We know his teammates love him. We know he's an imposing figure on the ice. We don't know why the Colorado Avalanche continue with the Kurtis MacDermid experiment. And what the Avs are doing now with MacD is truly an experiment. His main position will be forward. Something he has never done on a regular basis. MacDermid might not be in the starting lineup come Wednesday night when the Avs take on the Los Angeles Kings. Andrew Cogliano seems to be trending in the direction of he will be ready. If...
Oct 09, 2023•34 min•Ep. 778
The Colorado Avalanche are looking to make their way back to the Stanley Cup Final after being upset in the first round by the Seattle Kraken in the 2023 Playoffs. Chris Micieli of Locked On Avalanche joins Locked On NHL to discuss how a revamped roster around superstars Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Maker and Mikko Rantanen is set up to get the 2022 Stanley Cup Champs back to the top of the Western Conference, as they stared down a full season without injured captain Gabriel Landeskog. What is the big...
Oct 06, 2023•11 min•Ep. 787
We got some new information on some players that are going to Loveland as well as some injury news from the Colorado Avalanche Wednesday. One of the names on the injury list is Ben Meyers with a lower body injury. We have thought Meyers hasn't done enough to earn that fourth line center spot, and could him not being 100% on opening night make it easier for Jared Bednar to slot someone else into the position against the Los Angeles Kings? We also get to the five burning questions that was asked o...
Oct 05, 2023•30 min•Ep. 777
Seth Toupal, Nick Morgan and the local experts of the Locked On NHL network bring you the details on all the biggest stories around the NHL’s Western Conference going into the 2023-24 season in a special Locked On season preview presentation. Can the Vegas Golden Knights repeat as Stanley Cup Champions? Will Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl’s Edmonton Oilers finally become the Wests’ best? Is Pierre-Luc Dubois the secret to the Los Angeles Kings getting over the playoff hump? Just how good can ...
Oct 04, 2023•58 min•Ep. 785
It seems like anything Connor Bedard does right now is the NHL equivalent to Taylor Swift going to an NFL game. So when he reacted to someone in the Chicago Blackhawks locker room stepping on the logo on the floor negatively, of course, it now is talked about everywhere. Including this show. NHL players have a lot of superstitions. Which ones do we understand, and which ones just go too far? We also received a listener question about former players becoming head coaches or GMs. How do we feel ab...
Oct 04, 2023•32 min•Ep. 776
It kind of comes with the territory, but when you are winning, other people don't like you. Evander Kane apparently doesn't either since it was reported he called the Colorado Avalanche "arrogant". It got us thinking, do other hockey fans dislike the Avalanche, and if they do, why? Is it because of certain players on the team? If so, which ones? Or is it just because they have been a winning team over the past several years. Winning brings hatred from others. Are the Avs there yet? We also discu...
Oct 03, 2023•31 min•Ep. 775
We got to see more household names on the Colorado Avalanche than at any other point during the Avs 4th preseason game against the Dallas Stars Sunday night. But as is the case with the preseason, it's more about the guys trying to make the team than the ones who have already made it. While we got to see a glimpse into what the Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Jonathan Drouin line will look like (early indications are very good), what is likely giving head coach Jared Bednar sleepless nights...
Oct 02, 2023•36 min•Ep. 774
The Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild squared off for the first time this preseason, and you weren't able to watch it. The Avs lost to the Wild 4-2 in a game where the rosters were as lopsided as the Eifel Tower. But the real issue here is why couldn't anyone watch it? We discuss these ongoing issues the league has in reaching its audience. We get it though. In the end, it's just a preseason game. And for everyone except the coaching staff, if a pretty meaningless game. So should the preseas...
Sep 29, 2023•31 min•Ep. 773
The Colorado Avalanche the past few years have gotten off to some slow starts. Not starts that bury them in the standings where they are climbing out for the rest of the season, but the ups and downs of the early season that many teams go through. Can this team, with the new veteran additions, prevent a slow start? Will being on the road for the majority of October actually bring the team together more in the early going? We also dive into a season preview for Devon Toews. We address his contrac...
Sep 28, 2023•34 min•Ep. 772
The Colorado Avalanche won their second game of the preseason Monday night, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights, 3-2. Of course, the score didn't really matter and the play of the Avs roster was once again what the coaching staff was looking at. And once again, some of the Avalanche prospects and depth players are making a case for themselves. We also got to see more new faces in Avalanche uniforms. Ryan Johansen and Jonathan Druin hit the ice for the first time and both looked immediately comfor...
Sep 27, 2023•32 min•Ep. 771
On today's episode of Locked on Avalanche, we are joined by a very special guest, Geo Collins! Geo has been in the esports world for some time now and has seen first hand how that community has grown. In particular, targeting the Gen Z community. Geo, being a newly minted fan of the NHL (she's a Vancouver Canucks fan, but don't hold that against her), feels like what the esports world did to grow the industry, the NHL can benefit just the same. She was kind enough to join us to dive deeper into ...
Sep 27, 2023•46 min•Ep. 770
Avalanche hockey returns in the preseason format. The Colorado Avalanche took the ice for the first time this preseason against the Minnesota Wild, and while the final score (4-3 loss) never matters in the preseason, there of course were good and bad things to take out of the matchup. The good for the Avs? The Ross Colton, Miles Wood and Tomas Tatar line is going to be problems for opposing teams. It might take a few games for the three of them to get fully on the same page, but once they do you...
Sep 25, 2023•33 min•Ep. 769
The Colorado Avalanche media day took place on Wednesday, and we heard from a lot of players about a lot of things. Devon Toews talked about his contract and how he doesn't want it to drag into the season, while saying he wants to retire with the Avalance Jared Bednar talked about feeling good about the moves made in the offseason and how it reminded him of the moved made when the Avs brought in Burakovsky and Donskoi. Bednar also talked about if he thought about naming a new captain. Spoiler, h...
Sep 21, 2023•32 min•Ep. 768
With training camp starting on Thursday, now is a great time to start our player season previews, and who better to start with than one of the more polarizing players on the Colorado Avalanche than Samuel Girard. At this point we kind of feel like we know what we are going to get from Sammy G. His numbers could go up a tick, but don't expect that season that comes out of nowhere and leaves his career numbers in the dust. The one thing that will always be over his head is that cap number. He coul...
Sep 20, 2023•33 min•Ep. 767
Now that the dust has settled following the Colorado Avalanche signing Tomas Tatar to a one year deal, we can now stop asking who might slide into that final forward spot when we would guess what the lines would look like in past episodes. Tatar makes this roster not only complete, but as deep as any other team in the conference, and the Avalanche will once again be a difficult team to contend with from top to bottom. However, one area of depth that might be lacking to start the season is the go...
Sep 18, 2023•35 min•Ep. 766
Once again, the Colorado Avalanche lurked in the shadows, patiently waiting for the right player to fall to them. Last year it was Evan Rodrigues, this year it's Tomas Tatar. Tatar signed a nice and easy one year deal for a low $1.5 million to join the Avs and make their middle six a bit stronger. The remodeling of the Avs should just about be complete now, and Tatar only adds to the new look team. We are also joined by Eddie Garcia of Locked on Los Angeles Kings. The Kings are a team on the ris...
Sep 14, 2023•34 min•Ep. 765
Chris MacFarland threw meat to hungry wolves with his comments to Pierre LaBrun of The Athletic over the weekend when he said he was hoping captain Gabriel Landeskog could return for the playoffs. We aren't so sure that: #1 he can, #2 if he can, should he? And #3, why would MacFarland even make a comment like that at this stage of the season? The season that hasn't even started yet!? We discuss why that while, yes, this is a possibility, it would benefit the Colorado Avalanche to put Landeskog o...
Sep 12, 2023•31 min•Ep. 764
So the Ottawa Senators threw a ton of money at their young, up and coming defenseman to the tune of 8 years and $8.05 AAV. With every new defenseman signing for high dollars, the more likely it is that this will likely be the final season for Devon Toews and the Colorado Avalanche. He's just going to command too much money that you know teams are willing to give him. So what do the Avalanche do? Move other players and assests around to try and make enough room under the cap to extend him? Easier...
Sep 08, 2023•31 min•Ep. 763
Each year The Athletic runs a vote of the confidence level the fan base has in their team's front office. They rate categories such as the overall vision of the team, to trading, to drafting and developing. Last year the Colorado Avalanche were at the top of the list. This year, they dropped to 5th. Is that fair? Probably. We discuss why. We also take a look at the state of the Western Conference, and how it's not really as exciting as the Eastern Conference. Where the East will likely have seve...
Sep 06, 2023•31 min•Ep. 762
Deion Sanders has Colorado and college football fans buzzing after their huge win over TCU last Saturday. What also made headlines was the press conference and comments following the win by Sanders. Understandably, Deion was not leaving anyone in his wake when it came to people who were doubting him or the team heading into this season. He says what's on his mind. Filters do not apply to Prime Time. Head coach of the Colorado Avalanche, Jared Bednar, is pretty much the polar opposite when it com...
Sep 04, 2023•34 min•Ep. 761
Another Friday, another stop on our Locked on Summer Road Trip! We had planned to meet up with Jason Hernandez of Locked on Ducks a couple weeks ago, but for reasons we had to postpone that episode. We can now present it to you live and in color! Jason shares with us why Trevor Zegras still is not signed. What the expectations are for the now former Colorado Eagles and now Anaheim Ducks head coach, Greg Cronin, and did taking Leo Carlsson 2nd overall over Adam Fantilli surprise him? Another grea...
Sep 01, 2023•36 min•Ep. 760
We are still several years away from a new Cale Makar contract, but it's never too early to surmise about what his next deal will look like. Could be he be the highest paid player in the league? The Avalanche will know exactly what Connor McDavid will be at since he will have a new deal the year before Makar is due. Do the Avalanche need to make him the highest paid? Would he be happy with the "home town discount" knowing there likely will be a team to throw crazy money at him? We also finish up...
Aug 30, 2023•37 min•Ep. 759
It's been a tumultuous but at the same time quiet offseason for Val Nichushkin. With how his season ended in Seattle, a lot of Colorado Avalanche fans had a lot of questions. They might have even more after Nichushkin posted two images of himself on Instagram. Sporting the Avalanche championship ring, and a gun. Bad optics? Or no big deal? We also congratulate Joonas Donskoi who announced he will be retiring from the NHL following issues with concussions. While his time in Colorado was not that ...
Aug 29, 2023•30 min•Ep. 758
The offseason gives us time to meet new people and talk about things outside of the usual hockey world. But we can never get too far away from hockey or the Colorado Avalanche. So today, we join up with Zach Pearson of Mile High Bourbon and Rye. Zach is an avid Avalanche fan and is also well versed in the world of bourbon and whiskey. He talks to us about his history with the Avalanche, his favorite players of his back in the day as well as the here and now, and some favorite memories he has wat...
Aug 25, 2023•51 min•Ep. 757
Players come and go. It's just the nature of the sports beast. Very few hang around for the duration of their careers. So today, we thought it would have been fun to look at some guys who played with the Avalanche and eventually moved on, even though we wish they didn't. We also take a look at a few more records within the franchise. This time it is ones that are almost insurmountable. Such as scoring 12 goals in a game, or scoring a goal in less than 8 seconds to start a game! Finally, the netw...
Aug 23, 2023•37 min•Ep. 756
While no major Colorado Avalanche / Quebec Nordiques records were passed last year, some players on last year's squad came very close to matching or passing some long standing records. Alexandar Georgiev came within one win of tying the franchise record in wins, Mikko Rantanen came within 3 goals of setting a franchise records of goals in a season, and Devon Toews with a +52 was +10 away from that record. So, could any of those, and other records get caught this season? We discuss why or why not...
Aug 22, 2023•38 min•Ep. 755
It's Friday! So we are once again hitting the road for our Locked on Summer Road Trip! Today, we visit Nick and Ann, hosts of the Locked on Predators podcast. It's pretty amazing how connected these two teams are and not just because they play in the same division. Players who have played for both franchises is pretty long, and only got longer in the offseason with the Preds bringing in Tyson Barrie and Ryan O'Reilly. But we want to know about one former Avalance and now former Predator in parti...
Aug 18, 2023•55 min•Ep. 754
On today's episode of Locked on Avalanche, we use the rest of the fan survey from The Athletic to take a look at where the teams of the NHL stand as far as being a playoff contender or not. Which teams that made the playoffs last year will miss them this year? Which teams that missed the playoffs last year will make them? Which teams have the best chance of winning at least one Cup by the year 2030? Who's got no shot at that possibility? Which teams are on the way up, while which teams are ready...
Aug 16, 2023•33 min•Ep. 753
We've been down this road before. And we were not going to discuss it this year because we didn't want to get our hopes up only for them to get dashed once again. It seems like every year we think a member of the Colorado Avalanche is deserving to be the face of EA's NHL video game, and every year those hopes go down the drain. But, rumors are out there saying Cale Makar will in fact be this years cover man for the game. So would be exicted now? Or wait for it to actually happen? We also go thro...
Aug 14, 2023•34 min•Ep. 752
On today's episode of Locked on Avalanche, Chris and Kyle dive into a series of questions asked by The Athletic to NHL fans. The questions we tackle today are: -Who is the best player in the NHL besides Connor McDavid? -Should the NHL add a play-in round to the playoffs like the NBA? -Do you prefer the current divisional and wild card playoff format, or the old conference based format (1v8, 2v7, etc)? -Are you a fan of star players having more power about where they want to play? -If you could g...
Aug 07, 2023•30 min•Ep. 751
