Sorry to take such a positive tone in light of a serious injury, but
Brisebois is out for the rest of the regular season with a herniated disc.
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=288096&page=NewsPage&service=page
Two things.
1. He's been out since Dec 28th, so the Avs can file for an LTI
exemption for him, which would give the Avs an extra $1m in cap room
(his averaged salary is $2m this year, so missing half the season would
free up half that $2m). That's huge. At the deadline, that's about $2m
in salary the Avs can take on. Or, to put it another way, the Avs can
now take on the contract of someone who makes $4m a year in trade at the
deadline. That is HUGE.
2. This has to be the end for Brisebois, right? 36 years old and a
herniated disc? I can't imagine he will come back from that.
I feel bad for Brisebois, who by every indication is a stand-up guy. But
this is great news for the Avs.
-Thomas
