Mess with an Otter, Whiny Pete, you might wind up getting bit straight on the backside.
The Stanley Cup Finals are here, and the only thing about that fact that depresses the puck lovers on the Grading The Week crew? How the Oilers coulda been, shoulda been the Avalanche.
But despite the boys in burgundy being dormant for about a month — it feels longer — as of last Friday, the first week in June turned into a fairly newsy one for Avs faithful.
Alas, not all of that news was good. Or pleasant.
Still: Let’s start with the good stuff, shall we? Especially a little skating schadenfreude delivered by, of all people, the Dallas Stinkin’ Stars. Stars that, for once, might actually be aligned in Colorado’s favor.
Pete DeBoer’s firing — A (Although it depends on where he lands)
As a point of editorial policy, Team Grading The Week (GTW) tries very, very, very hard not to celebrate coaches or general managers losing their jobs.
Will we call for it? Oh, sure. Sometimes. Occupational hazard. Will we cheer it lustily once the deed’s done? Not as loudly as you’d think.
There are, however, some milder exceptions to those rules. Such as when Pete DeBoer once again finds himself out of work.
Whiny Pete is an interesting case study. He’s eliminated the Avs for what feels like nine of the last 10 Colorado postseasons. The wacky part is how he’s done that particular deed with three different franchises since 2019 alone. And how he’s now looking for a fourth after Dallas GM Jim Nill gave DeBoer his walking papers on Friday.
Strange, isn’t it? Our man Pete is wired — maybe wound is a better word — so tightly that his act eventually turns his locker room against him. This time, DeBoer fought his No. 1 netminder, Jake Oettinger, during a mess of a series against Edmonton. And lost.
He’s also a darned good coach — one of the better bosses of his generation, having missed the playoffs just once from 2015-2025. While also somehow getting canned after Year 4 with San Jose, Year 3 with Vegas, and Year 3 with Dallas. He’s like the Jim Harbaugh of NHL coaches, a force who burns hot, burns fast, and then inevitably burns out.
The upside for Avs faithful — and downside for Pete — is that Dallas was the league’s only vacancy during the summer hiring cycle. The music’s stopped. And, at the moment, there’s nowhere for DeBoer to go.
Which, if you’re a Colorado fan, might be the best news of all. Until Whiny Pete becomes Zombie Pete and inevitably rises again. Hopefully in the East.
Logan O’Connor’s hip surgery — D
No sooner had the GTW kids cleaned up the break room for our Brock Nelson Extension potluck that news came over that one of our favorite bottom-6 Avs, forward Logan O’Connor, was going on the shelf for 5-6 months after undergoing hip surgery.
On the plus side, it was successful. Less sunny? It was O’Connor’s second such procedure in the last 16 months. For a player who relies on physicality — and that’s what we love about him — as much as LOC does, it does complicate the Avs’ third-line/fourth-line picture with three weeks until the curtain goes up on NHL free-agency.
Gabe Landeskog’s Instagram message of thanks — A
Back atcha, min kapten. Right. Back. Atcha.
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