All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — August 28.

Colorado Hockey Now

The Avalanche are going to be in the national spotlight this season. For good reason.

Along with the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings, Colorado will have the second most nationally broadcasted games on the calendar this year, appearing on TNT, ABC, or ESPN a combined 17 times. Only Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals (18) will have more games featured. This is potentially Ovechkin’s last year in the NHL, so it makes sense.

Catch the Avs’ full national broadcast schedule below.

READ MORE: Avalanche Will Be Spotlighted on National Broadcasts 17 Times in 2025-26

If you haven’t seen it already, Barrie’s Instagram post that announced his retirement on Tuesday was hilarious.

Also, the Carolina Hurricanes are throwing professional tryouts around ahead of training camp. They’ve added two former Avalanche skaters from last season as invites. Will either of them land a contract? I have my doubts.

READ MORE: Carolina Hurricanes Sign Two Former Avs to PTOs

Around The NHL

McDavid Talks Contract: At the opening day of the Hockey Canada orientation camp, McDavid was asked about his pending contract extension with the Edmonton Oilers right away. Like, it was the first question. At a camp meant for the Olympics. And I don’t blame the reporter at all, this is the biggest story in the league and will be until he signs.

Sportsnet had a write up on the situation. Ultimately, McDavid’s comments on Wednesday made it clear that there is a possibility he won’t sign an extension before opening night. That’s not something anyone would’ve predicted three months ago.

Marner Answers Questions: Mitch Marner was also courted by media on Day 1. As you’d expect, he answered questions that were Leafs related.

The camp continues on Thursday, and I wonder if either of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, or Devon Toews will eventually be made available. I’m curious what they have to say about a wide range of topics after nearly four months since the Game 7 loss. As you can probably tell, I’m excited to get going with media day here in Denver in a few weeks.

San Hockey Now: The Sharks new arena deal includes all kinds of big updates to their home. You can learn more about what’s coming here.

Detroit Hockey Now: The Red Wings have high hopes for Axel Sandin Pellikka. And as you’d imagine, the young Swedish prospect is pretty excited to get going at training camp. I envision he’ll be a huge piece alongside Simon Edvinsson on the second pair for years to come. (That’s if the Wings don’t dangle him as trade bait to get Mason McTavish).

The post Deen’s Daily: McDavid Might Not Sign Before Opening Night; PTOs Abound; Avalanche in National Spotlight appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

* puts vacation on pause to tell you that *

The #Canes have signed defenseman Oliver Kylington and forward Givani Smith to professional tryouts (PTOs).https://t.co/LNgaUddwsR

— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) August 27, 2025

Defenseman Oliver Kylington and forward Givani Smith signed professional tryouts with the Hurricanes on Wednesday, allowing them an opportunity to attend camp and fight for a contract and a spot in the lineup.

Kylington, 28, was an early August free agent signing for Colorado last season. He was one of those players coming off of a rough couple of years but was loaded with talent and potential. Things didn’t end up working out with him and the Avalanche.

He dressed in just 13 games for the Avs and six more after getting dealt. On the ice, Kylington struggled with consistency at both ends of the ice and off the ice, injuries kept him on the shelf for large parts of the season. He finished with a goal and two assists.

Read More: Avalanche Will Be Spotlighted on National Broadcasts 17 Times in 2025-26

Kylington was a contract throw-in by Colorado in the blockbuster deal that sent Calum Ritchie and a first-round pick to the New York Islanders for second-line center Brock Nelson. He was traded again the next day to the Anaheim Ducks for future considerations.

Smith, 27, was also traded twice in 2024-25. The Avs acquired him from San Jose in December in a massive deal that brought Mackenzie Blackwood to Colorado and sent Alexandar Georgiev and Nikolai Kovalenko the other way. Smith played seven games for the Avalanche and six for the Eagles in the AHL, and wasn’t a factor for either squad.

On deadline day, Smith was dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers in a one-for-one trade for Erik Johnson.

The post Carolina Hurricanes Sign Two Former Avs to PTOs appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — December 21.

Colorado Hockey Now

Scott Wedgewood made his first start in eight days on Friday and saved the day for the Colorado Avalanche. The goalie kept the Anaheim Ducks off the board in the first period, eventually ending with 29 saves in a 4-2 Colorado triumph.

Wedgewood lifted the team to victory less than 24 hours after Mackenzie Blackwood did the same in San Jose against his former team. Here are my 10 Observations from the San Jose game. As usual, these are behind the CHN+ paywall but are worth reading after each game.

Subscribe for just $4.49/mo — the price of a latte — for full access to all CHN+ content and + content for all National Hockey Now outlets. You’ll need it for another relatable article linked below!

Around the NHL

San Jose Hockey Now: Givani Smith chatted with Sheng Peng about being moved by San Jose. The forward is excited about his new opportunity with the Avalanche. This is the aforementioned paywall story, which you get access to with a CHN+ membership!

Montreal Hockey Now: Patrik Laine scored a late go-ahead goal on the power play to lift the Montreal Canadiens over the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 4-3. Laine has seven goals since returning from injury to make his Habs debut a few weeks ago.

Every single one of his goals has been scored on the PP. He’s one of 14 players with at least seven PP goals this season. The other 13 have all played at least 29 games. Laine has played eight.

Detroit Hockey Now: Catch the Red Wings’ angle of the loss to Montreal here.

Florida Hockey Now: The St. Louis Blues were the latest victim of the Aleksander Barkov show.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Former Penguins Stanley Cup-winning goalie Matt Murray made his first NHL start in 628 days. He helped the Toronto Maple Leafs win big against the struggling Buffalo Sabres.

The post Deen’s Daily: Goalie Saves the Day; Givani Smith Excited for Avalanche Opportunity; Laine the PP Merchant appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

“We turn some A’s into C’s,” head coach Jared Bednar said, referencing his team’s inability to take advantage of good looks at the net, especially on the power play.

The Avalanche lacked energy and bite in a 4-1 loss to Utah Hockey Club at Ball Arena. They were minutes away from getting blanked before a late tally from Nathan MacKinnon ended the shutout bid for Karel Vejmelka. But that was all the Avs could muster. Colorado fell to 17-14-0 and likely will need a strong bounce back on Saturday against Nashville to avoid a disastrous two games back at home.

“That little extra that you need to create dangerous chances wasn’t there for the whole game,” Bednar said. “And then we got some really good looks and [Vejmelka] made some saves, and we missed the net on some really good looks too.”

Scott Wedgewood got the nod in goal and made 19 saves. Colorado outshot the opposition 24-23 but didn’t get much momentum offensively. The Avalanche had two strong chances where Vejmelka went post to post to make a big save. Other than those, and a late second-period net-mouth scramble, the Avs didn’t have much else going on in the first two periods.

In the third, Artturi Lehkonen was stopped on a breakaway.

“Little bit trouble putting the puck in the net tonight,” Bednar said.

Dylan Guenther led the way for Utah, posting two goals and an assist. The other tally came from third-pair defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok off a point shot that bounced in off Avs defenseman Calvin de Haan. The empty netter came from Kevin Stenlund. Vejmelka made 23 saves at the other end.

For Wedgewood, the first two tallies beat him off bounces off his teammates. And the third was a beautiful tic-tac-toe play from the Utah power play.

“Nothing you can really do. We got guys trying to do the right thing,” Wedgewood said of the first two goals.

Bad: Special Teams

Colorado’s power play continues to be a problem and it’s reaching a level where the coaching staff should probably start to get a little concerned. Against Utah, the Avs had an early second-period PP when it was only 1-0 and couldn’t do anything with it. They had a few good looks and either hit the post or missed the net. Bednar’s “turned some A’s into C’s” comment came when he was asked about this specific power play. He felt the team could’ve done a lot more with the looks they got but couldn’t quite take advantage of what should’ve been grade-A scoring chances.

The Avs then gave up two more goals before getting a length 2:42 of PP time to start the third. Starting a period on the man advantage is never easy and that was again the case as the Avalanche didn’t create much of anything at all.

To make matters worse, the penalty kill was equally as bad. Givani Smith, in his first home game with the Avs, was called for unsportsmanlike conduct after trying to rally the troops with some after-the-whistle rough stuff. Players often toe the line but Smith wasn’t able to take anyone to the box with him, understandably so.

Good: Wedgewood’s welcome

Grasping at straws here, but Wedgewood, despite the loss, referenced the roar he got from the crowd during the player intros. Truly, I could see why the Avs felt having a personality like his in the room was so important. I’m excited to see what Mackenzie Blackwood could bring, too, both on and off the ice.

“I noticed that,” Wedgewood said. “Hopefully I could stay on the good side of the faithful here. I’ve played in this building before, against them, but it’s always been a fun place to play. Unfortunately, we got behind the 8-ball tonight and didn’t give them much to cheer about until the end.”

The post Good & Bad: Avalanche ‘Turned Some A’s Into C’s’ in Home Loss to Utah Hockey Club appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

Blackwood is 6-9-3 in 17 games started this season with one shutout and a .911 save percentage. He has a career .905% SV and an 81-91-25 record in 215 career games played.

10 Observations: How Avs Played One of Their Best Games of the Season (+)

The 28-year-old netminder was selected 42nd overall in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft by the New Jersey Devils. He played five seasons with the Devils before he was traded to the San Jose Sharks on June 27, 2023, for a sixth-round pick in that year’s NHL Draft. He signed a two-year, $4.7 million contract July 1, 2023.

Blackwood and newly acquired Avs goalie Scott Wedgewood were teammates in the Devils organization over parts of the 2016-18 and 2020-22 seasons.

Smith was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings 46th overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. In 161 career games, he has earned 22 points between the Red Wings, Florida Panthers and Sharks.

Georgiev, who was acquired in a trade with the New York Rangers on July 7, 2022, was 86-41-11 with the Avalanche from 2022-25.

Kovalenko earned eight points in the 28 games of his rookie season this year. He made his NHL debut in Game 4 of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

More Avalanche News

• Notebook: Is There a Healthy Goaltending Competition Brewing With the Avalanche?
• Deen’s Daily: Avalanche Complete Perfect Weekend; Laine’s Impact in Montreal
• Good & Bad: Wedgewood Earns First Avalanche Shutout Against Former Team

The post Avalanche Trade Alexandar Georgiev to Sharks for Mackenzie Blackwood appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.