Good evening ladies and gentlemen, we will open this press conference with an opening statement from Mr. Pierre Lacroix, and then a statement from new general manager Jeff Small. We will conclude with questions from the press, we ask that since we have a big crowd here today you wait until you are given a microphone to ask your question. Thank you.
Pierre Lacroix- Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. First I would like to welcome the members of the press who are here today and all of the hockey fans who are watching at home. Today we have called this press conference in order to announce a new management change effective immediately. This is not to say that we are not satisfied with our team’s success this season, it is simply a move we made to prepare our team for the upcoming draft and free agency. We are confident in Mr.Small’s abilities and know that he will do all he can to bring a championship to Colorado in the very near future. Mr. Small brings to the table a vast knowledge of the game and we know that he can help make our franchise become more successful then we currently are. At this time I would like to turn it over to Mr. Small who will make his comments.
Jeff Small- Thank you. Good afternoon to everybody in attendance. First off I would just like to say how grateful I am to get this job with the Avalanche, it has always been my dream to one day be a general manager of a hockey team and I feel that now that I’m here I don’t ever want to leave. I have big plans for this team and I plan to enforce them as soon as I can to get the most out of this team. As of now I am going to be evaluating the current roster we have in place and see what moves need to be made. I ensure everyone that I will not fail at this job as I have been preparing for this since I was ten years old. I realize what moves need to be made and I prepare to make them without hesitation if I feel they are necessary. I will now take any questions you may have about me or about my future plans.
Mike Dobbs (Denver Post)- Mr. Small, I understand that you were in discussions with other teams, can you disclose to us who those teams were?
Jeff Small- I don’t think it would be appropriate to mention any teams at this point. However, I will mention that I was in deep discussion with another team but chose to come to Colorado instead.
Josh Griffin (ESPN)- Colorado is currently leading the Northwest division is there much improvement that can be made?
Jeff Small- Unless your 98-0 improvements can always be made. At this time I have not yet identified our area of need but will do so soon. After that you can expect me to do whatever it takes to address that weakness.
Ryan Rakita (TSN)- What are your plans with head coach Darryl Sutter?
Jeff Small- I actually did talk to Darryl today about what he feels this team can accomplish. With him being a former GM I’m sure he will provide me with great knowledge about the game and suggestions he may have in order for us to improve. I look forward to working with him and do not expect to be looking for a coach anytime soon.
John Barron (Avalanche TV)- As the trade deadline approaches do you expect to be buyers or sellers?
Jeff Small- Based on where we are situated in the western conference, I fully expect us to be buyers at the deadline barring any change in the way our team is performing.
This will be the last question for today.
Adam Ravka (The Denver Dailey News)- The window to re sign players is closing every day, with some of your key players such as Martin Straka, Kim Johnsson, and Steve Reinprecht set to become free agents, when do you plan to start looking into resigning them.
Jeff Small- I will be looking into that situation ASAP. All of our free agents are key members of our team and I will do my best to try and retain them while staying in the teams price range. Thank you all for coming and have a good rest of the day.