Evan’s NHL Daily: Parise Arrives, Time To Dump All-Star Game?

On Sunday, the Colorado Avalanche will (officially) return to practice after the NHL All-Star break, but on Saturday, most of the players who on the team took the ice at Family Sports. Ivan Prosvetov was one of them, but his time in Denver might be limited. Meanwhile, Zach Parise took the ice in Avalanche gear for the first time, and it may take some fans a bit of time to get used to how that looks.

The All-Star game took place on Saturday, and I’ll admit, once Team MacKinnon was eliminated, I turned it off. Is it time for the NHL to move on from the All-Star game?

All that and more in this Sunday edition of Evan’s Daily.

Colorado Hockey Now

We know change is coming eventually in net for the Avalanche, but it started on Saturday, as the team waived Ivan Prosvetov and recalled Justus Annunen. I imagine there’s still another move to be made…

On Sunday, I’ll be working on answering mailbag questions I received on my flight, and will have that up.

You can get a subscription to CHN+ for $29.99 a year with the code “evan10” and get access to the + content on every site in the network. In addition to the + content, everything will be ad-free, which is the biggest perk.

Parise Arrives

I’m sure Zach Parise has been in town a few days, but Saturday was the first time he was publicly skating with the team. Does it look a little strange? Yeah, a little bit, but time to get used to it. The Avalanche are his fourth NHL team, so I guess it’s not THAT weird. Looks like he’ll wear #9, which was worn last season by Evan Rodrigues.

I’m sure Parise will be available to the media after practice on Sunday. I won’t be there, as I’m already at the airport ready to fly to New York, so I’ll talk to him on Monday after morning skate. Will he play? I guess we’ll find out.

Avs holding a Captain’s Skate today. Back officially tomorrow.

First look at Zach Parise in Avs gear. Will wear #9. pic.twitter.com/OwpFb5Emqd

— Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) February 3, 2024

Time To Ditch All-Star Game?

All the Avalanche players showed pretty well on Saturday during the All-Star game. Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, including a crazy backhand goal, and his first tally came off a stretch pass from Cale Makar. The game isn’t made for goalies, but Alexandar Georgiev played well in the little he did play.

Nasty stuff from Nathan MacKinnon at the #NHLAllStarGame pic.twitter.com/jwizhIqERR

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) February 3, 2024

Ultimately, it wasn’t much to keep my interest, and that’s okay. The weekend isn’t made for me, as I’m not the target audience. Once I realized Team MacKinnon was out, I turned it off and went about my day. I did enjoy the skills competition a heck of a lot more this year, and liked the improvements they made.

Next year, there will be no All-Star game because of the 4 Nations Tournament, but Dan at Pittsburgh Hockey Now ponders…

Is it time for the NHL to dump the All-Star game altogether?

National Hockey Now

What Bruins players will be representing their country during the 2026 Olympics?

Is Brock Nelson available? If so, Chris MacFarland should probably give Lou a call.

Speaking of Prosvetov, why the Philadelphia Flyers should try to claim him.

What could Jake Allen cost to acquire?