Scott Takes: Miska had his chance, now it’s time for the Avs to find a legitimate backup

I stand by my word. 

I said it less than three weeks ago on Twitter. It went a little something like this:

I've said it numerous times on various podcasts and all across twitter…

Don't make a trade. Give Hunter Miska a chance to be an NHL backup. He can do it.

I stand by my word.

— Scott MacDonald (@0ffScottFree) February 27, 2021

And, in the troll-suffused world of Twitter, it didn’t take long for the finger-pointers and provocateurs to call me out for my Hunter Miska hot take from a few weeks back.

Within seconds of Miska allowing his fourth goal—an Anaheim penalty shot—on just the seventh shot of the game, my Twitter mentions were flooded with I told you so’s from that February 26th post. Things like “this milk is very very very sour,” or my personal favorite, a quote tweet of the above post that read: “Aging like a fine vinegar soaked turd.” Hah.

I get it. Maybe I was wrong. That tends to happen…a lot. It is what it is.

I still stand by my word. By that I mean, the part where I said “Give Hunter Miska a chance to be an NHL backup.” But I’ll admit when I am wrong, and this part I was: “He can do it.”

The Avalanche gave Miska his chance—a few of them. The consensus: Maybe he’s not quite ready for the job. 

Avs head coach Jared Bednar admitted after the game that “Hunter would like to make an extra save or two there, but we also hung him out to dry.” It’s not Bednar’s job to throw Miska under the bus. That’s the fans’ job. But we can’t afford to dance around the subject anymore.