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  • As Jared Bednar tries new line combos, Avalanche keeps winning

    This edition of the Colorado Avalanche has been so consistently good that Jared Bednar, often a tinkerer when he’s looking for a spark, hasn’t needed to turn the line blender on very often.

    After starting 31 consecutive games with the same top line, the Avs’ top trio had a new look Saturday night in a 4-2 win against the Nashville Predators. Well, new to start a game, anyway.

    Bednar moved rookie Gavin Brindley to the top line in the middle of the previous game, a 6-2 thumping of the Florida Panthers. Brindley started a game there for the first time, bumping Martin Necas down to the third line.

    “Awesome,” Brindley said. “Playing with the best, if not one of the best players in the world. Pretty damn cool. I never thought that would come to fruition. Yeah, really cool.”

    NHL’s rash of overtime games needs a solution: Three-point games

    Bednar’s rationale was pretty simple: He liked how Brindley played with Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen the game before, and wanted to see it again. Part of the reason for the switch Thursday against the Panthers was Necas has been playing through an illness, and didn’t love how he was playing.

    It says something about how this season is going for the Avs that Necas still set up a goal and scored one, albeit one that was taken off the board because of an offsides challenge, against Florida.

    There are still 50 games left in this season, but the Avs have steamrolled their way to the top of the NHL standings. They have 53 points in 32 games, which is tied for the third-most in league history at this point.

    Bednar’s philosophy on building lines has a couple of core ideas. If he finds a line he really likes, he will stick with it for long stretches, and will likely to go back to at some point in the future. But, he also likes to tinker, and often says he wants every player to play with everyone over the course of a regular season.

    “It’s definitely a bonus,” MacKinnon said of the flexibility. “We might need different combos eventually. I think it’s good to switch things up sometimes. I thought all four lines played pretty good (Saturday night).”

    The past couple of Avalanche teams have given him good reason to shake up his lineup, either with slow starts to the season or in-season funks. The closet thing this group has had to an adverse stretch was a four-game losing streak that still involved collecting three points (0-1-3).

    So, after 30 overwhelmingly successful games, Bednar did a little tinkering. Brindley’s return to the lineup against Florida led to a few new looks. Ross Colton moved to the middle for the first time all season, centering the third line. Brindley slotted in next to him, playing with the third line for the first time.

    Jack Drury moved down to the fourth line, with Parker Kelly and Joel Kiviranta. A trio of Drury, Kelly and Logan O’Connor became of Bednar’s favorite lines last season, and they had an excellent playoff series against the Dallas Stars.

    Roster construction and O’Connor’s injuries has kept that line apart this year, but Bednar has said they will play together again at some point. And Kiviranta is a pretty similar player to O’Connor.

    Grading The Week: Avalanche need to avoid first-round dogfight vs. Dallas, Quinn Hughes in Stanley Cup Playoffs

    Drury took the demotion in stride against Florida, and then scored Colorado’s second goal against Nashville.

    “It’s easy. It’s part of being a pro,” Drury said before the Nashville game. “I’ve said this before, but there are so many good players (here), it doesn’t really matter who you are going out with. Any forward you go out with is going to be able to make plays and be smart. It’s easy.”

    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’

    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.”

    Corey Masisak

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  • Avalanche center Brock Nelson on Islanders reunion at Ball Arena: ‘It will be weird’

    For the better part of a dozen years, Brock Nelson would cue up video of the New York Islanders and watch himself move around the ice.

    That’s the weirdest part for him now. When he tunes in to check out his old pals or catches Islanders highlights, that’s not him when No. 29 makes something happen.

    It’s going to be an interesting weekend for Nelson and a different kind of Sunday night at Ball Arena. The guy who used to wear No. 29 for the Islanders will play against them for the first time since being traded to the Avalanche. The guy who used to play here, Jonathan Drouin, is now the guy wearing No. 29 for his old club.

    “Yeah, (Drouin) texted me just to see if it was OK,” Nelson said. “It is funny — there’s a couple times where I watch their games and that just looks funny. Anytime I watched video for 12 years, I was just so programmed to be like, ‘OK, there I am.’ It’s weird to see somebody else out there.

    “He’s a great guy, great player and it’s just a number. I told him I’d never tell him not to wear the number. I’m not there. Go ahead. But I appreciate him even thinking that he had to reach out.”

    Nelson was a marquee addition ahead of the 2025 NHL trade deadline for the Avs. He became the biggest move of the offseason as well, when the club kept him in Denver with a three-year, $22.5 million contract ahead of him reaching the free-agent market.

    It’s been a pretty seamless fit with the Avalanche. He was already friends with Devon Toews from their days together on Long Island. He had an off-ice workout connection with Nathan MacKinnon.

    Now Nelson will get the first of two reminders of his previous life in rapid succession. The Avs play Sunday at home against the Islanders and then travel to Long Island for the return match in less than three weeks.

    “It will be fun to see those guys,” Nelson said. “There’s a lot of them I haven’t seen since the trade. I’ve talked to a lot of them. It will be weird. It will be different. Hopefully, I’ll see a few of them the day before and catch up a little bit. But I’m glad it’s here first and I get to see them before going there.”

    The last time Nelson played at UBS Arena, he was named the No. 1 star of the game. His on-the-bench postgame interview was an emotional one — for him and Islanders fans. Everyone involved knew a trade was imminent.

    “I’ve never really gone through anything like that,” Nelson said. “You see guys going back after long stints, and it can be emotional. So, yeah, I think it would be tough if we were going back first. It will be nice to get through this one, just to kind of see them.

    “I’m sure there will be a couple of laughs, a couple funny chirps going back and forth. Just some good banter.”

    Toews wasn’t with the Islanders for as long, but it was the organization that drafted him. He went through a similar situation — getting traded to Colorado, trying to find his place on a team with high expectations and settling into a completely new NHL environment for the first time.

    Through Toews’ eyes, Nelson’s transition is going well.

    “He’s playing great,” Toews said. “He’s not a guy that’s ever going to dwell on stats and things like that. He’s been a positive contributor to our team. That’s what he needs to be. Points will come when they come. He’s been a great addition to our penalty kill. He’s a great faceoff guy, which I knew from my time with him in New York. He’s finding ways to contribute in different ways.

    “When you bring in guys like that, it raises your standard for your structure and your detail in your game. That’s sometimes lacking with younger guys, guys that are still learning and finding their way. Those (veteran) guys help with those details and then help the young guys as well, making sure they’re doing the right things and are in the right places instead of just being hyper focused on producing offense.”

    Nelson has been the No. 2 center since the day he arrived. There was no question about the role he would play, which helps. Having guys like Toews and MacKinnon in his corner from day one also helped.

    The offensive numbers have not matched his days on Long Island to this point. He had a mid-career renaissance from 2021-24, scoring at least 34 goals and 59 points in each of those three seasons.

    In 37 games with the Avs, he has 10 goals and 20 points. This year, it’s four goals and seven points in 18 games.

    The one part of his role that is different is the offensive expectations. The Avs don’t need Nelson to score 30-plus goals and drive the offense on a consistent basis to be successful.

    New York needed him to raise the team’s ceiling. In Denver, he has helped raise the Avs’ floor.

    “If you look at his analytics and underlying numbers, they’re all good,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “He’s a really smart, really well-rounded 200-foot player. From my tally, he’s fourth on the team in scoring chances. He hasn’t scored easily so far, but he’s right there tied with Val and his defensive metrics have been good. It’s just about trying to give him more shooting opportunities.

    “Part of it is just the steadiness of his game and doing the right thing all the time.”

    Nelson was a fixture in the Islanders’ core for years, but life changes quickly in the NHL. Calum Ritchie, who was part of the Avs’ package to get Nelson, will be on the other side and could be a key part of the Isles’ future. Trading Nelson was part of a reset, which was turbo-boosted when the Islanders won the draft lottery and landed defensive wunderkind Matthew Schaefer with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL draft.

    Drouin is helping to replace some of the offense the club lost when it traded Nelson. Schaefer looks like a runaway Calder Trophy winner and has changed the long-term outlook for the franchise.

    Nelson was part of the group that helped the Islanders reach back-to-back conference finals, the best stretch of success the franchise has had since the early 1980s when it ruled the NHL. He expects to have a chance to reminisce about those days Saturday night with his old friends, and then try and beat them Sunday night.

    He’s also looking forward to the game back there in a couple of weeks. His wife and kids are going to make the trip. They’ve got a couple of old stomping grounds spots lined up and plenty of friends to catch up with.

    “Sometimes I think back to my routine there and how programmed I was, how I knew everything about the surroundings,” Nelson said. “There are times where it feels like you’re still kind of feeling it out here, settling in. But there are also times where it feels like I’ve been here forever. Crazy to think it was 12 years there. It feels like it went by in a blink of an eye.

    “But the more you think about it and you expand the picture, you think about the life things that happened — kids, family, all that stuff, just the friends we met there — and I feel fortunate for the time I had there.”

    Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.

    Corey Masisak

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

    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.

    Corey Masisak

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  • Avs betting Gavin Brindley, fresh off two-year extension, isn’t close to reaching his ceiling

    On Sunday in Vancouver, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar showed his faith in Gavin Brindley.

    On Tuesday in Denver, the Colorado front office followed suit.

    Two days after Bednar moved the fourth-line forward to the first line in the third period and then sent him back onto the ice for overtime, resulting in Brindley’s first career game-winning goal, the Avs announced they signed Brindley to a two-year extension.

    That extension, which carries an average annual value of $875,000 and runs through the 2027-28 season, is evidence that Colorado believes the 21-year-old can emerge as a fixture in the offense over the next three years.

    “I think he can be a (first- or second-line) forward in this league,” Bednar said. “He plays bigger than his size, the motor, the relentlessness, the skill level and the brain to go with it is all there. His (ceiling) is really high. He’s being used in that (fourth-line) role because there’s guys I trust higher in the lineup, and who have played those roles before.

    “… (What he did in Vancouver), that’s repeatable from him. We’ll keep trying to move him up when he’s really going, or when other guys are struggling. If not, he just makes our team deeper and more dangerous offensively when he’s playing in the bottom six (forwards).”

    Considering where Brindley’s stock was just five months ago when the Avs traded for him, Tuesday’s announcement speaks to the strong impression he’s made in his short time in Colorado.

    The Avs sent forwards Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to the Blue Jackets on June 27 in a cap-clearing move, and got Brindley and two draft picks in return. Taken No. 34 overall by Columbus in 2023, Brindley was coming off a poor debut in his first full professional season for the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. In 52 games, he tallied 17 points, including only six goals.

    That made him expendable in a trade that Brindley says “definitely put a chip on my shoulder.”

    “Coming off last year, not the best year for myself, I just got back to my game and got back to what I know works,” Brindley said. “I had a lot of different emotions after the trade. There’s positives and negatives to getting traded that young, but (in retrospect), it’s good to go through it early, experience that, experience the downs of last year, learn from it and get better and grow.”

    Brindley said extension talks between his agent and the Avs heated up over the last few weeks and came to a head on Monday. In 14 games entering Tuesday night’s showdown with Anaheim, Brindley had five points (three goals, two assists) while becoming a lineup regular. That’s in stark contrast to the previous two years, when he barely got a cup of coffee with Columbus (one game in 2023-24) in the NHL.

    Parker Kelly, who plays on the fourth line with Brindley, noted that Brindley “has done a great job of coming in and picking up what we’ve built here.”

    “Gavin’s been making plays and obviously we saw him get onto the top line (in Vancouver) and then he buries the game-winner in overtime,” Kelly said. “He was probably our best player throughout the majority of that game.

    “But where I’ve really seen his growth (on the fourth line) is his understanding of the game. … Sometimes he just needs to make the safe play, and he’s been doing a really good job of picking his spots, making plays when he can and being smart with the puck when he doesn’t have plays to make.”

    Brindley has also earned roles on both the penalty kill and the power play — he’s now on the second unit for the latter. That’s another indication of Bednar’s growing trust in the young forward, who would’ve entered restricted free agency this summer without an extension.

    “He’s a well-rounded player who is willing to learn and add to his toolbox to be able to get more minutes,” Bednar said.

    Kyle Newman

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  • Nathan MacKinnon has 2 goals and 2 assists in the Avalanche’s 9-1 romp over the Oilers

    EDMONTON, Alberta — Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and two assists, Cale Makar, Parker Kelly and Jack Drury also scored twice and the Western Conference-leading Colorado Avalanche embarrassed the Edmonton Oilers 9-1 on Saturday night.

    Gavin Brindley also scored, Scott Wedgewood made 23 saves and Devon Toews had three assists. The Avalanche have earned at least a point in six straight games to improve to 9-1-5.

    Connor McDavid scored for Edmonton. The Oilers have dropped three straight to fall to 6-6-4.

    Stuart Skinner allowed four goals on 13 shots before being replaced by Calvin Pickard, who made 17 stops.

    The Associated Press

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  • Casey Mittelstadt trying to start over again in Boston after perplexing Avalanche stint

    Two things have always been true for Casey Mittelstadt in his hockey career: He can be too hard on himself, but he always digs his way out of a slump through hard work.

    Then he encountered a rough patch unlike anything he’d ever experienced last year with the Colorado Avalanche. It cost him a chance to settle at a place he thought might become home.

    It also gave him time to reflect on a whirlwind two years that saw him uprooted twice — and helped him realize that when times get tough, he needs to work on putting down the shovel.

    “Sometimes you almost care too much, and it’s better to go out and play carefree and not worry about the consequences as much,” Mittelstadt said. “It’s something I’ve struggled with, I would say, my whole career, not just even pro hockey. Something I’m definitely working on and going to continue to work on.

    “I think all of us are so competitive, and to some degree, we’re all perfectionists. Sometimes you get a little hard on yourself and get in that hole.”

    Mittelstadt returned to Ball Arena with the Boston Bruins on Saturday, back to the site of the worst hole he’s ever encountered. He arrived in Denver in a shocking trade that saw the Avs send their best young player, defenseman Bo Byram, to Buffalo for Mittelstadt, who was expected to be part of the core of the next great Sabres team.

    It was the type of one-for-one challenge trade of young players with immense potential that rarely happens in the NHL. Mittelstadt was the next in line to fill the No. 2 center position behind Nathan MacKinnon.

    The trade looked like a home run for the Avs. Mittelstadt fit in with the team immediately. He and MacKinnon quickly became practice buddies, as he tried to soak up everything he could from one of the best centers in the world. They’re both hockey nerds at heart, and it looked like a good match.

    Mittelstadt was productive at the end of the 2023-24 season and had a strong showing in his first Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Avs signed him to a three-year contract at $5.75 million per season. Then, he got off to a hot start last year when the depleted club needed him.

    Then … it just went sideways for him.

    “I don’t know,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said when asked what went wrong. “… It’s different for every player and how he feels in the environment. Some guys thrive in it, some guys don’t. You can hit a streak. You lose confidence, and things don’t go well. There’s high expectations and moves are made. Other guys gain confidence and play well. Every team’s not going to be a fit for every player.”

    From the day after the trade until mid-November of last season, Mittelstadt had 37 points in 48 games, including nine in 11 playoff contests. That’s a 63-point pace over a full season — exactly what the Avs have been looking for in that role.

    Then he had four goals and 16 points in his next 44 games. The next game after that came with the Bruins, when he was traded, along with prospect William Zellers and a second-round pick, for Charlie Coyle. That the Avs had to include two assets to acquire a less-productive center suggests that Mittelstadt’s stock had plummeted.

    “I think especially in the season when you’re playing every other day and things are crazy, it almost feels like it’s something different every game when it’s not going well,” Mittelstadt said. “Sadly, I think I probably fell into that rabbit hole a little bit too much.

    “It’s part of it, though. It’s part of growing up and maturing and learning from your mistakes. I think as long as you do that, you look back on every experience as a positive one.”

    Mittelstadt is already on his second coach with the Bruins, something he has experience with after spending the first six seasons of his career in Buffalo. He’s centering the second line for a franchise in transition. The spine of a potentially great team is still there with David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman, but the rest of the roster is a bit of an odd collection of players.

    He’ll have a local kid, Littleton’s Michael Eyssimont, on his wing Saturday night in Denver. Mittelstadt has two goals and no assists in five games this season, and six goals but just two assists in 23 games overall for the Bruins.

    “It’s been fun. Obviously, a crazy couple of years,” Mittelstadt said. “Trying to get settled in and get comfortable. It’s a great group of guys, so I’ve been having a good time. I think we’ve played overall pretty well and some things to improve on. I think we have a good team.”

    Mittelstadt was a phenom growing up in Minnesota. He struggled at first with the Sabres but eventually matured into one of their best players and a productive NHL player.

    Corey Masisak

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

    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.

    Corey Masisak

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  • Grading The Week: Ex-Broncos RBs Audric Estime, Javonte Williams would love to have J.K. Dobbins’ problems right now

    Where there’s a Williams, there’s a whoa.

    As in former Broncos running back Javonte Williams, the Dallas Cowboy who somehow managed to have a rougher week than his successor, J.K. Dobbins, did in London.

    For the first time since Week 1, the Javonte Train finally went off the rails. Despite what the fantasy experts on the Grading The Week team saw as a (makes finger quotes in the air) “favorable” matchup at Carolina last Sunday, the ex-Bronco was held to a season-low 29 rushing yards on 13 carries and 5 receiving yards on five grabs.

    Context: Despite a banged-up, messed-up offensive line in front of him across the pond, Dobbins still managed more rushing yards (40) and more total yards (also 40) on far fewer touches (14).

    Life of an ex-Broncos RB — D

    And yet Williams’ statistical stumble was cupcakes and rainbows compared to the week of his former teammate — and backfield mate — Audric Estime.

    Estime, the Broncos’ fifth-round pick out of Notre Dame in the 2024 NFL draft, was waived by Denver this past August after falling behind Tyler Badie and Jaleel McLaughlin on the depth chart. The Philadelphia Eagles signed Estime a few days later and stuck him on their practice squad.

    On Tuesday, our man Audric became unstuck. The Eagles released him.

    The ex-Irish runner remained inactive for all six games with the Birds, including the Broncos’ 21-17 win at Philly back on Oct. 5.

    Burning through two franchises over your first 18 months in the league makes for something of an auspicious NFL start for Estime, no question. But there’s one thing on the dude’s side: Time. He just turned 22 this past Sept. 6. If Estime can land on his feet, with head, heart and hands all pointing the same direction, he’s got time to re-write his narrative.

    Wedgewood’s start for Avs — A

    When the kids at the GTW offices can’t trust our eyes, we trust the math. After its first five games a year ago, the Avalanche had given up 28 goals (5.6 GAA) and had lost four times. After five games this fall to open the 2025-26 season, the burgundy and blue had surrendered just nine goals (1.8 GAA) while winning four of those five contests. Avs faithful may not know what a good power play looks like, but they know what it’s like to have a grown-up — Scott Wedgewood — keeping watch between the pipes.

    Meanwhile, our old pal Alexandar Georgiev — the man in net here to start last season — just cleared waivers in Buffalo and was spotted in recent days practicing with the AHL’s Rochester Americans.

    Sean Keeler

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  • Avalanche “dodged a bullet” when Brock Nelson’s wrist was cut by Bo Byram’s skate

    BUFFALO — Brock Nelson will celebrate his 34th birthday on Wednesday, which means he’s experienced a lot in his life as a hockey player.

    Nelson encountered a first Monday afternoon at KeyBank Center when he was cut on the left wrist by a wayward skate. It’s one of the scariest things that can happen in the sport. Luckily for Nelson, it went about as well as one of those situations can.

    “When I felt it, it kind of felt like a stinger-type feeling in my hand. I knew I got hit by something, then I looked and I saw it was cut,” Nelson said after the Avalanche defeated the Buffalo Sabres, 3-1. “I knew I was cut, so I just went off (the ice). I’ve never really had a cut like that before. When I saw the cut, I was almost waiting for more blood to come out. I think it was just clean and more superficial. Just a couple zips.”

    Nelson went to defend ex-Avs defenseman Bo Byram along the boards near the Colorado bench early in the third period. Byram got the puck past him, but also fell awkwardly to the ice. His right leg elevated as the rest of his body tumbled, and caught Nelson just under his glove.

    For all of the protection hockey players wear, there are a few places on the body that can get exposed in those types of situations. Nelson flung off his glove, looked at his hand/wrist, and immediately went to the Avs bench, down the tunnel and in search of a doctor.

    “We dodged a bullet there,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “He got a laceration on his wrist, got some stitches, but as of now, everything looks intact. It was just the flesh, which is super lucky.”

    Nelson said they tested his fingers, and everything checked out. He ended up missing less than eight minutes of game action, and returned to play three shifts in the second half of the third period.

    Both Nelson and Bednar said they think he’s fine moving forward. The Avs have been relatively healthy to start this season, but losing Nelson for any amount of time would be a significant blow.

    This is his first full season with the club, and Bednar clearly enjoys having him available to center the second line. Nelson, even with missing a few shifts against the Sabres, has played 82:30 in the first four games.

    Corey Masisak

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

    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.”

    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?

    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.

    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

    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.”

    Sean Keeler

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  • Avalanche Journal: Has Cale Makar passed Patrick Roy for final spot on Colorado’s Mount Rushmore?

    Sometimes, just the reactions to a question confirm it is a good one.

    “You’re throwing yourself into the fire with that one, so have fun with that.”

    “You are making me think way too hard too early in the morning.” (For context, this was said at 11 a.m.)

    “So anyway … good luck with that. It does seem like an impossible question.”

    Here is the question: A proverbial Mount Rushmore for the Colorado Avalanche includes Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Nathan MacKinnon and …?

    Here are the choices: One of the two greatest goaltenders in the history of the sport, who backstopped the Avs to a pair of Stanley Cup championships? Or the best defenseman on the planet right now, who might spend his entire career with the franchise and end up as one of the best to ever do it at his position as well?

    Patrick Roy? Or Cale Makar? This is intended to be a lighthearted, fun debate.

    But also, choose your fighter.

    “Anytime you’re trying to pick four guys from a historic franchise with some really historic teams, it’s going to be difficult,” Avs defenseman Devon Toews said. “Nobody’s going to be happy, no matter what you write. Cale is a name that should obviously be in consideration. By the end of his career, he is probably one of the first names on that list.

    “There’s great players that you’re able to put on, and 10 others that probably deserve to be.”

    Sakic and Forsberg are obvious as icons who came with the franchise from Quebec City, and two of the most popular players in league history. MacKinnon has already surpassed Forsberg — at least in the latter’s eyes — and cemented his place with league MVP honors in 2024.

    Makar, predictably, quickly deferred to Roy. MacKinnon, full transparency here, wasn’t even asked to chime in. Both of those guys are humble about their legacies and accomplishments, almost to a fault.

    “I don’t think I compare to (Roy) at all,” Makar said. “In terms of achievements and stuff, he’s on a completely different level. I appreciate your confidence in me, but I don’t know if I’m quite there yet.”

    Both MacKinnon and Makar often reject the idea of being compared to past Avs greats because of one number: Two. As in, those guys won two titles, and they only have one to this point.

    Makar may also be comparing his career to the totality of Roy’s, but that is where the case for the future Hall of Famer begins.

    Roy won the Stanley Cup four times. He is the only three-time Conn Smythe Trophy winner in league history. He won the Vezina Trophy three times. Those accomplishments do dwarf what Makar has done so far.

    But Roy entered the NHL in 1985. Nearly 54 percent of his regular-season games came with Montreal. All three of his Vezina wins and two of the three Conn Smythe honors came with the Canadiens, in 1986 and 1993.

    The trade, from Montreal to Colorado, is one of the most important moments in franchise history. His addition helped Sakic, Forsberg and Co. win the Stanley Cup in the first season in Denver. It made the Avs a Cup contender for all of his eight seasons with the club, until his retirement in 2003.

    Two championships, six trips to the conference finals, every career franchise record of note for goalies that exists, just an icon of the sport —it’s a good argument. Hard to knock it.

    “I am always partial to … like, who is on Mount Rushmore right now?” NHL Network analyst Brian Boyle said. “They’re all dead. All former Presidents. We did this at NHL Network for the whole league, and for me, it’s Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. This is Founding Fathers type of stuff.

    “So to me, it’s Joe Sakic. It’s Peter Forsberg, who was my favorite player to watch. It’s Patty Roy. He was that guy. And Nate, well, he’s a different animal. Cale is right there, too. I think it’s close. I think they might be carving out some stone soon, but I think it’s Patty Roy right now.”

    Boyle makes a strong point about the essence of what a Mount Rushmore could or should be. Maybe every team’s “Mount Rushmore” should be older players who established the franchise’s footing.

    But … that’s not really how people look at this sometimes silly, always engaging idea. And further to Boyle’s thoughts, this isn’t really a debate about Roy vs. Makar.

    It’s really a debate about time. It’s about when, not if. Has Makar accomplished enough in his career to nudge Roy from this fictional mountain?

    “I’m very biased, but I’m spoiled to watch Cale and his entire career,” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said. “Every shift, every practice, every game, therefore I’m picking Cale because of the way he can impact both sides of the puck.

    “It’s a pretty good problem to have, to be picking between the two of those guys.”

    Corey Masisak

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

    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.

    Corey Masisak

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  • After breakout season, Max Curran offers hope for Avalanche late-draft success story

    Max Curran grew up in Prague, but he’s already seen the destination of his lifelong dream up close.

    Curran is one of countless young European hockey players who have seen NHL games in his hometown as part of the league’s global series. He’s watched four NHL teams play at Prague’s O2 Arena, including the return of hometown hero Tomas Hertl in 2022 with the San Jose Sharks.

    Now, after a breakout season and spending some time with Hertl this past offseason, Curran can see the fruition of his work starting to come together.

    “I think I can get better at everything. I want to develop my game,” Curran said. “I want to get bigger and more physical, but I think everyone can get better at everything. I just want to trust the process and hopefully it happens one day.”

    “It” is playing for the Avalanche in the NHL. The Avs selected Curran with pick No. 161 in the 2024 NHL draft.

    Listed at 6-foot-3 and 179 pounds, Curran had a great post-draft year on and off the ice with Tri-City in the Western Hockey League. He led the Americans with 74 points in 65 games.

    “It was awesome,” Curran said. “It was a great year, great group of guys. Really enjoyed it. I think (my) speed, doing everything faster (helped).”

    Curran also got stronger and added weight. The size is pretty tantalizing, and the promise of a big, two-way center with some offensive skill is there.

    “Playing in Tri-City was a good spot for him. He developed well, kind of rounded out his game to a more 200-foot game,” Brian Willsie, the Avalanche’s director of player development, said. “He played a bit of center and a bit of wing. Learned under Stu Barnes, who is a good mentor there.

    “He has a big frame and broad shoulders, so for him to put on some weight is great.”

    The Avs need the 2024 draft class to be a success. Colorado drafted nine players in 2024, nearly as many selections as 2022, 2023 and 2025 combined (10). But only two were in the top 120 selections, and one (William Zellers) was already traded in the deal for Charlie Coyle.

    Colorado hasn’t drafted a player outside the top 120 picks who went on to play at least 300 games since both Brad Richardson (No. 163) and David Jones (No. 288) did so in the 2003 class. From 1995-2003, the Avalanche selected 11 players after pick No. 120 who played 300-plus games in the NHL, including Willsie at No. 146 in 1996.

    The guy who came closest is former University of Denver star Will Butcher — pick No. 123 in 2013. He played 275 NHL games, but never signed with the Avs after his DU career ended.

    Goalie Ilya Nabokov, the No. 38 selection in 2024, is expected to join the Avs or Eagles at the end of his KHL season and could crack the NHL depth chart soon. The rest of the class could take longer to develop, but Curran has moved to the top of the list with his potential.

    The next step is to play for the Avs at the 2025 Rookie Showcase. Colorado is hosting the event this weekend at South Suburban Sports Complex in Highlands Ranch. Curran and the Avs will play Utah on Friday night and Vegas on Sunday afternoon.

    After that, Curran will not be returning to Tri-City. He was traded to Edmonton in a huge offseason deal. The Oil Kings gave up four future draft picks to add Curran to an already talented roster.

    Corey Masisak

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  • Slow start dooms shorthanded Avalanche in loss to Lightning

    Slow start dooms shorthanded Avalanche in loss to Lightning

    For 54 minutes Wednesday night, the severely shorthanded Colorado Avalanche played about as well as expected, considering the circumstances.

    That, however, came after the first six minutes went about as poorly as someone could imagine. The big guns on the Tampa Bay Lightning had a huge night, and the Avs’ pushback was met by one of the best goalies in the world in a 5-2 loss at Ball Arena.

    Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel combined for three goals and seven points for the Lightning. After allowing three goals on the first five shots, new Colorado goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen did find his way and finished with 16 saves.

    “Against teams like that with that high-end skill, you expect them to make those plays, but it’s still not easy to make the saves on those plays,” Kahkonen said. “Especially early like that. But it’s … what are you going to do? You just play. You try to stop the next puck and you try to get into a rhythm.”

    The Avs have been without Artturi Lehkonen (shoulder), Valeri Nichushkin (suspension) and Gabe Landeskog (knee) all season and Jonathan Drouin (upper body) joined them after getting hurt in the opener against Vegas. The situation got worse for Colorado before this game.

    Ross Colton is out 6-to-8 weeks with a broken foot after blocking a shot Monday night against Chicago, Avs coach Jared Bednar said Wednesday morning. Miles Wood is also out for 7-to-10 days with an upper-body injury that he’s been trying to play through.

    “Our (missing) payroll is outrageous,” Nathan MacKinnon said. It’s not excuses. It’s just facts. I do like how we’re playing overall. When guys come back, I feel like if just keep with this, we’ll have better results, but that’s not the point right now.”

    While there were some positives to build from for a team missing six of its top-10 forwards, the Avs were down 3-0 before the first TV timeout.

    Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper gets an assist on each of the first two Lightning goals. Both times, the play began with his third line against Colorado’s makeshift third line, which included defenseman Oliver Kylington.

    The Lightning gained control of the puck and made an on-the-fly change to its top line, and then quickly scored in similar fashion. Point took the puck behind the Colorado net and found Kucherov wide open in the slot for a one-timer 61 seconds in.

    Kucherov collected the puck behind his own net at the start of his next shift and went coast-to-coast. He went behind the net like Point did, but sent a reverse pass back to where he came from. Guentzel was waiting near the right post for an easy one at 3:36 for a 2-0 lead.

    “It’s awareness mistakes,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “Young players just not reading it quick enough and not getting in quite the right spots.

    “Overall, I thought we were engaged in the game. We played pretty hard, played pretty well. Definitely had a better second than the first, and the third was pretty good again. It didn’t come easy for us on the offensive side of it, either.”

    Sam Malinski fell near the offensive blue line and tried to swipe at the puck, but the end result was a 3-on-1 the other way and a highlight-reel goal for Tampa Bay. Conor Geekie started the passing play and then finished it at 5:32 of the first after all three forwards touched the puck in quick succession.

    The Avs did settle into the game after the opening flurry. Ivan Ivan scored his second career goal to cut Tampa Bay’s lead to 3-1 at at 14:56 of the first.

    Ivan tipped a point shot from Cale Makar past Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy from the high slot. He has been the replacement for Ross Colton in that spot, and both of his goals have come with PP1.

    Colorado’s first six minutes of the second period went very well, except the Avs couldn’t beat Vasilevskiy. Then, with a jumbled Avs line on the ice after a Colorado power play ended, Tampa Bay’s big guns feasted again.

    Corey Masisak

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  • Avalanche leading goal scorer Ross Colton is “going to miss some time”

    Avalanche leading goal scorer Ross Colton is “going to miss some time”

    The Avalanche has desperately needed Ross Colton’s goal-scoring surge to start the 2024-25 season with so many top forwards missing from the lineup.

    Now the Avs need someone to step up and replace Colton.

    The second-year Colorado forward took a shot off his right foot Monday night against the Chicago Blackhawks and did not play in the third period of an eventual 5-2 loss. He left the Avs locker room in a walking boot.

    “He’s out,” Bednar said. “He took that shot … he’s going to miss some time. We’ll get a better feel on how long it’s going to be (Tuesday) or by Wednesday morning.”

    Colton leads the Avalanche with eight goals in 10 games. He’s been the club’s go-to first-line left wing next to Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen since Jonathan Drouin was injured in the opening game of the season.

    Colton and Drouin are joined on the unavailable list by Artturi Lehkonen (shoulder), Valeri Nichushkin (suspension) and Gabe Landeskog (knee). That’s nearly $25 million in forwards.

    Lehkonen has a checkup scheduled for Tuesday on his shoulder, which required offseason surgery. He’s been practicing with the team and could play soon if that meeting with the doctor goes well. Drouin has been skating with the team in a red, no-contact jersey and could be getting closer to returning as well.

    Nichushkin is not eligible to be reinstated from his suspension while in Stage 3 of the NHL-NHLPA Players Assistance Program until the middle of next month, but he is skating and working out on his own in Denver.

    The Avs began Monday on a five-game winning streak and some light at the end of this dark availability tunnel, but Colton’s injury adds another bit of uncertainty for the club.

    Originally Published:

    Corey Masisak

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  • Another huge night for Casey Mittelstadt leads to fifth straight Avalanche win

    Another huge night for Casey Mittelstadt leads to fifth straight Avalanche win

    That trade for Casey Mittelstadt looks pretty good so far.

    Mittelstadt had three assists, including setting up the go-ahead goal with 6:31 left, and the Colorado Avalanche shook off a few minutes of lackluster hockey in the third period Sunday night to defeat the Ottawa Senators, 5-4, at Ball Arena.

    It’s the Avs’ fifth straight win since starting the season 0-4. It’s also back-to-back three-point games for Mittelstadt, who joined the club before the trade deadline last season from Buffalo and signed a three-year contract this offseason.

    “Just to have him last year, and then see the work he put in this summer, we knew there was another gear this guy could find,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “Another step he can take in his game, like his complete game, but what’s going to follow is the production. He’s a super-talented guy. He sees things other guys can’t see, and he makes plays other guys can’t make.”

    Mittelstadt earned the primary assist on all three goals. He’s up to five goals and 12 points in nine games, and hasn’t played a minute yet this season with the two guys who could eventually be his wings — Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin.

    He found O’Connor in front of the net to make it a 3-2 game. Ross Colton continued his scoring tear to start the season with his eighth of the season 90 seconds later. Nathan MacKinnon added an empty-netter with 1:15 left to seal the win.

    “(Mittelstadt) will find you anywhere. It’s insane,” O’Connor said. “You just get open and … forehand, backhand, three guys on him, no space, he’s still going to find you. It’s pretty remarkable. He’s honestly one of the best puck players I’ve ever played with.”

    After Colorado had bottled up Ottawa for nearly 50 minutes, the Senators scored twice in 2:08 to even the score at 2-2. Brady Tkachuk had the first one, after a Tyler Kleven shot from the right point went wide. The rebound off the boards behind Justus Annunen came right to Tkachuk at the left post for a tap-in with 10:45 left in the third.

    Ottawa kept pushing and found another similar goal with 8:37 left. Nick Cousins put home the rebound of a shot from the left point after getting position on Colton near the right post.

    Annunen ended up allowing four goals in the final 11 minutes after yielding just four in his previous 11 periods combined, but the shorthanded Avs remain in “two points, anyway possible” mode.

    “I would say it was one of those games where we found a way,” O’Connor said. “I wouldn’t necessarily say it was how we wanted to win, but we’ll take those ones any day of the week.”

    Corey Masisak

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  • Ross Colton’s scoring surge critical for short-handed Avalanche: “When he’s getting the opportunities, he’s burying them”

    Ross Colton’s scoring surge critical for short-handed Avalanche: “When he’s getting the opportunities, he’s burying them”

    “Plan D” is working out A-OK for the Colorado Avalanche.

    When Jared Bednar looks for a player to slot in next to Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, he has a list of traits in mind. They include being a trusted defensive player, being able to play a lot of minutes at a high energy level, playing with ruggedness and a desire to forecheck, and being a hard, competitive player at the front of the opposing team’s net.

    The first three players who come to mind are captain Gabe Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen. None of them are available right now.

    Enter Ross Colton.

    “(Colton) does all of those things,” Bednar said. “He may be the fourth guy down the list, but he’s played really well when he’s done it.”

    Technically, Colton might even be fifth, because Jonathan Drouin has also spent a lot of time next to MacKinnon and Rantanen … and he’s also not available. Colton has been a breakout star for the Avalanche to start this season.

    Six games, six goals — including a pair in each of the club’s two victories.

    “Being able to play with Nate and Mikko has just been a pleasure,” Colton said. “That’s two of the best players in the world. For me, I’m just trying to play my game, try to get open for them. You just find the smallest bit of area on the ice and they find you. It’s been fun.

    “My favorite thing about playing with them is just coming back to the bench and the little things they tell you. It makes a big difference. It goes a long way, knowing that those guys believe in me and we’ve formed a little bit of chemistry.”

    The Avs traded for Colton at the 2023 NHL draft, then signed him to a four-year contract. The plan was make to him the club’s new No. 3 center. He had played there at times, but Colton spent most of his time with Tampa Bay on the wing.

    It wasn’t an easy transition early on last year, but by the end of the year he was a solid player in that spot. With all of those wings out of the lineup this year, Bednar needed him back on the wing.

    And he has delivered, in a huge way. Colton was tied for second in the NHL with his six goals before the games on Monday night.

    “He’s shooting the puck well,” Bednar said. “He’s getting himself into scoring areas. He’s been patient in those areas. He’s been moving in and out, especially in the middle. When he’s getting the opportunities, he’s burying them.

    “I just think he’s playing with a ton of confidence. He’s skating really well. He’s just playing well and he’s fitting in with those guys.”

    Both MacKinnon and Rantanen have praised Colton for his physical play. He isn’t the biggest guy, but he’s fearless when it comes to crashing into defensemen along the walls and behind the net.

    His ability to shoot, particularly on one-timers, has been a revelation. The Avs have scored eight power-play goals, and Colton has three of them. He had three all of last season, in nearly 114 minutes of power-play time.

    Two of his three even-strength goals have looked like the power-play tallies — one-timers from the middle of the ice.

    “I’m just trying to get open for them,” Colton said. “Almost trying not to get in the way. They’re flying around out there, playing with so much speed and pace. For me, I’m just trying to get to the little areas where they can find me.”

    Colton’s goal-scoring surge could present an interesting bit of roster flexibility in the months to come. His career high for goals in a season is 22 with the Lightning, which clearly looks like it could be in jeopardy.

    Corey Masisak

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