The Snow Report

The Avs Trade Deadline For Dummies

If we’re being honest, the title for this blog should actually read “The Avs Trade Deadline For Dummies, Written By A Dummy”, but I prefer to keep the self-deprecation to the small print. The reason I say this is because the statements and assumptions I’m going to be making in this blog are not based on any sort of stone-cold facts. Trying to get the facts about trades, and or the lack thereof is a difficult task for some who gets paid to do this shit, let alone me. Plus speculating is way, way more fun. But before I get into that let’s get introduced to the newest (most likely short term) members of the Colorado Avalanche.

Vladislav Namestnikov
One of my first reactions to this move was “fuck, another ridiculous last name that I’m gonna butcher on twitter 1000 times before I get it figured out”. That’s not a joke the Avs, and hockey in general, have simply too many players incomprehensible last names, but I digress. Namestnikov was a late first-round pick in the 2011 draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning, but was later traded to the New York Rangers, and was then traded to the Ottowa Senators. He played 56 games for Ottowa this season posting 13 goals and 12 assists for the frankly dog shit Senators. The Avs sent the Senators a 4th round pick for him at the deadline. He’s a pretty skilled player but has found success in the NHL playing as more of a grinder. He compares very well to Matt Calvert and Pierre Edward-Bellemare. Vlad can play up and down the lineup the same way Calvert does but has Bellemare’s superior hands. Namestnikov is listed as a Center but is certainly capable of playing on the Wing. I believe this a big part of the reason Sakic picked him up. With the Avs being as injured as they have been all season Vlad’s ability to play both positions gives Bednar options. NHL.com has him projected to start on the 3rd line with Bellemare and Kaut, but I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the first few games, if not the first game, he sees time on different lines. With Calvert out of the line-up for a while, I imagine we’ll see Namestnikov kill penalties either with Bellemare or Nieto. He did also see some PP time while with Tampa so if need be he could fill in there as well. I really like this move, like REALLY like it. Its incredibly low risk considering Namestnikov only has one year left on his current deal, and the Avs only had to give up a 4th to get him. If he can chip in 8-10 points in the last 21 games of this season and kill penalties effectively this trade is a success, anything on top that turns this trade into a steal.

Michael Hutchinson
This move garners far less attention than the previous because its more of an assurance move. With that said it’s still pretty important in the short term. With Grubauer out until at least mid-March, the Avs had to find an NHLish backup. To fill that need the Avs sent Calle Rosen back to Toronto, where he was acquired from in the Barrie/Kadri deal this summer, in exchange for Hutchinson. Hutchinson has been stuck in NHL/AHL purgatory for the last couple of years, meaning he has spent chunks of time as an NHL backup and some as an AHL starter. He’s switched back and forth so much that his Hockey DB page reads like a CVS receipt. At times during his career, he has looked pretty impressive, other times, like this season, he has looked far from it. His numbers for Toronto this year are… hideous. In 15 games he’s 4-9-1 with a 3.66 Goals Against Average (GAA) and a Save Percentage (SV%) of .886. I apologize for having to subject you to reading that, but it had to be done. Soooo hopefully Francouz is feeling good because he’s going to be seeing a lot of time. The hope for Hutchinson is that he can do enough while Grubauer is out to allow the Avs to keep pace with the Blues and Stars in the West. If he can do that much then this trade deadline was a great success.

Remember what I said at the beginning about assumptions, well this is where that starts. There’s been some fuss made about Sakic not making a move for a “bigger” name guy. And while I do in some ways understand it, I think it’s stupid. I mean it’s not like the Avs weren’t throwing their hat in the ring. It was widely, almost unanimously reported that the Avs were one of the teams most likely to get Chris Kreider (the biggest name). It was also widely reported that the asking price for him, from the Rangers, was fucking huge. Sakic has stated that he’s not gonna mortgage the future for success this season. Which is incredibly understandable this team wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near this good right now. They don’t a window to win the cup that’s closing, in fact, their window is just opening. So why trade guys like Connor Timmins, Bowen Byram, or Alex Newhook when they could be playing a major role on the team in the next two years. If you look at the teams that made a lot of noise on the deadline they either have an aging core/closing window or are fighting for a playoff spot. Teams like Pittsburgh and Washington have guys like Ovechkin, Crosby, and Malkin who are all over 30. Then you look at a team like Vancouver that’s right in the middle of that dog fight in the Pacific Division. Those are the types of teams the NEED to make a big splash at the deadline. Would it have been nice if the Avs snagged a big name yes, was is absolutely necessary no.

Enjoy the game tonight and I’ll see you guys Monday for another Snow Report.

See my thoughts in real-time on Twitter: @msovi27

The Snow Report: The Return To Sanity Edition And A Little Miracle On Ice Talk

Martin Kaut hugs fellow countryman Pavel Francouz after a 3-1 win against the Islanders.

The dumpster fire that was the Stadium Series game, while only a week ago, feels like a very distant nightmare after a blue-collar week of hockey from the Avs. A few of this week’s result don’t necessarily look sexy from afar, but they gave me assurance that this team is going to be fine. Some of you are probably reading this after last week’s blog and thinking that I’m a lunatic, and you would not be wrong, but its the only way I know. Hockey season is an absolute rollercoaster of emotions for me and I don’t know how to get off, so at the start of every season, I put my seatbelt on and hope that I make it all the way through. It’s not always fun, and its certainly not healthy, but I simply can’t stop now. If that sounds like the kind of person you want to hear about hockey from then let’s get into it.

While this week was undeniably a success it started with some serious turbulence. The Avalanche had a one-goal lead on the Tampa Bay Lightning going into the second period Monday night, and then things took a sharp downhill turn. The Lightning scored three straight goals, and then things got BAD. Mikko Rantanen was tripped and went flying shoulder first into the end boards. Something I, myself, am very familiar with. Except when I do it people usually laugh. No one was laughing when Mikko went down, and for good reason, it looked like it could be a potentially season-ending injury. Thankfully it appears that the undisclosed upper-body injury will only keep him out a few weeks instead of a few months. The Avs came back to steal a point when they sent the game into overtime, but the highlight of the third period was Mackinnon’s monstrous reverse hit. Ondrej Palat came flying across the ice, and MacK absolutely emasculated him with a hit that drew attention from Palats teammates, mayhem ensued. Lightning players that came after MacK were met by the Ryan Graves instead, and he wasn’t gonna take any shit. Graves protected his superstar and didn’t have to drop the gloves to do it, the kid just gets it. Overall just getting the point felt like a huge win in what could have been an incredibly demoralizing game.

In Wednesday nights contest against the Islanders, the Avs began their workmanlike performances. They recorded a goal in each period and really limited the offensively incompetent Isles. Andre Burakovsky added another goal to his already impressive numbers. Burky’s ability to shoot the puck has been huge for an Avs offense that could really have struggled with all the injuries this season. While Burakovsky’s abilities have been on display all season, Avs fans finally got to see NHL rookie Martin Kaut make his debut. Kaut was the 16th overall pick in the 2018 draft, but at 18 years old was a project pick. Now 20 years old and with 20+ pounds of muscle added since then, he might be starting to find his groove. The Avalanche initially drafted him as a skilled forward with good size, but to be an NHL regular he was tasked to find a way to find a grittier side to his game. From all accounts, that’s what he’s done in his time with the AHL affiliate (Colorado Eagles) and that’s why he got the call-up. While Kaut was making his debut fellow rookie Cale Makar was back on his bullshit, being just really really fucking good at hockey. Makar had yet another multi-point night (2 apples), but maybe his best play was on the one goal he didn’t assist on. Makar drove the net from the point skating by Mat Barzal (you know the guy who won the NHL fastest skater at the All-Star game) and slinging a puck through the crease that found its way to Graves, then MacKinnon, and was then tipped in by Landeskog. That is what we call a perfect goal, every skater on the ice touches the puck one by one and then the puck ends up in the back of the net. It was the perfect way to wrap up a dominant performance and head onto the road.

I gotta be honest here, I was at the bar for both the Kings and Ducks games. I’m a 24-year-old kid that isn’t paid to do this so every once in a while I like to try and have a normal life. I have a pretty sporadic attention span on a good day when you add alcohol and a bunch of people to that, its not exactly a recipe for success. I did my best though and even streamed pretty much the whole Kings game on my phone like the fuckin nerd that I am. What I remember from those games though it does not seem like I truly missed that much. I mean the Avs scored two goals in two games and came away with two wins. I have no stats to back it up, but that’s gotta be the first time in franchise history they’ve done that during a back to back. The last thing I’ll add on these games is that I had no clue Donskoi had hands like he showed on that Shootout game-winner. I mean he absolutely undressed Jonathan Quick, so bad in fact that Quick promptly snapped his stick into a million pieces right after the puck went in.

If you watched the Avs this week you’re probably thinking to yourself “why hasn’t this moron mentioned Pavel Francouz at all?”. Well, have no fear that’s what’s about to happen. Frankie had such an incredible week that it would have been a massive disservice to just mention it in passing. Francouz started all four games this week including both games during the California back to back. And to cap it all off he was awarded the NHLs first star of the week. During those games, Francouz obviously went 3-0-1 and posted a GAA of 1.46 and .941 save percentage. Most importantly though he got his first career NHL shutout against the Ducks. He was one or two bounces away from three straight shutouts in fact. Frankie has been a fucking rock all season long, and he should have gotten this shutout much earlier this season, but that’s neither here nor there. The Avs are blessed to have one of the best goaltending tandems in the NHL, and with Grubi out for significant time Francouz is going to need to continue his stellar play. Also worth noting here that the Avs just re-signed Francouz to a well earned two-year extension.

That’s it that’s all. Altogether that was really an incredible week of hockey and proved that the Avs can win low scoring games with some consistency. The snow is gooooooood. See yall next week.

P.S. The 40th anniversary of the Miracle On Ice was this Saturday. Unless you’ve lived under a rock for the last 40 years I’m sure you’re well aware of that game and its significance not only in hockey but in politics as well. The legendary announcer Al Michaels has an incredible line during the broadcast, “I’m sure there are a lot of people watching this game who don’t know the difference between a blue line and a clothesline, it’s irrelevant”. I remember talking to my dad about the game, and about how much it mattered to the American public. His mother (my grandmother) had never seen a single second of hockey, but he says even she made sure to watch the game when it was finally televised. That’s what that team of college kids meant to the whole country. Hockey and sports, in general, can sometimes transcend themselves and those moments are so powerful. If you’re not familiar with the whole thing I can’t recommend the movie “Miracle” enough, not only does it tell the story, but Kurt Russell puts on a stellar performance. If you don’t get fired up watching that movie we probably aren’t going to get along very well, and you might just be unamerican.

P.S.S. I’m planning on doing a little blog later this week covering the deadline deals. This little write-up has taken up enough of my night.

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The Snow Report: I Might Be On The Verge Of A Mental Breakdown Edition

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – FEBRUARY 15: Los Angeles Kings defenseman Joakim Ryan (6), and center Anze Kopitar (11), celebrate with Los Angeles Kings right wing Tyler Toffoli (73), third from right, who scored the game winning goal against the Colorado Avalanche in the third period during the NHL Stadium Series at Falcon Stadium at the Air Force Academy February 15, 2020. Colorado Avalanche left wing J.T. Compher (37) skates past the celebration. Toffoli scored a hat trick, LA won 3-1. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

Well, here we are again, another confusing week of hockey behind us. To be honest I don’t know where to start. The week started with the fifth win in five games and ended in one of the most disappointing results of the season. While the record for the week wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t the most worrying part.

The week started with news that Nazem Kadri would be out “weeks, not days”, according to Bednar, and ended with Grubauer going down in the absolute shit show that was the Stadium Series game at Air Force. Before I get into the injuries and the week as a whole, the game at Air Force needs to be addressed. By all accounts, it was a complete and udder calamity, from people waiting 3+ hours to get in and out of the stadium, to the mile-long lines to get into anything (even restrooms), and unfortunately ended with a spectator losing their life. First off condolences to the family and friends of the man who lost his life when he reportedly fell off a bridge. This whole fiasco is a black eye not only for the league, but for the university, and the Avalanche organization. From what I understand there was a belief around the campus that this event would never run smoothly. The campus and stadium simply were not prepared to handle the number of people that attended the game. The lack of foresight by all involved is pretty glaring, and should absolutely not be happening with the amount of money that was thrown around to put the event on. Hopefully moving forward all parties involved will consider all the variables before putting on an event of this magnitude.

Now let’s get back to the actual hockey talk. It’s hard for me not to start with the injury to Naz, and how I partly blame myself. I waxed poetic about Kadri and his linemates on last week’s blog, and for good reason. They had just played as good of a week of hockey as a line possibly could and then this happens. I should have known better with my streak of mushing good things while they happen to keep my mouth shut. But I didn’t, and now this team has to deal with yet another potentially long term injury to a top-six player. That injury alone is enough to drive a mental midget like me to hysterics, and then Grubauer goes down. I’ll be honest that fact I haven’t gone nuclear yet is some sort of minor miracle. Grubi was playing by far and away his best hockey since the end of last season, and then he gets caught awkwardly by Ian Cole. As of Monday night, no update has been given on when to expect Grubauer back. There was one more casualty from the Stadium Series in Matt Calvert, who has an oblique strain and will miss a couple weeks according to NHL.com.

This past week’s games are really not worth looking at individually because many of the problems from the Caps and Kings game are very similar. In both games, the Avs played the first period at their pace, which is just really fucking fast, and then let their opponents dictate the pace for the last two periods. On top of that, the Avs got sloppy as shit. In the Caps game alone the Avs took five penalties, and I believe three of those were high sticks. Taking stupid penalties against any team is gonna kill you, but especially against a team like the Caps. They used two of those five power-play opportunities to complete the comeback. Penalties were not the issue in the Kings game, but sloppy play certainly was, especially in the dying moments of the game. Tyler Toffoli scored in the closing minute of the third period, and the Avs just never really put the pedal down for long enough to get the equalizer. The last five minutes were honestly brutal to watch. They struggled to get solid zone time and struggled to get out of their own zone. In both games, the bottom six forward group left A LOT to be desired. They did nothing to contribute offensively, but even worse was the inability to defend competently. It will be very interesting to see with the trade deadline fast approaching if Sakic makes an effort to add forward depth after this week.

While the week ended very poorly it started with a clinical win against the lowly Sens. The game was highlighted by a goal from Mikko, and shutout for Grubauer. Mikko’s goal was one of the filthiest backhands I’ve seen not taken by a guy named Crosby, and the move on the blue line might have been even better. If you haven’t seen it yet I can not recommend it enough, come to think of it watching that highlight might the thing keeping from losing my mind right now. As far as Grubauers shutout, he had to do a bit more work than he did in his last shutout against San Jose. He made a handful of grade-A saves, but the D did well to limit opportunities most of the night. To be honest there’s not much else to talk about in that game other than how absurdly talented Thomas Chabot of the Sens is. It felt like he was on the ice for no less than 45 minutes that night, and he never seemed out of breath. The Senators are a pretty terrible team, but he and Brady Tkachuk are almost worth the price of admission alone. If they can ever get that piece of shit owner Eugene Melnyk to sell that team they could have a very bright future.

With how brutal the end of that week was the Avs have an opportunity to put on a bounce-back performance of note against Tampa Bay. But until I see the final score of that game the snow kinda sucks. Not like no snow bad, but kind of like a really cold spring day when you have to ski on the most brutal rutted ice, but you know the next day could be one for the books. See you, beautiful people, next week.

Follow me on twitter to see if my mental breakdown really happens: @msovi27

The Snow Report

What a god damn week of GREAT hockey! After an abysmal start to the road trip in Philly, the Avs flipped the switch to the tune of four straight wins to close out the trip. There were tons of positives to take away from those four wins, but this blog would never get finished if I dove into everything. Instead, we’re gonna take a little look into each game individually.

AVALANCHE VS SABRES
The first period of this game was a bit of rollercoaster as the Avs got out to a relatively comfortable 2-0 lead before giving up a goal in the last second of the period, but it was very smooth sailing after that. The Avs poured in four goals in the second period and simply controlled the game in the third period. It was a much-needed bounce back after the Flyers shit show and was one of the cleanest games this team has played all season. Outside of a 7-10 minute stretch in the first, the Avs played the game on their terms, and to be frank, bullied the Sabres for 50 minutes. This game was a coming-out party for the Nichushkin-Kadri-Burakovsky line, a line that was definitely not done making an impact on the rest of the trip.

AVALANCHE VS SENATORS
The Avs started the game not allowing a shot on goal until there was 1:40 left in the first period. It was as impressive of a defensive performance as I had seen in a long time, and yet somehow with less than a minute left the Sens managed to score a goal that tied the game at one. Much like the Sabres game, the Avs didn’t seem to let it rattle them and a strong second period followed. The second started with some now token depth scoring from Nieto and was punctuated with a goal by the seemingly rejuvenated Cale Makar on the PP. After struggling against the Flyers, Makar was stellar for the remainder of the road trip. The scoring was capped in the third with a short side rip from JT Compher with an assist from non-other than Makar. The Kadri line was an absolute force again, and while Grubauer wasn’t tested too many times he made 25 confident saves. Also worth noting that the Avs fearless leader, and all-around stallion, Jared Bednar passed Quenneville as the franchise’s (Avs/Nordiques) 4th winningest coach.

AVALANCHE VS BLUE JACKETS
“I haven’t been that excited about scoring a goal in a long time”, that was what MacK had to say after scoring a game-winner that maybe 3 forwards in this league could score. Not only is that a sentiment to how good the goal was, but really how huge that win was. The Avs had not won a game after trailing heading into the third period, and on top of that had not won a game when scoring two or fewer goals in a game. Both of those things changed after what I would say was the best win of the season. Columbus is by no means the sexiest team in the NHL as far as their style of play, but coming into this game they were red hot. They had only lost two games since early December and had a goalie that had five shutouts in his last eight games, you can’t get any hotter than that in today’s NHL. The Blue Jackets were able to get on the board with a PP goal in the second period but that was is. That’s in large part due to Grubauer playing like a brick wall all game long. I tweeted out that he had no less than 5-6 ten bell saves, and was maybe the best player on the ice. Outplaying Elvis Merzlinkins considering his recent form says a lot about the groove Grubi was in during the game. I’ll be honest being down one I didn’t have much hope heading into the third, but Kadri and his line showed up in a big way again. Zadorov stepped up with a big hit in the offensive zone that jarred the puck loose, and eventually ended up on Naz’s stick. Kadri let one rip from the dot finding the far post, and you could tell by the celebration that the team’s confidence skyrocketed. The goal was scored with a little over eight minutes remaining, and from that point on the boys were buzzzzzing. That led to the aforementioned MacKinnon goal. MacK uncorked a one-timer from the top of the circles that beat Merzlikins over his right shoulder, top-shelf. It was a confidence-inspiring game that sets the tone for how this team can finish the season.

AVALANCHE VS WILD
I’ll be honest I missed most of this game for my own game but did watch the highlights. From what I could tell from the nine-minute clip it looked like a classic second game of a back to back. The Avs got two special teams goals with a shorty from Bellemare, and a PP goal from MacKinnon. The game could have been much more in control if the PK could have controlled the Wild, but 3-2 win after one the grittiest wins of the season is nothing to turn your nose up at.

I know that the Buffalo and Ottowa games were not necessarily “big” wins but the manner in which the Avs took care of business was great to see. Good teams don’t just beat bad teams, they pick them apart systematically, and that’s just what the Avs did in those games. Altogether it was one of the best road trips of the season, and if it weren’t for the Flyers game, it could have been the best. The trip also gave Grubauer a chance to establish himself as the got to guy again. In his last three starts, he’s had great Save %s again .958, .962, and .969. Those are all-pro numbers and are much more reminiscent of what he did at the end of last year. The trip also blessed us with the Kadri line that was so dominant. If that line can continue at the pace they’re playing the Avs might have the best one-two punch in the league. I’ll tell you what these are a lot more fun to write after weeks like that, and I think it’s safe to say the snow is VERY good.

Toss me a follow on Twitter: @msovi27

The Snow Report

The bye week and All-Star break are finally in the rearview mirror and after 11 days we finally got to see the Avs back on the ice. The game against the Flyers on Saturday night was a tough pill to swallow. I think Bednar summed it up best when he said, “I did feel like we deserved better at times in the game, and then at the end of it, we gave up six. It doesn’t matter how they get them. It’s just like, we were two steps away. We get to one and then we fall back again. I’ve said all along, I am not going to judge our teams on the wins and losses.” (Quote from Ryan Clark of the Athletic).

The Avs started the game looking incredibly solid, they certainly didn’t seem like a team that had just had a week and a half off, and yet they found themselves down 2-0 at the end of the period. The first goal can be chalked up to bad puck luck, but the second goal is much more upsetting. Kevin Hayes tipped a shot from the point in at an improbable angle. The tip itself was wildly impressive, but it came while the Avs were on the PK. That’s where the problem lies, for the remainder of the game the PK put together a hell of a performance, but yet again couldn’t keep an opposition PP off the score sheet.

Nazem Kadri summed it well saying, “I think the part is we’re a little bit inconsistent. Sometimes we’re on fire, and other times we look (like) trash out there. It’s just about finding that balance, and, obviously, besides that short-handed goal, our power play and PK was pretty good today.” (Quote from Ryan Clark of the Athletic).

The keyword in that quote being inconsistent. Its the exact word I used in the previous “Snow Report” blog. It has been this team’s biggest problem all season long, and unfortunately, it seems to have carried over from the break.

In the second period, the Avs seemed to right the ship a little bit when they closed the deficit to one goal. A seeing-eye shot from Zadorov found its way into the back of the net early but was almost immediately countered by the Flyers. Shortly after that the power play and Mikko Rantanen seemed to get their legs back underneath them when Mikkos one-timer from his office rippled the net. At the end of the second, it looked like the Avs had found a bit of a rhythm in the game and were poised for a potential comeback. That, however, was not the case.

The third period was a real nightmare. Farabee and Burakovsky traded goals at about the halfway point, but it was all downhill from there. This was highlighted by the aforementioned short-handed goal that pushed the Flyers lead to two, and pretty much put the game to bed. The Flyers added an empty netter to add insult to injury and push the final score to a gaudy 6-3 loss for the Avs.

This game was almost a microcosm of the first half and some change of the season. The special teams were almost good enough to get the win but were a massive let down in the biggest moments of the game. The game itself seemed very much within reach, but the effort simply wasn’t consistent enough. Hopefully, the remainder of this road trip gives them time to work through the kinks and start playing the way they did for the first month of the season. Until then it seems like the snow is just gonna be a little bit inconsistent. See ya next Monday with another Snow Report.

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The Professional Hockey Writers Association Has Pissed Me Right Off

The other day I read a tweet from Ryan Clark, who writes for The Athletic, and it got my blood absolutely boiling. In said tweet, he mentioned that the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) had voted McDavid the mid-season Hart trophy winner. That as a stand-alone statement isn’t that maddening, but when you consider the context it is preposterous. If you remember back in the 2017-18 season Nathan “our lord and savior” MacKinnon finished second in the Hart Trophy voting to Taylor Hall. Many writers cited the reason they didn’t put MacK at the top of their list was because of his linemates (Mikko and Gabe). Those three had a fantastic season together and in their eyes, Hall had individually been more important to his team’s success. Now we return to today, Nathan MacKinnon has been without a shadow of a doubt the most important player to his team’s success. MacK has almost twice the points (72) then the next closest player (Makar 37) on his own team. While McDavid, the league leader in points, has a grand total of one (1) point more than his linemate Leon Draisaitl. In 2018 Mikko put up 84 points in his break out season, while Draisaitl is on pace to put up over 120 this season. It seems like McDavid has PLENTY of help on his line this year. The supporting cast for MacK in 2018 was also just as dismal as McDavid’s this season. With all that said I don’t want this to sound like some sort of slander against McDavid. He is an unbelievable player who makes me question my very existence as a human being with his skill on the ice. My sights are set directly on the PHWA and their hypocrisy when it comes to players in Canadian markets. MacKinnon is seeing what American viewers of the game have been seeing for years, a clear slant towards teams and players in Canadian markets.

It’s no secret that hockey in Canada is much bigger than it is here in the US. Its Canadas national sport and deserves to be so, but there is a huge push to grow the game, not only in the US but around the world. The media constantly talks about how concerned they are with growing the game, yet teams and players outside of Canada are simply focused on less. Whenever I watch or read about hockey I’m constantly inundated with news about the Leafs, Oilers, and the like. While many of the programs are based in Canada they are knowingly sent out internationally. Last season you couldn’t watch any media without hearing about William Nylander and his non-existent contract, while Sasha Barkov was undressing goalies left and right down in Florida. Barkov has been voted the most underrated player in the world for what feels like a fucking decade now, and that’s because the media doesn’t give two shits unless you’re playing in Canada. If they truly want to grow the game they need to look at themselves first.

Alright, I feel like I’ve now let the appropriate amount of steam off, and can finally return to the point at hand. The PHWA can absolve themselves of the original sin at the end of the season. If both these players continue at the pace their playing MacKinnon should be the one taking the stage to accept his first Hart Trophy. If that doesn’t happen then quite frankly I don’t want to hear any more bullshit “grow the game” stories, because they aren’t doing it themselves.

P.S. After I finished writing this the McDavid recovery documentary came out, and it is no doubt an incredible story, but that should have absolutely ZERO influence on the Hart voting. The NHL literally has a trophy for best comeback player, the Masterton. Give it to McDavid, I really don’t give a shit, just don’t make this another reason to give the Hart to the wrong guy.

Love what you just read, or hate it. Let me know on twitter: @msovi27

The Snow Report: All Star Break Edition

Before I get into the real nitty-gritty of this blog I wanted to give a brief oversight of what I plan on doing with “Snow Report” blogs. The plan is for these to be something that goes up on a week to week basis and covers the good, bad, and the surprising/weird happenings with the Avalanche. It may not always be on ice-related stuff, but more just the feel around the team from a fan’s perspective. With that said this week I’m just gonna go over the first half and some change of the season so far. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

THE GOOD: MacKinnon, Makar, Depth, and Scoring

Nathan god damn MacKinnon! There’s not a whole lot that needs to be said about this guy right now, but I’m going to anyway. MacK has been nothing short of a god so far this season. He’s played in all 49 games this season and has been putting up simply absurd numbers. So far this season he’s got 30 goals and 42 assists for 72 points. He’s been able to get his cookies while missing his usual linemates, Landeskog and Rantanen, for about a third of the season. To say he’s in the conversation for the Hart this year is doing him a disservice, to be honest. In my completely unbiased opinion, he’s the runaway favorite to win it this year after being robbed by the voters two years ago. The fact that Taylor Hall has a Hart trophy in his cabinet instead of Nathan MacKinnon is absurd, and I could go on a 1000 word rant about it, but that’s not what we’re here for. The point I’m trying to make is this, MacKinnon has been otherworldly for this team so far, but he’s not doing it alone. Rookie sensation Cale Makar has been without a shadow of a doubt the Avs second-best player this season. Outside of a strange upper-body injury that kept him out of the lineup for a couple games, the kid has been a stud. Makar currently leads ALL rookies in scoring and has done so playing fewer games than all other rookies in the top five. He also recently broke the Avalanche rookie record for goals by a defenseman with 33 games remaining. The man he passed, John Michael Liles, was no slouch either (also a man rocket but that’s neither here nor there). Makar is not just the next Erik Karlsson he could be the next Nick Lidstrom. I know that sounds ridiculous, but it really isn’t. While both those guys are living up to the hype the best news of this season so far has been the success of the added depth players. Joe Sakic was an absolute wizard this offseason, and the additions of guys like Kadri, Burakovsky, and Donskoi have added a level of depth the Avs haven’t had since the early 2000s. Burakovsky and Donskoi are on track to have career years, and Kadri has used his extra minutes to get back to where he was before he was downgraded to a third-line center with the Leafs. While the big-name additions have garnered much of the attention the bottom-six guys have been getting theirs as well. Pierre-Edward Bellemare, Matt Clavert, and Matt Nieto, when played together, may just be the best “fourth line” in the NHL. They have an uncanny ability to turn relentless defense into odd-man rushes with consistency. All of these positives have lead to the Avs being the NHL’s highest-scoring team at 3.65 goals per game, but perhaps more impressively has been the Avs ability to keep the puck out their own net. They rank 11th in the NHL with 2.90 goals against per game. Keeping both those rankings in the top third of the league should lead to a very consistent team in the second half of the season.

THE BAD: Injuries, Inconsistency, and Special Teams

While this season has undeniably been a success to this point, there have been some issues that, if solved, could be the difference between a playoff run and a first-round exit. Arguably the biggest problem for this team this year has been its health. Almost every player on the team has missed time with injury. In fact, only Nathan MacKinnon, Sam Girard, and Ryan Graves have played every game (Graves was scratched for one game earlier in the season, but has yet to miss a game due to injury). 10 players have missed more than 3 games this year. That includes Mikko and Gabe both missing 16 games, Cale Makar missed 8, and Erik Johnson missed 11. On top of that, both of the Avs NHL goalies missed games with injuries. The boys over at “Man-Games Lost” projected that as of January 16th the Avs had lost 9.77 points in the standings due to injuries. That sits second only to the Penguins who have been bent over backward by injuries as bad as any team I’ve seen. While injuries are clearly out of the control of players and coaches, the inconsistency that has come with them isn’t. So far this season the Avs have dropped four games in a row three separate times. That sort of inconsistency is not often associated with Stanley Cup-winning teams. The Blues from last year are obviously a big fuck you to that statement, but that simply isn’t the norm. Teams that win the cup very rarely lose three games in a row let alone four. While I don’t have a single statistic to back that up it feels right, and frankly, I’m a feel guy. Inconsistency is something that needs to be resolved in the second half of the season if this team is gonna make a run for the Cup. Last but certainly not least is the god damn special teams. These special teams will be the death of me at this rate. I wake up at night with nightmares about the PP and PK. I simply do not understand how a team that has sooooo much talent on the ice every night can’t convert a power play at least 20% of the time. While I would never call for Bednar’s head, because he’s a regal stallion and should be the coach that brings a Cup back to Denver, I’m starting to think Bennett might be headed for the proverbial showers. Bennett had plenty of success in the last two years coaching the PP (top 10 PP both seasons) but this year with much more talent the team ranks 20th. It’s hard to believe and even harder to stomach. A firing may not be in the cards this late into the year, but if there isn’t a turn around I would not be surprised if there was a new face running the PP next year. The penalty kill has been equally as bad, but the team’s ability to score has masked the fact that the Avs are only killing 79% of penalties this year. The shitty PK is a bit easier to deal with because no one expected it to be one of the team’s strong suits. If they can get that 79 up to an 82-83 there shouldn’t be too many worries come playoff time.

THE WEIRD/SURPRISING: Ryan Graves and Goaltending

Ryan Graves has been a bright shining star for this team so far this season. The young defenceman hasn’t gotten the fanfare that Makar has, but make no mistake, he’s been incredible. At the risk of sounding like an ass, I’m gonna say I kinda called this. Towards the end of last season, and into playoffs, Graves began to get more and more time in the NHL. His play just seemed to get better and better with every game, and with that, my family and friends had to listen to me wax poetic about how talented I thought he was. If you don’t believe me just ask them because my incessant babbling probably burned his name into their skulls. His improvement has carried into this season in a BIG way. When the Avs traded Chris Bigras (lol remember him) to the Rangers for Graves no one thought much of the deal, but I think outside of the Duchene trade its the best decision Sakic has made. Graves currently, and for some time, has led the NHL in +/-. Which is a stat I don’t love, but its the only numerical value that is easy to point out. As the season has progressed Graves has found himself on the ice for more and more important possessions, and the pairing with Makar is a pretty clear sign of Bednar’s trust in the kid. While Graves’s defensive attributes have been the most noticeable attribute he has found a way to get on the score sheet to the tune of 8 goals and 11 assists. Not too shabby for a “stay at home” defenceman. While Ryan Graves’s emergence has been a very welcome surprise, the goaltending has been a bit weird. After the run Grubauer went on at the end of last season and into playoffs, everyone believed that was going to be the norm. Well as we all should have known that’s just not how goaltending works in the NHL. Grubauer has had a rollercoaster of a season so far but has started to get things back on track with a few convincing wins going into the break. While Grubi struggled to find his groove, little known commodity Pavel Francouz has been very solid. Frankie has, in fact, been one of the best goalies in the entire NHL, ranking ninth in both save percentage and goals-against average (among goalies who have made at least 10 starts). If Grubauer can find something close to the form he had to finish out last season, and Francouz continues at this level this team should feel very comfortable no matter what happens come playoffs.

This team has achieved much more to this point than in both of the last two years. That’s a great sign moving forward as they shouldn’t have to fight and claw their way into playoffs as they have in seasons passed. The rest of the season should be an absolute treat, and I for one can’t wait to see what it holds. All I can say for now is the snow is certainly good, and Go Avs Go.

If you like what you’re reading check out my ramblings on twitter: @msovi27

Welcome To The Blog

Over the last decade, I’ve become more and more invested in this little sport called hockey, and more specifically the Colorado Avalanche. If I’m being honest it’s actually become more of an obsession, and I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon. My family and friends have always urged me to find an outlet for all my pent up “passion”, and quite frankly I think they’re just sick of having to listen to me talk about hockey non-stop. So I decided to start this blog, and see where it goes. I’m certainly no professional journo, nor did I play the game at a high level, I’m just a fan. I’m not here to pretend I know the game inside and out, I just wanted a place where I could speak my unfiltered mind, and maybe have a couple people read about it from time to time. As with most decisions I’ve made to this point I don’t know where this blog is gonna go, but I’m excited to get it started. So if you’re still interested why don’t you hop on for the ride, and see where this thing goes.