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Patrick Roy doesn’t thinks Avs’ defense is far behind Kings

Erik Johnson

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson (6) saves the empty net goal by the Minnesota Wild during the third period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series on Thursday, April 17, 2014, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

AP

The Colorado Avalanche are coming off of a breakout season that pushed the question from if they can make the playoffs to what steps can they take to close the gap between them and the championship Los Angeles Kings.

One thing they might do is add a complimentary defenseman to help give their team the depth it needs to play at that level.

“We’re not that far away on defense,” Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said, according to the Denver Post. “You look at (Erik) Johnson, who had a really good year, we have (Tyson) Barrie, who played really well at the end of the season, and we have Nick Holden, who we think is a solid defenseman.

“Are they where (the Kings are)? The answer is no, but now the (question) is, ‘Who are we going to add?’ You cannot just add the top players. You have to have a great mix, and you look at some teams as a model, and I think L.A. is a good example. If we could get the good mix — stay-at-home, physical defensemen playing with high-skill defensemen — I think that’s the approach that we’d like to have, and I think we’re heading in a pretty good direction.

“I think the future of our franchise on the defensive side of the game is a lot better than people think it is.”

Colorado might even target Willie Mitchell or Matt Greene to help close that gap as one or both of them could end up on the unrestricted free agent market after winning the Stanley Cup with the Kings.

Meanwhile, the Avalanche are also trying to retain pending unrestricted free agent Paul Stastny and re-sign restricted free agent Ryan O’Reilly while staying within their budget parameters.

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