Makar Money Bag: Avalanche 2025-2026 season

[Logical Progression]

Bad loss to the Wylde at home last night, 5-2. This one pissed me off, regardless of it being the second of a back-to-back. Played a decent first, came out weak AF in the second, then got into MAJOR penalty trouble. True, the slashing call on Makar was absolute horseshit. Doesn't excuse the meltdown that followed. Even Landeskog took an absolutely stupid elbowing penalty.

Regardless they were still in it. Power play was atrocious as usual, and MacKinnon played quite possibly his worst game of the season. Understandable to a point given the long layoff and it's pretty clear he took some damage in the Olympic tournament (dude took a fuckin' beating in those games) he still made some inexcusably bad mental mistakes. Gotta be better.

Seven days until the deadline. Avs have got to find a depth center or this season is toast, but also the Avs HAVE GOT TO FIX THE GODDAMN FUCKING POWER PLAY. BEST OFFENSIVE TEAM IN THE LEAGUE AND THE WORST POWER PLAY IN THE LEAGUE AS WELL AS MOST SHORTHANDED GOALS GIVEN UP. This is completely unacceptable.

I hear Petey is available.

[Pokecheque]

4-2 win over the hapless Blackhawks.

I don't like the way this team is playing. I don't throw this word out a lot but they look soft, just not hitting or even trying to hold up guys who come charging through the neutral zone, no real urgency until they're down a goal or two, and of course the WORST FUCKING POWER PLAY IN THE FUCKING LEAGUE. Also most shorthanded goals given up.

Inching closer and closer to the FIRE BEDNAR bandwagon the longer this goes on.

[harmfuljays]

Coleman and Lomberg would come cheap and bring some pizazz. Backlund also would be a nice fit here.

[Pokecheque]

Coleman and Lomberg would come cheap and bring some pizazz. Backlund also would be a nice fit here.

Coleman would be a good fit, Backlund would be okay but I hope they're aiming for Kadri. Lomberg would bring the pain of course but Bednar doesn't love guys who take penalties.

Gonna quote Corey Masisak here because I don't want to link to the E-Lawn AI porn site.

#Avs have scored more goals at even strength with Nathan MacKinnon on the ice through 59 games than any NHL team scored at evens with any player on the ice from 2007-16, per
@NatStatTrick

On pace to break the "advanced stats" era record by 16 goals. Set by ... him in 2023-24.

Impressive but also underlines how utterly horrible the power play has been. MacKinnon would be far and away the league leader in scoring AND the frontrunner for the Hart if the power play were worth a shit.

Technically they scored on the power play last night, but it was an empty-netter.

4-2 win against a completely depleted Kings team missing virtually everyone except Kopitar, Kempe, and Panarin and still managed to make a game of it. A loss would've been completely unacceptable. Luckily late in the 3rd the top line and top pairing put together a dazzling play with Toews swooping in to put a perfect MacKinnon feed past Anton Forsberg.

They also lost Arturri Lehkonen for "some time" according to Bednar. That one really, really hurts. I don't think that alters the Avs' plans for the deadline but they need to get the fuck moving regardless.

[Pokecheque]

Okay, okay...take this with a giant boulder of salt...

Adrian Dater is squawking on social media that the Avs might send Valeri Nichushkin to Calgary for Nazem Kadri. IF this were to happen that would be wild beyond imagining.

Yes, I know, it's Dater, the disgraced former Avs beat reporter who then ultimately got his credential revoked and is now retired, BUT he somehow manages to break Nichushkin-related news before anyone else.

Obviously if this happens I'm assuming the Avs send something to make it worth their while, but what it would achieve is allowing the Avs to take on Kadri's full cap hit without retention. Technically they could do that right now without sending anyone out, BUT it would severely limit them from doing anything else.

Again, salt. Lots of salt.

[Pokecheque]

Avs make a move but it’s not what anyone expected, sending a 2027 5th rounder to Nashville for defenseman Nick Blankenburg.

What makes this interesting is that the Avs have seven defensemen on the roster now, and only two of them are left-handed.

I initially thought this was possibly a precursor to a bigger trade, but unless they’re planning on flipping Sam Malinski, whom they just extended, then that ain’t happening. I think he’s just depth/insurance. A decent pickup nonetheless. And of course…he once played for Columbus.

Ideally you could slot him in for some games to give Brent Burns some rest…but we all know he ain’t coming out of the lineup.

[harmfuljays]

Nicolas Roy for a 1st and a 5th....

Can't believe Tre got that.

But anyway there is that 3rd line center......and the window is now.

[Pokecheque]

Nicolas Roy for a 1st and a 5th....

Can't believe Tre got that.

But anyway there is that 3rd line center......and the window is now.

Yep, pretty big price to pay but Roy has a nice, team-friendly deal and in many ways fits what the Avs need. Big pivot who wins faceoffs and has a capable, albeit not great, two-way game.

And yet ANOTHER right-handed shot. I cannot remember the last time I saw an NHL team with this many Anti-Southpaws.

MacKinnon
Necas
Brindley
O'Connor (currently injured)
Makar
Burns
Manson
Malinski
Blankenburg
...and now Roy

That's FIVE of seven defensemen, just unreal.

So the next big acquisition has to be a lefty by default, because they desperately need a left-handed shot to put on that right side half-wall. It's the only thing left that might allow this abhorrent power play to finally work again. They need that guy there to try and dish to both Makar and MacKinnon, as well as be able to score from their own side to keep PKers honest, otherwise they just load up bodies on the left side and point, give 8 and 29 no room whatsoever, and kill the man advantage right then and there.

[Pokecheque]

Avs fans not happy with this deadline. They addressed the 3C issue fairly well but we all expected another big swing...didn't happen.

I keep reading that Ross Colton refused to waive (again) and that tripped up a potential trade. Again, not blaming the player, I'm blaming the GM dumb enough to give him that clause in the first place.

[Pokecheque]

I dunno, the Avs remain the top team in the league even though they stumbled in 2026.

Power play remains the worst in the league, I was hoping they'd get a left-handed scoring forward to take the spot once occupied by Rantanen...guess we'll see if the coaches, who should be on the hook for that anyway, will fix it before the postseason starts.

[Pokecheque]

Wait WHAT!?!?!?!?

[Logical Progression]

What? Kadri?

[Pokecheque]

Wow. What a rollercoaster. Insane last 24 hours.

And to cap it off, Avs stage a comeback win and do two things they’re not good at. One, score multiple power play goals. Two, win in the shootout! Not only win in the shootout but be perfect in the shootout. No goals given up by Wedgewood at end, and both Nichushkin and Necas score in their tries.

Hopefully Naz coming soon!

[Pokecheque]

Avs somehow win AGAIN in the shootout but the power play remains a huge, huge issue.

Kadri with a nice primary assist upon his return. Had to play wing because goddamn motherfucking shit, Landeskog now week to week with an LBI. Possibly due to taking a shot to the Swedish meatballs from Makar last game. Makar also managed to ding both Nelson and MacKinnon in this game.

I dunno what to say about the power play. I really hate that the Avs have done so much to load up for this postseason and have the WORST power play in the league. No way are they winning the Cup like this.

[Pokecheque]

A 4-3 loss to the Oilers last night. I'm not nearly as frustrated about that one as some others they've dropped in 2026, but it sucked nonetheless.

Avs jump out to an early lead less than a minute in thanks to a Ross Colton shot getting deflected (go figure, he finally gets on the board after a long drought and then gets hurt and has to leave the game later), but the Avs fall behind thanks to two absolutely horrendous defensive breakdowns from one Brent Burns. Just totally pulls himself out of position and leaves the net front area wide open for an easy goal both times. And he did it a few MORE times after that, but luckily the Oilers only capitalized on the two.

Yeah, I know, I know, people are gonna tell me this is what Burns is all about. Thing is, he was surprisingly good to start the year, which is why a guy slated to be a third pairing defender has largely been the #4 all year. That may have to change though, dude looks like he's running outta gas. Would be prudent to sit him a few games and let Blankenburg take his place for some of these contests, but no, gotta keep that stupid fucking streak going!

Rumor has it the team partied hard to celebrate Burns' 42nd birthday and that might have been a reason why they seemed a bit listless, especially in the 2nd.

But anyway, the big story in this one is the first game misconduct for Nathan MacKinnon. Came charging in toward the net on Ingram's left side to receive a pass and bowled him over, even cutting him in the process. It was an inexcusably DUMB play by MacKinnon, and frankly deserved a penalty, but I'm not buying that it was worthy of the gate, MacKinnon was indeed bumped pretty decently by Darnell Nurse right before he was set to enter the blue paint. Surely that played SOME part in the collision, but the refs just weren't having it.

MacKenzie Blackwood looked better than he had in previous outings but still let in a goal even Bednar thought he should've had. Even Eddie Olczyk said he left too much of the net open. Not sure what the deal is but for a big goalie, he sure is leaving way too much open up high in the net.

[Chris18]

Stick Burns on 4th line wing for a few nights and have him barely play. Keeps his streak alive, gives the 7th D some game time, and rests him.

[Pokecheque]

Was remiss in not mentioning that former Av (won the Cup with them in 1996) and longtime broadcaster Troy Murray died from cancer on March 7th at the age of 63. Sad news.

[Pokecheque]

Stick Burns on 4th line wing for a few nights and have him barely play. Keeps his streak alive, gives the 7th D some game time, and rests him.

They are going 11-7 for the first time in over a year with Colton, Lehkonen, and Landeskog out in Seattle tonight. I highly doubt they'll shift the Wookiee to the wing, but they absolutely should.

[Pokecheque]

Bounceback win for the Avs at Climate Plunge Arena. 5-1. Avs give up ANOTHER FUCKING GODDAMN SHORTHANDED GOAL but at least scored once on the power play.

Colorado played an absolutely dominant first to take a 3-0 lead and then coasted the rest of the way. Luckily the Kraken can’t score and Scott Wedgewood wasn’t letting anything in.

Brent Burns tied Keith Yandle for the second-longest Ironman streak in league history. He had another mostly crap game, failing to do anything to defend the shorthanded goal and also letting a Krak player get behind him easily for a braakaway which thankfully got stopped by Wedgewood. But I’ll give him credit for making a solid play that led to Josh Manson’s insurance goal. I really hope they consider sitting him soon, or at least hope he considers it.

Nick Blankenburg made his Avs debut and was fine. Not sure how much he played but looked perfectly capable when he was out there.

[Chris18]

Stick Burns on 4th line wing for a few nights and have him barely play. Keeps his streak alive, gives the 7th D some game time, and rests him.

They are going 11-7 for the first time in over a year with Colton, Lehkonen, and Landeskog out in Seattle tonight. I highly doubt they'll shift the Wookiee to the wing, but they absolutely should.

At least they're listening to me. [/s]