All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — August 24.

Colorado Hockey Now

The Avalanche and DU Pioneers are playing an Alumni Game at Magness Arena that will include Peter Forsberg, Milan Hejduk, Adam Foote, and even recently retired Peter Mueller.

Joe Sakic, however, will be behind the bench. The team’s longtime captain won’t be able to dress for this game, as he noted on Saturday while speaking to John Michael Liles.

The Avalanche’s full roster is below.

#Avs Alumni roster at Magness Arena today.

Sakic is coaching, not playing pic.twitter.com/GDIgijQHaf

— Aarif Deen (@runwriteAarif) August 24, 2025

READ MORE: Peter Forsberg is in Town! — Avalanche Prepare for Alumni Game at Magness Arena

Also, Ron Hainsey and Marty Walsh, who are the leadership team for the NHL Players’ Association, were on 32 Thoughts over the weekend. Among the topics they discussed, Hainsey confirmed that the new salary bonus structure limitations, and the new seven-year max-term contracts won’t take effect until Sept. 16, 2026.

That means Cale Makar can sign a contract extension for eight years under the current CBA as long as he locks in his new deal before that date. Makar is ineligible to sign until July 1, 2026.

Will he sign for eight years?

READ MORE: New CBA Changes Likely Won’t Affect Cale Makar’s Next Contract with Avalanche

Around The NHL

Florida Hockey Now: The latest UFA signing, a depth forward, has landed with the Florida Panthers. I’d imagine he’ll get a shot at being an everyday player while Matthew Tkachuk recovers from his injury.

Boston Hockey Now: Hampus Lindholm was also a guest on 32 Thoughts. It doesn’t sound like he’s ready to commit to a rebuild or retool with the Bruins.

Philly Hockey Now: Could Jack Eichel be a realistic UFA option next summer?

Detroit Hockey Now: Steve Yzerman is a fan of the new 84-game schedule coming to the NHL in 2026-27.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Fenway Sports Group got a lot right, but they leave a bad taste as they move forward with trying to sell the Penguins.

The post Deen’s Daily: Avalanche Alumni Game Today! — Rosters Revealed; Will Makar Sign For 8 Years? appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — May 17.

Colorado Hockey Now

When Artturi Lehkonen made his season debut in November, the Avs were so desperately starved for depth scoring that he was playing 23-25 minutes seemingly every night. And for good reason — he was delivering. He picked right up where he left off in last year’s postseason and looked like he didn’t skip a beat. Not bad for a player that missed all of training camp and the preseason.

He was on track for a whopper of a career year, at least in the goals department. But then the trade deadline happened and the well dried up. I broke down Lehkonen’s season in the article below. Give it a read if you haven’t already.

Read More: What To Make of Artturi Lehkonen’s 2024-25 Season

Stanley Cup Playoff Recap

Game 6 — Toronto Maple Leafs at Florida Panthers: The Toronto Maple Leafs actually did it. After getting booed out of their building in an embarrassing 6-1 loss in Game 5, the Leafs clamped down defensively and shut out the Panthers 2-0 to force Game 7. They got in front of pucks, laid off some massive clean hits, and made Joseph Woll’s night as easy as humanly possible. Also, Auston Matthews stepped up with a big goal. That series finale on Sunday is going to be must-watch.

Tonight’s Schedule

• Game 6: Winnipeg Jets at Dallas Stars (6 pm MT on ABC & ESPN+)

Around The NHL

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Pens’ coaching search continues. Two more candidates were interviewed as Kyle Dubas starts to narrow down his long list of candidates.

Montreal Hockey Now: What the Habs need this offseason as we get closer to the draft and free agency.

Philly Hockey Now: Rick Tocchet was introduced as the 25th coach in franchise history on Friday. And he’s well aware of the difficult job at hand.

New Jersey Hockey Now: Hopefully, it’s not anything severe, but the Devils captain suffered an injury at the World Championships. You know… the tournament that Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas are participating in.

NYI Hockey Now: Could you imagine this scenario: The Leafs lost, and Brendan Shanahan takes a job with the Isles. Why it would be a good fit.

Detroit Hockey Now: Ken Holland was introduced as L.A. Kings general manager, sitting side-by-side with a legend he brought to the Red Wings more than 25 years ago. Time is seriously just a big giant circle.

Vegas Hockey Now: Jack Eichel was stunned by the loss to Edmonton and expressed his feelings during Vegas’ exit interviews.

Speaking of which, I really wish the Avs did exit interviews. We’ve asked for them for years, but the organization has never been interested in it for some reason. I remember when the Seattle Kraken beat the Avs in Game 7. The media went into the dressing room knowing this was the only chance we had to speak to players, especially those on expiring deals, before July 1.

I chatted with J.T. Compher 1-on-1 about the loss and the series as a whole. And then I asked him about his contract status and if he had given any thought to the idea that this could be his last game with the Avs. He didn’t like the question, he didn’t answer it, and he walked off. I honestly don’t blame him. I shouldn’t have to ask him that five minutes after losing a Game 7. That would’ve been better for exit interviews after the sting of the loss wears off.

Chicago Hockey Now: The Blackhawks interviewed Jeff Blashill during their coaching search. What do they see in him?

The post Deen’s Daily: Assessing Lehkonen’s Season; Leafs Force Game 7 — Can Winnipeg Do The Same? appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

For the first time in three years, Alexandar Georgiev suffered a loss in the season opener with the Avs. And it wasn’t anywhere close to being the type of game that inspires confidence.

Georgiev surrendered five goals on 16 shots in Wednesday’s 8-4 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. He was pulled after the second period and watched from the bench as the backup, Justus Annunen, only stopped three of five shots the rest of the way.

Meanwhile, on offense, the Avs’ top guys pulled through. Mikko Rantanen scored a hat trick — the first three-goal game in a season opener for Colorado in eight years (Joe Colborn, 2016). Still without a contract extension, Rantanen scored three one-timers off of feeds from Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar (twice).

READ MORE: Good & Bad: A Tale of Two Performances in Avalanche’s Season Opener

The other goal came from Casey Mittelstadt, who was a bright spot for Colorado despite playing with different wingers a times throughout the night. Mittelstadt spent the majority of the game at even strength on a line where he’s suddenly the veteran of the group. He was flanked by rookies Nikolai Kovalenko and Calum Ritchie. The trio had a strong start but didn’t do much in the later stages of the game.

On the shift where Mittelstadt scored, he had Ross Colton and Kovalenko playing the wing. It’s a sign that head coach Jared Bednar will not shy away from trying different things until he gets one or both of Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin back. Neither is likely to return until November.

Following Rantanen’s first tally, which gave the Avs a 1-0 lead, the Golden Knights quickly responded thanks to a goal from Victor Olofsson. The newcomer beat Georgiev on a tough angle with a shot that the goaltender will likely want to have back. Georgiev was down and kept the short side open for Olofsson, who later added another tally with a snipe in the closing seconds of the second period.

Vegas then added two goals in 25 seconds in the final minutes of the first. It was a rare shift where Colorado’s top line let in two goals to Vegas’ top line. On the second goal, a 2-on-1 play that finished up with a tally for captain Mark Stone, Makar found himself in no man’s land after pinching at the blue line. The result of his miscue was Devon Toews getting stuck trying to stop Jack Eichel and Stone.

The trailing forward on the play was MacKinnon, but he let up for just a second and it was enough for Eichel to get away. Two rare mistakes from two players at the top of the lineup. Vegas took a 3-1 lead into the break.

But from there, each time Colorado responded, the Golden Knights added another goal to keep them out of reach. It was suddenly 3-2 after Rantanen’s second goal, but then it quickly became 4-2. Then when Mittelstadt made it 4-3, the Knights made it 5-3 on the Oloffson PP goal.

Then in the third period, Rantanen made it 5-4 only for the Knights to get one, then two past Annunen to pull ahead 7-4. Then, an empty netter after nearly five minutes of 6-on-5 play for Bednar’s club.

Colorado will need to turn the page as it prepares for its home opener on Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Avs will play the next four games at Ball Arena in a seven-game span where they were so dominant a season ago.

The post Georgiev Pulled In Avalanche’s 8-4 Loss to Vegas on Opening Night appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

Since everyone has been asking me when he’s coming back, I did some digging and got some good news on Nikolai Kovalenko’s injury and expected return date. I also learned that Igor Larionov likes to talk…a lot.

Meanwhile, the Colorado Avalanche mounted another comeback victory, and did it with a new goaltender in net.

All that and more in this Wednesday edition of Evan’s Daily.

Colorado Hockey Now

In a fantastic interview on 32 Thoughts, Nathan MacKinnon opened up about a lot of topics, and we learned he really loves his dog.

Looking back at the Montreal loss, where Jared Bednar didn’t like some of the goals Alexandar Georgiev gave up.

Down 4-2, a brutal Senators team let the Avalanche come back for the second time this season, and Colorado was led by some of their recent NCAA signings.

Later today, look for a scouting report on Avalanche first round pick Calum Ritchie, who has been tearing up the OHL. I spoke to the Director of Scouting with McKeens Hockey, Brock Otten, who gave me the rundown on what Ritchie is doing differently this year.

You can get a subscription to CHN+ for $29.99 a year with the code “evan10” and get access to the + content on every site in the network. In addition to the + content, everything will be ad-free, which is the biggest perk.

Kovalenko Injury Update

Where else would you expect to get an update on Nikolai Kovalenko? Well, you could go sleuthing through Russian media for news if you wanted to, but you all know I can do that for you. I thought Bednar goes long on some of his press conferences, but Igor Larionov talked for 30 minutes after Torpedo’s game yesterday. Yes, 30.

A week ago, Larionov had indicated that they were expecting Kovalenko back that game. Kovalenko, however, did not play. After the game, Larionov was asked about it, and did go into good detail.

Larionov said that he skated alone with Kovalenko two days ago and that he looked very good to him, but even though he is functionally fine, he still has occasional pain. They decided to sit him out and see if they can give him a few more days to recover. He will train with the team today and see where he’s at, but they aren’t interested in forcing him back until he’s ready. Essentially, he’ll be a game-time decision for their next game, but doesn’t sound like he’ll miss much more time.

“This is an important player for our team. We are really looking forward to him, we miss him, but we won’t force him,” Larionov said.

The KHL regular season finishes at the end of February, so plenty of time for him to get healthy.

For what it’s worth, Nikolai’s father and former Avalanche forward Andrei has finally said something I haven’t heard him say before – his son is NHL ready.

“In the NHL, he needs to show his best hockey, which he shows here. He has everything he needs, he has grown in the last two years as an athlete and player. In terms of the game and its vision, he grew up, became stronger and more powerful. To date, he is such a young powerful man who cannot be beaten.”

He continued a little more with how his son plays.

“He has his own style, he took something from me, like, for example, fighting in the corners. He fought since childhood, gnawed the puck, also continues to play in big hockey, – said the interlocutor of the agency. – Somewhere he has more tools – he can give better passes. The coach always told me that if you were given a puck from half the zone, you don’t have to look anywhere, but just throw it. I used my strong throw, he’s not so strong, so he plays more cunningly. Well, he acts at the expense of his stubbornness, he can also apply a power technique, most of the struggle behind the gate and in the corners he wins according to statistics,” said Andrei Kovalenko.

Around The NHL

The Vegas Golden Knights are 4-6 in their last 10 games, and they’ve played around .500 hockey since their hot start. Actually, they kind of fell off after dominating the Avalanche at home.

Things are about to get a little tougher for them, as Jack Eichel is now week-to-week with a lower body injury.

UPDATE: Jack Eichel had successful lower-body surgery and will be out week-to-week. #VegasBorn

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) January 16, 2024

Not quite sure what the injury is, but Eichel is their leading scorer, and you never want to lose your star. Week-to-week is also an iffy designation with no real timeline to it. I highly doubt Vegas misses the playoffs, but catching Vancouver may be tough, setting up a more difficult first round matchup.

Meanwhile, the Toronto Maple Leafs blew another lead, and Craig Button went off on them again. I’m always entertained by these.

TSN Director of Scouting @CraigJButton joins @JayOnrait to discuss the Maple Leafs blowing their fourth straight game in a 4-2 loss to the Oilers. pic.twitter.com/30Q4tV7twi

— JayOnSC (@JayOnSC) January 17, 2024

National Hockey Now

The Detroit Red Wings are going to be without Patrick Kane due to a mystery injury. I guess the good news is that it’s not a hip injury.

Nashville may be a first round matchup for the Avalanche, but the Predators still have three crucial questions to answer.

I don’t quite get what the Blackhawks are doing. I get that you need to actually field a team, but they’re re-signing all these guys who could get them a decent return at the NHL trade deadline. How else are you supposed to rebuild your team?

The post Evan’s NHL Daily: Kovalenko Nears Return, Vegas Loses Eichel appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

According to Eichel, there was a period in time where it looked like he could end up in Colorado.

On the Empty Netters Podcast, Eichel broke down the teams that were in the mix to acquire him when he was looking to be traded from the Buffalo Sabres. Obviously, everyone knows that he ultimately ended up on the Vegas Golden Knights, but quite a few teams were involved in the process.

And the Avalanche were definitely one.

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If you can’t listen to the clip, here’s what he had to say.

“I think as it went on different teams came in and out of the mix,” Eichel said on the Empty Netters podcast. “At the beginning, there were some teams out east trying to make things happen… I think as the summer went on you always hear different teams call. Whether it was Minnesota, Carolina or, there was a period in the early fall, where it was Colorado.”

In the end, Eichel says it came down to two teams – Calgary and Vegas. The rest is history.

While this might catch some off guard, there were rumblings at the time that the Avalanche were interested in Eichel, so I don’t think it comes as a total surprise to everyone. Eichel says the Avalanche were involved up until training camp started that year (2021).

What would Colorado have had to give up? Well, Vegas dealt Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, and two high draft picks to get the center. This was before any trades were made for the likes of Artturi Lehkonen or Josh Manson, so Colorado had some more trade capital to move around. If they had acquired Eichel and his massive contract, those two might not have ended up in Colorado. Would Nazem Kadri have gone the other way? It’s a lot to wrap your brain around.

It’s just another alternate universe for everyone to think about. The Avalanche obviously never pulled the trigger, but it just goes to show how aggressive Joe Sakic was at that time. He was ready to do what was necessary to get his team over the hump, and explored any and all options.

A Nathan MacKinnon/Jack Eichel combination down the middle could have been pretty deadly, but it wasn’t meant to be.

The post How Close Was Jack Eichel To Joining The Avalanche? appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

The Avalanche didn’t start poorly, but they sure finished that way. The Vegas Golden Knights scored three goals in just over four minutes in the second period on their way to a 7-0 victory over Colorado. After the second Vegas goal, it really fell apart for the Avalanche. An embarrassing night for the road team, who have now been shutout in three of their last four games, including each of their last three games away from Ball Arena.

Alexandar Georgiev was in net for all seven goals, and stopped just 27 of the 34 shots he faced. It wasn’t all on him, though. The team in front of him was poor, and there will be plenty for the coaching staff to clean up when they return to practice on Monday.

First Period

When you’re in Vegas, the last thing you want to do is give the Golden Knights some early powerplays to get the building on their side.

That’s exactly what the Avalanche did. Fortunately for them, a rested Alexandar Georgiev was up to the task, as he stopped everything the Golden Knights threw his way…which was a lot. They weren’t shy about throwing the puck at the net, but Georgiev was strong. He got a little help with two tremendous plays on the backdoor by Logan O’Connor and Miles Wood to break up plays, and Colorado killed both penalties off.

The puck started moving the other way, as at even strength, the Avalanche were the better team. Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t find a way to get anything past Adin Hill, as the Vegas goaltender made some nice glove stops on Nathan MacKinnon.

On an Avalanche powerplay late in the period, it was actually Vegas that got on the board, taking advantage of an injured Cale Makar. The defenseman seemed to catch a rut on the ice, and went down awkwardly. He couldn’t quite get off the ice, but also couldn’t really do anything defensively, leaving Mark Stone all alone in front for an easy tap-in goal, giving Vegas the 1-0 lead.

That was all the scoring there would be in the first, as Vegas took that one goal lead into the next period.

Second Period

Like they did in period one, the Avalanche played well at 5-on-5, controlling most of the zone time, but the Golden Knights did a good job of keeping pretty much everything to the outside.

And on their first real opportunity of the second period, the Golden Knights took advantage. Jack Eichel escaped Valeri Nichushkin in the neutral zone, and found himself all alone with speed on Georgiev. The Vegas sniper wired a shot over Georgiev’s blocker, making it 2-0.

The Avalanche did have a chance to get back on the board, but couldn’t find the net on the powerplay. The star players stayed out for the entirety of that powerplay, which led to some issues once it ended. Colorado had an easy chance to breakout of their own zone, but Ross Colton sent a pass behind Valeri Nichushkin. The big Russian went to regroup, but was far too casual about it, turning it over. About three seconds later, the puck was in the back of the Avalanche net, and it was 3-0. An ugly effort that was really just a sign of things to come.

Eichel added another goal on the powerplay soon after, and a game that was once close looked to be completely out of reach for the Avalanche.

Third Period

If you thought it might get better in the third period, you thought wrong.

Mark Stone scored another shorthanded goal, William Karlsson beat Georgiev far too easily through the five-hole, and then added another late when the Avalanche were scrambling around in their own end. Valeri Nichushkin, usually very reliable in his own end, was so bad that he found himself demoted to the fourth line by Jared Bednar.

Vegas walked away with a 7-0 win, and the Avalanche should walk away embarrassed by their performance. As soon as the score hit 3-0, the effort didn’t seem to be there from most of the lineup.

Colorado will catch a break on Tuesday, as they’ll return home to face the New Jersey Devils, who will likely be without their top two centers. That game starts at 8 PM MST.

The post Avalanche Embarrassed In Vegas, Shutout For Third Straight Road Game appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

That, and the latest NHL news and NHL trade rumors in your Colorado Hockey Now Evan’s Daily.

Colorado Hockey Now

While very deserving, it’s a small surprise that both Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen will be headed to the All-Star game.

Alexandar Georgiev  stood tall in net in the victory over the Calgary Flames.

Without Cale Makar, the defense was led by a big performance from Devon Toews.

National Hockey Now

Vegas: The Golden Knights have lost three in a row, and their head coach Bruce Cassidy was not afraid to call out his big name forward in Jack Eichel.

Pittsburgh: The Penguins are clinging to the last playoff spot in the East, but it might be time for some action from Ron Hextall.

Boston: The best season of his career thus far has been a little overwhelming for Linus Ullmark.

Florida: The Panthers won the game, but they lost multiple players to injury, including Sergei Bobrovsky.

New York Islanders: No surprise…Ilya Sorokin is one of the best goalies in the NHL.

Philadelphia: John Tortorella defended himself and his player following the Pride Night incident with Ivan Provorov.

Washington: Old friend Darcy Kuemper is now the league leader in shutouts.

Calgary: The Flames appear to be missing Matthew Tkachuk right about now.

Montreal: Mike Matheson has to defend himself after a questionable hit on Eric Staal.

The post Evan’s Daily: Avalanche of All-Stars, Eichel Called Out by Coach appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

Bowers Update

• Colorado Hockey Now: Shane Bowers was sent to go get an MRI on his upper body injury yesterday, a bad indication he will be out a while.

National Hockey Now

• Boston Hockey Now: Charlie McAvoy had fun in his return against the Calgary Flames.
• Vegas Hockey Now: Jack Eichel didn’t hold back when asked about the way Sabres fans treated him leading into and after his trade from the team that drafted him.
• Washington Hockey Now: Sonny Milano opens up about his journey through free agency and his weird summer.
• Montreal Hockey Now: Is Montreal’ Sean Monahan a potential option for the Colorado Avalanche?
• NYI Hockey Now: Here is what Mathew Barzal and the Islanders have to say about his lack of production so far.
• Philly Hockey Now: Flyers fans to welcome back Claude Giroux. It figures to be an emotional day for G.
• The New Jersey Devils have won eight in a row and lost Arizona today. And, Arizona has been winning of late too. This is actually a hot ticket!

Around The League

• NHL: The World Cup of Hockey, which was planned for 2024, has been pushed back to 2025.
• TSN: The Carolina Hurricanes placed goaltender Frederick Andersen on injured reserve for and undisclosed injury.
• The Hockey Writers: The Toronto Maple Leafs and the St. Louis Blues emerge as potential trade partners.

The post Dater’s Daily: Giroux Returns To Philly, Devils On Fire appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

The defending champion Pioneers looked really good against a good Fighting Irish team that came in ranked ninth in the country. But the No. 1-ranked Pioneers dominated most of the game. Their power play, with Avalanche prospect Sean Behrens acting as the QB, was sensational looking. Thirty-five minutes into the game, the Pioneers had an 18-4 shot advantage and a 2-0 lead.

Behrens plays a steady game, a lefty shot who stays within himself and moves the puck efficiently. Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland was at the game too, taking notes.

The DU Pioneers really impressed me. We’re lucky to have such hockey in this town right now, ain’t we?

On to the NHL…

• Sonny Milano was cut from his PTO by the Flames (Calgary Hockey Now)
• Matt Murray is quieting the critics with his preseason so far in Toronto (TSN)
• Evgeny Kuznetsov, frankly, doesn’t give a damn about what people think of him (Washington Hockey Now)
• Jack Eichel looks ready to have a big season in Vegas (Vegas Hockey Now)
• Sheng Peng, on the scene in Prague, tells what went wrong yesterday for the Sharks in the NHL season-opening game against Nashville (San Jose Hockey Now)
• Matt Duchene had 86 points last season, but he wants more (Hockey News)
• The top 100 NCAA players right now (Hockey News)
• Old friend Ian Laperriere has John Tortorella’s trust in the Philly farm system (Philly Hockey Now)
• The Panthers are looking good so far in the preseason (Florida Hockey Now)

The post Dater’s Daily: DU Pioneers Look Great In Season-Opener; NHL News And Notes appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

• Boy, did he look good yesterday at practice. His shot was lethal, especially on power-play drills from the right half-wall. I’m going to go ahead and predict 50 goals for the Moose this season. He set a career high with 36 last season, and I just think it’s a realistic number for Rantanen, provided he stays mostly healthy. He only had five goals in 20 playoff games, but still had 25 points overall. I feel like this is going to be a huge year for him.
• With Jared Bednar saying yesterday he has “no timeline” on Gabe Landeskog’s return, you have to wonder if November is a more likely return date now?
• Jack Eichel and Phil Kessel are displaying a lot of chemistry on the ice today right now with Vegas (Vegas Hockey Now)
• I think Vegas is still going to be a good team, better than people might expect. Bruce Cassidy is a good coach, and I think it was clear players didn’t much like playing for Pete DeBoer anymore. The whole key will be how well new goalie Adin Hill plays.
• The Flyers have looked really bad so far in the preseason (Philly Hockey Now)
• Speaking of DeBoer, he really likes his goalie in Dallas (Dallas Hockey Now)
• Who on the Florida Panthers might win some NHL awards this season? (Florida Hockey Now)
• Mitch Marner as a defenseman? It could happen in Toronto (NHL.com)
• Andrew Copp hopes he’s ready by opening night for the Red Wings (Detroit Hockey Now)
• Our indefatigable Sharks writer, Sheng Peng, is in Germany with the team and has some fun dispatches (San Jose Hockey Now)
• Want $5 off a full-year subscription to Colorado Hockey Now? Use the promo code word 5off in the easy checkout box, and your rate will drop from the normal $29.99 to $24.99. Unlike some other outlets, we’ve never raised our rates here, so your support means a lot. (Checkout box)

The post Sunday Notes: 50 Goals This Season For Rantanen? Vegas Better Than People Think? appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.