Peter Mueller warms up in one of his last games as a Coyote.

Well, I can’t say I’m surprised, or saddened to see Wojtek Wolski go. I know many Avalanche fans were hoping for Ruslan Salei or John-Michael Liles to be traded, and if Wolski had to go, they wanted a veteran in return.

I, for one, am happy to see the less-than-physical player leave our ranks. Rumors were that Wolski didn’t see eye-to-eye with the Avs management, and that he was on his way out. I take that to mean, they asked him to put his big body in front of the net and he didn’t want to take the beating.

Most Avs fans don’t watch a whole lot of other hockey, except what’s force-fed to them on the networks. That means, they don’t know a whole lot about the Phoenix Coyotes and Peter Mueller. I’m sure Goddess Amy will weigh in on this, since she saw him during his Junior days in Everett when he played for the Silvertips, but I really think this guy is going to be great. The Avs needed another center, and why not grab a young guy with tons of talent, a good work ethic and is easy on the eyes? ;-)

Getting rid of Liles would have been ideal. However, no one was going to pick up his inflated salary. The general public may not have been watching him the past couple of years, but the scouts were and he just doesn’t fit into too many team’s plans. After all, you can only have so many Mike Greens in the league.

Salei? Yeah, he’s carrying a bit of a salary, but for those people who never watched more than a couple of Ducks or Panthers games, they don’t understand what a talented, smart and crushing player he can be.  In his first game back this season, he threw some punishing hits and got an assist, looking as if he hadn’t missed a beat, and ended up +2 in a 3-2 loss. He is most physical defenseman next to Adam Foote, and he’s a smart player and great skater to boot. Why anyone would want to deal him is beyond me. I’d get rid of Brett Clark and even my lovely Scott Hannan before I’d ditch Salei.

Teasers:  I’ve promised KHL reporting and I will deliver soon.  Also, look for more rants on what else? Colorado Avalanche fan experiences.  Suffice it to say, we will not be renewing our season tickets next year.

Photo: Peter Mueller by Goddess Sasha. Copyright 2009-2010. All Rights Reserved.