After a very long and busy Colorado Avalanche season we needed a little break and decided to take that break during free agency week of all things. But we're back and we can still talk about the moves the Avs made. On the ice and in the front office. Chris MacFarland has been around for all of this Avalanche success, he just doesn't get the recognition Joe Sakic does. It had been rumored Sakic would either retire or take a higher up job with the franchise if the Avs won the Cup, and that is exactly what happened. Sakic is no President of Hockey Operations and MacFarland removes the 'Assistant' from his title and is now the Avalanche GM. Don't expect much to change when it comes to how the Avs do business. Sakic and MacFarland have been working in unison for years and that will likely continue. MacFarland was a busy man in his first days on the job. The biggest moves were in signing three key free agents. Josh Manson (4 years $4.5 AAV), Artturi Lehkonen (5 years, $4.5 AAV) and the biggest one in Val Nichushkin (8 years, $6.125 AAV). The Avs are clearly trying to keep as much of this team together as possible. But one name from last year is still out there waiting for his deal, Nazem Kadri. The Avalanche are very much in the mix for their 2C and will have to move a current player to keep him. Could we see MacFarland pull off a trade that keeps the fan favorite in Denver? We will see. Chris and Kyle have a lot to talk about! Tune in and subscribe! BetOnline BetOnline.nethas you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before.BetOnline– Where The Game Starts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The newest member of the Colorado Avalanche has his contract. After being acquired for three draft picks. RFA Alexander Georgiev sign a three year contract for $3.4 AAV. Which means the Avs will have a very modest $5.4 million dollars total for both goalies. If it works, it's genius. If it fails, many questions will be asked. We also put our mythical GM caps on and throw out the offers we would make for three key Avs players. What would we offer UFA Val Nichushkin, RFA Arturri Lehkonen and what is the extension we would throw to superstar Nathan MacKinnon? Finally, we have two grades to pass out for last season. One for Bowen Byram and the other for Andrew Cogliano. Tune in and subscribe! BetOnline BetOnline.nethas you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before.BetOnline– Where The Game Starts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Joe Sakic met with Darcy Kuemper and his agent Wednesday. Many believed that was the beginning of negotiations that would eventually lead to the Stanley Cup winning goalie to come back to the Avs and continue to be their starting goalie. About 24 hours later, Sakic and the Avalanche announced a trade that sent three picks (3rd & 5th this year. 3rd next year) to the New York Rangers in exchange for Igor Shesterkin's backup, Alexander Georgiev. It's a risky move for the Avalanche considering they are heading into next season with two backup goalies that are going to be asked to take on more responsibility than they have ever been asked before. Are they up for the task? Chris and Kyle debate. We also need to throw out a congratulations to Joe Sakic for winning the Jim Gregory Award for the leagues best GM. A long overdue recognition. BetOnline BetOnline.nethas you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before.BetOnline– Where The Game Starts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
And we are already on to next season! The NHL released the full season schedule for next season and there are some interesting dates and times for the Colorado Avalanche. We now know that the Avalanche will welcome the Chicago Blackhawks to Ball Arena on their opening night to raise their Championship banner to the rafters. Win or lose that game, the Avs won't have much time to celebrate the banner since they play the very next day in Calgary. Nothing like starting off the season with a back to back. The rest of the schedule is filled with interesting dates. The Avs will get season series' wrapped up with several east coast teams within a week of their first matchup. They will also have a handful of afternoon games including an 11:00 MT start time against the Detroit Red Wings in March. All in all, it's a hockey season, and the Avalanche will be like everyone else in needing to play the schedule that is given to you. This time as Stanley Cup Champs. We also hand Andre Burakovsky his season grade for last year! Tune in and subscribe! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go tobuiltbar.comand use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. Rock Auto Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
With everyone focused on the Colorado Avalanche bringing back their big name free agents like Nazem Kadri and Val Nichushkin, the Avs made their first move of the off season in bringing back a player they acquired at the trade deadline this past season. Andrew Cogliano signed a one year deal for $1.25 million to stay and defend the championship in Denver. We also got word that Erik Johnson, who many thought could take the high road and walk away following a Stanley Cup win, will in fact NOT be doing so. Johnson stated he plans on returning to play the last year on his contract and even hinted that he might play beyond next season. Finally, it's no secret that Val Nichushkin and Darcy Kuemper are high on the priority list for the Avalanche. But here we are again with Marc-Andre Fleury rumors swirling around between him and the Colorado Avalanche. Chris and Kyle break it all down! Tune in and subscribe! BetOnline BetOnline.nethas you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before.BetOnline– Where The Game Starts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
He may work with Toronto Maple Leafs superfan Steve Dangle, but Producer Drew Livingstone of Sportsnet roots for the Colorado Avalanche. If you haven't seen his celebration video when the Avs won the Cup, it is a must watch. Drew, like all of us, were filled with excitement after the Avs sealed their Stanley Cup victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning and he joins us to share his experience. Drew also shares his thoughts on the pending Avalanche UFA's and who he thinks will stay and who will go. We also start our season grades and like last year start alphabetically, which means Nicolas Aube-Kubel is first up. Tune in and subscribe! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go tobuiltbar.comand use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. Rock Auto Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
I guess the off-season is officially underway! Nazem Kadri was a guest on a sports show and stated that while the Colorado Avalanche are first on his list of teams to sign with, he has "shown what his worth is". The Avalanche clearly want Kadri back, but will this be a situation where the two sides are so far apart he moves on? Or can Joe Sakic continue to work his magic at the bargaining table? We also take a look at some injuries we are just starting to get clarification on. We knew Darcy Kuemper's eye was still bothering him, but now we know to the extent he was getting help for it. Does knowing this change our perspective on Kuemper and thinking a full offseason of recovery could get him back to the regular season Kuemper? Plus, Darren Helm was playing with an abdominal tear. Not a strain, a tear. Sounds like fun. All that plus the parade celebration is planned for today! If you're going, be safe, but enjoy! Tune in and subscribe! BetOnline BetOnline.nethas you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before.BetOnline– Where The Game Starts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
While we are clearly still in celebration mode and will be for a while, it's always a good thing to look forward and guess what is to come for this Avalanche team next season. Vegas already loves the Avs chances to repeat as they are the favorites to do it again. The question is should they be? Why are teams who win a championship immediately the favorites for next season when a pick hasn't been drafted or a free agent has been signed? And for the Avalanche, there's a lot of signing to do. Joe Sakic has his work cut out for him this offseason in navigating an Avs roster that will look very different next year minus the core. Can he bring back Kadri? Nichushkin? Kuemper? As is always the case, the price will have to be right. Chris and Kyle look into the magic 8 ball and give some early offseason predictions on who gets signed and for how much. Tune in and subscribe! BetOnline BetOnline.nethas you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before.BetOnline– Where The Game Starts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Have we come down from the clouds yet? We haven't. One day after the Colorado Avalanche secured their 3rd Stanley Cup in franchise history, the emotions are still on high. The images coming out of the Cup's journey from Tampa and Denver has been exciting to see, and it's just getting started as we all wait for the victory parade on Thursday. For today's episode, we thought we would take a look at the order in which the Cup was passed around to the Avalanche players, and then look at that player and what winning this Stanley Cup means. It means something different to everyone. Erik Johnson getting his first after 15 years in the league. Darren Helm with one early in his career only to not get another 13 years later. Or Nathan MacKinnon putting the most important resume builder on his resume. We cover them all, and do another version of the LOPN Sound Check! Tune in and subscribe! BetOnline BetOnline.nethas you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before.BetOnline– Where The Game Starts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
They did it. They really did it. The Colorado Avalanche had one mission at the beginning of the season. It wasn't to win the Presidents' Trophy, it wasn't to get out of the 2nd round of the playoffs, it wasn't for Gabriel Landeskog's hair to look like Fabio flying in the breeze. It was to win the Stanley Cup. And on June 26th, 2022 the Avalanche did just that. The turnaround this team had after the horrible 2016-2017 season is something teams will look at as a blueprint to how to go from bottom of the standings to pinnacle of your sport. The hard work and dedication to their coach and belief that he was the right man for the job paid off. And to do it, they needed to take down the two time defending champions in the Tampa Bay Lightning. In what will go down as one of the best teams in franchise history, and one of the best playoff runs ever, the 2021-2022 Colorado Avalanche will be engraved on the best trophy in sports forever. Congratulations Colorado Avalanche. It was a joy covering you this season. Chris and Kyle break it all down! Tune in and subscribe! BetOnline BetOnline.nethas you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before.BetOnline– Where The Game Starts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices