Articles in Colorado Avalanche

via Mark Kiszla of the Denver Gazette,

When Cale Makar mines Orr, we all strike gold.

Watching Makar do Bobby Orr things, as the 25-year-old Avs defenseman skated coast to coast with the puck velcroed to his stick, weaving through not one, not two, not three, but four Jets as if they were standing still and scoring a goal so sweet it deserved to be all 10 of ESPN’s top plays on this Sunday, the jaw dropped in disbelief.

Not my jaw, mind you. I was too busy slapping my forehead, trying to make sense of Makar’s magic.

I’m talking about the jaw of poor Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck. After he scraped his mandible off the ice of Ball Arena with the crowd going wild for Makar’s goal, this best-of-seven NHL playoff series was over.

Next!

Bring on Dallas or Las Vegas. Although the Jets remained one game from elimination after Colorado’s 5-1 victory, they’re already packed and ready for vacation in Cancun.

Asked to describe his score that drove a stake through Winnipeg’s heart, Makar went 100% hockey humble, insisting: “It was a little bit of a lucky one.”

Au contraire, young Mr. Makar. We’re the lucky ones.

Although I could sit mesmerized in my chair and watch Makar score the Avalanche’s third goal of Game 4 on a continuous loop all day, until I fell asleep and dreamed about it all night, let’s step back and take a look at the big picture, shall we?...

The best three defensemen ever to wear NHL sweaters? That’s a loaded question. While placing Orr at No. 1 is a truth that’s self-evident, I invite argument by selecting six-time champion Doug Harvey of the Canadiens’ dynasty at No. 2 and picking Detroit legend Nicklas Lidstrom over Ray Bourque third.

But given time and health, Makar will crack that top three. And sooner rather than later.

Watch the goal below.

from Sean Keeler of the Denver Post,

Avalanche fans deserve Justus.

Do whatever it takes, Jared Bednar. Nyquil. Mucinex. Voodoo. Anything that gets Avalanche backup goaltender Justus Annunen healthy and ready to start Game 2 of this Avs-Jets series. Anything that gets No. 1 netminder Alexandar Georgiev away from the crease and out of the firing line.

Love Georgie.

He’s toast.

The Winnipeg Jets know it. John Buccigross knows it. The moose wandering around south Manitoba know it. Over his last six appearances, dating back to April 5, Georgiev’s given up 29 goals. Bednar, the Avs’ venerated coach, isn’t just running out of options here. He’s running out of time.

Winnipeg put seven more past No. 40 in Game 1 of their Stanley Cup Playoff series Sunday, roughly a week after peppering him for a touchdown and extra point at Ball Arena.

This time, it took two periods for Georgiev to become Fourgiev. It took three for him to become Sevengiev.

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TORONTO—, Prime Video and NHL Productions reveal the trailer for the upcoming original hockey documentary Saving Sakic, premiering on April 16 for Prime members in Canada (April 17th on ESPN+ in the USA). The documentary follows the high-stakes saga that ensued when Colorado Avalanche Chairman/CEO Charlie Lyons was blindsided by an attempt to sign away the captain of his team, Joe Sakic. With only seven days to raise $15 million to save his star, Charlie finds a lifeline from an unexpected place - Hollywood.

Below, watch his three goals tonight in two periods.

NEW YORK/TORONTO (Feb. 26, 2024) – The National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players’ Association announced today that Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin has been cleared to resume practicing with the team and has entered the follow-up care phase of the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. Nichushkin has not yet been cleared to return to game action.

Nichushkin’s care continues to be administered pursuant to the player assistance program.

TORONTO/NEW YORK (Jan. 15, 2024) – The National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players’ Association announced today that forward Valeri Nichushkin of the Colorado Avalanche will be unavailable to his Club for an indefinite period while he receives care from the Player Assistance Program of the NHLPA and NHL.

Under the terms of the joint program, he will return to the Club when cleared for on-ice competition by the program administrators.

from Sean Keeler of The Denver Post,

If Ivan Prosvetov hoists a Stanley Cup in Burgundy & Blue, I’ll shave my head. And my chest. Not necessarily in that order.

“We’ll see, we’ll talk about that,” coach Jared Bednar told reporters Saturday when asked about his goaltending options after the Avalanche’s hair-pulling, maddening 8-4 matinee loss to the Florida Panthers, the defending Cup runners-up.

“We’re in a stretch (where) there (are) no easy games coming up. There (are) no easy games, period. But especially the stretch we’re in, like that’s only two (down) of the top opponents we’re going to face. We’ve got another four straight with the top opponents of the league. So (Alexandar Georgiev’s) played nine in a row, played in (Saturday’s) game, (which) makes it 10. So we’ll see.”

We’ve seen enough, Coach.

Bednar’s Avs have now given up at least eight goals in a home game twice since Nov. 11. That’s already as many times as an opponent put up eight on Colorado at Ball Arena over the previous 14 seasons combined.

In other words, they’re a goalie away. Probably two, if we’re being honest.

Your move, Joe Sakic. The Avs, at present, have the look of half a contender, and the half that’s pulling the weight — that’s scoring in bunches — isn’t sustainable over a long, grueling postseason grind.

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from Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post,

Would the Avs rather slam their fingers in the window than hoist the Stanley Cup?

It would really hurt to waste a hockey club blessed with the generational talent of Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.

Here we are, far enough into the NHL season for anybody in this dusty old cowtown not unhealthily obsessed with the mediocre Broncos to see the Avs have as good a shot as any team in the league to win a championship this season.

Except for one troublesome thing, and it’s the same old irksome thing: Colorado still hasn’t found a solid way to replace center Nazem Kadri from the fire trucks that rode through Denver during that glorious victory parade in 2022.

There’s a nagging hole in this team’s championship dream at 2C.

Can the Avs solve this problem without making a trade? Nothing in a 4-2 loss to Winnipeg gave me much reason for optimism.

When the Avs took the ice on Thursday night, their second-line center was … Ross Colton?

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via the YouTube page of Sportsnet,

Colorado Avalanche defenceman and Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar joins Scott Oake and Greg Millen on After Hours to discuss how he developed his elite skills, bringing the Stanley Cup to his grandmother, what he's been reading, and much more.

from Corey Masisak of the Denver Post,

If there were one or two obvious issues for the Colorado Avalanche to fix, this current slump would be pretty easy to explain away.

Instead, there are a lot of smaller fires to put out instead of one large one. And all of them were a problem Saturday night when the Avs were embarrassed in an 8-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues at Ball Arena. It was the club’s fifth loss in seven games, and the fourth time it’s lost by four-plus goals.

“Not good enough. It’s just guys quitting and not doing what they’re supposed to be doing, feeling sorry for themselves,” said an obviously frustrated Jared Bednar.

The Avs coach called the final 20 minutes a joke and the worst period he’s seen from his club.

“There’s no other explanation for it,” Bednar said when asked about he and players saying they quit in the third. “Piss-poor execution. Guys giving up all over the ice.”

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Watch the game highlights below.

from Corey Masisak of the Denver Post,

Cale Makar left the game near the end of the second period Sunday after crashing awkwardly into the end boards, but he was able to return and play in the third, and said he should be fine moving forward following a 4-0 defeat against the Buffalo Sabres.

“I don’t really remember (what happened), to be honest with you,” Makar said of the incident. “I think a lot of it’s on me, going back slow, no effort. I don’t know if it was my right leg, I think I tried to take a stride and I don’t know if I caught myself or what happened. The next thing I knew, I was sliding into the boards....

While Makar attempted to take some responsibility for the play after the game, his teammates and his coach did not like how the play unfolded.

“It’s a penalty in my books,” defenseman Devon Toews told Altitude TV. “You learn that play in Bantam (hockey), how to get on the hips of a guy to get him off balance. You’re taught to do that when a guy is up against the boards to get him off balance and pin him.

“When you do it six feet away from the boards at speed, it gets dangerous. That’s a dangerous play. This league is trying to protect starts, trying to protect the players. That’s a play that is dangerous, in my opinion, and something that needs to be addressed.”

read on

Watch the incident below...

DENVER – The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that the team has signed defenseman Devon Toews to a seven-year contract extension that runs from the 2024-25 season to 2030-31.

Colorado acquired Toews from the New York Islanders on Oct. 12, 2020 in exchange for a second-round selection in the 2021 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. Toews is a league-best +122 since joining the Avalanche prior to the 2020-21 campaign, far ahead of the next closest player (Matthew Tkachuk, +92). In three seasons with Colorado, Toews has recorded 139 points (29g/110a) in 200 regular-season games and added 30 points (7g/23a) in 37 playoff contests. His 169 combined points during this stretch ranks sixth among NHL defensemen. The Avs are 139-45-16 (.735) in the regular season with Toews in the lineup since he joined the club.

from Ryan S. Clark of ESPN,

Coming here was not the only option. It was just the best one for Jonathan Drouin.

Every choice has its consequences. Other NHL teams reached out to Drouin and his representatives about joining their club. Those clubs had more salary cap space and offered more money than what the Colorado Avalanche presented to Drouin, which was a one-year contract worth $825,000 -- a substantial dip from the $5.5 million annual salary he earned over the past six seasons.

Every choice also has its advantages. Drouin makes this clear while sitting in his stall at the Avs' rustic practice facility just south of downtown Denver. One of them has to do with the stall just to the right of Drouin. Or rather, who occupies that space. It's Avs superstar center and perennial Hart Trophy candidate Nathan MacKinnon. They're best friends and have known each other for more than a decade, dating to when they were teammates with the Halifax Mooseheads in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Another advantage is what playing for the Avs represents. It was just this time last year that the Avs were seeking to win a consecutive Stanley Cup. They navigated a series of challenges to win the Central Division and finish with the best regular-season record in the Western Conference, only to then have their title aspirations cut short with a first-round exit by the upstart Seattle Kraken.

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from Corey Masisak of the Denver Post,

Valeri Nichushkin’s absence from the final five games of last season became a dominant storyline as the Avalanche’s title defense fizzled with a first-round loss to the Seattle Kraken.

There are other key players who won’t be on the ice Thursday when Colorado officially opens training camp to start the 2023-24 season, but Nichushkin is expected to participate. His coach and teammates expressed support at Wednesday’s media day for a player who had been a key component of the club’s Stanley Cup run two years prior.

“(We welcomed him back) with open arms,” Avs center Nathan MacKinnon said. “We love Val. I think we just know he’s going to be here for us. He’s such an amazing player. He’s a good person at the end of the day and a great guy. We all love him.”

Nichushkin left Avs the day of Game 3 during their opening-round series with the Seattle Kraken, for what the team termed “personal reasons.” An intoxicated woman was found in Nichushkin’s hotel room that same day, and a team doctor called for an ambulance to take her to the hospital, according to a Seattle police report.

The team never acknowledged the report, nor did the Avs ever say Nichushkin was punished for what transpired. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said during the 2023 Stanley Cup Final that the league was satisfied with how the situation was handled and Nichushkin was not under investigation.

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"I'm going to continue supporting my teammates and being their biggest cheerleader. The only reason I'll be not here every single day of the season is because I need to focus on what I need to do and that's to get myself better, and put myself in the best spot to continue to progress physically. I'll be supporting my teammates from a distance at times and then, at some point or another, I'll be back here rocking and rolling with the guys."

-Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche. Landeskog will miss the entire season after having cartilage replacement surgery on his knee. The AP at ESPN has more.

added 11:07am,

NASHVILLE - Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes announced on Tuesday that the team has acquired the rights to forward Alex Newhook in exchange for Montreal's 31st (previously acquired from Florida) and 37th overall picks in 2023 and defenseman Gianni Fairbrother.

Newhook, 22, scored 14 goals and added 16 assists in 82 games with the Avalanche in 2022-23 before adding one assist in seven playoff games.