Old Av Denis Released from Tampa – Opportunity?

http://blogs.tampabay.com/lightning/2008/06/denis-clears-wa.html

After a tough stay in Tampa, previous Avs goalie Marc Denis was released from the Lightening today and is free to sign with any NHL club as an unrestritcted free agent on July 1.

He joins Andrew Raycroft (Rookie of the Year in 2004), Ray Emery (Stanley Cup starting goalie in 2007 whose troubles have been well-documented in this blog) and veteran Dan Cloutier as goalies released just this week.

I recall an article in Goalies World magazine earlier this year about the head coach-goalie relationship between Denis and Coach Torterella and wonder if this was really why Denis, once considered a very good NHL goalie, had such problems in Tampa. Apparently Torterella is known for treating his goalies very poorly and can make their life miserable and Denis could not play under such conditions.

Now, as a goalie who was just released, Denis can be signed by any club and for very little money. He may be a great pick-up for any team looking for a good back-up at a great price. He is the latest in decent goalies who were bought out this past week from their previous clubs.

Of course, the coach would need to be someone who treats people as fellow human beings…

Avs and Granato, are you paying attention??