Avalanche have 'sense of purpose' as playoffs near, Sakic says

MANALAPAN, Fla. --Joe Sakic is relaxed standing in the hallway outside the ballroom where he just sat for nearly seven hours on the first day of the NHL general managers meetings Monday.

Sakic, the GM of the Colorado Avalanche, has reason to be at ease.
Colorado (46-14-6) is first in the NHL standings, four points ahead of the Florida Panthers, heading into its game against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, ALT, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
Although the Avalanche have been eliminated in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the past three seasons, there is belief that this season will be different.
Sakic talked about that belief, the maturity and urgency he is seeing in the Avalanche, and more in a Q&A with NHL.com.
It's been three straight years for the Avalanche of losing in the second round. Is there anything in particular you are seeing with this group that allows you to say to yourself now, 'We have a better shot this season?'
"Listen, we thought we had a really good shot last year and it didn't happen. Whether you lose the first round, second, third, the goal is to try to win the Stanley Cup. I know the guys came back focusing more on little details, game details, being more consistent in those areas. I think our guys have grown and matured. Now we still have to get to the playoffs, and a lot of good things have to happen, but we see the maturity and sense of purpose. It's there."
Would you say there is a sense of urgency, too?
"The goal is to have longevity in a run, but we know we have a lot of [unrestricted free agents] this year and the cap is not going up, so you do the math, it's going to be tough to keep everybody. We thought we had a good chance last year, and this group has a good chance to compete for it, too. We're not the only team, there are a number of teams that have a chance to win, but I know our guys feel a sense of urgency."
You added some size before the deadline in Nico Sturm (6-foot-3, 209 pounds) and Josh Manson (6-3, 218). Did you see size as an area the team was lacking, or were these moves made for different purposes?
"Well, we wanted to add to get a guy like Manson for the blue line. Now, last year we didn't have Erik Johnson in the lineup, so we added size there. Jack Johnson has done a good job. We know we can move the puck up, but we wanted somebody with some toughness in front of the net, some guys that are harder to play against. It's the same up front, especially with our mid six and bottom six, we wanted to add a little more size, a different element to our team. We get more size, and we think having Nico will help in our face-offs, which we were looking to do. It was about changing it up and adding more depth to our lineup. We know we've got our top guys, but we wanted to strengthen our depth."
Do you have an update on Gabriel Landeskog, who is still out following knee surgery?
"My expectation is right around playoff time. Hopefully it goes well and he can come back a little earlier, but it should be within that window."
Was it an injury that was lingering for a while, nagging him?
"It was lingering for a while. It was starting to get worse for him, and the thought process was get it done now so he's feeling 100 percent for playoffs rather than keep battling through it and you get to playoff time and it gets worse and worse and worse. Might as well get it all fixed up. He wanted to feel 100 percent for playoffs. We're in a good spot that he's able to do this now."
There was a question or doubt earlier in the season about what the Avalanche will do about the goaltending position, wondering if Darcy Kuemper was good enough. You didn't address the position, which speaks to your belief in Kuemper. How do you feel about him?
"We didn't feel we had to do anything. We have [Pavel] Francouz coming back healthy. We feel we have a real good 1-2 punch. We've always liked Darcy and he's feeling well. It's not an easy adjustment to just come in and play net. You have to have great chemistry with your 'D' and the way your team plays. Obviously, we play a different style than Arizona played, so it's an adjustment. I know he had an early season injury, he came back, and since early December he's been one of the better goalies in the league."
Do you feel that is one of the most underrated tough things to do, be a goalie coming to a new team and adjusting to that team?
"I mean, yeah, we give up different shots than they would. I know we don't give up a lot of shots, but we've been known to trade chances at times. Coaches may not like that, as a fan I love it, but there are times when you've got to clamp it down. But you have to learn tendencies of your team. You've got to know what each player is going to do with what's coming at you, and it's a read and it does take time. He's done a tremendous job, especially since early December. He's been great for us."
I wanted you to cycle back in your memory to 2016-17, when the Avalanche had that 48-point season.
"Do I have to?"
Well, I don't blame you for not wanting to go there, but now the Avalanche are sitting at the top of the league. At that point, could you envision a turnaround coming or was it hard to see a way out?
"Well, we knew we needed to rebuild. We were an older team at that time with some really good young players. It's not like we didn't have anything on our team, but they were young. We felt getting it to turnover, we draft [Cale] Makar and then we get a [Bowen] Byram, but we had [Nathan] MacKinnon, Landeskog and Erik Johnson, who wanted to be part of the rebuild, and Mikko Rantanen. You knew the real good young players were there, it was just a matter of growing it, building around them. Right now, things are a lot better than they were that year, obviously, but it's tough to go through those years. You know in today's game you can turn it around, but we had to do it, and so far it's worked out."
Do you think it hardened some of the players that are still with you in Denver?
"You appreciate winning when you go through a year like that. It's maddening, it's disappointing, it's a little bit of an embarrassment, and you go through the next summer more focused and you probably try to train harder. You learn a lot through adversity."
OK here's your opportunity as the Colorado Avalanche general manager to state your case for Cale Makar's Norris Trophy candidacy. Go.
"I don't know that I really have to state it, just go watch him play five games in a row and you'll see. He's just an amazing player and you know why? He's not just offensive, he's a good defender as well and he can be physical. He's a tough guy to play against. He's so elusive, so smart with the puck. He just drives the play. One of the things we like most about him, and he's a young guy, but he's consistent. It's every game."
This GM job is a grind. How long do you see yourself doing this?
"I love it. I like it a lot better than in 2016-17. Listen, I like doing it. I love it. I loved playing the game of hockey, and to be able to retire, and no one wants to retire, but we all face that decision to make, and take a couple years off, you miss the game, and to have an opportunity to come back and be in this role, couldn't ask for anything else. My whole life I wanted to be in hockey, and I'm still in it. I'm a lucky guy. I'm a lucky guy and I get to stay competitive. There's only so competitive you can be on the golf course."