I made a whirlwind visit to far-flung parts of Europe last week, and still haven't fully got back into the hockey loop. I didn't have a chance to see any hockey games (or as Jes put it, "You went to Europe and didn't see ONE FRICKIN GAME!!!")-- the Russian club was out of town, and I wasn't in Prague long enough to do much more than walk and drink beer.

The trip really reacquainted me with the joys (said in a sarcastic and humorless tone -- perhaps with a bit of a sneer) of following my teams from overseas. It wasn't so bad with the Thrashers, who basically kept rolling along while I was gone -- but the Avalanche? See, I expected Colorado to be subpar this year. Not full-blown comically awful like the Flyers or Coyotes, more of a consistent, drab lifelessness as one expects from the Blue Jackets. But I didn't expect this -- worldbeaters one game, giving up eight goals to Montreal the next. No sustained performance one way or the other.

On a schedule I wasn't used to, and relying on what internet cafes I could find, I was a bit off on getting NHL news. One friend took delight in relaying Avalanche news to me, but only when it was bad. And getting these e-mails after a delay just highlighted how bizarrely inconsistent this team has become.

See, she'd e-mail gleefully after, say, the loss to Chicago on Oct. 16th. But by the time I got it, the Avalanche would have beaten the Maple Leafs (and by all accounts, looked impressive doing so) and I'd just scratch my head over my misguided friend's words.

Then a few days later, having also heard about the win over Ottawa, I'd e-mail again and perhaps "talk some trash," as the kids say, about the Avalanche's current strength -- not realizing that in the interim, Jose Theodore had gone through his well-publicized meltdown against Montreal.

I guess it's the hallmark of what really has become a mediocre team, enough scoring and defense and work ethic to compete, but not enough depth or toughness to put anything impressive together. I'm glad I have the benefit of distance now, in a way. It's aggravating enough watching this from thousands of miles away -- if I still up close in Denver, I'd go nuts.

One nice note, just so Canucks fans don't get too smug about the fate of the once-mighty Avalanche -- I'm glad to see Joe Sakic get his 1,500th point. While it's not good that they're relying on a 37-year-old as the cornerstone of the offense, he's always been a class act and one of the few players in any sport that I've never had a complaint about. That said, the way this season is shaping up, he'll probably get busted in a Commerce City motel with a hooker and a crack pipe now.