Deen's Daily
Deen’s Daily: Avs Fire Assistant Coach; Second Round in Full Swing — Road Teams Step Up
We heard from the Avalanche’s front office on Tuesday, which included an announcement that an assistant coach was fired. Also, the second round is in full swing.
All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — May 7.
Colorado Hockey Now
Chris MacFarland and Joe Sakic met with media on Tuesday to discuss the early playoff exit and the plan moving forward. Assistant coach Ray Bennett was let go, MacFarland announced before courting questions from media. Bennett has been an assistant for Jared Bednar since 2017 and ran the power play. Sakic made it clear that a new PP voice was needed after how things unfolded in the series against the Dallas Stars.
As for Bednar, he’s got full confidence from the front office. MacFarland will also remain at the helm as general manager. Given some of the comments on this website recently, I could see that many readers aren’t happy with my editorial about MacFarland’s job. And that’s fine. I presented an argument and stated why I think he should’ve been let go. You don’t need to agree with it, but please, be respectful. I love seeing passionate discussions in the comments, as long as they don’t cross a line with each other or with myself (or Colleen Flynn).
I’m not one to write hot takes just to get clicks and have never been that. In fact, many commenters throughout the season have been asking me to challenge the front office and head coach a bit more about their decisions. And here we are now … The first time I challenged something, I’m being told by some that they’re canceling their subscriptions and name-calling me on the way out. It is what it is.
I hope most of you stick around. MacFarland respectfully answered my questions today while knowing what I had written. He was fine with it. It doesn’t need to be an attack fest from Avs fans for questioning a massive decision the organization made in January.
It’s going to be a fun offseason for the Avs. They have some cap space, and they have certainty with Gabe Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin. I’m excited to see what they choose to do.
Read More: 5 Takeaways: Sakic, MacFarland Discuss Disappointing End To Season
Stanley Cup Playoff Recap
Game 1 — Toronto Maple Leafs vs Florida Panthers: I didn’t write a daily yesterday so I haven’t had a chance to recap this just yet. The Maple Leafs looked impressive coming out of the gate and did a good job of fighting back when Florida began to press. The Anthony Stolarz injury is unfortunate, as is the lack of discipline from the league for Sam Bennett. But, right now, it looks like Toronto isn’t going to go down easily to Florida like they did in 2023.
Game 1 — Washington Capitals vs Carolina Hurricanes: That was an insanely Hurricanes-y Game 1. Like, boring. Anyway, the Caps got out to a first-period 1-0 lead and held that until midway through the first period. Logan Stankoven tied it at 1-1 for the Canes before Jaccob Slavin scored early in overtime to steal Game 1 on the road.
Game 1 — Vegas Golden Knights vs Edmonton Oilers: The last two teams to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Final opened their second series in three seasons with one heck of an entertaining battle. Vegas scored twice early but Edmonton, as it so often does, was carried by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to tie the game up at 2-2 by the time the third period was a minute old. In the end, the depth stepped up with two late third-period goals to give the Oilers a solid come-from-behind 4-2 victory on the road.
Tonight’s Schedule
- Game 2: Florida Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs (5 pm MT on ESPN)
- Game 1: Dallas Stars at Winnipeg Jets (7:30 pm MT on ESPN)
Around The NHL
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Pens will pick 11th in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. Here are some names they can consider selecting in that spot.
Montreal Hockey Now: The Islanders are looking for a new GM, and someone in the Habs organization is on their list.
Philly Hockey Now: The Flyers are picking sixth in the draft. Is there a chance they could move up?
NYI Hockey Now: The Islanders won the draft lottery on Monday! Suddenly, their GM job has become all the more enticing. And one of the names they should look into is Marc Bergevin.
San Jose Hockey Now: Is it time to name Macklin Celebrini captain?
Florida Hockey Now: Bennett said he wasn’t trying to hurt Stolarz, who was a beloved teammate of his last year.
Ottawa Hockey Now: For once, the Sens weren’t part of the draft lottery. Should they keep their first-round pick?
Deen’s Daily: What To Do With Drouin; Dallas on Verge of Third Straight WCF; Ken Holland to LA?
Leave or Stay: Jonathan Drouin Enters Third Straight Year as UFA
Deen’s Daily: Stuart Skinner Has Arrived; Canes Win Again; What Should Avs Do at 2C?
Avalanche Mailbag 4.0: Clearing Cap Space, Offseason Changes & Should Avs Re-Sign Nelson?
Nazem Kadri Throws Shade at Avalanche’s Management — Was There More to His Post?
Avalanche Mailbag: Let Your Frustrations Out — Ask Us Anything!
5 Takeaways: Sakic, MacFarland Discuss Disappointing End To Season
Avalanche Mailbag 2.0: Revisiting the Mikko Rantanen Saga
Avalanche Retain Jared Bednar, Fire Assistant Coach Ray Bennett Following Early Playoff Exit
Avalanche Mailbag 1.0: Coaching, Management, & What Went Wrong in the Playoffs?
For whatever it’s worth. I think having more editorials & different takes makes for far more interesting discussions. And would probably benefit the site as a whole in the long run. Having an actual opinion isn’t necessarily a “hot take” or “click bait”. It’s not as if you said, blow it all up! Trade Mackinnon & or Makar!
I think it’s indicative of everything now in society with political discourse or social/societal issues by in large.
Nobody can disagree offer up facts & or counter arguments. Without having someone attack them personally or getting butthurt.
“It makes more interesting discussions.” says the man who calls anyone who sends you counter-arguments an idiot where you remain unanswered.
At least he’s toned down the homophopic insults but yeah he’s still a jackass
Ok…that’s straight up bs. I never did that. If you’re referring to something Rico posted awhile back. In which he made a comment about a shirtless Lou Gehrig taking swings & how muscular he was. To which I replied that it was very “homo erotic”. Then you need to chill. That’s not being homophobic. It was a pretty innocuous dig at him. Plus I thought it was funny 🤷. But mind you it’s ok for him to tell me to commit suicide. That I have no redeeming value to society. I live in my parents basement & so on &… Read more »
I’m making over $13k a month working part time. I kept hearing other people tell me how much money they can make online so I decided to look into it. Well, it was all true and has totally changed my life. This is where I started
.
HERE—————⊃⫸ https://tinyurl.com/4e9eczre
lol I love you both denied and confirmed being a homophobe in the same post. Keep up the good work!
I don’t recall calling anyone an idiot directly. If I did I’m sure it was for a good reason lol. I know I infered NecasDrury is one though.
Hi Aarif. I am a subscriber and enjoy your posts as well as your podcast (though I wish they were more frequent). I will continue to subscribe despite the fact that I disagree with your position that CMac should be fired and replaced by Joe Sakic. The trade was widely praised at the time (as well as criticized) for receiving assets of value rather than possibly losing the Moose for nothing. Necas had a terrific regular season despite not shining in the playoff series. However, he is not the only top six player that did not excel, not to mention… Read more »
All the ones who unsubscribed and name-called, don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Aarif, good article, please keep ’em coming.
Thank you for the reminder. I will be careful.
Impostor bloke at it again. Be careful mate, many can play that game.
Loud stick tap for Aarif, who had the balls to correctly say MacFarland should get his ass fired for his complete and utter competency.
I was thinking today: yes, the optics on the Rantanen trade are bad, since he eliminated the Avs from the playoffs almost single-handedly. However, I think the more fireable offense is now the Nelson trade. It’s highly likely he walks in the off-season (likely to Minnesota), and since they won’t want to sign him to an 8-year deal, there’s no reason for them to trade any assets for his signing rights. So MacFarland essentially traded the best forward prospect the organization has had since Rantanen – as well as 1st and 3rd round picks – for three months of a… Read more »
In Nelson’s defense, he collected 4 assists in 7 games and hardly ever played on the PP. He also finished with a positive differential. From this point of view, he was not bad in itself.
But wasn’t he always touted as a goal scorer? I know he scored a lot on the Avs when he was with the Isles. Where did that guy go?
Nelson is capable of scoring goals. But the primary role of a center player is to feed his wingers. In that sense, it’s better for Nelson to make passes and for Nichuskhin or Landeskog to score goals. Nichuskhin was at a rate of 40 goals this season and Landeskog has already scored 30 goals on several occasions. It’s a plus that a center scores goals. Passing doesn’t prevent you from scoring goals.
So are Auston Matthews and Leon Draisaitl not centers, then? Are they doing it wrong? And how about Kucherov leading assists for two years in a row as a winger? Is he actually a center, and we’ve all been mistaken?
How many Auston Matthews and Leon Draisaitl are there in the NHL? There are play-making wingers like Kucherov, Marner and Panarin. Look at McDavid, a quarter of his points are goals. In 2022-2023, McDavid focused more on scoring more goals because the year before he had some individual honours passed him by. But as a general rule, there is a ratio of 1 to 3 or 1 to 4 for center players. Draisaitl has a little different ratio but that’s because he often plays as McDavid’s winger. In the case of Marner and Matthews, the situation is reversed. Marner is… Read more »
I’m also not saying Nelson was a disaster for the Avs, he had his moments. But at the end of the day, he was supposed to help us win a Cup, and instead we were bounced in the first round. That’s not Nelson’s fault – I’m not attacking him. But the simple fact is he’s not likely to resign with Colorado, meaning we gave up a blue chip prospect, a 1st round pick, and a 3rd round pick, and will have literally nothing to show for it, other than maybe a couple Avalanche #11 Nelson jerseys floating around somewhere. That… Read more »
It’s far too early to say that this is one of the Avalanche’s worst trades. It depends on where Nelson plays next season and how well he performs. Also, it also depends on the future performance of the prospects sold.
I don’t know if I’d say it’s the worst trade they ever made. But it most definitely didn’t seem a good fit.
Didn’t watch a lot of him in Long Island. But from what I saw of him, if some team wants to pay him 8 per. Good luck with that…
I love Necas, but you know whom is the best ever? Newhook, no comparison!
They both play an extremely soft ass brand of hockey. So I guess you have a type!
It’s much more pleasant when it’s soft.
Soft like me, Alexander, Necas & Newhook’s biggest fan!
Lol..very true!
Personally, I’d like to see a Winnipeg/Maple Leafs Stanley Cup Final. Cheers for Canada.
I think that would be a great series, but I doubt the NHL would like it. My guess is they really want Dallas or Vegas in the finals, to help with their desire to add more teams in the southern U.S. Toronto/Dallas is probably their pick.
Agree. Plus, it’s all about TV ratings (eyeballs watching) with no U.S. teams competing, there might be a big drop off in viewership. Still – – I’d love hearing “Oh Canada” every game and it would be a big boost for Canadians who are getting shafted, politically, right now. If expansion is to happen, I’m not sure what cities the NHL is looking at. If it’s southern cities, then Houston, Atlanta or New Orleans are possibilities. But Atlanta has already lost a team so my guess is it would be Houston or New Orleans. Probably Houston as it’s a bigger… Read more »
Toronto for the Canadian market and Dallas for the Texas/U.S. market. It is always about ratings to the head office. That is why they won’t change the playoff format. They believe it promotes rivalries and ratings.
I can understand the frustrations building among Avs fans and your readers too. That other early exit of that team from the offseason series, is gong to sting much more, because of the way it happens and because of who delivers the last blow to its dream. But we must live with it and turn the page. I beleive the front office did not have a choice after Rantanen and his agents declined to sign a ultimate 12 millions offer for 8 years. There was going to have a bidding war between teams during the summer and the Avs could… Read more »
Gotta have a scapegoat