from Mike Chambers of the Denver Post,

Sakic’s only major change was to his coaching staff, replacing bench boss Patrick Roy with Jared Bednar after Roy’s surprising Aug. 11 resignation. Colorado’s core players from last season’s 39-39-4 nonplayoff team (82 points) remain intact.

“We looked at all different avenues to improve the club. At the end, we believe in this group,” Sakic said at Sanctuary Golf Course, where 31 foursomes teed off to benefit the Food Bank of the Rockies. “Do we need to make the next step? Yes, we do, and that step is learning how to finish games. For the most part last year, we got off to pretty good starts. But in the third period, we didn’t do well. If we could have found ways to get games in overtime and play better in those key moments — that’s learning how to win, to put games away. That’s what we’re hoping to accomplish this year, and get the belief in knowing what it takes on a consistent basis to finish games off.”

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