Liles On The Block?

February 2nd, 2010 View Comments

Seems like things are heating up regarding the plethora of defensemen the Colorado Avalanche have suddenly found themselves with. Seven were dressed the other night against Dallas, with John-Michael Liles moving up to fill in offensively for the absence of an injured Ryan Stoa. This scenario becomes even more muddied when the oft forgotten Ruslan Salei finally returns (someday – he is skating ok!). But what are the Avs to do?

Colorado Avalanche defenseman John-Michael Liles shoots the puck.

Courtesy of Avalanche.NHL.com

They’re unlikely to get rid of either Ryan Wilson or Kyle Cumiskey as these kids are the future of the defensive core (though I would argue that Cumiskey should have tried offense and Liles could have stayed on defense against the New York Rangers). Adam Foote wouldn’t go anywhere as he is likely in the simmering twilight of his career. Brett Clark could possibly be moved, but Scott Hannan seems fairly unlikely to vanish anytime soon. Kyle Quincy is playing great and we just got him so hold on to those jerseys a bit longer.

Guess that just leaves the enigmatic Liles. Enigmatic in the sense that Liles is for some reason the odd man out. Despite the fact that he has one goal and 8 assists in his last 10 games and is leading the defensive corps in points with 23, John-Michael Liles was again benched by Coach Sacco in the Avalanche’s pathetic loss to the Rangers. Maybe it is because he happens to own a -2 rating? Well that’s really only two goals behind Kyle Cumiskey, who is second to last in points with 10 (6 goals).

And before all of you “Johnny Hot Pocket” fans chime in, Liles is 11th overall on the team in shots and leads the ENTIRE team in power play points with 15. He is also 6th on the team for time on ice during a power play. So where does the benching come from?

Is it because he is only 15th in even strength time on ice? Is it because he might get muscled about a bit more than some of the bigger guys? It is a puzzling thing because Liles has literally turned up the heat since a recent string of benchings/injuries. This is even more confusing with the fact that Liles is starting in, most likely, Clark’s place tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Coach Sacco calls it a game time decision. But what does this all mean?

Well reports are starting to point towards the fact that the Avs are shopping Liles to make a move. Who for? Good question. Adrian Dater recently blogged about running into Liles’ agent in town and suggesting that maybe he wasn’t thrilled about his client being benched. Dater added:

“Do I think the Avs are trying to trade Liles right now? Yes, absolutely. Nobody will go on the record saying that, but a couple conversations around the league I’ve had about his situation lead me to believe the answer is yes. Do I know where he might go? No, not at the moment”.

When he asked Liles about it, Liles brushed it off a bit:

“I always want to stay here. I love Colorado. There’s a reason I signed here; I love the guys here, love the organization and love the city. You just have to battle through it. Coach has told me he expects a lot out of me, and when I’m not up to what he expects, then he has to take action.”

The Twitter account for NHLrumor, which could have no real connections (I trust it), reports the following:

“The Colorado Avalanche are shopping J-M Liles but they have not found a partner quite yet. Couple of GM’s kicking tires”.

With a lofty salary and a perceived (I say this with the utmost contempt) lack of production, Liles seems like a nice name on a payroll to be rid of. I think he’s worth keeping around. Take a chance on the kid. There are older, less productive guys making more money (Hannan at 4.5 mil) or slightly less (Clark at 3.5 mil). It will be interesting to see how this plays out but at least two defensemen are gone. Despite our recent fan poll listing Liles in a tie for second in players we could let go (tied with Clark, Salei in first), I’m hoping that Liles stays.

What do you think about Liles? Do you want to see him go? Who would you bring in on defense?