All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — August 22.

Colorado Hockey Now

The Avalanche are already confirmed to be sending two players to the Olympics to represent Team Canada in Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. They’ll likely have a third in Devon Toews.

But could Mackenzie Blackwood also make the team? It felt like he was in the running until Hockey Canada left him and others off the orientation camp invite list. But the general manager of the team isn’t ready to commit to his goalies just yet.

READ MORE: Room for Blackwood? Team Canada GM Says Goalie Competition Is ‘Wide Open’ for Olympics

Around The NHL

Wild, Rossi Re-engage: After a summer of trade rumors and speculation, it sounds like Marco Rossi and the Minnesota Wild are back at the negotiating table, looking to strike a deal before training camp for the restricted free agent.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt as let down from an offseason like I was this year. It’s still August, and things could still happen. But Marco Rossi was supposed to be a big trade chip and nothing happened.

And he’s not the only one. This was supposed to be the summer of trades. Jason Robertson? Rasmus Andersson? Nazem Kadri? Heck, even Martin Necas? Nobody moved. Not yet. And those are just a few of the names we thought would be dealt.

Chicago Hockey Now: Another team signing another inexperienced player before they’ve made their mark in the league. Chicago locked up Frank Nazar to a long-term deal on Thursday, just 56 games into his NHL career.

I’ve written this before, but I go back and forth on these types of deal. They could really, really pay off, but they’re wildly risky. I’ll use this example again: What if the Avalanche tried to get ahead of the game in 2022 and signed Alex Newhook to this kind of deal? He was supposed to be the future permanent 2C, right?

Nazar’s numbers aren’t as good as Newhook’s in 2022, but he was also a higher draft pick with more hype around him. Let’s hope, for their sake, this pays off for the Blackhawks.

Philly Hockey Now: Rick Tocchet is the new head coach for the Flyers and he wants to bring the energy back to their arena.

New Jersey Hockey Now: The Devils are due for a big year. Here are a few burning questions heading into 2025-26 for a team looking to rebound from a tough ending to their season.

Florida Hockey Now: The Panthers took the Stanley Cup on an end-to-end tour of Canada, thanks to some of their star players.

The post Deen’s Daily: Team Canada Goalie Battle; Wild, Rossi Re-Engage; Nazar Signed For How Much? appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

During an appearance on Sportnet’s The FAN Pregame, Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong said the battle for the three goaltending slots for the upcoming Winter Olympics are wide open.

Jordan Binnington, Adin Hill, and Sam Montembeault represented Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off with Binnington playing ever minute of action. They were also the only three goalies invited to Hockey Canada’s orientation camp next week.

“It’s the opposite of what people think,” Armstrong said on Wednesday. “I’ve told the other goaltenders that I’ve talked to that this is the most wide open competition on our team right now. There are probably eight or nine goalies that are fighting for three spots.”

READ MORE: Avalanche Depth Chart: Olofsson Fills Role, but Is He Enough?

Those other goalies weren’t confirmed, but it’s likely a list that includes Logan Thompson, Darcy Kuemper, Stuart Skinner, and Blackwood. If you’re stretching it out, a strong start for Cam Talbot or a breakout for Devon Levi could possibly put them into consideration, too.

So why no invites for the rest? For example, USA Hockey added Joey Daccord as a fourth invite to their camp in Plymouth, Michigan. Canada stuck to the same three from 4 Nations.

“It just didn’t make any sense to bring that many. So instead of picking one or two guys (that weren’t on the 4 Nations roster) and separating them from the other five or six not invited, we decided just to bring the three (from 4 Nations) but let everyone know that this is great competition,” Armstrong said. “It’s the most wide open part of the competition.

“I talked to those other goalies that aren’t there. They understand that, and they understand that being on the long list is like being at camp. If they’re the best goalies come January 1, they’re going to make this team.”

READ MORE: Avalanche Sign Victor Olofsson to One-Year Contract

Armstrong also noted that his longer list of possible goalies are doing paperwork behind the scenes in order to be eligible to be selected for Team Canada. I’d suspect Blackwood can work his way onto the roster with an excellent early part of the season. Albeit, even if he does, I’m not sure what it would take to unseat Binnington from the starters position.

Armstrong and Binnington are both part of the Blues organization, and the goalie’s performance at 4 Nations was not surprising to the GM, even after a tough start to his NHL campaign. He noted that part of the reason why Binnington’s numbers have dropped over the years is because the Blues are not as strong as they were, as a roster, before COVID.

Binnington finally got to play for a strong team again with Team Canada, and showed why he was the backbone of their 2019 Stanley Cup championship.

“It’s easy to forget, but pre COVID (in 2019-20) we were the best team in the Western Conference,” Armstrong said. “And he was leading us.”

The post Room for Blackwood? Team Canada GM Says Goalie Competition Is ‘Wide Open’ for Olympics appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

I still wonder about the center position. On one hand, Chris MacFarland made it clear in June that he really loves having Jack Drury as the fourth-line center. If he starts the year at 3C, it might ultimately mean the Avs don’t have a traditional third line. This was also something the general manager noted at the draft — having two hard-working bottom six lines to go along with the talented top-six the team boasts.

Anyway, here’s where things currently stand on the Avs’ depth chart. Some of the players can play multiple positions, but ideally, this is how they’d stack up.

Centers

1. Nathan MacKinnon
2. Brock Nelson
3. Jack Drury
4. Zakhar Bardakov

Extras: Ivan Ivan, T.J. Tynan, & Jason Polin

If the team doesn’t acquire a centerman to replace Charlie Coyle, you can expect Bardakov to get the first look on opening night, assuming he does well at training camp. MacFarland singled him out specifically in June as someone they’d like to see step up.

Bardakov is already 24 years old and has four years of professional hockey experience in the KHL. He had a breakout last season, posting 17 goals, 18 assists, and 35 points in 50 games. At 6’2, 200 lbs, he’s got the physicality and energy to fill that fourth-line role. It’s just a matter of having his game translate to the NHL, which isn’t always the case.

The Avs got Bardakov from the New Jersey Devils in the Kurtis MacDermid trade.

Drury is 25, and this will probably be the season that determines how his career will shake out. If he gets the 3C opportunity and runs with it, there’s a reality where he locks in a higher AAV contract next summer and become the permanent third-line center on the depth chart.

But if the Avs feel the need to still bring in someone to play ahead of him, it likely means Drury as the 4C would be the plan moving forward. Can he develop into something more in the future? Absolutely. We’ve seen several examples of this in the NHL. But at 25 years old and with two full NHL seasons (plus two other years split with the AHL) under his belt, this would be the time for him to take that next step.

Even if Drury steps up, the Avs still lack depth and need another centerman to avoid moving Parker Kelly or Ross Colton back to the middle at any point. Injuries will probably happen.

The first two lines are set. Let’s hope the Nelson gamble pays off. I have high hopes for him in the Avs’ system with a full training camp and without the shock of a mid-season trade for a guy that had to navigate leaving his family around the trade deadline.

I know the production wasn’t all there, but that line with Gabe Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin did a lot of really good things.

Wingers

1. Martin Necas
2. Artturi Lehkonen
3. Valeri Nichushkin
4. Gabe Landeskog
5. Ross Colton
6. Logan O’Connor (injured)
7. Joel Kiviranta
8. Parker Kelly

Extras: Nikita Prischepov, Gavin Brindley, Matthew Stienburg, Danil Gushchin, Tye Felhaber, Taylor Makar, Chase Bradley, Cooper Gay, & Alex Barre-Boulet 

I figured it would make more sense to combine wingers into one category. Aside from Necas, the other three top-six wingers in Colorado’s lineup all have the ability to play both sides. Even Kiviranta and Colton have played on both wings in their two years under Jared Bednar.

I also wouldn’t read into how I ranked the top four. I simply just went by their total points from last season. Any combination of those four guys in the top six makes sense. We’ll probably see Lehkonen and Necas start with MacKinnon, but I’d love to see Landeskog reunited with MacKinnon at some point. I also loved Nichushkin in 2023-24 on MacKinnon’s wing.

I genuinely can’t think of a combo between those four guys that wouldn’t work.

The third line ended last year with Kiviranta and Jonathan Drouin as the wingers. But Colton also started on that line with Kiviranta before his injury, and before Landeskog came back and pushed Drouin out of the top six.

If nobody else is added to the roster, I suspect Kiviranta and Colton will get the first look with Drury on the third line. And that’ll leave Kelly with Bardakov and whichever other AHLer or rookie that makes the opening night roster. It seems bare. And it is.

And that’s why I can’t imagine the front office stops here. I would suspect at least one more bottom six forward gets signed before opening night, and maybe even before training camp.

But even the waiver wire is going to be interesting to watch this year.

Right Defense

1. Cale Makar
2. Josh Manson
3. Brent Burns
4. Sam Malinski

Extra: Ronald Attard

The addition of Burns is so unbelievably intriguing. This is a guy that played heavy minutes in a very important role for a team in Carolina that made it to the Eastern Conference Final in two of the three seasons he was there.

I don’t imagine Burns is going to be the fifth most used defenseman on the team all year. I also think he might see some time on the left to get a chance to line up with Manson. But in a league where right defensemen are hard to find, the Avs have four that are capable of playing every single night.

If everyone is healthy for opening night, and no other additions are made, I imagine Malinski and Burns will make up the third pair with one of them shifting to their offhand side.

Left Defense

1. Devon Toews
2. Samuel Girard
3. Keaton Middleton

Extras: Sean Behrens & Jack Ahcan

Toews will play with Makar. That we know for sure. But that’s basically all that’s set in stone.

Are the Avs going to keep Girard with Manson? Will he get a look with Burns instead? Or will Manson and Burns load up on the second pair and push Girard down with Malinski? The options are endless.

Middleton is a solid extra and deserves to be around the team full-time. He’ll play a lot again this year if or when injuries happen.

Goaltending

1. Mackenzie Blackwood
2. Scott Wedgewood

Extras: Trent Miner & Ilya Nabokov (loaned to the KHL)

The Lumbar Yard is back, and they’re here for a full season this time around. This should be an exciting year in goal for the Avs.

If injuries strike here, Miner will probably be the main guy to get call-ups, just like last season. And Nabokov, who is on loan in the KHL, will be able to join the organization, likely in the AHL, once his season ends in Russia.

That’s assuming the Eagles qualify for the postseason again.

The post Avalanche Depth Chart: Lineup Coming Together but Still an Unfinished Product appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — August 2.

Colorado Hockey Now

Yesterday I touched on Hockey Canada’s 42 invites to their orientation camp ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics. The same three Avs that played at 4 Nations are all going to the tournament. You can see the full roster below.

READ MORE: MacKinnon, Makar, and Toews Among 42 Hockey Canada Orientation Camp Invites

Getting invited to the camp obviously doesn’t guarantee you a spot on the Olympic roster. You can’t take 42 players. And, traditionally, players that weren’t invited to camp have still been able to play their way onto the roster. Just ask Jamie Benn and Patrick Marleau, who both made the 2014 Team Canada gold medal team despite not being invited to orientation.

Back then, Canada invited six goalies. They likely knew Carey Price would lead the charge but it didn’t stop them from keeping the competition alive in those remaining two goaltending spots. This time, they’re taking a different, more puzzling approach.

Jordan Binnington earned the right to start after his 4 Nations Face-Off success. But, they’re not even trying to have a security blanket at this point. They didn’t invite Logan Thompson, Darcy Kuemper, Stuart Skinner, or Blackwood. It’s strange.

Read more below.

READ MORE: No Blackwood or Thompson? Canada Only Invites 3 Goalies to Orientation Camp

Around The NHL

Florida Hockey Now: As you’d expect, there are several Florida Panthers on Canada’s invite list. And it’s not just guys that played at 4 Nations (Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, and Brad Marchand).

Vegas Hockey Now: I’m genuinely intrigued at how the Western Conference is going to look this year. I don’t think the Minnesota Wild or L.A. Kings took the step they wanted to this year. I still think Winnipeg will be up there despite losing some talent. But four teams in particular are interesting.

The Golden Knights, Avalanche, Stars, and Oilers.

I’ll get into more on each of them as August unfolds, and training camp gets closer. But the Knights are such a fascinating team to watch this year. They’re older than most, and they just lost Alex Pietrangelo, likely for good. However, anytime you add a Mitch Marner, you’re injecting a ton of offense and two-way play into the top of your lineup. How good will Vegas be this year?

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin eras are winding down. Here are five of the more underappreciated teammates they’ve had over the past 20 years.

Boston Hockey Now: James Hagens wants to be a big part of the Bruins future. Does he want to play for them in 2025-26?

The post Deen’s Daily: Canada’s Curious Goalie Decisions; How Good Will Vegas Be This Year? appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

They only named three goalies to the orientation camp roster, despite naming as many as six in previous Olympic events that included NHL players.

At 4 Nations, Jordan Binnington — while having a bad first half of the season — stepped in for Canada, played every minute of the tournament, and walked away with a championship. He was excellent. He did his part and proved the doubters wrong.

But that doesn’t change the fact that the Canadians still made some pretty questionable decisions in the crease. Along with Binnington, Canada took Vegas’ Adin Hill and Montreal’s Sam Montembeault to 4 Nations.

They left behind Logan Thompson, who was having an excellent season with the Capitals, Darcy Kuemper, who ended up finishing second in Vezina Trophy voting and has a Stanley Cup, and the Avs’ new starter Mackenzie Blackwood.

It’s fair that Blackwood just didn’t really have enough time to set himself up for a roster spot. He had just been traded to the Avs two months prior. But Thompson and Kuemper both had solid cases.

Regardless, it’s been months since that tournament. Thompson went on to have a great ending to the season with the Caps, and won a playoff series. While Blackwood, despite falling in the first round, gave the Avs solid goaltending — something they haven’t had since Kuemper.

All three of those guys should be at the orientation camp. Even if Binnington is the undisputed starter. Even if another slow start to the season won’t matter when the Olympics begin, it’s silly for Hockey Canada to not bring others to camp to keep the competition open.

Ultimately, there’s no guarantee that attending the orientation camp automatically earns you a roster spot. In 2014, Team Canada’s gold medal-winning roster included Jamie Benn and Patrick Marleau, but neither was invited to the camp.

So it is possible to play your way in, or out, of consideration.

But why not bring them? Why make it clear that you want Hill and Montembeault as the two backups? What if injuries arise? There are no limits on how many players you can invite to this camp.

Blackwood was invited to the 2022 camp before the NHL eventually backed out of the tournament. He’s been on Hockey Canada’s radar before. So why put yourself in a situation where you’re calling him, Thompson, Kuemper, or someone else to step in for the Olympics after not inviting them to the camp?

It’s all very puzzling.

Canada won 4 Nations largely because Binnington made some great saves in key moments. I won’t take that away from him. But what if he completely blows it in the first game or two of the Olympics? Why wouldn’t you want the next best guy there?

Canada started with Martin Brodeur in goal in 2010 before shifting to Roberto Luongo after Brodeur’s bad start. If, after all, Binnington can’t lead the charge, are you comfortable with Hill or Montembeault stepping in, no questions asked, no competition, regardless of how their season’s have gone?

Blackwood should’ve been invited. I stand by that.

But now it’s up to him to have the type of start that changes management’s mind.

The post No Blackwood or Thompson? Canada Only Invites 3 Goalies to Orientation Camp appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — July 20.

Colorado Hockey Now

I’m probably going to bump this piece to the front of the website on Monday morning again. But yesterday, I went through every single NHL goalie contract signed (minus ELC’s) since Blackwood locked up his extension in December.

The purpose of the exercise was to see if the Avs made the right move — if they got a good deal or if they rushed and overpaid their starter given his previous track record.

Basically, it’s 2,000 words on goalie contracts, and it’s a nice slow-part-of-the-offseason read. This one is behind the CHN+ paywall just because of the crazy amount of time it took to research and write.

But hey, promo code Deen10 gets you 25% off an annual subscription to CHN+ content. Also, a subscription also eliminates ALL of those dreadful advertisements you see on the website right now. It makes the experience that much better. Not bad for a few dollars a month if you ask me.

Read More: How Does Mackenzie Blackwood’s Contract Stack Up Against the Goalie Deals That Followed? (+)

I had mixed reactions to my story earlier in the week about the Avs, and how they should target Chinakhov if, in fact, the Blue Jackets move him before training camp.

Aaron Portzline of the Athletic wrote a follow-up early Sunday morning about the relationship between team and player. If you have a subscription to their website, you can read it here.

Ultimately, Portzline noted that Chinakhov got treatment for his back in Russia during the 4 Nations break and his injury issues are behind him. He also noted that Chinakhov’s agent said his client wants to play a top-six role. Columbus could make that work this season if they really wanted to.

The Avs? Not so much. At least not now. And that’s fine.

After Brent Burns signed with Colorado, I remember Elliotte Friedman had a segment on his podcast where he mentioned that the Canes wanted to bring Burns back, but they told him he’d play a more limited role than the first pair spot he’d had with them the past three years.

Friedman said Burns preferred to play a limited role elsewhere rather than on the team where he’d been a key piece. And that this is often the case with athletes who are told they no longer will get the ice time or role they once had.

Chinakhov, if acquired by the Avs, wouldn’t have a top-six spot until an injury arises, which, likely, will happen at some point. But it’s also worth noting that Martin Necas hasn’t signed an extension, Artturi Lehkonen has two years remaining on his deal, and between Valeri Nichushkin and Gabe Landeskog, you might be able to squeeze in quite a bit of time in the top six.

If Chinakhov came to Colorado, I could see something like that working out for him. He’d eventually be a key piece and that next era of talent to play in the top six. It just wouldn’t happen right away. If the Avs are interested, he’d be silly not to play the long game to be part of a team like this. Again, this is all assuming the Avs try to acquire him.

Anyway, here’s what I wrote earlier in the week about him.

Around The NHL

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Kyle Dubas was on the PDOcast on Friday, and had a lot of great insights about his plan moving forward.

Philly Hockey Now: Predicting Matvei Michkov’s next contract with the Flyers.

New Jersey Hockey Now: Three destinations that make sense for Nico Daws, if or when he’s traded (before the Devils have to put him on waivers and likely lose him for free).

Vegas Hockey Now: Here’s a spoiler on one of those three locations. The Vegas Golden Knights. Why they might be interested in someone like Daws.

Detroit Hockey Now: One of Detroit’s Russian Five legends was fired from his duties as head coach in the KHL. He was hired in June, and didn’t even get to coach a game yet. And they say NHL coaches have a short shelf life.

The post Deen’s Daily: What Chinakhov Wants from Columbus; Did Avs Make Right Move with Blackwood Extension in December? appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

The post How Does Mackenzie Blackwood’s Contract Stack Up Against the Goalie Deals That Followed? (+) appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

Nabokov, 22, was the Avs’ top draft pick in the 2024 NHL draft. They traded down from their late first rounder and selected the overage Russian prospect No. 38 overall.

Listed at 6’1, 179 lbs, Nabokov spent the 2024-25 season with Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the KHL, posting a 23-17-6 record with a 2.22 goals-against average, a .923 save percentage and three shutouts in 49 regular-season games.

He spent two years with Metallurg, compiling a 46-30-9 record, 2.19 GAA, .926 save percentage, and six shutouts in 93 games.

Nabokov helped Metallurg capture the 2024 Gagarin Cup, recording a 1.82 GAA and .942 save percentage, and four shutouts while becoming the youngest goaltender to be named playoff MVP.

Colorado has been very high on Nabokov sign drafting him. Its felt like a sure thing since last June that he was a big part of their future plans.

Its unclear at this time where Nabokov will play next season but I imagine they’ll want him in the AHL as the Colorado Eagles starter.

The Avs are set in goal right now with Mackenzie Blackwood starting a five-year contract. Backup goalie Scott Wedgewood has one more year remaining on his deal.

If all goes, Colorado could slowly develop Nabokov’s game without desperately pushing him into a starter role with the big club. At some point, I’d imagine a tandem of Blackwood and Nabokov is the goal for the front office.

The post Ilya Nabokov Signs Two-Year Entry-Level Contract With Avalanche appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

This one had a nice range of questions that were fun to answer. Check it out and let me know what you agree or disagree with in the comments below. And if you haven’t yet, give the other two mailbags a read.

Read More: Avalanche Mailbag 1.0: Coaching, Management, & What Went Wrong in the Playoffs?

Read More: Avalanche Mailbag 2.0: Revisiting the Mikko Rantanen Saga

Question Tongue-n-Cheek

Does MacKinnon still believe in and stand by his statement that you can’t win with kids? Is that why the development system is non-existent, because MacK runs the show?

Aarif’s Response

I’ve learned over the years that Nathan MacKinnon tends to sometimes say things without completely meaning them. He’s an emotional guy and sometimes makes hyperbolic statements (see the next question for another example of this).

With that being said, I think this comment was somewhat misunderstood. I don’t think this was directed at guys like Casey Mittelstadt or the idea of adding players in their mid-20s. I believe it was more directed at trading picks and prospects like Calum Ritchie, Will Zellers, etc.

MacKinnon is basically saying that he couldn’t care less about the prospects and draft picks the Avs trade away. He’s not interested in the kids who enter the system and get developed. For example, I think a lot of people thought Peyton Krebs was going to be a star when the Golden Knights traded him, but the guy coming back was Jack Eichel. MacKinnon doesn’t care what Ritchie might eventually become. He’s more interested in what Brock Nelson can provide. Which, offensively, didn’t end up being much in the playoffs.

Basically, to me, MacKinnon was more or less saying that the team added Nelson, Charlie Coyle, and Erik Johnson while only subtracting Mittelstadt from the roster. That in itself was a positive at the time.

Also, no, I don’t think MacKinnon runs the show. They didn’t even tell him they were trading Rantanen.

Question from Chris Leeper

To quote MacKinnon: “I don’t know what we’re going to do.” I’ll simply ask you, what in the world are the Avs going to do?

Aarif’s Response

This offseason worries me. It really does. There are so many different routes the Avalanche can take and hopefully they go the right way.

The most important task for me is for Chris MacFarland to build a complete roster before the trade deadline. You can’t keep relying on Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar to drag this team to a second or third seed in the Central Division until the trade deadline.

Teams like Dallas were a complete roster that used the deadline to build off of that. That’s what the Avs did in 2022. Meanwhile, the last two years have been a repeated pattern of having no second line and little to no depth until March. And to me, that’s the reason why this team hasn’t won the division in the last two years.

Home-ice advantage matters. So does the No. 1 seed in this division.

No excuses this year. You have a healthy Gabe Landeskog, and you know where you stand with the salary cap. Figure things out and build a team that helps MacKinnon and Makar in October. Not March.

Question from Steve Carlander:

“The Cup window is closing” seems to be a common sentiment lately amongst Avs fans. I’m assuming this is based on MacKinnon and Makar being in their prime. Do you agree that there is a Cup window, and if so, how many more years do you see the Cup window as being open?

Aarif’s Response

It’s still very much open because this team is still very much loaded with talent — even if it’s hard to see that right now.

I don’t want to ignorantly say that any year with MacKinnon and Makar in their prime is a year where we can expect the Avs to make the playoffs and contend for the Stanley Cup. There’s a lot more that goes into having a playoff streak like the one Colorado has right now.

But this roster is loaded. I do believe they have an opportunity to have a deeper lineup for opening night than they did at any point last year before the trade deadline. And perhaps better given that they can use the entire regular season to build chemistry.

Question from Donald Cooley

If Makar’s stick doesn’t break, what would have been the result of the game?

Aarif’s Response

This one hurts, doesn’t it?

I’m not entirely sure if it changes the game. Maybe it does. But Dallas was pushing really hard, and it felt like tying the game up was inevitable. Momentum is a crazy thing.

If anything, I would’ve loved to see the Avs score on that power play well before Makar broke his stick. They were already on the man advantage for a little more than a minute before he broke his stick. That killer instinct could’ve sunk any hope Dallas had of mounting a comeback.

Question from Joseph Crotty

Aarif, great job this season. Thank you for your stellar coverage!

Having Landy back starting in Game 3 was a huge bonus for the end of the year. He had a tangible impact in nearly every game, save a poor Game 7. But I can’t help but feel that Game 2 could have been a win if Landy had played in place of Wood. I know the organization said Landy wasn’t ready until Game 3, but it was clearly a cat-and-mouse game Bednar played on his availability. Do you think he wasn’t yet ready, or was it rather a case of them wanting Landy’s return at home to capitalize on merch sales and the hoopla of his return?

Aarif’s Response

First off, I appreciate you following along all year, Joseph. Honestly, I appreciate all the readers. I know it can sometimes be toxic in the comments section, but we have an incredibly passionate community on this website. And honestly, this job wouldn’t be as fun without all the discussions we’ve had here throughout the year.

I honestly side with the Avs here. I don’t think it was a matter of saving Gabe Landeskog for Ball Arena or merch sales at home. But I do think that the playoffs starting a week after his conditioning stint was too soon for him to play. At least that’s what both he and the coaching staff felt. Both parties likely wanted him to get a certain amount of practices before playing, which wouldn’t have been possible until Game 3.

When Ross Colton got injured, the idea of rushing Landeskog probably wasn’t something they wanted to do. So I get it. They had depth with Miles Wood and Jimmy Vesey and chose to go that route instead. The fact that Wood directly impacted the Stars’ OT winner made this a bigger story than it should be.

I wonder how things would’ve played out in an alternate universe where Colton doesn’t get hurt. Who sits for Game 3? Who does Landeskog line up with?

Question from Jade

Can we help the goalie more? Mackenzie Blackwood was amazing during the series, except he needs to be inside the goal when the opponents are so close, so that we don’t have goals in the gap beside him. It feels like something was off with Makar. Do you agree?

Aarif’s Response

Makar was definitely off. But it doesn’t sound like it was injury-related. Either that or the organization is keeping that under wraps so it’s not blasted everywhere. But Makar was not that good for his standards in the postseason. That we can all agree on.

Blackwood looked solid to me. It was great to see him have a strong first four games and get a shutout in there. I also liked that when the Avs came out for the third period trailing by a goal with their backs against the wall in Game 6, he shut the door the rest of the way. I’m excited to see him grow over the next half decade.

Question from Matt Briggle

Have there been any updates on how Sean Behrens is doing? Is he still on track to be ready for camp in the fall?

Aarif’s Response

I wish I had seen this question beforehand so I could ask about him. But as far as I know, he should be ready to go for training camp in September. If anything changes, I’ll write something up about it.

The post Avalanche Mailbag 3.0: Landeskog’s Return, MacKinnon’s Comments, Goaltending, & More appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

Rantanen scored an empty-net goal to finish the hat trick while adding an assist on the eventual game-winning goal to lead the Dallas Stars to a 4-2 Game 7 victory. The Avs led 2-0 with 12:11 remaining before the collapse began. The game winner was scored with Jack Drury in the penalty box — one of the two pieces Colorado got for Rantanen when they sent him to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Now, Colorado heads into the offseason with far more questions than answers while watching the superstar they traded advance to the second round after getting the last laugh.

Still, Rantanen wouldn’t commit that getting revenge was top of mind. Even after scoring a hat trick and recording four points in the last 12 minutes. Even after leading the series with 12 points. Even after getting 11 points in the last three games, and was everything the Stars wanted when they traded for him.

It was another reminder of just how much respect he has for his teammates. And how badly he wanted to stay.

“It’s only a couple of months since I was still with [Colorado] and chasing a playoff spot,” Rantanen said after the game. “Now, all of a sudden, a couple months later, playing against them in a Game 7.”

Colorado’s goals came from Josh Manson and Nathan MacKinnon. The second tally came early in the third period to make it 2-0. It felt like the Avs were going to find a way to win a Game 7 for the first time in the MacKinnon era. It felt like they had what it takes.

But Rantanen had other thoughts.

Rantanen’s first goal was a wrister from the slot. The Avs gave him room to walk in, and he wired it past Mackenzie Blackwood to bring the Stars within a goal.

Three minutes later, Dallas forward Matt Duchene was called for tripping, sending the Avs on the power play with a chance to restore their two-goal lead.

Instead, Makar broke his stick off a shot from the point and had to track back and defend without one. He ended up getting called for tripping on the desperation play, which led to 47 seconds of 4-on-4 before a Dallas power play. Colorado finished 0-for-3 on the man advantage.

On that Stars power play, Rantanen swung around the net and completed the wrap-around with a puck that caromed in off of Samuel Girard. Dallas had not completed a two-goal comeback in the third period all season.

But it was a brand new game.

Two minutes later, Drury was called for holding, a penalty that simply can’t happen at that point in the game. He argued his case all the way to the box. It was the game changer. The one that sank the Avs.

Wyatt Johnston scored 17 seconds later to give Dallas its first lead of the game with just 3:56 remaining. Both Duchene and Rantanen assisted on the goal.

Colorado pulled its goalie to attempt to tie it up, but to no avail. Rantanen added an empty-net goal in the dying seconds to complete the hat trick and send his former team packing.

The post Season Over: Mikko Rantanen Gets Last Laugh — Avalanche Blow It in Game 7 appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.