Evans: Brand new season, but the same old Avalanche story

Somewhere Patrick Roy must be smirking.

After Tuesday’s listless loss to the awful Arizona Coyotes, the Colorado Avalanche are tied with said ‘yotes and one other NHL doormat for fewest points in the NHL with just 10.

It was an, ahem, effort like many we’ve seen from the Avs over the last few years. Shaky goaltending, porous defensive play, a noticeable absence of grit and various no-shows from Colorado’s so-called best players.

Ah yes, the “core” of the Avs. For the last few years I’ve consistently claimed the nucleus — Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie — is overrated.

Guess what? By the end of last year, Roy agreed with me. So when the summer went by with general manager Joe Sakic not only not breaking up the core by and trading one of its players but also signing Barrie to a rich new contract, Roy knew his voice wasn’t being heard. And he scrammed.

Enter Jared Bednar and a newfound emphasis on analytics preached by sun-starved hockey nerds locked in their parents’ basements. Great, the Avs use stats. I’ll go with the old-fashioned eye test that once again shows this Avs team is lacking in all the same areas.

I had sarcastically created the First Year Bump Theory, pointing out how Joe Sacco and Roy had both made the playoffs in their first seasons, as a way to stop in its tracks any excuse making from fans and media if Bednar failed to make the playoffs this year.

It’s beyond time for this Avalanche core to start showing they not only have the stuff it takes to make the playoffs but also to go deep in the postseason. Otherwise, what’s the point of a core?

As Yogi Berra once famously said, “It’s getting late early around here.” Traditionally, if a hockey team is out of the playoff picture by Thanksgiving, it becomes highly unlikely they’ll be able to climb back into contention.

That, folks, is once again what is facing the Avalanche.