatest hockey player I've ever seen in person is back!  will his glass-like ankles stay healthy now?

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Should the Avs grab Ilya Bryzgalov off waivers?  Where should Brad Richardson play now that he's been recalled?

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it was a good game to go to!  the team really came to play.  I guess I'll just go with all my random observations in order that they come to me.

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