Over the last 4-5 years, Joe Sakic has become a bit of a wizard with trades. While some of those trades have paid off in bigger, and more impressive ways than others, they’ve all worked out well. So to absolutely, no one’s surprise Sakic did it again today. Albeit this time, much more subtly.
The Avs traded Ian Cole to the Minnesota Wild in return for Defenceman Greg Pateryn. I’ll be honest when I first saw this move I didn’t totally understand it. On the surface, it’s a one for one trade with both players being in their early 30s. They’re both stay at home D-men with little offensive upside, and both are Unrestricted Free Agents next season. Then I dug just a little deeper, and the reason became glaringly obvious. Ian Cole makes $4.25 million this season, while Greg Pateryn, on the other hand, is only set to earn $2.25 million. While $2 million might not seem like that much, it could be what allows the Avs to afford whatever help Sakic thinks they need at the trade deadline.
Like I said earlier, I didn’t get the trade when I saw it, but the more I think, the more it makes sense. With both Conor Timmins and Bowen Byrum looking like they could crack the roster at some point this season Ian Cole was looking at getting pushed into the seventh or eighth Defenceman role. Cole is a better player than that, and it would be ridiculous to pay a guy in that role $4.25 million. Even though Greg Pateryn’s defensive game isn’t that far off Cole’s, he has played in that role plenty during his NHL career.
It will be interesting to see how much Pateryn plays this year. My guess would be not much unless the Avs catch the injury bug again. Should he get called in, his game is perfectly serviceable, and he should be able to produce in the same way Cole did. With that said thank you Ian Cole, but it’s time to usher in the new era of Avalanche blue liners.
P.S. New Snow Report coming next week need a little time to see what this teams really got.
The Colorado Avalanche haven’t played a competitive hockey game since September 4th, 2020, when they lost in overtime of Game 7 to the Dallas Stars. The pain of that game is still very fresh in my mind, thankfully the guys who played in it probably aren’t mental midgets, and they’ve probably moved on. But as a fan, the pain doesn’t go away until a new season begins, and that happens tonight.
The Avs begin their much anticipated 2021 season against the St Louis Blues. For the first time in a long time, the Avs come into the season as the odds on favorite to win the Stanley Cup. For people in their mid 20’s like myself, this is a very new feeling. We’ve had some decent teams over the last decade, but certainly nothing like this. And I legitimately could not be more excited to get things underway. From MacKinnon to Makar, this team is fucking loaded. The Avs have everything required to win a Cup. They have depth, a superstar center, and more than competent goaltending. And while their depth wasn’t a huge issue last season, our savior Joe Sakic worked his magic this offseason to bring in even more talent.
For those of you living under a rock, Sakic made two impactful trades this fall. Two moves that he hopes can get the Avs over the Divisional Round Game 7 hump.
Bandon Saad
Saad was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks that saw Nikita Zadorov heading the other way. While some fans were upset to lose Big Zs size and physicality, his boneheaded plays will not be missed. Saad had a pretty productive season last year on a pretty shit Blackhawks team. He played 58 games and had 21 goals, 12 assists for 33 points. Saad has consistently been a 20+ goal scorer, but where he really shows up is the playoffs. He won two Stanley Cups with the Hawks, and he was one of the best players on the team both seasons. That’s why Sakic brought him in to perform in the playoffs. Saad figures to get top-six minutes and potentially help out on either side of special teams. Hard to see a situation where this trade doesn’t work out swimmingly for the Avs.
Devon Toews
The Avs traded two 2nd round picks to the New York Islanders in exchange for Toews (no relation to the Blackhawks Jonathan Toews). This trade set hockey twitter alight. People were saying you just can’t pick up the phone when Joe calls cause he’s gonna fleece ya. And when the people think you’ve fleeced Lou Lamoriello, you know it’s a great trade. The 26-year-old Defenceman had a breakout season on the Island and was a first pairing D-man through the entire playoffs. Toews is an upgrade from the departed Zadorov both offensively and defensively. However, Toews won’t be asked to do as much offensively this year compared to last year. A big reason for that is his projected D partner, Cale Makar. If that pairing holds, it could be one of the most, if not the most, productive D pairing in the entire NHL this season.
Other than those two additions the Avs roster has not changed much, but it really didn’t need to. Sakic said all offseason that he liked his team. He felt adding Saad and Toews was the couple pieces needed to win a cup. And after everything Joe did to get the team here, you’d be a fuckin idiot to disagree.
I can’t properly express how excited I am to see this team play. The Avs have not had this much talent on a roster since the early 2000s teams. Teams that existed before the salary cap was introduced in the NHL. The amount of skill that Sakic, and the front office, have accumulated is tremendous, but it will all be for not without a deep playoff run. But I, a gambling man, wouldn’t bet against it. All that is to come, for now, let’s all just enjoy having this team back on our TVs. Cause right now the snows looking all time, and I can’t wait to see just how good it can be.
I like to consider myself to be a fan of chaos. Chaos, when not ripping through your personal life, is entertaining. Whether you’re a fan of sports, reality TV, or even people watching, we all at our cores are fans of chaos. And this NHL season is going to be absolute chaos.
The Boring Shit
The puck will drop for this season on January 13th and run until May 8th. All teams will have opened training camp by January 3rd, with the teams that did not compete in the bubble starting a few days earlier. The beginning of playoffs is set for May 11th and could run until July 9th at the latest. Those two dates are still subject to change due to the pandemic, but the NHL is in a time crunch with the expansion draft also taking place this summer. The season will likely take priority over the expansion draft if everything does go to shit.
Division Realignment
With the pandemic still running rampant across North America and travel between the US and Canada limited, the NHL needed to realign the divisions. Here’s how they turned out:
EAST: Boston, Buffalo, New Jersey, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington CENTRAL: Carolina, Colombus, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Florida, Nashville, Tampa Bay WEST: Anaheim, Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles, Minnesota, San Jose, St Louis, Vegas NORTH: (Canada): Calgary, Edmonton, Ottowa, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg
And so the chaos begins. There is no cross-divisional play this season until deep into the playoffs (Semis). Teams in the East, West, and Central divisions will play every team in their division eight times. The North, or Canadien, Division has one less team than the rest. Because of this, each team will play the others nine or ten times.
This realignment is going to create serious animosity between teams and should lead to some fucking unbelievable television. Clubs usually go weeks or months without playing each other during a standard NHL season. Not this year, my understanding is games will be played like baseball. During every road trip, teams will play multi-game series to limit the amount of traveling that has to take place. That is precisely the chaos that hockey needs. Having teams play multiple games in a row against each other is why the NHL Playoffs are so intense and captivating. Now the NHL is applying that to a shortened regular season. I mean, for fucks sake, we get to watch the Battle Of Alberta (Calgary v Edmonton) nine or ten times this season! If just the thought of that doesn’t get you fired up, watch this:
While not every series will be quite that intense, it’s safe to assume that the regular season intensity will be jacked up.
PLAYOFFS:
Year in and year out, the NHL Playoffs are the definition of chaos, and this year might be even crazier. This year’s playoff structure is a throwback to an older era in the NHL; while the series will still be seven games long, the rest of the set up will be wildly different. The top four teams in each division will qualify for the playoffs, The 1st seed will play the 4th, and the 2nd will play the 3rd. The winners of those series will then play each other to determine who will advance to the Semis. Each division will be represented in the Semis, and seeding for it will be determined by regular-season point totals. All that means we could very realistically have two teams from the conventional Eastern or Western conferences playing for the Cup. And you know what that means… CHAOS!
No matter what happens this year, it’s going to be a very memorable season. Chaos and hatred will almost certainly reign supreme, and that’s the best news possible for die-hard and casual fans alike. So, sit down, buckle up, and prepare yourself for one hell of a spectacle.
GAMBLING FUTURES (Odds From FanDuel Sportsbook):
Before I even begin to get into this, let me first say this, gambling on the Chel is fuckin’ hard during a standard year, let alone a season like this. So take everything with a grain of salt, and keep in mind, I’m just some nobody on the internet trying to make myself, and my friends, some money.
With the strange playoff format this year, the odds are not conventional. There are no odds for Eastern or Western Conference champs, so all odds shown are to win the Stanley Cup. Due to this, what I ended up doing was picking a dark horse, and my favorite from each division. So, without further ado:
EAST DIVISION:
Dark Horse: New York Islanders 26/1 After making a run to the Eastern Conference Finals in the bubble, the oddsmakers simply aren’t respecting the Isles enough. Barry Trotz is a top 3 coach in the league, and he knows how to get his clubs playing the right way to win. The Isles will be as stingy as always defensively, and if their offense can pick up just a little more, they could take that next step to the Stanley Cup Finals.
My Favorite: Philidelphia Flyers 14/1 The Flyers had a pretty unimpressive run in the bubble. The series win over the Canadiens took much longer than it should have with the two teams’ talent gap, and they were bounced the next round by the Isles. With that said, Carter Hart is now heading into his first full season as a starter, which should increase his confidence. Most importantly, they get Oscar Lindblom back fully recovered from cancer (if you don’t know his story, look it up cause it’s incredible). Before his diagnosis, Lindblom had been the Flyer’s best offensive forward. He’s a much more impactful player than people give him credit for, which will be shown early and often this season.
CENTRAL DIVISION:
Dark Horse: Florida Panthers 36/1 This was really tough to pick because this division is very top-heavy, and the rest of the teams just kinda suck. I went with Florida in large part because of Sergei (Bob) Bobrovsky. Bob had a shit year last year, and it would be harsh to assume he’s gonna be that bad again. Outside of Bob hopefully having a bounce-back year, the Panthers also have some very high-end offensive talent, highlighted by Sasha Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Keith Yandle on the blue-line. If Bob can have a bounce-back year, and the scorers continue to hum, this could be an incredibly dynamic team.
My Favorite: Tampa Bay Lightning 19/2 It doesn’t take a genius to pick Tampa here, they did just win the Cup after all, and they’ve been a contender for the last damn near-decade. They looked like they were gonna come back with pretty much their entire team too. However, it was just announced that Nikita Kucherov will miss the entire regular season. But with the potential of Kuch coming back for the playoffs, the Lightning are still firmly the favorite to come out of the Central.
WEST DIVISION:
Dark Horse: St. Louis Blues 18/1 I know what you’re thinking, “Dude, the Blues won the Cup two years ago. How can they possibly be a dark horse?”. Well, when the two teams ahead of them are the odds on Cup favorites, it makes it a little easier. When you include how bad they looked in the bubble, it’s fair to have some questions about this team. All that said, their team really hasn’t changed much since that Cup win, and they’re gonna be motivated to prove last year was just a fluke.
My Favorite: Colorado Avalanche 7/1 I can hear it now, people screaming HOMER from the rooftops. And to those people, I simply say this, suuuuuuuuuuuck iiiiiiiittttttt! The Colorado Fucking Avalanche are the Stanley Cup favorites, and I’m gonna treat them as such. They took the Western Conference Champ Dallas Stars to a game seven with a THIRD STRING GOALIE! If they can stay healthy and continue to get above-average goaltending, they will be the team to beat this year, and those are just facts. (Full Avs Snow Report blog coming soon)
NORTH DIVISION:
Dark Horse: Montreal Canadiens 31/1 Of all the dark horse picks I made, this was the hardest one for me. Not because all these teams can compete, the complete opposite actually, the Canadien division is the weakest division top to bottom by some margin. I went with Montreal in large part because Carey Price is still maybe the best Goalie in the world, and Claude Julien has a history of winning. Plus, they really showed something when they beat the Penguins in the play-in round of the bubble. If they can somehow replicate that performance over a complete season, the Habs could make some noise.
My Favorite: Toronto Maple Leafs 15/1 Toronto is the best team in Canada right now. For that reason, they have to be the favorite, but they are by far and away the worst favorite. They have all the offensive firepower in the world on their top two lines. The rest of their forward group, however, is cobbled together with the remaining salary cap. I’m not even gonna pretend like I would put money on the Leafs, but I had to fill this spot, and so here we are.
PLAYER FUTURES:
I wasn’t planning on doing this section, but when I went to find the futures for the Stanley Cup, these also came up. So I figured I’d give myself a better chance to actually be right in this article. These are not necessarily who I think is gonna take home each trophy. It’s just the ones that I’m personally gonna bet. Do what you want with that information.
HART: Jack Eichel 15/1 Eichel has somehow been one of the most undervalued players in the league over the last few years. He’s been doing everything possible to make the Sabres relevant the past two seasons. While the Sabres have tried to surround him with help, they’ve made decisions that haven’t panned out. This offseason, they finally acquired a bonafide star to pair with Eichel in Taylor Hall. With Hall on his wing, Eichel could be set for a season that FINALLY propels him into the MVP discussion he so rightly deserves to be in.
VEZINA: Carey Price 10/1 There’s no way around it, Carey Price had an off-year last season. He was far from a bad goalie, but he wasn’t the world-beater he’s shown the propensity to be over the last decade or so. And that’s why I’m betting on him this season. This has all the makings of a fuck you tour for Price. People were beginning to doubt whether he’s worth the money Montreal is paying him. Carey Price is as competitive as any player out there, and with this shortened season, I think he’s gonna be lights out.
NORRIS: Victor Hedman 11/2 This pick is simply chalk. Hedman is the favorite to win the Vezina this year, and for a good reason. His performance in the playoffs, and most importantly, the Stanley Cup Final, was nothing short of spectacular. Especially when it looked like he was gonna miss the entire playoffs following an injury against the Blue Jackets. Hedman has been at, or near, the top of the league for a long time, and this season will be no different.
CALDER: Igor Shesterkin 7/2 If this is your first time hearing Igor Shesterkin’s name, don’t worry, it won’t be your last. Allow me to highlight his limited but none-the-less impressive numbers from last season. 12 games started, 10 wins, 2 losses, a .932 SV%, and 2.52 GAA. Those are fucking ridiculous numbers for any goalie. Let alone a rookie on a team that gave up the eighth-most goals in the NHL. It’s fair to assume that Shesterkin will be the Rangers number one this season and could potentially edge out his teammate Alexis Lafreniere for the Clader.
Well, there ya have it, a perfect primer for a chaotic hockey season. Bet smart, don’t overextend, and let’s win some fucking money!
Follow me on Twitter @msovi27 for any live picks and, more often than not, the ramblings of a mad man.
As things currently stand, it sounds like the NHL and NHL Players Association have a plan in place for the NHL season to begin soon. If all goes to plan, the proposal will be voted on by the end of this week, and the NHL will be back starting January 13th, 2021. The NHL plans to play either a 52 or 56 game season, which would end in early May. There are about a billion other details that need to get figured out, but that’s not what we’re here to talk about. No, we are here to talk about quite possibly the best annual international sporting event, the World Junior Hockey Championships.
You may be asking yourself, “What the fuck are the World Junior Hockey Championships, and why should I care?”. Both are valid questions for most Americans to be asking themselves. However, if this were Canada, those questions would be scoffed and laughed at. The World Juniors, as they’re most commonly known, is one of the most anticipated annual events for Canadian sports fans. While in the United States, it’s not even shown on most televisions.
In the US, it is broadcast exclusively on NHL Network. I would guess less than 50% of Americans have NHL Network, and I would say only about 10% of the people that do have it are even aware of it. When you add on the hockey fans who don’t pay for NHL Network, the total number of viewers in the US is horrendously low. It really doesn’t help that the NHL refuses to push ads for it on any platforms outside of their own. Because of this, I feel a responsibility to educate the small audience I have about this annual spectacle.
2021 World Juniors
This year the tournament was set to be held in both Red Deer and Edmonton, Alberta. But due to the rising Covid cases in Alberta, Red Deer was taken out of the picture to limit travel. All games for this tournament will now be played at Rodgers Place in Edmonton. The tournament will take place from December 25th until January 5th, and the participants will be the best U20 players from 10 different countries.
Those 10 teams are separated into two groups of five for round-robin group play. Each country plays everyone in their group one time, and the top four teams head into the elimination rounds. The seeding is decided with the same point system as the NHL, meaning that a win earns a team three points, and a loss in overtime or shoot-out earns a team one point. In the elimination round, the top team from group A plays the fourth-place team from Group B, the second-place team from group A plays the third-place team from group B, and vice-versa. The two teams that don’t survive the group stages then play in a best of three series to see which team is relegated to the second division.
Competing Countries
The groups this year are (along with their odds from Bovada for the gamblers):
Group A: Canada(-130), Finland(+725), Switzerland(+5000), Slovakia(+5500), Germany(+7500)
Group B: USA(+375), Russia(+500), Sweden(+650), Czech Republic(+2000), Austria (+10000)
The gambling odds go from somewhat competitive to absolutely ludicrous quickly. The reason for that being, over that last decade and a half, there are only five teams consistently competing for medals.
The Big Five (Medals Won: Gold, Silver, Bronze, Total)
Canada (18, 9, 5, 32)
Russia/Soviet Union (12, 13, 11, 36)*
Finland (5, 4, 6, 15)
USA (4, 2, 6, 12)
Sweden (2, 11, 6, 19)
*The majority of Russia’s medals were won during the Soviet Union era (20 of 36 total medals and 8 of 12 Gold Medals).
It’s a borderline guarantee that one of these five teams will win Gold every year, and most years, some combination of them will make up all of the medals. That’s why the odds on the other five teams are so astronomically high. Let’s be honest though, we all know where the sharp money is going this year…
TEAM USA
While the United States’ success in the World Juniors is not entirely new, they lack the storied histories that the Canadians, Russians, and even the Swedes have. With that said, before last year’s competition, the US had been on an incredible run of results. They had medaled in each of the previous four tournaments and had taken home Gold in 2017.
That 2017 team was what got me truly hooked on the World Juniors. They were not projected to be a strong contender for Gold, and many thought they would have been lucky to receive a medal at all. The Canadiens were the HEAVY favorite. This was bolstered by the fact that the tournament was held in Toronto and Montreal. The Gold medal game was played in the cathedral that is the Bell Center in Montreal. Against the odds, the US made it to the Semis against a heavily favored Russian team. An incredibly cagey and tight game was ended in a shoot-out by Troy Terry (a story destined to repeat itself).
The USA v Canada Gold medal game is, to this day, one of the best hockey games I’ve ever watched. That includes Olympics, NHL, World Cups, and any other hockey I’ve ever seen. The building would erupt after every Team Canada goal and go silent after each one the US potted. After 60 minutes, the game was still knotted up, and the game headed into overtime. My plans for the night were doomed from the start of the game, but they really took a hit when OT started. The Canadiens came out flying in OT and looked destined to find a goal before a shoot-out would be required. Tyler Parsons, the USAs starting goalie, had other plans. Parsons’ stood on his all game, but especially during OT. The US forced a shoot-out that came down to Parsons and Terry. Terry skated down with the shoot-out tied, much like he did during the Russia game; unlike the Russia game, his goal was not the deciding factor. After Terry scored to take the lead, the pressure was back on Parsons, as it had been all game. And as he had done all game, Parsons made the stop. The Canadien players and fans collectively dropped to their asses. As the US skaters came flying over the bench, spewing their gear in the air as they piled on Parsons.
Ditching my plans for the game that faithful night in 2017 was one of the better decisions I made in my early 20s. Not only did I save myself probably close to $100 on food and drinks, but I also gained a whole new perspective on what the World Juniors could be. I always knew what it meant to Canadiens, but from that point forward, it meant the same amount to me. That’s why I’m writing this because I want other American hockey fans to experience the joy that is mortgaging your happiness on a bunch of teenage kids. So if you have NHL Network be sure to check it out, and if no,t do what I do and find the illegal stream. But by any means necessary, be sure to tune into the 2021 World Juniors.
If you like what you just read and wanna give me a little confidence boost follow me on Twitter: @msovi27
The nightmare is over, and hockey has FINALLY returned to our televisions. It’s hard for me to accurately explain just how much joy it has brought me to be able to watch hockey non-stop for the last week. I imagine its similar to the feeling of falling in love again after a rough breakup, I wouldn’t know because I have a cold, dead heart, but I digress. The speculation that teams would struggle to find their legs was mostly incorrect. While some teams clearly never found their groove (Penguins, Rangers), most were able to put in solid performances. The Colorado Avalanche, however, did more than just put in a “solid performance”.
The Avs looked as good as they’ve looked all season in their three Round Robin games. In large part, because they were fully healthy for the first time since fucking October. They looked every bit the Stanley Cup contender they are.
Colorado opened Round Robin play against the current Cup champion St. Louis Blues. While the 2-1 final scoreline doesn’t scream excitement and promise, the game itself was a completely different story. The Avs put on a show for almost all of the first period. They outshot the Blues heavily and had a lion share of the possession. Yet they found themselves down one at the end of the period. David Perron beat Grubauer with a one-timer on the PP with a couple minutes remaining in the first. The second period did not see much action, but that was to change with the start of the third period. The Avs started the third-period aggressively, and five minutes in were finally rewarded with a goal by non-other than the Gravy Train, Ryan Graves. The game really opened up from this point on, with both squads pushing for the win. With a little over a minute remaining in the Alex Steen hooked Burakovsky send Colorado to the PP. When I say the first unit was buzzing, I mean they were fucking BUZZZZZZZZZZING. They were snapping the puck around with so much pace and quality it almost seemed inevitable they were gonna score. But with the 30 seconds remaining, Kadri missed a wide-open net. At this point, I figured OT was inevitable, and let me tell you it’s been a long time since I’ve been that happy to be wrong. With two seconds remaining Landy rang the puck off the post, and it dropped in the blue paint just out of reach of the surrounding Blues players and goalie, but not out of reach of Nazem Kadri. Naz whacked the puck into the back of the net with .1 of a second remaining, .1 of a fucking second! I screamed, I screamed like girls used to scream when The Beatles rolled through town. I’ve never, and probably will never, see a goal that could bring that obscene of a sound out of my mouth. That game was one for the history books, and damn, was it a perfect re-introduction to just how incredible this team is. With that said, it wasn’t even close to the best performance the Avs put in last week.
The Colorado Avalanche gave the Dallas Stars an absolute shit-kicking in their second RR game. I’m not sure I’ve seen the Avs put in a 60-minute performance like that in my entire life. They controlled the game from the puck drop until the final whistle. While the 4-0 scoreline is a pretty clear indication of how dominant the Avs were, it yet again doesn’t do their performance justice. Colorado outshot Dallas 40-27, and if it weren’t for a heroic performance by Khudobin, could have put up 2-3 more goals. As good as Dobby was, Francouz was just as good and better. Frankie obviously recorded his first playoff shutout and made quite a few ten bell saves when he was asked to. On top of all that, the Avs special teams were just that, special. They were 2/5 on PP and were a clean two for two on the PK. Like I said, just an all-around phenomenal performance from the boys. While not every game can be that easy, it’s a great sign for where this team is at going forward.
The Avs completed their RR play with a matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights. This was a massive game for both teams as it decided who would get the first seed, and have “home ice” (last change) advantage through the rest of the playoffs. This game had a true playoff feel to, much more so than the previous two did. There were tons of momentum swings as both teams were able to control play for long periods of time. From an unbiased point of view, this is the matchup you want to see in the Western Conference Final. Both teams have tons of talent up and down their line-ups, and both love to play a really fast-paced game. I, on the other hand, would strongly prefer NOT to see this series, not because I don’t think the Avs would win, but because I think I might have a heart attack. I felt like I had just finished a workout when Alex Tuch finally won the game for Vegas in OT. While the Avs not getting the one seed is certainly a bummer, not having to play a rested Blackhawks team in the first round is not.
The Avs will instead have to play the Arizona Coyotes, in what seems to be a more favorable matchup. The Coyotes as a team have almost no playoff experience. In fact, this is the ‘Yotes first time in the playoffs since 2011-12. In all honesty, I think the Avs roll in this series, Arizona will be lucky to get this series to six games. So as much as I LOVE Phil Kessel, and I fucking love Phil, I think the Avs win it five.
P.S. Fuck NBC for their scheduling of this series. The latest start to any of the first four games is 3:30 MT. That’s ridiculously stupid, both of these teams play out West. So why in the absolute fuck are they playing so god damn early in the day?!? I’m big mad about this (obviously), and I think its kind of a slap in the face of both of these fan bases. I’m gonna go take a cold shower, see you next week.
During the 2019 playoffs, the 8th seeded Colorado Avalanche took on the 1st seed Calgary Flames in the first round of the playoffs. Everyone picked the Flames, and everyone was wrong. So my brother, the yin to my hockey yang, took a little stroll down memory lane. We watched the condensed games from the series and just enjoyed watching the Avs systematically pick apart the Flames in five games. I said “oh I remember that” no less than fifty times, so apologies in advance to whoever watches this. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy watching it as much as we did recording it. If you have ideas for future videos let me know on twitter (@msovi27) or in the comments!
Ryan Clark is a man I’ve mentioned quite a bit since I started writing this blog. There’s a reason for that he’s pretty fuckin smart. His articles on The Athletic are some of the best info on the Avs I’ve found. So when he released a fan survey recently, I was pretty intrigued. There were a bunch of boring questions about the TV deal dispute, how many games you’ve attended, and some financial questions. But amongst those were some pretty fun, interesting, and random questions. So those are obviously the questions I’m focusing on here.
WHEN DID YOU FIRST BECOME AN AVS FAN? This question was perfect right off the bat because it really forced me to think. The first time I ever remember mentioning this Avs was in 6th grade. I was playing in-house hockey (couldn’t play full time cause I also played basketball #Athlete) and I refused to wear any number other than #19. Coach asked me if it was because of Steve Yzerman, I hadn’t heard of Stevie Y at this point in my life. I said, NO, JOE SAKIC. That’s my first memory of the Avs, but I would have to say my fandom started in 2013-14. I had always watched the Avs, but they had been pretty below average for quite sometime before this point. Then they drafted our lord and savior Nathan MacKinnon, and everything changed for one season. They won the Central Divison, MacK won the Calder, O’Reilly the Lady Byng, and Roy the Jack Adams. It was incredible… until they lost to the Wild in seven games and didn’t make the playoffs for the next three years. But I’ve been hooked ever since then.
WERE/ARE THE AVS A STANLEY CUP CONTENDER THIS YEAR? Simply put, yes. And the Wild very much are not and, that might be equally as important. But let’s get back to the team that is relevant in the year 2020 and will be for a lot longer. Yes, the Avs are very much contenders. Teams don’t just end up in second place in the Western Conference for no reason. This team, when healthy, has the depth to compete with any team in the league. This was a HUGE problem for them in the last two playoff runs. Sakic made some real smart moves this offseason to make sure that wouldn’t be a problem going forward. They have at worst a top-five goaltending tandem in Grubauer and Francouz. They have both shown a propensity to go on outlandish hot streaks and that’s exactly what teams need to win in the playoffs. Which goalie would have gotten the start in game one of the first round would/could be a very difficult decision for Bednar. Not only are the Avs contenders this season, but they are also primed to be contenders for many seasons to come. They have one of the deepest and most impressive prospect pools in the NHL. If you want more info on that you’re gonna need to read something written by some far smarter than me. Long story short yes, yes, yes the Avs are most certainly contenders.
WHAT IS YOUR CONFIDENCE LEVEL IN WHAT JOE SAKIC AND HIS FRONT OFFICE STAFF HAVE DONE? SPECIFICALLY OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS. The article had this on a scale from one to ten. I’ve got a better way of putting it, very fuckin confident. Sakic hasn’t done a single thing wrong. He’s made all the right decisions at the right times. He is the epitome of what the Minnesota Wild would like in a GM. Sucks to suck.
BASICALLY THE EXACTSAME QUESTION AS ABOVE BUT ABOUT JARED BEDNAR. I mean… just read the above answer. Substitute the names and positions and its the same answer. . . . I don’t really want to mention it but, I’m not always super jazzed about the assistants. That’s all I’m gonna say because this blog is very positive vibes only.
HOWLONG WILL IT TAKE FOR THE AVS TO WIN THEIR 3RD STANLEY CUP?
OPTIONS:
THIS YEAR (y’know if it happens)
1-2 YEARS
3-5 YEARS
LONGER
The fan in me really wanted to pick this year. But my rationality tells me that it’s far more reasonable (if not probable) that they will get one in the next two seasons. With the prospects coming up, and the current contract situations the Avs are primed for some very deep playoff runs.
WHAT WAS THE BEST OFF-SEASON MOVE MADE IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS?
OPTIONS:
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare
Andre Burakovsky
Joonas Donskoi
Nazem Kadri
Valeri Nichushkin
Just an absolutely absurd list, not only because of the talent and importance but also because of the names. I mean having to type these out on a consistent basis is starting to hurt my pea brain. Trying to decide which player to pick also hurt my brain if we’re being honest. In the end, I decided on Naz. It was a really, really hard decision, each guy on the list has brought something that the teams of the past were missing. But to me, Naz FINALLY filling that 2nd line Center role was so desperately needed. For the last two seasons, it had been a rotating cast of characters, and because of that, the line struggled to find any chemistry. Now, outside of the incredible amount of injuries, the 2nd line has been pretty solidified. When all healthy Burky, Donskoi, and Kadri are an incredibly dynamic line. But to me, a line is usually defined by their Center, and Naz has been nothing short of terrific this season.
WHO WAS THE BIGGEST SURPRISE OF THE SEASON?
OPTIONS:
Andre Burakovsky
Ryan Graves
Pavel Francouz
Cale Makar
Valeri Nichushkin
If you’ve been reading the blogs up to this point you know I love Ryan Graves and his style of play. So obviously my vote should go to him, wrong. I knew Ryan Graves was going to be this good this year. I’ve been pumping this guys tires since he stuck with the Avs for the last 20 or so games at the end of last year. The real answer is pretty obvious… Pavel Francouz. Much like Ryan Graves, I’ve waxed poetic about him on the blog before, but unlike Ryan Graves, I had no clue what to expect from Francouz. Francouz had been absolutely lights out for the Avs before the season ended, and was making a case for being the #1 guy. If, and hopefully when the season starts back up it will be interesting to see which Goalie starts the first game back. Regardless of that Francouz has been an absolutely wonderful surprise.
WHO WOULD WIN A RACE BETWEEN CALE MAKAR AND NATHAN MACKINNON? The easy answer here is MacKinnon. In a straight line, there’s maybe one guy in the league who as fast or maybe a little faster, and that’s McDavid. With the puck on their stick, it might be MacK getting the dub. But that’s not the question. In an All-Star Game style, fastest skater MacK probably wins by a bit, but if we’re talking racing waking the blue line then everything changes. Makar’s ability to walk the line has drawn comparisons to Nick Lidstrom. Lidstrom is widely regarded as one of the greatest D-men ever, and his ability to walk the line could be considered his calling card. That’s some pretty high regard for Makar at his age. I got really off-topic on this one, so in summary, MacK in a straight line, and Makar horizontally.
WHO WOULD WIN AN ALL-OUT CAGE MATCH AMONG AVS PLAYERS? The first answer that popped into my head was Nikita Zadorov, he’s massive, he’s not afraid to chuck ’em, and he’s strong as shit. That sounds like everything you want in a cage match, but then I remembered, it’s all about heart. No one on this team has more heart than Matt “Matty Hustle” Calvert. Calvert doesn’t play the prettiest game in the world, but he works his fucking bag off every single game. Watching him play hockey makes me want to train for a marathon or some shit like that. I’m obviously not going to do that because I don’t have near enough athletic ability anymore, but that just shows you how hard he works. He can motivate a slightly (maybe a little more than slightly) out of shape 24-year-old bum. That’s exceptional. I think Matty Hustle would just be able to go all night and would eventually wear everyone down, making him the cage-match winner.
Well, that was a ton of fun for me to write. I like taking really simple concepts and then taking them way too far. I really doubt Ryan Clark intended people to go this in-depth, but that’s my style. I went a little hard on the Wild there for a second, but it felt good to let some anger out constructively. If you have different opinions on any of these please feel free to let me know on twitter (@msovi27), or in the comments below. Look out later this week for another video episode too. That’s it, that’s all, stay safe everyone!
Let me start this out by saying I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during these weird times. I know my life certainly hasn’t been the same since sports got shut down. I’m learning that I’m really bad at filling time and that I could probably use another hobby. But I’ll save that conversation for another time. What I or should I say we are here to talk about today is which of the Colorado Avalanches game-winning goals from this season was the best. I say we because earlier today I recorded a conversation with my good friend and fellow Avs degenerate Christian Lewis. We sat down for about two hours and looked at the 16 goal bracket that the Avs released on their twitter account a couple of weeks ago. They had twitter polls out on a day to day basis to decide what the general public believed was the best goal. Per usual the general public was wrong because they’re dumb. So Christian and I took it upon ourselves to get to the bottom of this and decide what the ACTUAL best game-winning goal was. Like I said earlier we talked about this for about two hours and had a ton of fun doing it. We went out on some tangents, but I think the end result was two buddies just shooting the shit. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed recording it. Let me know on twitter (@msovi27) or down in the comments if this is something you would like to see more of! I’m hoping to start pushing out more articles as this quarantine goes on, so hopefully, I’ll talk to you guys soon.
I recently started listening to a podcast hosted by two New York City comics. It’s very funny, but the biggest thing I’ve taken away from it is this saying, “Es lo qué es”; it is what it is. Its something I’ve started to say when shit hits the fan in my life. I can’t lie and say its made everything easier to deal with, but it certainly helps, and its really just the beginning of the process. I’m not bringing this up to try and change everyone’s mindset on life, quite the opposite actually, I’m bringing it up because I’ve already found something that it doesn’t work for… hockey injuries.
About halfway through Monday nights game against the Kings, I heard the announcers mention that Nathan MacKinnon hadn’t taken a shift in quite some time and was not on the bench. After hearing this I did the only rational thing, I started furiously refreshing twitter waiting for an update. The update came sometime later, and it was unsettling, to say the least. MacKinnon would not return to the game, and it was announced today will miss one to two weeks. What. The. Fuck. I didn’t think the Avs injury problems could get worse than they were, I was an idiot. It was only natural the way this season has gone that MacKinnon would get injured. This team has been injured since the second week of the season and may not be fully healthy until after playoffs start. While MacKinnon’s injury sounds relatively “minor” he’s joining a long list of guys currently on the mend.
All injury time tables referenced here are taken from NBC’s ROTOWORLD
Andre Burakovsky is currently listed as day-to-day with an Upper Body Injury (UBI). Coach Jared Bednar stated that he believes Burky could return during the Avs four games homestand (beginning tonight against the Rangers).
Mikko Rantanen is listed as day-to-day with a UBI. Bednar believes Mikko could also return during the homestand
Matt Calvert is listed as week-to-week with a Lower Body Injury (LBI). Bednar believes he could be back at the end of the current homestand.
Nazem Kadri is listed as week-to-week with an LBI, but Bednar believes Naz could also return by the end of the homestand.
Phillip Grubauer is listed as indefinite with an LBI. There isn’t currently a timeline for Grubi’s return, but from what I’ve heard it sounds like the end of March is the goal.
Also worth noting here is that Colin Wilson is still on injured reserve. He has been off crutches for a little while now but is not expected back anytime soon. Wilson has been injured since the first month of the season, but getting him back for playoffs would be great considering the astronomical amount of injuries this team has dealt with.
Some may have noticed that there is a very big name missing from that injury report, Cale Makar. As they say, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, or some shit like that. The point is Makar is back and the Avs NEED him to be his absolute best. With four of the team’s top six point producers currently out of the lineup, guys like Donskoi, Compher, Jost, among others are going to need to step up in a big way offensively. The Avs are in an absolute dog fight with the St. Louis Blues for the top spot in the Western Conference. If the depth players can’t produce an uphill battle turns into an impossible battle. And while the Avs currently have an eight-point lead over the Dallas Stars for second in the Central Divison, that comfortable bubble could begin to shrink without depth players stepping up. For many teams, this would be a time to hit the panic button, but the Avs have played well this season while missing key players. That, however, was not the case this past week.
The four games that the Avs played since I last posted a Snow Report have been dismal, to say the least. Their four-game west coast road trip ended with a record of 1-2-1 for a total of three points. It gets even uglier when you look at the teams they played, 4-3 OT loss to Anaheim, 6-3 shit-kicking at the hands of the Canucks, an unconvincing 4-3 win against the lowly Sharks, and a 3-1 loss to the Kings. No matter how you slice it those are some terrible results. Forgivable, but terrible. I say forgivable because of the number of injuries. The Avs were basically playing games with an entire line of AHL forwards, and one or two AHL defenceman. It makes it hard to win hockey games when three to four guys are playing less than 15 minutes a game. It wears on the higher end players, and over time those guys start to wear down and don’t have the same pep in their step. So as bad as those results look they do not tell the whole story.
The story of injuries, which brings me back to the title of this blog. Do I actually hate hockey? No, well sometimes, but only when I’m actually playing it. What I actually hate is watching this incredible team, and this season, get incrementally picked apart by injuries. I know that’s just how the game works sometimes but it sucks. It’s much like having a ski season with really good snow all year, but every time you go out the wind picks up and blows a bunch of it away. This regular season has been great, but it just feels like it could have been even better. Hopefully, the boys can come out flying tonight and scratch out a win against the surging Rangers. Enjoy the game and see you guys next week.
Questions, comments, concerns for my well being, leave them down below or let me know on twitter: @msovi27
From time to time when I see older family members I get asked: “Why don’t you have a girlfriend?” and like most people, I never had an answer to that question… until now. Over the last two weeks or so I have fallen madly in love with Avs goaltender Pavel Francouz. In honor of my newfound love, this blog is dedicated to the one and only Frankie.
The 29-year-old Francouz was born in Plzen in the Czech Republic. His professional hockey career, according to Hockey DB, began in 2009-10 in his home country. However, it wasn’t until the 2012-13 season that Francouz began to see time as a starter. He broke into the top Czech league with Litvinov Hockey Club. In his three seasons as a starter there he had .929 SV% and a 2.23 GAA. Those impressive numbers eventually drew the interest of KHL (Russia) side Chelyabinsk Traktor (positively insane name). Frankie began his time in Russia as a backup, but that didn’t last long. After putting up a .924 SV% and a 2.21 GAA he was promoted to starter for the next two seasons, and absolutely took over the KHL. Over two full seasons in the KHL, widely regarded to be the second-best league in the world, his GAA was never climbed over 1.80. It doesn’t matter where you’re playing allowing less than two goals per game for two full seasons is simply absurd. After all was said and done in Russia he had a career .950 SV% and a 1.62 GAA. With numbers like that you would expect teams in the NHL to be all over this guy, you would be wrong. The Colorado Avalanche organization was the only team in North America to offer Francouz a contract, and thank the lord above they did.
Francouz came to Colorado to almost no fanfare and was immediately sent to the Avs AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. I have to admit when the Avs grabbed Frankie I knew next to nothing about him, and I certainly did not expect this. There are plenty of goalies that do well in Europe but then struggle with the smaller ice surface, the speed, and quality chances that it creates. Francouz, as everyone in the hockey world is finding out, was not one of those goalies. His AHL numbers don’t exactly jump off the page at you. A .918 SV% and a 2.68 GAA aren’t exactly world-beating, but context needs to be applied. The Eagles had just been moved up from the ECHL and were not expected to be a great team. Yet they managed to find their way into the playoffs, lead by non-other than their AHL All-Star goalie Pavel Francouz. His numbers might not have been outstanding, but his play certainly was. That brings us to this season. Francouz began the season as the backup to Phillip Grubauer, and rightfully so, Grubauer had willed the Avs into the playoffs last year and was lights out during them. Then in late November Grubauer went down with an injury and Frankie stepped up for the better part of a month. When Grubauer returned Francouz returned to his backup role and held steady again until that fateful night in Colorado Springs. Early in the third period, Grubauer was run into by Ian Cole calling Francouz into action. Since that third period ended Francouz has been, in my eyes, the best goalie in the league, yes the whole league. In his seven starts since Grubi’s injury, he has a .943 SV%, a 1.71 GAA, and a shutout. He’s been nothing short of incredible during this stretch, and all-season for that matter. He ranks top five in both SV% and GAA amongst goalies who have played at least 15 games this season. His .929 SV% ranks second and his 2.24 GAA ranks fourth. Is that good? Seems pretty fuckin good. Considering Frankie’s current form it’s really tough for me to see how Grubauer jumps straight back into being a starter. Thankfully that’s not a decision I have to make, but I wish Bednar luck in making that call.
Now that I’ve pumped Francouz’s tires for almost 700 words lets get into the team that has won seven straight games and 8 straight on the road, the Colorado Avalanche. Ho-ly shit the boys are on a buzzzzzzzzing. That’s thanks in very large part to the play of Francouz, and the D as a whole. The Avs were the best defensive team in the entire league during February giving up only 2.07 goals per game. The penalty kill has seen a massive improvement as well. In the last four games, the Avs have not allowed a power-play goal against. I don’t have the mental strength to fact check this, but I would hazard a guess that its the first time all season they’ve gone this long without giving one up. That’s a massive development for a team this has dominated 5-on-5 all year but has struggled mightily with special teams. If the Avs can find a way to get the PP going before playoffs, watch out, cause this team will become a very serious contender.
Speaking of contenders, the Avs contenders for both the Hart and Calder trophies have found themselves in a spot of bother. It was announced just before puck drop of the Red Wings game that Cale Makar would be out day-to-day with an upper-body injury. As of writing this, no further information has been given about that injury. Thankfully by the sound of things, Makar shouldn’t be out too long. The problems for MacKinnon, however, aren’t injury-related but might be more surprising. During this stretch of seven straight wins, MacK has not recorded a single goal and has only tallied four assists. While I’m positive this is driving him insane it’s actually not the worst thing for this team. For much of the season, the Avs have struggled to win low scoring or tight hockey games. When they have found a way its been in large part due to MacK (the Columbus game comes to mind). During this stretch of games, they’ve found ways to win without relying on him. Now I don’t think this cold streak is going to last much longer for MacKinnon because he’s simply too good of a player. Hopefully, he’ll have a monster March and find himself with a Hart trophy at the end of the season.
I know there wasn’t much talk about the games this week, but the games didn’t exactly blow the roof off. The Avs played smart in all four games and took care of business with D and timely scoring. That’s what good teams do, they find different ways to win. So lets all just sit back and enjoy this really good snow, and start salivating cause the playoffs are just a month away!
Hate it, love it, let me know on Twitter: @msovi27
The Snow Report 