Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
In what is sure to be a summer of changes for the Colorado Avalanche organization, the club decided to make the first major move of the summer in dismissing Joe Sacco as the team’s head coach. The move comes less than 24 hours after their final loss of this awful season.
The Avalanche failed to do much of anything at any point this season. They struggled out of the gate and never gained their footing. They finished with just 39 points on the year, which was the lowest total in the Western Conference and was the second worst in the entire league.
Not all of that is on Sacco. He had a team with virtually nobody on defense and some shaky depth up on the forward lines. Not to say that this move was unnecessary, but not all of the blame for this failed season, which actually had some playoff hopes at the beginning, should fall on Sacco.
In his four seasons as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche, Sacco finished with a 130-134-30 record. One would have thought that his faced-paced style would have worked well for team, but it never materialized into much success outside of his first season. His seat had been hot even before the year got underway.
Which means that the search begins for a new head coach. The Avalanche will certainly wait and see who else is on the market, since more coaches will certainly be out of a job here in the next several days/weeks. One name to watch will be Patrick Roy. Whether or not he’s the right choice is irrelevant at this point. He’s going to be the top choice of many. This job will likely be coveted, though, so stay tuned.
