With the departure of Head Coach Joel Quenneville earlier this month by the Colorado Avalanche, there has been a whirl of discussion on who will succeed him. Well after a couple of weeks of quiet discussion, it was announced on Thursday that Colorado has picked the same coach which preceded Quenneville, Avalanche Assistant Coach, Tony Granato.
Granato served as the Avs Head Coach from 2002 to 2004, but was demoted before the 2005 lockout by than General Manager, Pierre Lacroix, for Quenneville who had just entered the market after being fired by St. Louis.
Granato had a career winning percentage of .605 while coaching at Colorado, the second highest in franchise history.
“I’m excited about this challenge. I know this team has a great mix of youth, experience, skill and speed. I’m looking forward to this new opportunity ahead,” said Granato at a Thursday press conference at the Pepsi Center.
Granato served as an Assistant Coach for the Avalanche for the five seasons, with two before his first term as Head Coach, and three since the hiring of Quenneville.
Granato played 13 seasons in the NHL, before retiring 2001.
Current Avalanche General Manager, Francois Giguere, is extremely pleased for Granato as Head Coach, and has high hopes, especially when it comes to dealing with development of the younger players.
“Tony has gained tremendous coaching experience over the last five seasons behind the Avalanche bench. He has great knowledge of our depth chart, a strong admiration for our players and really enjoys working with the organization’s young and talented group of athletes.”
The departure of former coach, Joel Quenneville was up in the air, entering the Western Conference Semi-finals against the Detroit Red Wings, but after being swept in four games and losing 8-2 in game 4 against the teams long time rival, it seemed that Quenneville’s days were numbered.
Quenneville was a decent coach for the Avalanche, and will be most known for the current youth movement. However, his success was also filled with failure, especially when it comes to the team’s performance in the playoffs.
Since Quenneville became Head Coach, the team’s performance in the postseason has been well below expectations with the team in 2006 getting swept for the first time ever since the franchise moved in Denver in 1995. The next season the team missed its first postseason in team history, and then this month, being swept again but this time to the rival Red Wings.
After the departure of Quenneville, there were numerous rumor that the team might pick up Ron Wilson, who just days later after the firing of Quenneville, was fired from his squad, the San Jose Sharks.
But Thursday’s announcement of Tony Granato isn’t a bad one, with Granato being a fan favorite and his vast coaching experience with the team made him the prime choice for the Avalanche. This time around, the transition to Head Coach should be a lot smoother with him already having success with the team.
Granato served as the Avs Head Coach from 2002 to 2004, but was demoted before the 2005 lockout by than General Manager, Pierre Lacroix, for Quenneville who had just entered the market after being fired by St. Louis.
Granato had a career winning percentage of .605 while coaching at Colorado, the second highest in franchise history.
“I’m excited about this challenge. I know this team has a great mix of youth, experience, skill and speed. I’m looking forward to this new opportunity ahead,” said Granato at a Thursday press conference at the Pepsi Center.
Granato served as an Assistant Coach for the Avalanche for the five seasons, with two before his first term as Head Coach, and three since the hiring of Quenneville.
Granato played 13 seasons in the NHL, before retiring 2001.
Current Avalanche General Manager, Francois Giguere, is extremely pleased for Granato as Head Coach, and has high hopes, especially when it comes to dealing with development of the younger players.
“Tony has gained tremendous coaching experience over the last five seasons behind the Avalanche bench. He has great knowledge of our depth chart, a strong admiration for our players and really enjoys working with the organization’s young and talented group of athletes.”
The departure of former coach, Joel Quenneville was up in the air, entering the Western Conference Semi-finals against the Detroit Red Wings, but after being swept in four games and losing 8-2 in game 4 against the teams long time rival, it seemed that Quenneville’s days were numbered.
Quenneville was a decent coach for the Avalanche, and will be most known for the current youth movement. However, his success was also filled with failure, especially when it comes to the team’s performance in the playoffs.
Since Quenneville became Head Coach, the team’s performance in the postseason has been well below expectations with the team in 2006 getting swept for the first time ever since the franchise moved in Denver in 1995. The next season the team missed its first postseason in team history, and then this month, being swept again but this time to the rival Red Wings.
After the departure of Quenneville, there were numerous rumor that the team might pick up Ron Wilson, who just days later after the firing of Quenneville, was fired from his squad, the San Jose Sharks.
But Thursday’s announcement of Tony Granato isn’t a bad one, with Granato being a fan favorite and his vast coaching experience with the team made him the prime choice for the Avalanche. This time around, the transition to Head Coach should be a lot smoother with him already having success with the team.
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