The market to sign free agents in 2022 begins on July 13th, but UFA’s can begin talking with teams the day after the NHL Entry Draft which starts next week. Bits of championship confetti will still be hiding in sidewalk cracks throughout downtown Denver by then, but Colorado will still be players in free agency. With roster construction that was…...
Watching Gabe Landeskog this week has been a fun ride. From throwing out the first pitch at a Colorado Rockies game to working the register at a local Raising Canes, Landeskog is the radiant face of joy. By the time you read this, he’s probably already had plenty to say during the Avalanche parade. From where I’m sitting, this feels…...
The Colorado Avalanche are the 2022 Stanley Cup Champions. Let me type that again, just so that there’s no confusion… The Colorado Avalanche are the 2022 Stanley Cup Champions! The Avalanche defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Monday in a nail-biting thriller at Amalie Arena to clinch the franchise’s third Stanley Cup and its first since 2001. You all…...
The journey is over. The Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup last night with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The win gave the Avalanche a 4-2 series victory over the two-time defending champion Lightning and ended their big for the NHL’s first “three-peat” since the 1980s New York Islanders won four in a row. It wasn’t…...
Bowen Byram – A+ The best defender on the team in the elimination game by a mile. Makar didn’t have his best night, so Byram decided to turn into Makar. These playoffs were a coming-out party for Bo, and he showed up on the biggest stage. He’s a champ. Andrew Cogliano – A Fantastic pickup. Another great night on the…...
The Stanley Cup Final continues as the Avs drop Game 5 at home missing on their first attempt to win the Stanley Cup. Through five games this series has lived up to the hype. https://youtu.be/9iHyXXlv8n0
Bowen Byram – B A nice bounce back from last game, where he started to come on late but didn’t have a good start. Pushed the play some more and got quite a few offensive zone starts with Makar. He still seems a little hesitant to shoot for some reason but is getting his looks and chances. Andrew Cogliano -…...
The Stanley Cup was in the building tonight, and the crowd wanted to see it. Unfortunately for the fans, and more so the Colorado Avalanche, the greatest trophy in sports never emerged from its case. It was a really hard-fought game from the first puck drop. The Tampa Bay Lightning were fighting for their lives, and the Colorado Avalanche were…...
I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion. – Mia Hamm A dear friend of mine with a very sweet set of pipes has his fingerprints on parts of the first major championship that Denver and Colorado…
We knew we might be on borrowed time with him. For some, it’s a welcome relief to learn Darcy Kuemper will be a UFA this summer. With the offseason set to begin sometime in the next five days, the conversation that was once reserved for a later date is fast approaching. I’m not here to have that conversation just yet.…...
One of the many reasons the Stanley Cup Playoffs are the hardest postseason in major professional sports is the war of attrition. Hockey is such a physical, demanding sport that when every team gets eliminated, we get the true toll the journey took on that club. Players get major surgeries and have recovery timelines that will carry into next season.…
The dream is within reach as Nazem Kadri lifts the Avs to a 3 – 1 series lead with an OT goal for the ages. Colorado gutted out a crucial win and now only needs to do what they’ve done best this year. Close. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSXqWY0VBYU
Bowen Byram – C- The first two periods, did not like Byram at all. The decision to pass up a good shot in the slot cost him, and he ended up taking a penalty getting back. Sloppy plays with the puck were happening consistently. In the third and OT, he looked like the guy we’ve seen most of the postseason…...
All the way back in Round 1, I was talking with a fellow media member and they mentioned how much they love dramatic Game 4s. It’s almost always a team looking to go up 3-1, playing a team desperately trying to even the series. That was exactly what we had tonight. The Colorado Avalanche had successfully defended home ice in…...
We remember the outcome of Game 3, but today was a new day for the Colorado Avalanche. They hosted an optional skate in Tampa Bay ahead of Game 4. Nathan MacKinnon was first on the ice with others trickling in – Landeskog, Rantanen, Compher, and more as well as some of the extras. Notably present was Nazem Kadri, stickhandling and…...
The NHL Awards took place tonight between Games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Colorado Avalanche weren’t heavily involved in most of the awards voting but the one major award an Av was a finalist was Cale Makar for the Norris Trophy. After finishing second last year behind Adam Fox, Makar barely squeaked by Nashville Predators defenseman…...
The Avs played their worst period of the playoffs in this game and got what they deserved from it. Team-wide, the Avs will have to step it back up to stay in control of the series but they do maintain a 2 – 1 lead over Tampa. https://youtu.be/k11AiK_x2xw
Nicolas Aube-Kubel – C NAK came into the lineup and…nothing changed. Noticed a couple of missed passes but didn’t play enough to make an impact. Bowen Byram – B- The only defenseman who wasn’t on the ice for a goal against. Close to making a great play on the disallowed goal but just backed off a bit too much. Want…...
Hockey is a game of inches, and I thought Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final exemplified that. The series shifted to the home of the Tampa Bay Lightning, with the Colorado Avalanche looking to take a stranglehold on the series after winning the first two games of the Final. It was an eventful start to the game, and the…...