Deen's Daily
Deen’s Daily: Nichushkin Finds His Center; EJ Speaks; Rantanen Loses with Dallas
The Avs got their first glimpse of their new-look roster and the early returns are great. Erik Johnson is ready to accept any role. Also, Mikko Rantanen made his debut for the Dallas Stars.
All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — March 9.
Colorado Hockey Now
It was a solid bit of work by the Avalanche on Saturday, erasing a two-goal deficit to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in regulation. Valeri Nichushkin’s first career regular season hat trick led the charge. I was surprised to hear that he’d never had one before this (playoffs aside).
Johnson is back, officially. Even though he didn’t play, the 36-year-old met with media and was emotional when speaking about how happy he is to be back with the organization. He’s ready to accept any role to help this team win.
Around The NHL
Rantanen Debuts with Dallas: Rantanen made his debut with the Dallas Stars, the team he’ll call home for the remainder of the prime years of his career. Rantanen had a goal and an assist, but Dallas came up short, falling 5-4 to Edmonton.
Colorado is just six points behind the Stars for second in the Central Division, although the Stars have a game in hand.
Next Sunday’s matchup isn’t just about Rantanen’s return to Ball Arena. It’s also got huge implications in the standings.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Pens GM Kyle Dubas was asked why he didn’t trade Matt Grzelcyk or Rickard Rakell before Friday’s trade deadline. Here’s what he had to say.
Philadelphia Hockey Now: The Flyers lost to the Seattle Kraken. With all the moves they’ve made this year, who are the Philadelphia Flyers?
New Jersey Hockey Now: The Devils didn’t have a great trade deadline at all. There’s no denying that. But they’re trying to sign a free agent from the KHL.
Detroit Hockey Now: Speaking of bad trade deadlines, here’s why Steve Yzerman didn’t do more for the Red Wings at the deadline.
San Jose Hockey Now: We have a full breakdown from Sheng Peng in San Jose on why Mike Grier made the moves he did ahead of the deadline.
Florida Hockey Now: The Panthers’ new backup goalie Vitek Vanecek made his debut. It’s safe to say he likes playing behind that defense
Ottawa Hockey Now: Get to know new Sens forward Fabien Zetterlund, who scored at Ball Arena on Thursday in his final game with the Sharks. Zetterlund didn’t play on Saturday, but Brady Tkachuk played hero.
Vegas Hockey Now: Reilly Smith makes his second debut with the Golden Knights.
Avalanche Game 69 at Toronto Maple Leafs: Lines, Notes & How To Watch
Deen’s Daily: Latest Manson Update; Eastern Conference Wildcard Race Heats Up
Avs’ Manson Could Miss a Significant Amount of Time
Deen’s Daily: An Upbeat Landeskog Joins Practice; Avs Goalie Depth; Florida Misses Ekblad
Gabriel Landeskog Joins First Practice With Avalanche — Still Not Taking Contact
10 Observations: Mackenzie Blackwood Is a Shootout Dud (+)
Could the Avalanche Have the Best Second Line in the NHL?
Digging Through the Numbers From the Avalancheโs Perfect Homestand
10 Observations: Sign Me Up For Seven Games of Avalanche vs Stars in April (+)
Mikko Rantanen Departed Colorado With a Complicated Legacy. Should That Be the Case?
Watched a bit of the Dallas & Edmonton game last night. Dallas, that forward core is deep & lines 1 – 4 might be the best in hockey. But their defense especially if they don’t get a 100% Miro Heiskanen back. I really like the Avs chances in a series against them. Sometimes people exaggerate how bad certain players are because of analytics (see Jack Johnson for years). But man Cody Ceci & Ilya Lybushkin are not good at all. And Dallas has them playing top 4 mins lol. With the Avs no longer being at a huge disadvantage in… Read more »
I think, at this point, the Avs forward depth is about as good as Dallas’ or Carolina or Florida. Miro is expected back by the playoffs so, unless they have more injuries, they should be set and, yeah, it should essentially be a coin flip.
Right now the Avs look like they can play with anyone. Injuries and how the lineups look come the playoffs, will most likely determine the winners.
I was thinking the same thing. If Heiskanen doesnโt play, I like the Avs chances. Even with Heiskanen, they donโt have a Tanev, who I thought was the most important reason the Stars won the series last year. But still, it wonโt be easy.
They do miss Tanev a ton. He was so good for them in that series & the playoffs.
Tanev seemed to literally shut down our top lines by himself. He was everywhere and a huge pita.
We need a Tanev (or two) – still.
God help us all if Sam+Sam are on the ice against Benn & Co come the playoffs.
Regular season, have no problem with them logging minutes over 82 games – but the game changes markedly when the tournament starts.
If they prove me wrong, I will be a very, very happy man.
Loud stick tap for MacFarland, who addressed weaknesses smartly and aggressively. Now this team is no worse than the co-favorite to get out of the West in the playoffs. If Blackwood is up to snuff, consider it done.
I give him a stick tap for fixing the problems…that he created. It’s like patting the person who carelessly started the fire on the back for putting it out. The price he had to pay to fix those mistakes is going to be a throughline for years to come as the cupboard is now, essentially, bare. We can enjoy the ride for now but there will be a reckoning come the offseason. Hopefully they’ll be in possession of their 4th Cup by then and that will soften the blow but, make no mistake; a lot of this drama could have… Read more »
Thank you..thank you. It’s nice to have company around here in acknowledging that better roster management & decision making could’ve & would’ve saved them from having to give up asset after asset to patch holes. That never should’ve been holes in the first place (specifically 2C & 3C). Plus I would argue their continuing mismanagement of the Landeskog situation is a huge black cloud hanging over their heads. I watched his interview with Kyle Keefe. He’s obviously a well spoken hard to dislike guy. But he’s never coming back, let’s start dealing with reality. You can do all the docs… Read more »
There hasn’t been any “mismanagement” of the Landy situation. This is what happens when a guy is on LTIR and they’ve used his space every year. I do think this is the offseason to finally move forward; we may even see Landy try to give it a go in the playoffs since it costs them nothing and so everyone knows what to do this offseason. But the idea that they could have handled the situation any differently is pure fantasy.
Not at first. But know they’ve allowed it to drag on for far too long. And to just give him infinite runway is crazy. I’ve made this same point in numerous other comments. And it may come across as callous to some. But after 3 years it’s enough. You sit him down (Gabe) and tell him we’re moving on as an organization. We’re leaving you LTIR for the remainder of your contract. He CAN’T pass a physical to take contact let alone play hockey with his knee being what it is. If he’s upset, you tell him to file a… Read more »
I also watched Landy’s interview with Keefe as well as the 1st segment of his docuseries on TNT. Strong Coach Prime vibes where a camera followed him around so he can control the narrative (as well as monetize it). I believe Avs management knows he’s not coming back and behind the scenes they’re acting accordingly. They’re just letting him do or believe what he wants. I think that’s the part of the “he’s earned the right” that management has been saying. Let’s just say he does “makes it back” I don’t think there’s a person alive who believes he can… Read more »
Very well said. I did feel for him a bit in that Keefe interview. Because he came across as someone who knows deep down it’s over. But he’s clearly not ready to let go as you put it he’s diluted himself into thinking he’s still got a chance. And I’d be behind him 1000% even if he wanted to keep rehabbing until 40. If for nothing else but to play 1 shift. But with the cap & even moreso the Avs trying to win cups it’s just too much of a hamstring. If the Avs were where the Sharks are.… Read more »
As for how management is handling the Landy situation it’s the saying: watch what they do, not what they say…
You might be on to something. In that they are already proceeding internally as if he’s done.
I guess if I were them I would want closure to the situation. So someone else can be given the captaincy & everyone within the organization can just proceed without the what if’s regarding Gabe.
Management is proceeding as if he’s gone and I really think the players are completely fine with how it’s playing out – captaincy etal. It’s fans that are more up in arms because they think Landy and the organization owe them something different because they’re passionate and buy tickets and swag. He’ll be on permanent LTIR for the term of his contract. I’ll take that bet. The org is trying to be more respectful toward him than to fans feelings of scorn. There’s really nothing to see here
Yawn. He took calculated risks that, when they didn’t pan out, took corrective action quickly and decisively. That’s all you can ask for – and he should get big ass props for what he did. Nobody has a crystal ball. Many of the folks here were screaming into the wind 48 hours ago about losing Mitts and Ritchie….well, how does that center lineup look now? This team looks as good as it ever has since 2022/23. How’s that for getting it done? Give him credit for taking the risks in the first place, and having the guts and brains to… Read more »
Wish Moose well, but will Big D be any better than Carolina for him? Both believe in offense by committee and roll four lines. He may discover that the best fit is worth more than a few more bucks.
Too late for that now, I guess! But really, Rantanen is exactly what Dallas has been missing from their previous playoff runs: a true alpha star. You look at the last five Cup winners, each has had at least one: Tkachuk and Barkov in Florida, Eichel in Vegas, MacKinnon, Makar, and Rantanen for Colorado, and Kucherov, Hedman, and Vasilevskiy for Tampa in their back-to-back Cups. Who on Dallas can compare to any on that list? Maybe Oettinger? Robertson looked like he was headed that way a couple years ago when he hit 100 points, but his production has fallen of… Read more »
Thank you for adding the last sentence, Joe.
As good as Rantanen is, I am not convinced he is that superstar away from MacKinnon. When he has played for Finland, he has never once dominated a game or even been that sniper who scored a lot of points. In fact, I will stick my neck out and say that he will never score more than 50 goals or 100 points in one season again in the NHL (unless he is suddenly moved to Tampa and gets to play PP with Kucherov). Donโt get me wrong, he is still a really good hockey player, just not of the same… Read more »
I’ll take that bet. People are making these predictions about Mikko when he’s played all of 15 – 20 games away from MacKinnon in his career if you include the 4 nations. Also in 22 – 23 when Mack missed about a month during the regular season. He played probably the best most complete hockey of his career. And carried the team on his back. So he’s more than capable. And I’m assuming going to Dallas he’s highly..highly motivated to stick to the Avs. He’s also playing with some combo in Dallas of Hintz, Robertson or Wyatt Johnston. Not exactly… Read more »
Had to call me out!! I will give you the 1 season that Mikko stepped up. Other than that, he has never proven that he was a superstar away from Mack. Now he has his chance. If he can keep up his point production AND, big AND here, the Stars prove to be better with him, I will eat crow. Until then, my I told you so moment, is fast approaching. His one other hope is Pete “contestant for world’s biggest pr*ck” (family knowledge from his days in FLA) Deboer, will sit his lazy ass and that may push him… Read more »
Haha..nope. I would prefer the Avs don’t draw Dallas in rd 1. But I don’t see how that won’t happen. Because the Avs are going to pass Minny. And obviously Winnipeg has the division locked up. I wasn’t calling you out. You’re entitled to your opinion. I only mentioned you because you came immediately to mind. And you’ve ALWAYS been consistent regarding your feelings about Mikko essentially being overrated. That’s all. Obviously I feel differently, but we’re going to find out which one of us is right. And I most definitely will not be rooting for the Stars. I despise… Read more »
His kid used to play against my nephew. Let’s just say, he is one of “those” junior parents.
I could see it. He’s a good coach. But he’s also already on his 4th or 5th team. So he clearly has the type of abrasive A – hole personality that wears on people.
Holy heck, would I rather have the team we have today than have made the mistake of signing Rants at12, 13, 14M for EIGHT years and having that dragging us slowly down over the next 3-5 years.
Thank the hockey gods that the FO had the stones to reshape the franchise.
This team has a legit shot – that old team of 48 hours ago did not.
Seems everyone on every board is happy with the new Avs lineup, but still b yotching about the past.
Peace.
Mikko is alpha – as long as he’s riding bitch with MacK.
We shall see, but his current trajectory suggests his Wiki footnote will be ‘The Scottie Pippen of hockey’.
Peace.
Is peace your version of “Seacrest out”? Hard to take you seriously as an adult or a person when you put a bow on everything with peace. Unless you’re a soy boy or a hippie. And is comparing him to Scottie Pippen suppose to be a bad thing? He is one of the greatest players in NBA history. Is the insult suppose to be that he wasn’t Jordan? Who is? Just like in the modern day NHL nobody compares to MacKinnon except McDavid. MacFarland deserves credit for attempting to correct some of his roster missteps or mistakes. Doesn’t change that… Read more »
Iโm not sure Moose has any right to be upset with the Avs and show them up. If anything, itโs the other way around. I hate Dallas and P. D-bag with a flaming passion rarely seen and it makes it worse now heโs playing for them. Now that heโs playing there, I donโt wish him well. IMO the situation was 100% preventable if he truly wanted to stay with the Avs. If he really was โshockedโ he was moved, he either needs a new agent or a business lesson. The Avs basically told him FAAFO.
I agree Ben. Iโm also sure itโs going to be a lot more awkward for him to play against the Avs in than for the Avs to play against him. I seen Nateโs interview when they asked him about it and he said the right things and maybe I misread it but he looked unhappy. At the same time he always looks unhappy in interviews haha.
Blackwood had horrible game. Everything beat him blocker side
He didn’t play well. My guess is Wedgewood plays tomorrow against Chicago, so that he gets in a game this week and Blackwood has some time to work out the issue.