Veteran Cogliano grateful for another shot at Cup
Avs added savvy, hard-working centre as they prepared for lengthy playoff run
Andrew Cogliano never saw a single playoff game while serving his four-year sentence in Edmonton during an Oilers rebuild, but he's been a post-season mainstay since.
Good teams always want a player like Cogliano, so it's no surprise the Stanley Cup-contending Colorado Avalanche came knocking at the trade deadline.
And he's grateful they did. The 34-year-old forward was about to miss the playoffs for just the second time in the last 10 seasons before the San Jose Sharks set him free.
“Obviously, it's very special for me to be traded to a team like this, a team of this calibre, and to add something and be a piece of the puzzle,” said the 15-year veteran, who's managed to be that piece for 1,140 regular-season games and 109 more in the playoffs.
“I feel like every team needs different guys and different roles and players to come in and help in different situations. I just try to be that guy. At this stage of my career, it's a special opportunity for me to play with these guys on a team like this.”
Cogliano has never lit it up offensively and he isn't a bruiser at 5-foot-10 and 179 pounds, but his speed, commitment and hockey sense, combined with a willingness to do whatever his team asks makes him a coach's dream.
Avs coach Jared Bednar said it didn't take Cogliano to start showing why general manager Joe Sakic wanted him on board for Colorado's run.
“He leads by example every day,” said Bednar. “Pre-practice, pre-game, the work that he puts in. He's a wealth of knowledge, he's been around a long time, has a nice calming presence and demeanour to him, and he's highly competitive when he steps on the ice.”
Cogliano, drafted 25th overall by the Oilers in 2005, is playing in his fourth career Western Conference final. He went to the Stanley Cup Final with Dallas two years ago and made two third-round appearances with Anaheim.
He's logged a lot of playoff miles and admits it's a different game now than it was back then.
“The pace is just at another level,” he said. “It seems like my first couple of years in the league, even my first couple of playoffs, there was a lot more grinding, a lot more chip and chase and putting pucks in and wanting to cycle teams.
“It was physical. We played L.A., and with those teams, sometimes it wasn't really hockey at times. It was more of a physical battle. It's still (physical) now, but I feel the pace is at another level.”
And the teams that don't pick up their pace are being left behind.
“The players are just faster,” said Cogliano. “Simple as that. Nathan Mackinnon, Connor Mcdavid, there are guys throughout the league who just play at another level. It forces other guys to play faster as well because you have to keep up. Players like that only make the league better and make playoff hockey better.”
FAN FAVOURITE RETURNS
If you can imagine Ryan Nugent-hopkins playing for the Avalanche in this series, you might get a sense of the dynamic surrounding Tyson Barrie against the Avalanche.
He spent eight seasons in Denver, still has a house here, and was one of the most popular guys on the team, in and out of the locker-room.
“It's pretty well documented how loved he was in this city and in the locker-room,” said Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog.
“We love (Barrie) and he had a lot of success with us here.”
The Avs didn't want to see their buddy leave in the trade for Nazem Kadri three years ago, but knew it had to happen. And Sakic worked a great deal for the Avalanche, adding an integral piece down the middle in exchange for a player that was being replaced from within. That's how good organizations roll.
“Tyson was a great player for us and he's still a great player, he's doing a great job with the Edmonton Oilers,” said Sakic.
“He was a fan favourite, (and) a favourite in the dressing room. He put up a lot of points and brought a lot of offence to us.
“But, at that point, obviously we felt Cale Makar was coming in. We were looking to try to improve our second-line centre depth. We targeted Naz Kadri. I think both teams felt the trade was good for their own teams.”
Barrie, who remains good friends with the Colorado veterans, says he's been away long enough that being back in Denver for a series against his former team isn't at all strange.
“I think enough time has passed now — I've played them a couple of times — that the weirdness of it has kind of left,” he said. “I'm an Oiler now and I'm ready for a good, hard-fought series.”
Mackinnon agrees. Friendship is one thing. Hockey is another.
“I mean, obviously he's a really good friend of mine,” said Mackinnon. “A few of us played with (Tyson), but it's all business. It might have been more weird right when he got traded, but we've been playing against him for a while now, so it's not too bad.”
It's very special for me to be traded to a team like this, a team of this calibre, and to add something and be a piece of the puzzle.