Olympic break: Good or bad?

Hello fellow Avaholics!

The NHL trade freeze is officially underway until February 28, and that can only mean one thing: the 2010 Winter Olympics are officially here. Avalanche fans, or more specifically John-Michael Liles fans can rest easy for a couple more weeks, but he could still be traded as the March 3rd trading deadline looms.

The Avs play the Phoenix Coyotes tonight and the Los Angeles Kings tomorrow night before the NHL takes a 2-week hiatus for the winter games. Will this break be a good thing or a bad thing for this young Avalanche team?

Rookie Matt Duchene has said he will coach junior hockey during the break, so at least he will be spending some quality time on the ice. I have heard of other players going on vacation and just relaxing. In order for this break to be beneficial, the players must stay in shape and be skating on a regular basis so they stay in “game shape.” The veterans like Adam Foote have been through this before and know what they have to do on their own. But what about the young guys like Chris Stewart, Ryan O’Reilley and others? Will they have the self-discipline to stay in workout on their own? I believe so because so, because they obviously have to have self-discipline to have made it to the NHL. However, I also think the Avalanche coaching and training staff must hold these players accountable and make sure they are completing their workouts.

There is one person who I think will benefit tremendously from this break: CRAIG ANDERSON. Anderson has played in 51 of the Avalanche’s 59 games thus far. He is by far the Avs’ MVP this season, but if they hope to make it to the playoffs and be successful, Anderson will need to be rested and ready to go.

Only time will tell if the Olympic break is a positive or a negative, but ultimately, I think it will work in the Colorado Avalanche’s favor because it will give the young guys a chance to rest up and be ready for the last 21 games of the season.

What do you guys think??

That's all for now! Go Avs! And remember, Red Wings Suck!