Colorado Avalanche news
Between The Pipes — March 8: Raj and Springer had lots to say about Philipp Grubauer’s performance and the Avalanche’s goaltending situation overall. It is worth a listen.
One thing noted is inconsistency is a big problem with the Avalanche, and I am in complete agreement. What are your thoughts? Listen to C.C. Hawkley and Scott MacDonald talk about the Avs’ problems in the Front Range Hockey podcast. They also discuss the netminder problems the team has, too.
Bednar on O'Connor: "He's taking time and space away. […] He's forcing the opposing power play and skill players to make quicker decisions because he's skating, he's moving his legs, and he's a quick, quick player, an explosive player." #GoAvsGo
— AvsBurgundyReview (@AvsBRblog) March 11, 2021
JJ and Aarif have a unique look back on the 365 days since Avalanche fans were allowed at Pepsi Center in this week’s Hockey Mountain High podcast. It is interesting hearing Aarif talk about all the changes that have taken place since then.
Other hockey news
All quiet on the NHL's waiver wire today.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 6, 2021
Lots of talk in the hockey world this week about fines and suspensions for players who are caught doing something they should not do on the ice.
The Tough Call website’s byline is “Hitting back at hockey hitting culture.” It lists hits on players and the website owner’s view of what he would have called had he been the referee on the ice at the time. See if you agree with some of his views.
A lot of the discussion in the space of suspensions centred around the Tom Wilson hit on Brandon Carlo of the Bruins. Andy Campbell had a really good take, from my perspective, when he talked about when a pattern of these serious hits needs to be factored into the mix in a recent article.
Brett Pesce gets a $5,000 fine for an intentional slew foot that could’ve seriously injured the player and Tom Wilson gets 7 games for boarding which wasn’t even called a penalty by 4 referees on the ice. I don’t get it
— Carlo Colaiacovo (@CarloColaiacovo) March 7, 2021
Fun, fun and more fun
And there was also some fun.
The Calgary Flames (CGY) have been placed on waivers.
— Dyl (@dhockey13) March 8, 2021
the nhl needs to change their format it would be so funny if the bottom 3 teams got relegated to the ahl
— csenge 🐦🔥 (@spinoramas) March 10, 2021
And whilst there might not be a lot of Avalanche fans who are also fans of Patrick Kane, he reached a milestone this week by having played 1,000 games. The Chicago Blackhawks had some fun. Go watch this YouTube video where Kane counts to 1,000 to help you fall asleep. That is one way to celebrate.
Hockey trivia
Elizabeth Graham was the first recorded goaltender to wear a mask in a hockey game. In a game in 1927, for Queen’s University, she wore a fencing mask #InternationalWomensDay pic.twitter.com/jmvTOUlanU
— Mike Commito (@mikecommito) March 8, 2021
Draft lottery changes
The NHL is proposing changes to the draft lottery that would see:
* teams limited to no more than two lottery wins in a five-year period
* teams only allowed to jump 10 spots with a lottery win
* a reduction in the number of picks decided by lottery from three to two— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 8, 2021
The mental toll of COVID-19
The toll on players mentally at the moment is bigger than you may think. This week in an article on ESPN, a number of players from different teams spoke about how they are struggling with the isolation of COVID-19 restrictions in the midst of what can already sometimes be a mentally grueling game.
You may get to watch more hockey
Next season, for anyone that has an NHL TV subscription, you will not need that anymore. Or perhaps it will not be an option for watching the games anymore given the new agreement that will be in play with ESPN. ESPN has won the NHL TV rights in the United States for the next seven years.
ESPN & NHL details
* ABC/ESPN will have four of the next 7 Stanley Cup Finals
* ABC/ESPN will have one conference final each year
* 25 regular season games on ABC or ESPN
* ESPN+ will stream more than 1,100 games
* ESPN+/Hulu will exclusively stream 75 national games— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) March 10, 2021
The price of the Disney Bundle is going up.
* With Disney+/ESPN+ and Hulu (ad supported), it will be 13.99/per month
* The same no ad bundle will be $19.99/per month— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) March 10, 2021