Evan’s NHL Daily: Blackhawks Fatigue; Sergachev’s Honesty; Guentzel to Colorado?

Is it any wonder the NHL Winter Classic is getting a little stale? After the lowest rated Winter Classic yet, the NHL has decided to run it back next year with…a rematch.

On the ice, Mikhail Sergachev suffered a brutal injury at Madison Square Garden, and was brutally honest on social media after showing a lot of emotion on the ice.

While it still seems unlikely that the Pittsburgh Penguins deal Jake Guentzel, one oddsmaker has the Avalanche as one of the favorites to land him.

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

Colorado Hockey Now

Looking back at the loss against the Devils, where Colorado’s issues at center were front and…center.

A dive into the game-winning goal, where Nathan MacKinnon went from having a chance to win the game to having the game-winner scored right in front of him.

My interview with Calum Ritchie was set for yesterday, but got delayed due to scheduling issues. Hoping to have that up on the site soon.

Blackhawks…Again

I watched about five minutes of this years Winter Classic. Next year, the NHL has decided to go with a re-run, pitting the Chicago Blackhawks up against the St. Louis Blues. Are you having deja vu? That’s because this was the matchup in 2017, just in a different city.

I get that Connor Bedard is in Chicago and the league wants to promote him, but that team is awful. Will they be much better next year? I’m sure there will be some improvement, but it won’t be that much. Are we really going back to the NHL forcing the Blackhawks down our throats? Wrigley Field is a great venue, but come on. At least wait until the Blackhawks are decent again.

Sergachev Honesty

I’m not going to show the video because it’s not for the faint of heart, but Mikhail Sergachev suffered a brutal injury last night in New York and had to be stretchered off the ice. Afterwards, he showed a lot of emotion on the ice. This morning, he showed even more emotion and honesty on social media.

From Mikhail Sergachev after his injury last night. Jon Cooper said there were a lot of emotions coming out of him in the moment. It’s obvious in this post. The care and love that these players have about what they do never ceases to amaze me. This is raw and it is real. pic.twitter.com/zDcqeGwrUY

— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) February 8, 2024

Wishing him the best in his recovery. I appreciate the honesty. We want the players to show some personality, and he essentially wore his heart on his sleeve.

Guentzel to Colorado?

The Edmonton Oilers just had their 16 game winning streak snapped, but are apparently looking for reinforcements to help down the stretch. Is Jake Guentzel the guy? According to the oddsmakers, if he does get dealt, the Oilers are the favorites to pick him up. Who has the second best odds?

Your Colorado Avalanche.

A deal like that wouldn’t make a ton of sense to me, unless the Avalanche just don’t think Valeri Nichushkin is coming back. Guentzel is still a real good player (50 points in 47 games), but he’s also a winger, where the Avalanche probably have their most depth. I guess if they don’t think they can find a good center, their next best bet is to just stack the team with good wingers.

The biggest question might be – is Guentzel even on the NHL Trade Block? The Penguins still have their sights set on the playoffs, and with four games in hand on the Philadelphia Flyers, they’re just four points back. Why trade one of your top scorers? I highly doubt Pittsburgh goes on a crazy run in the playoffs, but when you have Sidney Crosby, selling seems unlikely.

National Hockey Now

Boston will be without their young center Matthew Poitras for the rest of the season, in all likelihood.

Could Scott Laughton end up in Toronto?