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Tag: Brent Burns

  • Avalanche earn depth-charged 4-0 victory against Columbus, led by Trent Miner, Brent Burns

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    It was Next Generation day at Ball Arena, which involves kids taking over key roles during the in-game fan experience.

    It turned into a day where the Colorado Avalanche stars took a back seat to some of the “other guys” as well.

    Brent Burns scored twice, Trent Miner collected his first NHL victory and shutout with 29 saves and the bottom-six forwards were all over the scoresheet in a 4-0 win Saturday afternoon against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

    “We got contributions from a bunch of different guys tonight,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “It’s how you win. If you want to win a lot, you’re going to win in different ways and different guys are going to be chipping in. That’s what our team has been doing a lot this year.”

    The Avs have now won the first two contests of this season-long seven-game homestand. Colorado is halfway through its home slate this season, and is 19-0-2 at Ball Arena. The Avs have also won 17 straight here, which is one one shy of the franchise record set during the 2021-22 campaign.

    Burns gave Colorado the lead at 13:58 of the opening period. Gavin Brindley took the puck off the wall after a nice pass from Valeri Nichushkin and to the net on a rush. During the ensuing scramble, the rebound of a sharp-angle Ross Colton shot kicked out to the inside edge of the right circle and Burns snapped one through all the traffic in front for his seventh goal of the season.

    His second goal of the game and eighth of the year came with Colorado’s fourth line on the ice. Brindley and Zakhar Bardakov collected assists as Burns’ perimeter shot went off the goaltender, off a Blue Jackets’ defenseman and trickled across the goal line.

    Burns is one of the great offensive defensemen on the 21st century, but his eight goals this year are already two more than his last season with the Carolina Hurricanes. He’s well-positioned to hit double digits for the 14th time in his career, and 15 for the ninth time isn’t out of the question.

    His two-goal game came two days after his defense partner, Josh Manson, scored twice.

    “I don’t think either shot was going at the net,” Burns said. “I wasn’t thinking about it. (Manson) even talked about it today, about how this game has a funny way of humbling you … we just talked about having a good game. It was lucky bounces, but it’s (also) forwards being in good spots.”

    Colorado’s recently formed third line produced the next two goals after Burns’ opener. Parker Kelly, up from the fourth line because of an injury to captain Gabe Landeskog, won a battle along the boards to the right of Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlikins. He got the puck to Jack Drury, who made a crafty little pass to Victor Olofsson for a backhanded shot and his eight goal of the season at 17:28 of the opening period.

    Olofsson, a shoot-first offensive player in his career, had gone 11 games without a goal, though Avs coach Jared Bednar has repeatedly praised his defense and all-around play in his first season with the club.

    Ilya Solovyov scored his first career NHL goal to give Colorado a 3-0 advantage midway through the second period. Olofsson led the offensive rush out of his own end, before leaving the puck for Kelly. His cross-ice pass found Solovyov, the trailing defenseman, and he buried a wrist shot from the left circle at 10:30 of the middle frame.

    It was the third straight game with a point for Solovyov. He had no goals and four assists in his first 25 career NHL games, but has a goal and two assists in his past three.

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    Corey Masisak

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  • Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon, Brent Burns share passion for training, off-ice work: ‘I’ve already learned a lot from him’

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    Nearly two years ago, Jared Bednar offered four words that summarized Nathan MacKinnon’s rise to the top of the NHL en route to his first Hart Trophy: We get in late.

    Bednar’s team altered its travel itinerary to accommodate MacKinnon’s postgame recovery routine, which several of his Colorado Avalanche teammates also partake in. It’s just part of the near mythological tale of MacKinnon’s off-ice commitment to on-ice excellence.

    Brent Burns has cultivated a similar reputation across more than two decades in the NHL. His passion for off-ice training and taking care of his body is a big part of why he has played more than 1,500 NHL games and will have a plaque inside the Great Hall at the Hockey Hall of Fame three years after he’s done playing.

    This is his first season with the Avalanche, and he’s offered an addendum to the lore of MacKinnon and his teammates’ zeal for the work they put in during the season: They get in early.

    Burns has mentioned this a few times. He’s always prided himself on being one of the first guys at the rink every morning, going back to his days with Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks. Then he signed with the Avs, and he started seeing a bunch of cars when he pulled into the Family Sports Center parking lot.

    “That’s been a huge blessing for me coming here,” Burns said. “There’s so many guys here that are so dedicated to it.”

    There were plenty of reasons to believe Burns and the Avalanche could be a good fit when he signed a one-year, incentive-laden deal on July 1. One of the most obvious: Burns is a workout warrior, a guy who has always been a leader in that aspect for every team he’s played for.

    The idea of MacKinnon and Burns being on the same team conjured up images of the scene from Step Brothers, when Brennan Huff (Will Ferrell) asks Dale Doback (John C. Reilly), “Did we just become best friends?”

    While MacKinnon and Burns haven’t done any karate together in the garage, Burns has enjoyed getting a behind-the-scenes look at what helps make MacKinnon one of the best players of his generation.

    “Nate is very well known for a lot of his things and (expletive), I’ve already learned a lot from him,” Burns said. “We talk quite a bit about it. I love picking his brain.

    “This stuff changes all the time, and Nate is obviously at the tip of the spear for all of it. It’s been awesome. I love that he loves to share and lets other guys know. That’s a really great thing. A lot of us can learn a lot from a guy like that.”

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    Corey Masisak

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  • Avalanche sign goaltender Scott Wedgewood to one-year contract extension

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    Scott Wedgewood didn’t need a full calendar year to show the Colorado Avalanche why the club should want to keep him around.

    Wedgewood signed a one-year contract extension Thursday morning worth $2.5 million, a source confirmed to the Denver Post. The 33-year-old goaltender is in the final season of a two-year deal he had originally signed with the Nashville Predators, and he would have been an unrestricted free agent this summer.

    Instead, the Avs now have the “Lumber Yard” tandem of Mackenzie Blackwood and Wedgewood in place through the 2026-27 season.

    “It’s just a place that my wife and I have felt at home with,” Wedgewood said. “A great hockey team. All those guys in the room, I owe them a lot of beers for putting me in this situation. It’s just been a good fit since I got here.”

    The Avs traded goalie Justus Annunen and a sixth-round draft pick to the Predators on Dec. 1, 2024, for Wedgewood. It was the first of many roster-overhauling deals that general manager Chris MacFarland made last season.

    Wedgewood’s arrival helped stabilize the goaltending position. The Avs were last in the NHL in save percentage before Dec. 1. They added Blackwood 10 days later and had the sixth-best save percentage through the remainder of the 2024-25 season.

    Blackwood missed the first 12 games of this season, rehabbing from an offseason procedure. Wedgewood has filled in as the starter and leads the NHL with 10 wins (10-1-2). His .913 save percentage is fifth among goalies with at least 10 games played, and his 2.26 goals against average is third.

    Wedgewood said the deal was almost completed Wednesday night, but his wife likely found out on social media when it was officially done Thursday morning because it was just before the morning skate at Ball Arena. His parents are also in town to help celebrate.

    “It’s a chance to play 30-plus games, a chance to be on a really good team, a chance of winning (the Stanley Cup),” Wedgewood said. “When you put it in that perspective, it’s probably the best spot in the league to be a 1A and 1B with (Blackwood).”

    The Avs also have Ilya Nabokov, a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL draft, under contract for next season. Nabokov, 22, was the KHL playoff MVP in 2024 and is expected to join the Avs in the spring after his season with Magnitogorsk ends.

    After back-to-back strong seasons as Magnitogorsk’s starter, Nabokov has struggled at times this year.

    “We’ve got Nabokov coming, we’ve got Blackwood locked in (through 2030), but Nabokov’s never played in North America or the NHL,” Bednar said. “(A) good prospect and has some growth that he still needs in his game.

    “When you get a guy (like Wedgewood) who wants to be here and fits in your culture and then performs like this on the ice, I think the natural progression is trying to get him locked up.”

    Nichushkin week-to-week

    When Gavin Brindley signed a contract extension Tuesday, his coach said he believes the 21-year-old can be a top-six forward in this league. Two days later, he is one.

    Valeri Nichushkin will miss at least a handful of games and is week-to-week, Bednar said Thursday morning. The club expects to have a better handle on his timeline early next week.

    “Nothing too serious, which is good, but serious enough that he’s going to miss a handful of games at least,” Bednar said.

    The Avs have had players missing with injuries this season, but the top-nine forwards all played each of the first 17 games.

    In the meantime, Brindley will move up to the second line Thursday night against the Buffalo Sabres and play next to Brock Nelson and Ross Colton. Brindley has been an early-season surprise for the Avs, earning more trust from the coaching staff while playing primarily on the fourth line.

    “Gavin Brindley — that’s how we (replace him),” Bednar said. “With Val, it’s power play, it’s penalty kill, it’s top-six minutes, it’s empty net when you need one and empty net when you need to keep the other team off the board. It’s a lot of different duties that we will split up.

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    Corey Masisak

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  • Avalanche Journal: Five thoughts on Colorado’s fast, drama-free start

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    Jared Bednar, an avid angler, likes to compare his hockey team over a long season to a boat.

    He sees it like this: The team builds its identity and what it wants to be over the first part of the season, and then there are aspects that just break during the grind of 82 games — kind of like a well-used fishing vessel. How quickly the club fixes the issues and regains its optimal performance is a big part of a successful campaign.

    The Colorado Avalanche left the dock with a major leak last season. Fixing the boat on the fly was an all-hands-on-deck situation, from the coaching staff to the front office.

    The start of the 2025-26 season has been a complete 180. The Avs were 4-0-1 heading into a Saturday night contest at Ball Arena with the Boston Bruins, and the one blemish might have been the best overall performance considering the foe.

    Colorado’s NHL team is relatively healthy, stable and off to a strong start. The Avs allowed eight goals in the season opener last year. They’ve allowed eight total in the first five contests.

    “Overall, a pretty good start, being able to win hockey games without really having played our best as a team,” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said. “If you can figure out your game as a team while winning, and kind of go through some of those growing pains at the start of the season while racking up some points, I think that’s a positive thing.

    “And I think we are only scratching the surface.”

    Here are some observations from the first five-game segment of this Stanley Cup-or-bust season in Denver.

    1. Nathan MacKinnon is already in Hart Trophy finalist form

    Natural Stat Trick had MacKinnon on the ice for 17 scoring chances in Buffalo. He took 17 shifts in the game. The 2024 league MVP has been on the ice for 49 scoring chances at 5-on-5, which is tied for third among forwards. The two players ahead of him and the one who is even are all on the two-time defending champs, the Florida Panthers, who have also played an extra game.

    The Avs have outscored the opposition 7-0 at even strength with MacKinnon on the ice, 10-0 overall. Those are just some numbers in a small sample size.

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    Corey Masisak

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  • Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas look electric together, even if it’s not a finished product

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    Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas were electric together Saturday night, and the scary part is they think it will get better.

    MacKinnon and Necas each had a goal and three points in a 5-4 shootout loss to the rival Dallas Stars at Ball Arena. It was only Game No. 3 on the schedule, but this will be one of the great contests of the Avs’ 2025-26 regular season, regardless of the end result.

    “That line was really good,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “That was their best game. Game 1, reliable but not super dangerous. Game 2, we all had a rough night. Tonight, they were super dangerous from the get-go.”

    While the Avs have done their best to say and show they have moved on from the Mikko Rantanen saga, this was his first time back in Denver since ending their season in May in cinematic fashion.

    Necas doesn’t want to be Rantanen. The Avs want him to be the best version of himself, not a clone of their former star.

    MacKinnon and his new running mate certainly put on a show Saturday night. The 2024 NHL MVP found Necas for Colorado’s first goal early in the second period with a perfect cross-ice pass.

    Necas collected it at the base of the right faceoff circle and snapped a shot below the crossbar from a tight angle for his third goal of the season. It’s not hard to envision the MacKinnon-to-Rantanen version of that play.

    Rantanen, as a lefthanded shooter, would have had his body turned the opposite direction and may have gone down to one knee while one-timing the puck. Necas, as a righty playing right wing, can’t make that play.

    But, he found his own way to create a highlight-level goal.

    “He’s a dynamic player,” MacKinnon said. “We both play with some pace. I think we’re just trying to figure out how to complement each other more. I think we play a similar style of game. We have the perfect guy with us. (Artturi Lehkonen) is always in the paint, always retrieving pucks. Yeah, it’s been pretty good.

    “He’s looking awesome. Looks strong, seeing the ice well, shooting it well.”

    MacKinnon set up Lehkonen for a tap-in at the edge of the crease on the first shift of the third period. The Avs controlled the puck and the majority of the scoring chances all night. But in a script Colorado fans have seen acted out too many times, Dallas kept finding ways to capitalize against the run of play.

    With the Avs trailing in the third but gifted a four-minute power play, the dynamic duo found a way to make it 4-4. Brent Burns put a shot on net, and the rebound came right to Necas in the slot. He stopped it, flipped to his forehand and sent a pass to MacKinnon in the left circle for a one-timer with 9:14 remaining.

    That was the 11th shot of the night on the power play, and the breakthrough the Avs needed.

    “I thought (the power play) was really good tonight. A lot of great chances,” MacKinnon said. “I know we were getting booed. I guess they don’t know what a good power play looks like. We had a ton of chances, just nothing was going in. Then we finally got one.

    “I guess they’ve got to boo us more.”

    MacKinnon and Necas combined for six points and seven shots on goal. Lehkonen added a goal and four more shots.

    Necas had two Grade-A chances late, including the only shot on goal in the overtime, but Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger robbed him on both.

    “It was a fun game,” MacKinnon said. “The crowd was really into it. We played really well. It was just one of those nights.

    “Hats off to Oettinger. They hung around, did what they had to do to win. It wasn’t a great game last game. I guess that’s the hockey gods, maybe. Maybe we didn’t deserve (to win) last game.”

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    Corey Masisak

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  • Keeler: Avalanche roster hasn’t been this old since 2007. Will time, and Stanley Cup, finally be on GM Chris MacFarland’s side?

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    The Condor hung up his wings for good Monday. If Eric Johnson turning 37 makes you feel old, imagine how it makes him feel.

    “You snap your fingers and your career is over, and it’s so short in the big picture of your life,” Johnson, who patrolled the Avalanche’s blue line from 2011-2023 and then again for a smidge earlier this year, mused at Family Sports Center. “And it’s so short in the big picture of your life, that I just figured that, ‘Why not come to the rink every day like it’s the best day ever?’ I hope that rubbed off on people over time.”

    RELATED: Meet the 2025-26 Colorado Avalanche: A breakdown of the complete team roster

    Sure did. But seeing the affable EJ call time on a stellar run was also a reminder, and not a sunny one, that the Avs’ current core is creeping closer to the end of the movie than the beginning.

    Brent Burns isn’t the only greybeard in the building. Colorado, per EliteProspects.com, opens the 2025-26 season on late Tuesday in Los Angeles with the fourth-oldest roster in the NHL at an average age of 29.17 years. It’s the third-oldest in the Western Conference behind Winnipeg (30.17 years) and the Kings, their first-night sparring partner (29.74).

    The Avs’ roster as of Monday morning featured nine players 30 or older. It’s the first time a Colorado roster sported an average age over 29, according to the Elite Prospects database, since 2006-07. Joe Sakic was 38 then. That group totaled 95 points but missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the franchise relocated from Quebec City.

    Coach Jared Bednar is juggling a few katanas while the Sword of Damocles dangles over his head this season. But load management is among the trickiest, given the annual grind of the Western Conference and the usual stratospheric stakes.

    Push the guys in order to snatch home ice? Or ease things up with the marathon of 7-8 months in mind? When your captain’s still testing a new knee on the fly, there’s no easy answer.

    “I think Bedsy and the staff … are going to be smart, particularly with (Gabe) Landeskog, right?” Avs general manager Chris MacFarland replied Monday when I asked about the load. “We’re going to glean information on how (Gabe) does in back-to-backs, or three (games in four days), or four (in six days) and his practice schedule …  He’s a really important player. So I think we’ll just we’ll glean that information … and we’ll read and react off that.”

    For years, C-Mac’s Avs were young, to paraphrase noted philosopher Bob Seger, and they were strong, running against the wind. Only those winds blow even harder now, and they’re not so young anymore. Big Val Nichushkin turns 31 in March. Landeskog turns 33 in November. Brock Nelson turns 34 next month. Among the defense, Josh Manson turns 34 on Tuesday. Devon Toews turns 32 in February. Burns turns 41 in March.

    Time is no longer on Bednar’s side. At one point Monday, MacFarland even sounded reflective, if slightly defensive, about the expiration date on what should’ve been an NHL dynasty.

    “COVID hurt us,” MacFarland said. “There’s no ifs or buts about it. And then the uncertainty of Gabe’s situation and the unfortunate stuff with Val. But that stuff’s in the past.

    “I think our guys, what Bedsy and our players have done is, that they have a chance. I think the organization’s job is to try and give them as good a chance as possible, and their play dictates that. I think over the last seven, eight years, their play (has) consistently dictated that. Hopefully, it will continue to do so this year as well.”

    To his credit, MacFarland has been as dedicated to tweaking and shuffling the fringes of his roster as former Nuggets GM Calvin Booth was to sitting on his hands. Better to try and fail than to shrug, as Booth did, while Father Time coldly ripped the pages from Nikola Jokic’s desk calendar.

    But Avs 1.1 (2023) and 1.2 (2024) never got as close as version 1.0 (2022 Stanley Cup champs) did in terms of bottling that combo of strong health, strong depth, strong special teams, strong goaltending, strong intangibles and strong matchups.

    Although 1.3 (2025), on paper, flew awfully close. Wise puckheads looked at Stars-Avs last spring and declared that the winner was easily bound for, at worst, a Western Conference final — and that we were getting a main event far, far too early. They were right, in hindsight. Not that it should make anyone in burgundy and blue feel any better.

    A long Cup run is a marathon, a two-month, uphill march of sweat, blood, guts, focus and willpower. It’s a battle of attrition and desperation; a story that inevitably demands a dozen hands and five or six heroes.

    Lord Stanley is one of the hardest trophies in sports to win and even harder to keep. And yet the fact that the Florida Panthers have made it look even easier than the Lightning did does not reflect as kindly on MacFarland and Bednar, who have been good at their jobs at the same time some peers have been great.

    It’s not unfair to assume the pair’s window might have already come and gone. If you’re curious, the last 14 teams with an average age of 29 or more from 2020-21 through 2024-25 averaged 95.2 points during the regular season. Eight of the 14 “old” squads reached the playoffs. And four of those eight got bounced out of the bracket in the first round.

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    Sean Keeler

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  • Keeler: Nathan MacKinnon says Game 7 loss to Dallas ‘like getting over a breakup.’ Now Avalanche star is healed, out for revenge

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    The ghost in the stall meant one thing: Nathan MacKinnon isn’t done haunting the NHL yet.

    As the Avalanche locker room opened for media a few Fridays ago during training camp, the big names crisscrossed, de-taped and unwound. Captain Gabe Landeskog held court at one end. Newbie Brent Burns grinned toothlessly at the other.

    “Every day, you see (MacKinnon) do 10-12 things that are like, ‘Holy (expletive),’” Burns, a veteran defenseman who came over from Carolina, cackled. “And usually I’m at the wrong end of it. So it’s not good.”

    Practice had just ended. MacKinnon’s skates were inside his locker. The rest of him was gone. Grinding.

    “Working out,” an Avs staffer told me.

    Twenty minutes became 25.

    “He’s riding the bike now,” another staffer said. “Will be a bit of time.”

    Twenty-five minutes became 30.

    Then 35. Then 40. Then 45.

    My phone buzzed.

    “He’s on the way,” a voice said.

    Think this man is easing up at age 30? Think he’s satisfied with one Stanley Cup?

    You must be joking.

    “I enjoy the day-to-day grind of it,” the Avs’ iconic center explained. “I enjoy working out. I enjoy skating with guys back home —  just relaxing and working hard and trying to get better. So that kind of keeps me in the moment. ”

    The rocket never rests. MacKinnon stands 6-foot in socks. But if carrying the Avs on his back, if dragging them kicking and screaming, gets Colorado another Stanley Cup in 2026, he’s good with that, too. Hop on.

    “Just trying to get my mind and body ready for a long season,” MacKinnon continued. “Each day I come here, I’m just trying to get a little better. Just try to win every day I have. And hopefully that takes me and the team to a good spot.”

    He’s in a better place than last May. That’s when old friend Mikko Rantanen, in what we hope doesn’t become a recurring theme, tore into MacKinnon’s chest and ripped his heart out. Rantanen, a stalwart of the Avs’ 2022 Cup champs, scored a hat trick to lead his new team, the Dallas Stars, to a maddening, series-clinching Game 7 win over his old one.

    “It’s like getting over a breakup,” MacKinnon said of last season’s ignominious end. “It just takes a long time. Time heals everything.”

    Including the Avs. Last spring’s wounds are this fall’s scars. Last October’s concerns are this year’s colonnades.

    Landeskog, the Captain, is back from the jump. So is big Valeri Nichushkin.

    Brock Nelson signed a 3-year extension to nip that nagging “2C” question in the bud. New winger Victor Olofsson can hit a flea from 50 yards out. Burns brings 6-foot-5 beef to the blue line, to say nothing of the best dang beard in pro hockey.

    “I think when you all lose together, you’re in a painful experience together, I think you can come out of it stronger,” MacKinnon said of the Avs’ first-round elimination by a depleted Stars roster. “No one (in this locker room) was blaming each other; it was all on each other. I think it was a tough loss. We lost to a really good team. But I think we’ll be better because of it.”

    Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) takes the puck down ice against Dallas Stars center Mikael Granlund (64) and Esa Lindell (23) in the first period of game four of the first round of the NHL playoffs at Ball Arena in Denver on Saturday, April 26, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

    One Cup? For Nate, it’s not enough. It was never enough.

    Mighty MacK’s good pal Sidney Crosby went seven years between championships. Colorado’s Burgundy Bolide turned 30 on Sept. 1. Father Time is the only dude MacKinnon can’t beat to the goal line.

    “This is our fourth year (since 2022), so you just never know when it’s going to come,” the Avs center mused. “It’s just … sometimes, you win a couple in a row. Sometimes, it took (the Penguins) seven. And (then) they won two in a row. Hopefully, that happens for us one day. But I like where we’re at.”

    Enter Burns. Enter Olofsson. Enter new assistant coach Dave Hakstol to help put some pep back into Colorado’s special teams. The Avs’ power play buzzsaw of the ’22 postseason was positively toothless in ’25 against the Stars.

    “It’s not a ton of turnover, like last season (when) we had like nine new guys,” MacKinnon said. “Most of those guys are back. So I think it’s going to be a positive year — positive that we have so many returning guys.”

    The negative? Landy turns 33 in November. Val turns 31 in March. Nelson’s 34th birthday falls on Oct. 15. Burns is lurching toward 41.

    There’s a lot of mileage in that locker room. And an awful lot of tread worn off an awful lot of tires.

    “I won’t look at Nate any differently if he wins one (Cup) or if he wins three,” Eddie Olczyk, the Warner Bros. Discovery and TNT analyst, told me by phone. “He’s won. He’s separated himself from many, many great players who have played this game.

    “In terms of game-breakers and difference-makers, (the Avs) have two of the very best at different positions in (MacKinnon) and (defenseman) Cale Makar. But you need to stay healthy.”

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    Sean Keeler

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  • Avalanche defenseman Keaton Middleton’s NHL dreams finally came through, but his identity is unchanged: ‘I know who I am’

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    Keaton Middleton had the type of year last season that thousands of hockey players who have toiled away in the minors dream of.

    He made it.

    So, after five months with the Colorado Avalanche and what looks like a spot sewn up on the NHL roster before training camp even began, how did Middleton approach his first exhibition contest? He met with the biggest, meanest-looking dude on the other team at center ice during warmups and agreed to a fight.

    “I don’t have an identity crisis. I know who I am,” Middleton said. “I’ve known who I am for years. That won’t be a problem for me. I know my game and I know what to do to help our team win.”

    Aside from a quick stint with an injury-riddled Avalanche team in April 2021, Middleton spent the previous six seasons in the American Hockey League. He began year No. 7 of his professional career in the minors, too, but then the Avs gave him another chance.

    Middleton played Nov. 30, 2024, for the Colorado Eagles, was called up to the big club two days later and hasn’t played in the AHL since. He appeared in 41 games for the Avalanche last year and settled into the NHL as a guy who played on the third pairing when needed.

    “It was a learning experience,” Middleton said. “It was like a cup of coffee, maybe even half a pot, but I want another pot now. I spent a lot of time playing professional hockey at the AHL level, and now you get a taste of this, you want to do whatever you can to stick around.”

    When last season ended, Middleton was Colorado’s No. 8 defenseman. Ryan Lindgren signed with Seattle, and Brent Burns arrived in early July. Erik Johnson was seventh on the depth chart and remains available as an unrestricted free agent, but there isn’t a spot in Denver for him because, with Burns, the Avs already have four right-handed shots at the position.

    While the Avs added further depth at forward late in the summer, the NHL depth chart on the blue line hasn’t changed. That certainly looks like a vote of confidence from the organization.

    “He’s a physical, hard, stay-at-home defender and he improved his puck play enough to the point where now he’s come up and played games for us and played well and been able to help us,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “Just has to continue to do that. He has an element there of toughness that is nice to have in the lineup sometimes. He earned the right to come up last year and hopefully he earns the right to stay here again this year.”

    When everyone is healthy, Middleton slots in as the No. 7 guy. Given that Samuel Girard is in a race against time to get healthy with a lower-body injury, Middleton might even get to play on opening night for the first time in his career.

    So this camp feels a lot different for the 27-year-old Edmonton native, right?

    “Yes, but also no, because I know I’m still fighting for a job,” Middleton said. “I’m always fighting for a job. That’s a position I’ll be in for my career. The only difference is now I know I’m an NHL defenseman, and I have the capability to be one. But there’s always new guys, young guys, guys having good camps.

    “I have to fight for a spot. I’ll be like that ’till I’m 40. It’s just how it is, just the mindset that I have.”

    Middleton spent a couple of seasons with the San Jose Sharks organization, so he knew Burns from training camps years ago. They might be partnered at times this season, if Bednar wants his two biggest defensemen on the ice together.

    They also skated together this summer for a few weeks before camp began.

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    Corey Masisak

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  • Aho’s late goal leads Hurricanes past Sharks 2-1

    Aho’s late goal leads Hurricanes past Sharks 2-1

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    SAN JOSE, Calif. — Sebastian Aho scored the tiebreaking goal with 1:58 remaining in the third period and the Carolina Hurricanes handed the San Jose Sharks their third straight loss to open the season, 2-1 on Friday night.

    Martin Necas scored his second goal in two games for Carolina to tie it late in the second period before Aho won it in the third when he deflected a point shot from Brett Pesce past James Reimer.

    “Just a great play by Pesce taking a little second to look,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Aho beats his guy to the net and on the tape and puts it in. … I think we got what we deserved tonight for sure.”

    Antti Raanta made 18 saves, including one in close to stop Tomas Hertl in the closing seconds as the Hurricanes improved to 2-0 on the season.

    “Obviously a little chaos there and the puck was rolling in the crease there,” Raanta said. “I was just trying to keep my pads on the ice and not letting anything go in. Maybe a little bit of luck also there. Got my body in there and was able to make the save and you hear the buzzer so obviously a good feeling to make that a save and obviously get that win.”

    San Jose had lost the first two games of the season to Nashville in the Czech Republic but were unable to get on the winning side in the home opener for new coach David Quinn.

    Evgeny Svechnikov also scored his first goal for San Jose. James Reimer made 33 saves.

    “You got to find a way to get it done,” Quinn said. “If you’re tired, you have got to find a way to play tired. A lot of times teams are tired in this league, and the teams that manage it and understand how to play when they’re tired, they have a chance to have success in games like tonight.”

    The Sharks opened the scoring late in the first period when Jaycob Megna set up Svechnikov in the high slot for a quick shot that appeared to surprise Raanta.

    Svechnikov’s younger brother, Andrei, was on the ice for Carolina on the goal — marking the first time in eight games they have played against each other that one brother was on the ice when the other scored. Andrei scored for Carolina against Evgeny’s Detroit team on March 4, 2021, but Evgeni wasn’t on the ice.

    “I mean, it’s huge to get it,” Svechnikov said. “You get momentum, just trying to shoot the puck there, and doesn’t matter if it’s any team really. I just try to shoot the puck for a goal.”

    The Hurricanes dominated the second period, holding San Jose without a shot on goal for the first 13:22 and outshooting the Sharks 16-4. But they couldn’t get anything past Reimer until Andrei Svechnikov took the puck away from Kevin Labanc in the neutral zone and set up Necas for the tying goal with 22.9 seconds remaining in the period.

    Necas’ four points in the first two games are one shy of the franchise record set by Mark Howe and Mike Rogers in the 1980-81 season when the team played in Hartford.

    BURNS RETURNS

    The Sharks played a pregame video tribute to defenseman Brent Burns, who was traded to Carolina over the summer. Burns was one of the most popular players during his 11 seasons in San Jose. He won the Norris Trophy in 2017 as the league’s top defenseman. He has 172 goals and 422 assists in 798 games with the Sharks.

    “It was special. It was great,” Burns said. “It was awesome to see the video and see some of the guys and some of those moments that we had. It’s just a special place. It’s great people.”

    INJURY UPDATES

    The Hurricanes sent F Ondrej Kase back home to be evaluated for a possible concussion. … Sharks F Alexander Barabanov remains sidelined with a lower-body injury. … San Jose F Timo Meier and D Mario Ferraro were in the lineup after being slowed earlier this week with upper-body injuries.

    UP NEXT

    Hurricanes: Visit Seattle on Monday night.

    Sharks: Host Chicago on Saturday night. San Jose will honor former GM Doug Wilson in a ceremony before the game. Wilson stepped down last season for medical reasons.

    ———

    AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Necas helps Hurricanes beat Blue Jackets in opener

    Necas helps Hurricanes beat Blue Jackets in opener

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    RALEIGH, N.C. — Martin Necas had a goal and two assists and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 in the season opener for both teams Wednesday night.

    Seth Jarvis, Brady Skjei and Andrei Svechnikov also scored for the Hurricanes, who’ve won four consecutive opening games.

    Patrick Laine had the Columbus goal, giving the Blue Jackets a brief second-period lead.

    Frederik Andersen made 31 saves for the Hurricanes.

    Columbus turned to Daniil Tarasov as the surprise opening-night starter because top netminder Elvis Merzilikins was ill. Tarasov, who appeared in his fifth NHL game, made 39 saves.

    The Hurricanes would like to churn out another stellar opening stretch. They won their first nine games last season.

    Necas began his points-producing spree by assisting on Skjei’s go-ahead goal with 1:30 to play in the second period. The Hurricanes were in transition, but Skjei spotted up inside the blueline and Necas delivered a pass back to him to set up the shot.

    Necas then scored 6:29 into the third period off a rebound. Less than three minutes later, he recorded the primary assist on Svechnikov’s goal.

    Laine scored the first goal 11 seconds into the second period following a Carolina turnover. He has 10 goals in 20 career games against Carolina.

    WELCOME THEM ALL

    A few players made debuts with their respective teams.

    Six-time All-Star Johnny Gaudreau was in the Columbus lineup, while defenseman Brent Burns played in his 680th consecutive game – but first for Carolina – to move into sole possession for the 10th longest streak in NHL history.

    Paul Stastny, another veteran in his first game for the Hurricanes, assisted on the team’s fourth goal. He’s beginning his 17th NHL season.

    UP NEXT

    Blue Jackets: Friday night vs. visiting Tampa Bay.

    Hurricanes: Friday night at San Jose to begin a five-game road trip.

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