Thursday, July 7, 2011

Former Lake Erie Monster and Colorado Avalanche Center finds a new home in Toronto

During the first few days of the free agency period many Maple Leafs fans complained about GM Brian Burke just sitting around until now. The past few days he has added to his team including former Colorado Avalanche/Lake Erie Monsters Center Philippe Dupuis.

Dupuis signed a one year two way contract worth $650,000 yesterday. He played last season up in the bigs for the Avalanche where he played in 74 games, scoring six goals and recording a minus four. Dupuis was a very physical guy for the Avs but this is no surprise looking back on his career so far.

I loved watching Dupuis in Lake Erie, he had tremendous speed up and down the ice while he led the second line, sometimes even the first line.

He has an attitude to him that will be with any great hockey player, hard nose, in your face, and is not afraid to crash the net or mix it up a few times. He has an eye for the puck as well as being at the right place at the right time.

He does not just show leadership through play, he is very vocal on the bench as well, always talking to his teammates suggesting where to play next and what to look out for in the play. He led the third line of the Avalanche for some of the time until injuries moved him up to the second line. He would be a great fit for the Leafs at the third line role, but some analysts are picking him to be on the fourth line of the Leafs to start out the season.

I think this is a great pick up for the Leafs who are looking to get better. The team was mere games away from a playoff run last season until getting mathematically eliminated by Buffalo with just five games left in the season. With many teams in their division stacking up on players, I think Burke is in the right direction with the addition of Dupuis.

For Colorado, look for them to seek out a centerman in free agency or from within the organization like young prospect Ryan Stoa who is currently a restricted free agent.

I will be taking a look at a few of the holes the Avalanche need to fill by the start of the season for them to make it to the playoffs in a very tough Western Conference, in a later post.

For more on Colorado Avalanche, Lake Erie Monsters, Tulsa Oilers and NHL keep reading more posts and find me on Twitter @WillWodka2133

No comments:

Post a Comment