Parker Kelly, who the team signed last year in free agency, has signed a four-year contract extension. The 26-year-old has one year remaining on his current deal, which will pay him $825,000 in 2025-26. His new deal carries a $1.7 million AAV, according to multiple reports.

Kelly had a great first year with Colorado, playing both at center and on the wing. He tied his career high in goals (eight), and set new personal bests in both assists (11) and points (19). He’s become a key piece of Colorado’s fourth line and one of the team’s best penalty killers.

Kelly averaged 12:35 per game, also a career high, and had two game-winning goals.

The post Avalanche Extend Parker Kelly For Four Years — Deal Begins in 2026-27 appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

The post 10 Observations: The Plan All Along Was For Landeskog To Sit Out Game 2 (+) appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

The Avalanche led by a goal entering the third period on Monday, but the Dallas Stars tied it up with 9:47 remaining before winning late in the first overtime period at American Airlines Center. The Avs even had a power play late in regulation that carried into OT but couldn’t capitalize.

The series shifts back to Colorado knotted up at 1-1.

“It’s gonna be a long, tough series,” Cale Makar said. “Obviously it would’ve been nice to get this one. But we gotta the positives. We felt like we controlled the game a lot of different times. Just gotta find ways to create a little bit more.”

Nathan MacKinnon, Jack Drury, and Logan O’Connor had the goals for the Avs, who led 1-0, and 3-2. Neither team led by more than a goal at any time. Colin Blackwell got the game-winner for Dallas after sitting as a healthy scratch in Game 1.

Late in the second period, O’Connor put the Avs ahead 41 seconds after exiting the penalty box. He shot the puck over goalie Jake Oettinger on his backhand while falling to the ice. The first goal and fourth point of the series for O’Connor looked like it might be a game-changer.

But the Stars came out for the third period on a mission, and Evgenii Dadonov beat goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood to make it 3-3.

The late penalty was a hook called on Mikko Rantanen. Colorado couldn’t score in the 1:26 of PP time to end regulation or the 34 seconds that started OT.

Both teams exchanged chances but the more dangerous opportunities came from the Stars. Early in the period, Blackwood robbed Mason Marchment on the doorstep with a sliding pad save. But the Stars kept pressing, and Blackwell tallied the winner.

Blackwood stopped Blackwell’s first chance, but the rebound was buried. The puck sat a few feet ahead of Blackwood with no defenders around to clear it away. Miles Wood, trailing back after a turnover, ran into Erik Johnson, and both players couldn’t regroup fast enough. Blackwell got there first.

“He came out of the corner really quickly [on the rebound], and I was facing kind of up ice and not to the post,” Blackwood said, recalling the overtime winner. “So he kind of beat me to the spot.”

The next two games will be played at Ball Arena, and the Avs, after winning Game 1, now control home-ice advantage. Taking Game 2 could’ve put added pressure on the Stars.

“Every time you lose a game that you played pretty good, you lose an opportunity to take control of the series,” Bednar said. “But like, they’re going to have something to say about it, too, right? So we controlled part of that game, and they controlled part of it, and a lot of it was played pretty even.

“That’s life when you’re playing a team like the Dallas Stars.’’

The Stars didn’t quite have a strong start to the game, but they did come out with a clear plan to throw the body around. They had several big hits early, knocking down both MacKinnon and Johnson on the same shift.

But the Avs didn’t let that deter them from playing their game. They had most of the chances early, eventually drawing a penalty when Marchment tripped Wood.

On the ensuing power play, MacKinnon wired a wrister past goalie Oettinger to make it 1-0. The lead held until the later stages of the first period. Colorado had chances to add to the lead, but Oettinger shut them down.

Before the break, Parker Kelly was called for holding, and Tyler Seguin scored on the man-advantage to make it 1-1.

The momentum carried into the second, and Thomas Harley shot it past Blackwood to give Dallas its first lead of the series.

It didn’t last long. Just 62 seconds to be exact before Drury answered quickly to even the score at 2-2.

It was the first of two big goals from Colorado’s fourth line.

“You’re looking at the pace and physicality and disciplined hockey from both sides throughout the course of the game, there’s no let-up,” Bednar said. “That means the depth is there throughout both lineups.”

Then the penalties began to pile on. First, a tripping call on Mikael Granlund that the Avs were unsuccessful on. Then, Joel Kiviranta was nabbed for interference, but Dallas failed to capitalize.

In the later stages of the period, the Avs had to weather a storm of opportunities for the Stars after taking two more penalties. Josh Manson was called for interference; the Avs were great in the first half of that kill. They even got a 2-on-1 break from O’Connor and Kelly but the latter shot it just wide of his target.

The Stars’ PP sent it back the other way and pinned Colorado in its zone long enough for O’Connor to take a tripping penalty. The seven seconds of a two-man advantage didn’t amount to much, and the remainder of O’Connor’s penalty was killed.

The game ended with the shots at 39-37 in favor of the home team. Blackwood made 35 saves and Oettinger stopped 34.

Bad: Wood’s ‘Exceptional’ Game Spoiled in Overtime

By the time overtime had begun, Wood was a net positive for the Avs. He drew the penalty that directly led to the opening goal and filled in nicely for an injured Ross Colton on the third line.

But the overtime blemish — a gigantic black mark on his overall performance — might erase everything else that came before it. It even seemed like Wood himself felt defeated after the turnover that led to Blackwell’s winner.

“The last goal was my fault,” he said postgame.

The Avs obviously have a giant elephant in the room in captain Gabriel Landeskog, who was possibly an option to play tonight. Instead, they opted for Wood.

You have to imagine Bednar has another lineup decision to consider before Wednesday.

Good: Coyle Quickly Becomes PK Leader

Charlie Coyle was exceptional on the PK and is quickly becoming the go-to option for the Avs. Every time Colorado took a penalty, Coyle jumped over the boards to win a big faceoff. There was none bigger than the draw he took when Dallas had seven seconds of a 5-on-3 opportunity late in the second period. He won it with authority and sent the puck down the ice to help get Manson out of the box.

Coyle played 2:59 of PK time, trailing only Jack Drury (3:04) among forwards.

It’s hard to quantify all of the things Coyle brings to the table for the Avs. But among those is a strong forecheck at even strength, and an aggressive PK ability where he uses his long reach to pressure the puck holder.

We’re starting to see why the Avalanche used as many assets as they did to acquire him.

The post Good & Bad: Stars Fight Back, Tie Series With Overtime Winner appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — April 7.

Colorado Hockey Now

Miles Wood had himself a road trip. After the injuries to Martin Necas and Jonathan Drouin in Chicago, Wood entered the lineup and was paired with center Charlie Coyle on the third line.

After struggling with injuries and inconsistent play for most of the year, Wood is taking full advantage of this latest opportunity. He was one of the bright spots in Saturday’s loss to St. Louis.

Parker Kelly has become a fan favorite as of late. I spoke to him and Jack Drury about the improved fourth line and Kelly’s new role back on the wing. This one’s behind the paywall, and a great time to get subscribed to CHN+ ahead of the 202 Stanley Cup Playoffs. We’re less than two weeks away from Game 1!

Around The NHL

Alex Ovechkin, The Greatest Goal Scorer in NHL History: You couldn’t script a better conclusion to the Gr8 Chase. Ovechkin scored a marvelous power-play goal assisted by longtime teammate Tom Wilson. It was right above the circle, and with the same release he’s used to scored hundreds of goals in the past.

Then, the epic celebration, where he mimicked his fountain celebration in Vegas after winning the Stanley Cup.

Kudos to the NHL for hosting a great ceremony. Loved seeing Wayne Gretzky speak to the crowd before Ovechkin got a chance to do the same. The back-and-forth between Ovi and Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin was pretty funny, too.

NYI Hockey Now: The Isles ended up winning 4-1, but I really don’t think anyone in Washington cared about the loss all that much. With the record behind them, they can refocus for these last five games before the postseason begins.

Montreal Hockey Now: Lane Hutson keeps making history. And another Habs win means Montreal now has an 85% chance of qualifying for the postseason, according to MoneyPuck.

Detroit Hockey Now: The Red Wings could maybe make things interesting, but they’ll have to beat the Habs in regulation on Tuesday to get the ball rolling. Detroit defeated Florida on Sunday.

Florida Hockey Now: The Panthers became the first team to rest some of their stars after officially clinching a playoff spot the previous night.

Ottawa Hockey Now: The Sens had a perfect weekend, with two shutouts, to keep ahead of the pack in the wildcard race. They’re likely locked into the first wildcard spot and potentially setting up a Battle of Ontario in the first round.

I loved watching the Leafs and Sens go head-to-head in the postseason when I was a kid. The last time they played was in 2004, when I still lived in Toronto. Those were some good times.

Philadelphia Hockey Now: Five potential options the Flyers could consider for their next head coach. And yes, David Carle is listed here.

The post Deen’s Daily: 895 Goals! Alex Ovechkin Makes History appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

The post Fearless, Fierce, and Playoff-Bound: Parker Kelly’s New Role With the Avalanche (+) appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

The post 10 Observations: Avalanche Need Something, Anything, To Play For Before Playoffs (+) appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

They came out with a 4-2 victory, thanks to Parker Kelly’s two goals and 22 saves from Scott Wedgewood. Ross Colton had two helpers.

Now, the Avs return home 7-0-1 in their last eight games with an opportunity to pull within a point of Dallas for second in the Central, although the Stars have two games in hand.

The Mikko Rantanen reunion is going to be a slugfest.

As for that game in Calgary, here’s how it went down.

10 Observations

1. Ryan Lindgren, Logan O’Connor, Jack Drury, Colton, and of course, Kelly. Those are the only players to make it on the scoresheet for the Avs before Valeri Nichushkin’s empty-netter. So much for not having depth that can produce, right?

2. Don’t look now, but Colton has nine points in his last eight games. He looks like he’s getting that excitement back in his game (and goal celebrations).

Colton has 15 goals and 10 assists in 50 games. That means he’s right back to where he was a season ago — averaging a half a point per game. This seemed extremely unlikely even jut a week ago.

3. It’s no coincidence that his offensive spark aligns with Nichushkin’s return. Nichushkin has five goals and two assists in those eight games. Him returning meant Colton no longer had to juggle between second and third-line duties with Juuso Parssinen (remember him?)

Nichushkin solidified the top-four winger positions, Colton solidified his spot on the third line, and suddenly, both are producing.

Having forward depth isn’t just simply having more options. It’s about slotting players into appropriate roles and allowing them the best opportunity to produce. This is a clear example of that.

Colton has always been a team first guy. Earlier in the season he repeated several times that he’s open to any role Jared Bednar needs him to play. Whether its at center, in the bottom six, on the top line, or on the power play. Even with that in mind, I bet Colton appreciates the consistency he has now on that line with Charlie Coyle and Joel Kiviranta. Having steady linemates means more chemistry and comfortability.

4. Between Kelly’s two goals against Calgary, the shots were 13-2 for the Flames, and they broke Scott Wedgewood’s shutout bid in the process. Solid bit of work by Kelly to make it 3-1.

Quite frankly, before he made it 2-0, Calgary was starting to come on strong. Both of his goals were a massive gut punch for the home team.

5. Pretty quiet couple of road games for Brock Nelson. If there’s a game for him to find his stride, it’s the next one.

Coyle isn’t producing much either but that’s not his main focus. That third line had a solid game against the Flames.

The trio of Coyle, Colton, and Kiviranta had a heck of a night.

“As long as those other lines are playing good defensively, playing the right way, and chip in offensively, that’s when you see great teams emerge,” Coyle said. pic.twitter.com/GBY7x3dI6q

— Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) March 15, 2025

6. Josh Manson’s upper-body injury is bad news. I was a little concerned when he returned to start the second period and even more so when he barely played in it. We saw this happen right before the 4 Nations Face-Off break. They gotta make sure he’s 100% ready before letting him get back out there.

When Manson returned against the Sharks, he was spotted postgame getting onto the back of a golf cart outside of the Avs’ dressing room. The cart is often used to transport players to the X-ray and MRI room. That was four games ago.

An update on Manson’s status is expected on Sunday morning. The Avs and Stars drop the puck at 1:30 pm later that afternoon.

7. I’ve never seen a goalie battle quite like Wedgewood. It seems like every other play in the Avs’ zone leads to some kind of collision with him. But he always manages to get back on his feet and continue to do his thing. That friendly fire run-in with Ryan Lindgren was another example. Calgary scored on that play, though.

Wedgewood’s been everything you want out of a backup. He’s won his last three starts and surrendered just three total goals. If you include the 2-1 loss to Nashville coming out of 4 Nations, Wedgewood has started four of 10 games, giving up five goals. When your backup is that reliable, you don’t need to overplay your starter.

This was a scheduled start for Mackenzie Blackwood before the change was made because he was sick. It can’t hurt to give him more rest before the Dallas game.

Wedgewood is 8-4-0 with a .921 save percentage and two shutouts with Colorado.

8. Things haven’t always looked perfect on the defensive side of the puck for the Avs. But anytime you give up 19 goals in a 10-game stretch, you’re doing something right. Especially when you double it and score 38 goals at the other end.

These numbers include the back-to-back regulation losses coming out of 4-Nations. I would’ve never imagined back then that Colorado would be 7-2-1 in its first 10 games after the break. The only lost point was the shootout in Minnesota.

9. Four players are a team-high +7 since 4-Nations: Artturi Lehkonen, MacKinnon, Kiviranta, and (surprisingly) Sam Malinski. The blueliner was a healthy scratch against Calgary.

This, at least, makes you feel a bit better about the possibility that Manson might be hurt. Malinski’s game has looked better in general since the lengthy break. It’s not just his plus minus rating.

10. That’s 40 wins now with 15 games remaining. Can the Avalanche get to 50 for the fourth straight season?

The post 10 Observations: Colton Benefitting Most From Nichushkin’s Recent Return appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — March 15.

Colorado Hockey Now

The Avs collected three of four points on the road against the two wildcard teams in the Western Conference. On Friday, it was a two-goal effort from Parker Kelly that led the way against the Calgary Flames.

Also, the next Avalanche Mailbag is here! Click the hyperlink and use the comments section in that post to get your questions in before Sunday.

Around the NHL

Vegas Hockey Now: The Golden Knights locked up goalie Adin Hill for six more years. Here’s what it means for their salary cap moving forward.

Detroit Hockey Now: If you’re a long-time Avalanche fan, you’ll appreciate this: The Red Wings playoff hopes are dwindling with each passing loss. The Avs are 7-0-1 in their last eight. Detroit is 1-7-0. This time, falling to the Carolina Hurricanes after a sloppy second period.

Philadelphia Hockey Now: Looking to solidy their goaltending, should the Flyers explore an offseason reunion with Alex Lyon?

Jonatan Berggren isn’t playing much these days. He’s gotta fight to earn more ice time.

Ottawa Hockey Now: It’s been a strange start to the Fabian Zetterlund era in Ottawa. He’s playing on the fourth line.

NYI Hockey Now: Brock Nelson’s former club fought back against the Oilers before losing in OT.

The post Deen’s Daily: Avalanche Point Streak Continues; Red Wings Freefall; Hill Gets Big Vegas Deal appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

Parker Kelly had two goals, and Ryan Lindgren got his first since being acquired by the Avalanche, who defeated the Calgary Flames 4-2 on Friday to improve to 7-0-1 in their last eight games.

Valeri Nichushkin scored an empty-net goal to seal the win.

Colorado led 1-0 after the first and 2-0 after the second period. The top line had just two shots on goal through 40 minutes and finished without a point. The Flames, however, could only muster five shots through the first 35 minutes.

After Kelly made it 2-0 late in the second, the home team woke up and started to take control. They had five shots in the final four minutes of the period before putting 14 on Wedgewood in the third.

Wedgewood finished with 22 saves.

Blake Coleman scored to cut Colorado’s lead down to 2-1 as the ice completely tilted in his team’s favor. In response, Colton, who finished with two assists, did an excellent job forcing a turnover less than three minutes later. He set up Kelly for another tally to regain the Avs’ two-goal lead.

It’s the first two-goal game for Kelly since his rookie season in 2022.

The Flames wouldn’t go away. They continued to press and scored off a fortunate bounce. The puck deflected off Huberdeau and up into the air before coming down, hitting Wedgewood and going in. Lindgren collided with Wedgewood just as the puck went in. Calgary forced the pressure in front of the goal and was rewarded.

Nichushkin ended things shortly after Flames coach Ryan Huska pulled goalie Dustin Wolf for the extra attacker. Wolf made 24 saves.

For the Avs, Wedgewood faced 19 shots in the final 25 minutes of regulation and stopped 17 of them.

Colorado also lost defenseman Josh Manson to an upper-body injury. He left in the first period before returning to start the second. Manson played just five shifts in that period before his night came to an end. He finished the game with 8:52 in ice time and recorded three shots and three hits.

Good: Depth Works Hard, Depth Gets Rewarded

If you were worried about Joel Kiviranta and Kelly as the third and fourth left-wing options, then worry no more. Kiviranta has stepped up his game a lot in recent weeks, especially since getting paired with Charlie Coyle and Ross Colton.

But Kelly has fit much better on the wing than he did at center. And I say that as someone who liked his game down the middle, too.

This might be a crazy trip down memory lane, but Kelly reminds me of T.J. Galiardi during the 2010 postseason against the San Jose Sharks. He’s not the biggest body, and he’s not the strongest guy, but he’ll skate through a wall to complete a forecheck.

He’s certainly for the fearless trait.

More recently, it’s a similar role to what Nicolas Aube-Kubel played in 2022, although Aube-Kubel had shinier offensive numbers.

Kelly was rewarded for an aggressive attack, picking it away from Jonathan Huberdeau before skating in and putting it past Wolf.

Bad: Cale Makar Flubs a Penalty Shot

It would probably make more sense to further highlight the tough game the top-six had, but I wanted to quickly touch on this instead.

Sure, MacKinnon didn’t produce any points in Calgary or Minnesota, but he was averaging five points in every two games during the homestand.

As for Makar, he seemed to have taken a page out of Martin Necas and MacKinnon’s books from the shootout at Minnesota by trying too hard to make a move on the goalie. Like the two forwards, Makar has an incredible shot. I said it last game an I’ll say it again: I’m not sure how many of these they’ll have the rest of the way but keeping it simple needs to be the gameplan.

Each of these guys can skate in, pick a corner, and fire it on goal. They’ll likely score more by doing that than whatever they’ve tried this week.

The post Good & Bad: Kelly Scores 2, Depth Leads Avalanche in Calgary appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

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