Mile High Hockey

Photo by Matthew Stockman/ Thanks to another athlete’s decision, it could affect the Captain. The last we heard about Gabriel Landeskog, he had successful surgery on his knee and sets off on yet another long road to recovery. While there will (and already have been) several bumps on the road, a huge mountain may be in his way. Landeskog mentioned speaking with Lonzo Ball of the Chicago Bulls, who had the same surgery as Gabe as he also recovers from injury. But, it was rumored yesterday Ball might be done with his NBA career due to his injury. If this is the case,...

Photo by Jari Pestelacci//Eurasia Sport Images/ At least one Avs player comes home with silverware! It may not be the one everybody on the Colorado Avalanche team was looking for, but it’s something! Brad Hunt and Team Canada won the gold medal over Germany in a 5-2 final Sunday. On a team which surely would’ve featured Cale Makar (who was left out due to the ongoing investigations over alleged Team Canada infractions in 2018) along with other Canadian superstars, they managed to get it done with some new faces - including former Avs prospect Justin Barron. GOLD...

Photo by Jari Pestelacci/Eurasia Sport Images/ Your daily dose of Avalanche news, along with other interesting storylines from across the NHL. All Avalanche Brad Hunt and Team Canada are playing for the gold medal as they beat Latvia 4-2. They will face off against Germany looking for the top spot. (IIHF) Which Johnson has the best chance of staying with the Avs: Erik Johnson or Jack Johnson? (Colorado Hockey Now) Sampo Ranta has left the Colorado Avalanche and Colorado Eagles organization to play in Sweden for at least the next two years, if not longer despite the...

Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via The Avalanche prospect will not play in the organization this coming season. Finally a scant pebble of news on the Colorado Avalanche offseason front, pending Restricted Free Agent forward Sampo Ranta has elected to sign a two-year deal in Sweden with SHL club MoDo rather than sign another contract with Colorado which likely could have included the arbitration process. Välkommen till MoDo Hockey, Sampo Ranta! Den finske forwarden kommer närmast från Colorado Avalanches organisation och har signerat ett 2-årskontrakt. ️ "Jag...

RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports The curse of the 2002 Western Conference Final lives on. I know I’ve already lost a lot of folks with this title, with some wondering how a team with three Stanley Cups can be cursed while others shake their heads at any mention of a supernatural sports force, but hear me out. There’s a lot of evidence here, and it has all the classic elements needed for a proper sports curse. Going into the 2002 season, the NHL’s blood feud between the Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings was tied at two Stanley Cups apiece after Ray Bourque and...

Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via A lot of items on the to do list. As the sting of losing to the Seattle Kraken in Game 7 begins to wear off, the Colorado Avalanche have a busy offseason on the horizon after a very quiet month of May. At least 20 contracts will need to get signed in addition to any other trades or moves to bolster the roster for the 2023-24 season. Here are some objectives we’d like to see for the Avalanche to have a successful offseason. Get healthy First and foremost a good four months of rest, recovery and training will do the members of the...

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports Ball Arena is still humming a championship tune with Mammoth and Nuggets’ run. The Colorado Avalanche are all too familiar with chasing that championship feeling a year after their first Cup win in over twenty years. This year it’s all about the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Mammoth, who are carrying the torch to glory. The mission continues tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/n90595r6Eb— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) May 22, 2023 We saw Nathan MacKinnon take and miss the opening shot at game two of the Nuggets’ Western Conference Final...

Photo by Bruce Bennett/ It’s not his fault, though. Yes, you read the title right. Colorado Avalanche General Manager (GM) Chris MacFarland is not safe in his job. In fact, no GM in their job is safe right now. This is due to the breaking news of Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas leaving his post. It initially seemed like a personal decision to go, as Dubas had suggested he would leave and not work anywhere else but Toronto. But, Brendan Shanahan said in his press conference he fired Dubas. Dubas’s agent suggested much more money than he was willing to pay and more...

Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Your daily dose of Avalanche news, along with other interesting stories from around the NHL. All Avalanche Colorado defenseman Brad Hunt has been enjoying his first tournament with Hockey Canada. He currently has scored two assists in five round-robin games. "Just never give up. The dreams come true." Brad Hunt talks about his debut with @HockeyCanada at 34 years old. #IIHFWorlds #CANKAZ @Avalanche pic.twitter.com/GnjhY12Z9P— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 17, 2023 Believe it or not Bowen Byram does have contract comparables and we...

Photo by Joel Auerbach/ The first puck drop between Carolina and Florida tonight. The NHL is down to its final four teams and two of those from the Eastern Conference go head-to-head tonight to begin the battle to make the Stanley Cup final. The Carolina Hurricanes as the top seed from the Metropolitan Division should be the favorites in this matchup going against the Florida Panthers as the last wild card but anything goes after they defeated Atlantic Division rivals the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs. Will scoring continue at the elevated pace or will a...

Photo by Dustin Bradford/ Short or long term the talented defenseman is going to get paid. Simply put, Bowen Byram is worth a lot. But the Colorado Avalanche will have to quantify that in order to get the former fourth overall pick under contract and in training camp for the 2023-24 season. Ideally this contract would be the first order of business for the front office in an expected busy summer of transactions ahead to lock in a big piece of the salary cap puzzle. But these high-profile Restricted Free Agents usually linger uncomfortably into as late as September...

Photo by Ethan Miller/ Your daily dose of Avalanche news, along with other interesting stories from around the NHL. With the Game 7 match between the Dallas Stars and Seattle Kraken now complete the Final 4 bracket of the Stanley Cup playoffs is now finalized. Dallas and head coach Pete DeBoer put in another smothering performance and finally ousted Seattle in a 2-1 final with Wyatt Johnston who just turned 20-years old yesterday with the game winning goal. Dallas moves on to face the Vegas Golden Knights in a rematch of the Western Conference final from the bubble in...

Photo by Christopher Mast/NHLI via An important Game 7 on tap tonight. Which team will win the Central Division tonight? Game 7 battle is set between the Dallas Stars and Seattle Kraken to determine the fourth and final team moving on to the conference finals. Seattle won Game 6 in decisive fashion by a 6-3 score and forced this game back in Dallas for all the marbles. The Kraken did it by committee again including receiving goals from their rookie forwards Matty Beniers and Tye Kartye. Jake Oettinger was pulled in net after he let up the first four goals and the...

Photo by Focus on Sport/ A Canadian team won’t win the cup this year and hasn’t done so in thirty years. When the Montreal Canadiens traded Patrick Roy to the Colorado Avalanche, they didn't just trade away one of hockey's greatest goaltenders. In hindsight, they also traded away Canada's most storied prize—the Stanley Cup. This leads me to my question. I know that all NHL rosters feature mostly Canadian-born players, but that shouldn't take away from the fact that Canada, the country that pioneered hockey, still hasn't had a franchise reach the sport's summit...

Photo by Jari Pestelacci/Eurasia Sport Images/ Your daily dose of Avalanche news, along with other interesting stories across the NHL. All Avalanche A couple of the Colorado Avalanche’s players are in Latvia for the World Championships. First up, Mikko Rantanen and Finland fell victim to the United States in an opening-game loss. (Team USA Hockey) Meanwhile, Brad Hunt and Canada were the ones preying on their victims, which was the host country Latvia in a big win. (CBC) Denis Malgin opens his tournament with Switzerland playing against Slovenia as the Swiss look to...