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Avs president gives Sakic vote of confidence

Colorado Avalanche Introduce Patrick Roy

DENVER, CO - MAY 28: Joe Sakic Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations of the Colorado Avalanche addresses the media as Patrick Roy is introduced as the new Head Coach/Vice President of Hockey Operations of the Colorado Avalanche during a press conference at the Pepsi Center on May 28, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

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To hear Colorado team president Josh Kroenke explain it, the worst season in franchise history hasn’t put GM Joe Sakic on the hot seat.

“Joe’s leash hasn’t changed at all,” Kroenke told the Denver Post, when asked if Sakic’s leash had shortened. “Nobody wants to get the Avalanche back to where they were, where we all expect them to be, more than Joe Sakic. We’re going to continue to give him every resource at his disposal and I’m going to help him in any ways he sees that I can.”

Sakic was heavily scrutinized last season, one in which the Avs won just 22 games and finished with a shockingly low 48 points. His roster construction came into question -- especially the team’s defense -- and his lack of significant movement at the trade deadline confounded some.

Of course, Sakic was dealt a tough hand.

Patrick Roy’s surprise resignation as head coach in August put Sakic and new bench boss Jared Bednar in an extremely tough spot. Losing Erik Johnson and Semyon Varlamov to long-term injuries was a blow as well. These are just a few of the things Kroenke mentioned in suggesting Sakic “deserves a little bit of leeway” for how the season went.

Interestingly, Kroenke also defended Sakic’s decision not to more one of the club’s “core” guys during the season: Johnson, Varlamov, Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog or Tyson Barrie. When the wheels started to come off in late November, the GM quickly ruled out moving MacKinnon (or prized draftees Mikko Rantanen and Tyson Jost).

As things worsened, Sakic was insistent he wouldn’t make a move for the sake of making a move.

Kroenke was in lockstep.

“Joe and I had lots of dialogue leading up to the deadline and my only message to him was, ‘Do what you think is right for the longterm, we don’t need to do something just to do something,” he said. “If someone thinks we’re in the fire-sale mode based on our record and you don’t think the return is adequate for the player, then don’t hesitate to just sit.”

Publicly, Kroenke’s messages reflect that he and Sakic are of the same mind when it comes to righting the ship, and that Sakic’s job is safe. Sakic, meanwhile, has already confirmed Bednar will be back for a second year on the job.

Now, the focus turns to the players. How many of them will be back?