All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — August 25.

Colorado Hockey Now

What an unexpectedly fun experience it was at Magness Arena. The Avalanche and DU Alumni both embraced what ended up being a pretty entertaining day all around. From the moment the puck dropped, you can tell many of those guys were having fun. Peter Forsberg still enjoys strapping on the skates. Milan Hejduk looks the same way on the ice as he did 15 years ago. And of course, nobody has more fun doing anything in life than Dan Hinote does playing hockey.

Catch my full recap of the experience below.

READ MORE: Good Vibes and Memorable Moments at the Avalanche’s Alumni Game

Johnson didn’t participate in the game but he was in the booth for Altitude TV. At the end of the game, he shared his thoughts on what he’s hoping to accomplish in the coming weeks. EJ is a free agent, but he’s not ready to walk away from the game.

READ MORE: UFA Erik Johnson Still Wants to Play in the NHL

Around The NHL

Vegas Hockey Now: Like Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel became eligible for a contract extension on July 1. Why hasn’t he signed yet?

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Was the original plan in 2022 for Evgeni Malkin to sign elsewhere as a free agent?

Detroit Hockey Now: The Red Wings didn’t add much after acquiring goalie John Gibson. But in free agent James Van Riemsdyk, they like the versatility he brings.

Florida Hockey Now: Evan Rodrigues had quite the day with the Stanley Cup over the weekend.

The post Deen’s Daily: Successful Avalanche Alumni Game; Erik Johnson Wants to Keep Playing appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

He was in the booth for Altitude TV, offering his time to the franchise he loves, despite being an unrestricted free agent without a contract.

Even though training camp begins in less than a month, the 37-year-old defenseman is not ready to call it quits. He wants to continue playing, and he made that clear at the conclusion of the Altitude broadcast.

Was great to see and catch up with Erik Johnson tonight at Avs/DU alumni event.

One of the things he mentioned to me was what he also just said on the Altitude broadcast… he wants to play next season in the NHL, but is still waiting to see what the next few weeks bring.

— Jesse Montano (@jessemontano_) August 25, 2025

Johnson returned to the Avalanche on trade deadline day in March. He ended up appearing in 14 games down the stretch and another two in the playoffs. But the team didn’t re-sign him before July 1. Nor did he put pen to paper on a contract with Colorado or any other team after free agency began.

Avs general manager Chris MacFarland noted at the draft that he’d circle back with some of the team’s UFA’s if they were still available. He referenced Ryan Lindgren, who ended up signing with Seattle. He also mentioned Jonathan Drouin, the forward that departed for Long Island.

Joel Kiviranta ended up coming back, signing a contract earlier this month. But Johnson remains the one notable Colorado UFA still on the market. And I’m not entirely sure if the team has a spot for him after adding Brent Burns in July and re-signing Sam Malinski before free agency.

Colorado is one of the few teams with ample depth on the right side. They have Cale Makar and Josh Manson manning the top two pairs, which means one of Malinski or Burns is probably going to play on the left side. And with Keaton Middleton as an extra option, it would mean the Avs would have to carry eight defensemen if Johnson returns.

Could he land a professional tryout as a depth piece with the club? Perhaps. But I just can’t see it happening without another trade or move on the blueline.

Colorado is his preferred destination, but at this point, it might take another club to offer a contract or PTO for Johnson to be on a roster come opening night.

The post UFA Erik Johnson Still Wants to Play in the NHL appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — August 14.

Colorado Hockey Now

I’m trying my best to enjoy what’s left of the summer but, I have to admit, I’m craving hockey news.

This is honestly one of the better summers I’ve had in years. Maybe it’s because of the longer break, or maybe it’s the wonderful weather we’ve had (I’m up to 315 miles of running since early May).

Perhaps my first summer as a married man has something to do with it, too.

Either way, I’m off to Michigan to spend some time on the lake before things get going. Some of the guys are already skating informally at Family Sports and I imagine the rest will trickle in shortly after Labor Day weekend.

Most of them are probably going to make their way back from Italy soon. At least that’s what it seems like according to Erik Johnson’s hilarious Instagram stories.

I’m pretty sure Nathan MacKinnon got married over the past few days or so, and from what I can gather, it does look like it was a destination wedding. I don’t know any of this for sure and don’t want to dig much because it’s not really my place to do that.

Anyway, EJ posted a video of him grabbing a lobster from a tank and scaring MacKinnon with it.

The next day? He took it a step further. His next victims were Logan O’Connor, Josh Manson, Gabe Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen, and even MacKinnon’s dad, Graham. It looks like they’re all having a great time before the work begins.

Erik Johnson is a menace pic.twitter.com/f9zkyIbSHG

— Jesse Montano (@jessemontano_) August 13, 2025

To continue the trend of on-brand offseason content, here’s a story about a list released by NHL Network, ranking the top-20 defensemen in the game today. You’ll never believe who they have at No. 1 (I kid, I kid).

READ MORE: NHL Network Lists Makar as Top Defenseman; Toews Cracks Top-20

Around The NHL

Montreal Hockey Now: I’m excited to see what the Habs can do this season. One of their big offseason adds, Zack Bolduc, is excited to get going.

The post Deen’s Daily: Erik Johnson is a menace; Makar Tops NHL Network List 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.

Players in other organizations share those same sentiments. That is, of course, unless you have to face Colorado with Landeskog in the lineup.

“Is he gonna come back the day that we play against him, and we’re screwed?” Charlie Coyle joked, remembering his time with the Boston Bruins when the Landeskog recovery was followed from afar.

When someone perseveres to the level Landeskog has, it becomes a league-wide story. Players around the NHL take notice of what’s possible. After all, injuries could come to anyone at any time, and the road to recovery isn’t always easy.

Being able to draw inspiration from Landeskog could help.

“You’re always curious about things and what certain guys are going through, especially when it’s this long of a recovery,” Coyle said. “You never know if you could be in a similar situation later.”

Coyle and fellow centerman Brock Nelson have never suited up alongside Landeskog. That looks like it’s going to change soon.

They were acquired before the March 7 trade deadline to shore up Colorado’s center depth. Nelson, like Coyle, admitted that he was following Landeskog’s recovery while playing on Long Island.

“I think there are a lot of guys around the league that followed it a little bit,” he said. “The hockey community is a tight one and seeing the support for him now proves that.

“You’re ultimate competitors, and you go out there and you battle one another, and you play hard and a physical game, but at the end of the day, everyone obviously wants to see each other do well, and have healthy careers.”

Landeskog’s return has not yet been confirmed, but it’s leaning that way. After his successful two-game stint in the AHL over the weekend, the Avs announced Tuesday morning that they were cutting his conditioning stint short. He recorded a goal and an assist on Saturday after making his return to professional hockey on Friday.

Landeskog rejoined the Avs for optional practice and is slated to take part in Wednesday’s full-team skate.

The secret is slowly trickling out that his return is getting close to becoming a reality.

Erik Johnson told the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast that they’re expecting to have Landeskog back for Game 1. Fellow blueliner Devon Toews told Altitude Sports Radio to “tune in and find out” when asked if the now 32-year-old captain will play in the playoff opener.

We might not get confirmation until Saturday’s morning skate.

“To see a guy make a comeback is a testament to his character and his work ethic,” Nelson said.

The post Landeskog’s Potential Return Has NHL Talking appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

Without them, or Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Josh Manson, Ryan Lindgren, Ross Colton, or Jonathan Drouin, the Avs defeated the Anaheim Ducks 4-2, mounting a third-period comeback after surrendering the first two goals.

Colorado scored all four of its goals in a 9:07 stretch, getting tallies from Wyatt Aamodt, Jack Drury, Charlie Coyle, and Erik Johnson. Scott Wedgewood got the nod in goal, making 18 saves to finish the season 13-4-1 with Colorado since being acquired in November. Wedgewood is 8-0-1 in his last nine games.

The Ducks opened the scoring late in the first period off a tally from Mason McTavish. They added to the lead 7:35 into the second period with a goal from Sam Colangelo.

The score remained 2-0 for well over 20 minutes of gameplay. Then the comeback began.

Aamodt’s goal, the first of his NHL career, came with 9:55 remaining in regulation to pull the Avalanche within a goal. Colorado continued to control play and eventually got a power play.

On that advantage, Drury redirected a point shot from Sam Malinski to tie things up at 2-2.

But they weren’t done.

Coyle wired it from the circle with 2:09 remaining to put the Avs ahead. His 17th of the season, along with an assist on the Drury goal, helped him extend his point streak to six games. Coyle has two goals, eight assists, and 10 points during that stretch.

The empty-netter came from Johnson, who tallied his first Avalanche goal in nearly two years, and first in the regular season in almost three years.

The Avs are off on Monday and will resume practice on Tuesday as they prepare for a first-round matchup against the Dallas Stars.

Good: No Stars, No Quit, No Problem

Good teams have the type of organizational culture to make comebacks like this, regardless of who is or isn’t playing.

Coyle was the leader and proved again why the Avs are lucky to have him through next season. Drury, usually the fourth-line center, also had a multi-point game. He played a career-high 19:32 and didn’t look out of place.

The other depth guys, whether Parker Kelly, Logan O’Connor, or Sam Malinski, also grinded to make this comeback possible. It was nice to see them get rewarded with a lot of ice time.

Malinski played a game and career-high 25:15.

Bad: No Home-Ice Advantage?

I’m not entirely sure the team cares about this anymore. If they did, they wouldn’t have sat as many guys as they did down the stretch.

But home-ice advantage throughout the entire postseason is in jeopardy. There’s a realistic possibility that could see the Avs finish as low as 10th in league standings. The only teams that can’t pass them in the standings are any of the four wildcard teams, the New Jersey Devils, and the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.

The post Good & Bad: Shorthanded Avalanche Close Season With 4-2 Comeback Win in Anaheim appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

Mikko Rantanen vs the Colorado Avalanche in the postseason? Sign me up.

But first, let’s answer some questions about it.

Question from Doug Y.

It seems like Mikko Rantanen was the big loser in his whole situation where he didn’t want to leave Colorado and ended up signing for what the Avs were offering anyway (but for a rounding error). But as for the three eeams (Dallas, Carolina, and Colorado), who won and who lost?

Aarif’s Response

I wouldn’t say Rantanen necessarily lost. He still ended up on a great team and is locked in with a core group that can win a Stanley Cup. Time will tell if he gels with them the way he did with the Avs, though.

But as for the three teams, there’s a scenario where they all come out as winners and there’s a scenario where they all come out as losers. Carolina looks the worst right now because they forced a trade for a superstar player that was very clear about not signing there before they pulled the trigger on the deal. They ended up losing a stud in Martin Necas for a player who they hope can be a stud in Logan Stankoven.

This offseason, they’ll have a ton of cap space and a ton draft capital from the Rantanen trade to Dallas that they can use to acquire other solid players. Right now, they are the big losers. But what if they end up bringing in another stud player via trade using those draft picks?

Dallas is a winner on paper. But if Rantanen doesn’t fit, they can find themselves on the losing end.

The Avs won in the sense that they were able to spread the wealth this year. But time will tell here too on if they made the right decision. What will Necas make on his next deal? What will the Avs do with the leftover cap space?

Question from Doug Y.

Aarif’s Response

Both were expensive, albeit the Nelson trade was a lot more expensive than what the Avs gave up for Lindgren. I think they’ll entertain bringing both back. They have the cap space for a second-line center and will make a push for Nelson to stay, assuming the fit is there.

As for Lindgren, I didn’t think they’d keep him two weeks ago but I’m starting to think they’ll entertain the idea if they can find a way to get off Josh Manson’s contract. What Lindgren asks for will also play a factor in this.

The post Avalanche Mailbag: Do the Avalanche Regret Trading Rantanen? Will Nelson Re-Sign? Is Bednar Still Underrated? appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

The post 10 Observations: 1,000 Career NHL Points — Not Once, But Twice (+) appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — March 11.

Colorado Hockey Now

The Avs finished off a perfect 6-0-0 homestand following a 20-save shutout from Scott Wedgewood. Catch the game recap here ahead of tonight’s back-t0-back in Minnesota.

MacKinnon hit an impressive milestone. Not once, but twice (kind of).

Nice to see Johnson back in the lineup with the Avs, where he belongs. EJ met with media before the game and again reiterated his willingness to accept any role.

Johnson was one of five notable additions in the week leading up to the deadline. Here’s why their chances at making a run for the Stanley Cup have surged down the stretch.

Around the NHL

Chicago Hockey Now: From the Blackhawks, Artyom Levshunov proves he belongs.

 Pittsburgh Hockey Now: If you’re a Leafs fan, you’ve seen this story before. Dan Kingerski writes about how Kyle Dubas is falling into the same bad habits as years past with how he’s navigating Pittsburgh’s roster.

Montreal Hockey Now: An honest analysis from MHN on the Habs’ playoff hopes.

Philadelphia Hockey Now: Another analysis piece — this one about how the Flyers’ trade deadline moves were encouraging.

New Jersey Hockey Now: What to make of Seamus Casey and Simon Nemec’s futures in New Jersey.

NYI Hockey Now: Takeaways from the weekend after the deadline for Patrick Roy’s club.

San Jose Hockey Now: This a great story from Sheng Peng in San Jose. William Eklund spoke about the emotions he’s feeling after his good friend Fabian Zetterlund was traded. Also, he chats about how much he’s sick of losing.

Boston Hockey Now: Brad Marchand meets with media in Florida, begins new chapter with Panthers.

Florida Hockey Now: The most shocking news of the day. Florida Panthers blueliner Aaron Ekblad was handed an automatic 20-game suspension by the NHL for a failed drug test. This is the first time a player has gotten suspended for this since Nate Schmidt seven years ago.

Vegas Hockey Now: The Golden Knights can’t seem to beat the L.A. Kings this year.

Detroit Hockey Now: In a pivotal matchup between Detroit and Ottawa, the Senators stand tall after Linus Ullmark stood on his head.

The post Deen’s Daily: MacKinnon’s Big Milestone; Homestand Perfection; Ekblad Hit With 20-Game Suspension appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

Following Monday’s 3-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at Ball Arena, the Avs closed it out with a perfect 6-0-0 record. They outscored opponents 31-10 in the process and came out of it with a fully healthy lineup and five new additions for the stretch run.

Season-defining, indeed

“We played pretty good hockey, like there was that one game in there, Pittsburgh, that I didn’t love, but I like the way we responded,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “I’m liking what I’m seeing from our group. We have a little bit of everything.”

Nathan MacKinnon had two assists, the first of which was his 1,000th career NHL point. His linemates, Artturi Lehkonen and Martin Necas, had the goals, both of which came early in the third period.

For Lehkonen, it’s his 27th goal in 53 games. And Necas, it’s his sixth goal and 17th point in 16 games with Colorado.

MacKinnon had a whopping six goals and nine assists during the six games at home. He leads the NHL with 102 points.

“You want team success. You want everyone to celebrate accomplishments and wins and everything like that,” MacKinnon said. “This thing is just for me, but it’s a long road, ups and downs, and definitely a cool moment though.”

Through a scoreless 40 minutes, the highlights were a disallowed goal and goaltender Scott Wedgewood stealing the show. More on both of those below.

But in the third period, the Avs came out with a purpose. On the opening shift, the top line cycled the puck, got it on net, and Lehkonen tipped it past goalie Spencer Knight to make it 1-0. That wasn’t all they had.

MacKinnon set up Necas less than three minutes later to double the lead. That was all either team had until Joel Kiviranta capped off the night with an empty-net goal for his 14th of the season.

Wedgewood made 20 saves to earn his second shutout of the season. At the other end, Knight lost for the first time with Chicago, stopping 18-of-20 shots.

Good: Scott Wedgewood Has Himself a Night

The Avs’ backup goalie stole the show, and the heart of every fan in the crowd. He not only had a perfect night, but he did it in a very Marc-Andre Fleury-like way. He was a showman — an entertainer. Simply put: Wedgewood had a lot of fun with this one.

In the first period, Hawks forward Colton Dach collided with him, which took Wedgewood off his skates. The puck trickled out to Connor Bedard and in desperation, Wedgewood lifted his pad while lying on his backside to stop Bedard from shooting it into the open net. There’s no telling if it would’ve counted had the puck gone in, but it was still a beautiful save.

The following period, Wedgewood outwaited Nick Foligno and used his glove to snatch the puck away at the goal line. Wedgewood jumped up after the save with the type of swagger you’d want from your goalie.

He also helped kill off a nearly two-minute-long 5-on-3 power play for the Blackhawks in the second. Somehow, Chicago had only 12 shots through a scoreless 40 minutes, but it felt like he made at least four excellent saves.

After the Avs got a 2-0 lead in the third, Wedgewood got a few more big stops, including a rush attack by Frank Nazar and a Tyler Bertuzzi opportunity from in close.

Bad: Reviews Are Going To Burn the NHL Someday

I do want to preface this by acknowledging that the Avs were offside and that opening goal early in the first period was rightfully waived off. Even MacKinnon admitted it.

But it was close. Really close.

I wanted to go on a bit of a rant about something. I’m not sure if I feel passionate enough about this to hammer it home every time, but I did want to note it today.

At some point, the league needs to determine how far it wants to go with reviews. Every team has a video coach sitting about a hundred yards away from the bench with an earpiece in to signal the head coach to challenge a play. It’s become almost automatic now. Video coaches can slow down plays, send the replay to the screens on the floor beneath Bednar’s feet, and quickly give their team notice that the play was offside.

I feel like it’s gone too far.

Offside reviews in particular were implemented for the obvious calls. And this wasn’t it. Part of me feels like there needs to be a limit on how long the officials can look at it. Or a limit of how much you can slow down a play before determining it was offsides by mere inches.

There’s something awkward about the Avs clearing the bench to celebrate MacKinnon’s 1,000th point only to see it challenged and called back. Again, it was offsides. MacKinnon said they knew that before the call was overturned.

It just feels like someday, we’re going to run into a situation where a big moment is erased because of an offside review. Whether it’s Alex Ovechkin’s record-breaking goal, a crucial playoff overtime tally, or worse — one that can clinch the Stanley Cup. We’re headed down a road where a coach’s ability to slow down the play, call for a challenge, and allow officials unlimited time to review the play is going to lead to a massive PR nightmare.

If you thought the skate in the crease in 1999 was bad, then be prepared for history to repeat itself.

Anyway, I felt it was worth getting that off my chest. Kudos to MacKinnon for eventually reaching the milestone in the third period. I just hate to see cool moments get erased like that.

The post Good & Bad: Wedgewood Shines to Cap off Perfect Avalanche Homestand appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.