Hockey Mountain High Podcast

The player review/preview series marches on with rookie Alex Newhook, and what comes next with the roster opening after key departures. After a rookie season full of progress and a second playoff run with the team, the door has opened for Alex Newhook to claim his spot as the second line center. Can Newhook take the next step needed in his development and stake his claim in the Avs top six? Welcom...

The Avalanche season review/preview series continues with one of the best acquisitions the Avs have made, Artturi Lehkonen. After being acquired at the deadline, Lehkonen fit into the Avs system perfectly and scored both the Conference Final and Stanley Cup clinching goal, while being unbelievably strong defensively every night. After signing a five year contract, Lehkonen now has a full season to...

The Avalanche season review/preview series continues with the by far most improved player of last season, Val Nichushkin. Nichushkin shattered all expectations for this season, producing unprecedented numbers in a second line role and becoming one of the most important players to the Avalanche's success in the regular season and playoffs. After getting a massive 8 year contract, can we expect more...

The Avalanche season review/preview series continues with the best defenseman in the NHL, Cale Makar. After a season that saw Makar take home a Norris, Stanley Cup, and Conn Smythe Trophy, did he have not only the best season of anybody in the NHL, but one of the best seasons for a defenseman ever? Also, have we even seen the best version of Cale Makar yet? Can he hit 100 points next season? Welco...

The Avalanche season review/preview series continues with the captain himself, Gabe Landeskog. After a potentially career best regular season was cut short due to knee surgery, Landeskog was instrumental to the Avalanche hoisting the Stanley Cup in the postseason with his remarkable consistency and leadership. The fact of the matter remains the same as ever, there is no player more important to th...

The Avalanche season review/preview series continues with Mikko Rantanen, the Avs leader in goals and points in the regular season. Despite some frustrating stretches, Rantanen's talent was able to override some off nights as he continued to rack up points, even during the playoffs when the goalscoring dried up. With a career best season and a Stanley Cup victory in the books, can Rantanen emerge...

The season review/preview for the Colorado Avalanche begins with the heart of the Avs offense, Nathan MacKinnon. MacKinnon had a season that was constantly disrupted by injury, but finished on an incredible hot streak and a Stanley Cup victory. What can we expect next season for MacKinnon, and can he finally capture that elusive 100 point season and Hart Trophy? Welcome to The Tell It Avs It Is Po...

It's the dead of the offseason, and the guys are out of ideas of even the slightest things to talk about as news has dried up nearly entirely in the league. The Avs signed Anton Blidh to a one year contract, . Also, Max Pacioretty called the Vegas Golden Knights a "country club" with no internal expectations after being traded to the Hurricanes, and we break our favorite activity, dunking on the G...

J.J. Jerez from the Hockey Mountain High Podcast joins the show to recap the Avalanche's offseason, the perpetual Nazem Kadri saga, and if the Avs have any more moves up their sleeves, especially at second line center. Also, what was the experience like being with the team after they won the Stanley Cup in Tampa Bay in Game 6? What's some behind the scenes stuff going on in the Avs media circle an...

Another day, another episode talking about how Nazem Kadri has not signed anywhere. What's going on with this free agency class where there are still several high tier free agents still unsigned? How much longer will players like Nazem Kadri and John Klingberg be on the market? Will the Avalanche make any more moves to fill the gap at second line center, or are they content to move forward with wh...

News has dried up for the Avs lately, and there is STILL no updates on Nazem Kadri. However, one of the biggest trades in recent NHL history happened on Friday night, as Matthew Tkachuk was traded from the Flames to the Florida Panthers in a package that included Jonathan Huberdeau. Who won this deal, and how will it age? Also, the Blue Jackets made one of the dumbest moves of the offseason by cap...

It's a week after free agency, and things have dried up for the Avs. Nazem Kadri has STILL not signed with anybody, and the wait is starting to get exhausting. Up north in Calgary, Matthew Tkachuk has informed the Flames that he will not be signing a long term contract with them, making a trade . For pure hypothetical reasons, what would a trade for Matthew Tkachuk look like for the Avs, and what...

Luca Celebre of Bardown Sports and TSN joins the show in a bonus episode edition to talk about his story as an Avs fan growing up in Toronto, the best moments of the past season, and how the Avalanche's offseason has been going. What was it like working with the Avalanche's social media team this season and in the playoffs? What's his perspective about Sam Girard constantly getting talked about in...

It's several days into free agency, and Nazem Kadri still has not signed a contract with anybody. As options for Kadri dry up, and center targets for the Avs continue to come off the market, are the Avalanche back to being the top contender to sign Kadri again? If they are going to sign Kadri, how would they do it with their limited cap space? Would a JT Compher or Sam Girard trade be necessary? S...

Free agency has begun, and the offseason is in full swing. The Avalanche have made a litany of moves over the last several days, including bringing back several key free agents while some other walk away. Val Nichushkin re-signs for eight years after an outstanding season. Josh Manson surprisingly comes back, signing a four year deal. Artturi Lehkonen signs an amazing five year contract extension...

The Avalanche have made their move at goalie, acquiring Alexandar Georgiev from the New York Rangers in exchange for draft picks, and will be moving on from Darcy Kuemper. What are the Avalanche getting in Georgiev, and what fell apart with Darcy Kuemper that led to the Avs moving on? What's the plan next season in goal with Georgiev and Pavel Francouz? Could Georgiev be a long term solution? Also...

The quick transition of the Stanley Cup celebration to free agency is ever continuing as free agency is under a week away, and the draft even sooner. With some departures inevitable, who will the Avalanche target in free agency and in the trade market to bring in for the next season. Speaking of, the schedule for the 2022-23 NHL season was officially released, and the Avalanche will raise the Stan...

The offseason has officially begun, and free agency is just around the corner for the Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche, and the conversation now must shift to how many of the Avalanche's upcoming free agents they can keep before the hit the open market on July 13th. Who is the Avs most important upcoming free agent? If Darcy Kuemper walks, is there any sort of replacement out there ? Who on...

The Colorado Avalanche are still the Stanley Cup Champions, and it was capped off by a wonderful parade in downtown Denver, which both hosts throughly enjoyed. The celebration was a time to cherish, and the players clearly enjoyed it to the fullest. Who were the drunkest players at the parade? What else happened at the Avs first cup parade in over twenty years? However, the parade has officially m...

The Colorado Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup. They did it, they really did it. For the third time in franchise history the Avalanche are Stanley Cup Champions, and this core has marked themselves forever in the history books as champions. No more maybes, no more next year, it's now. The Avalanche defeated the two time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final...

The Avalanche had the Stanley Cup in the building, but came up short in Game 5 with a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, sending this series back to Tampa Bay for Game 6. The Avs did not have their best game, but it was far from their worst as well. However, with two more chances to close this series out, now is not the time to panic at all. The officiating was questionable, and some huge calls...

The Colorado Avalanche are one win away from the Stanley Cup following an all time classic 3-2 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, scored by none other than Nazem Kadri in his return to the lineup. Is there anything to controversy of too many men on the winner, or is Tampa just trying to stir up drama? Darcy Kuemper had a phenomenal bounce back, posting a .949 save percentage and an assist...

The Avalanche got properly rocked in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, losing 6-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning and having their series lead cut to 2-1. All of the details that carried the Avs to victory in Game 2 were not there, and Tampa Bay made them pay every single time. After getting pulled in Game 3, is Darcy Kuemper's job in trouble with Pavel Francouz waiting in the wings? Now that both teams...

The Colorado Avalanche just put forth one of the most dominant games in NHL history in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, humiliating the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-0 to take a 2-0 lead in the Final. The Avalanche dominated every aspect of this game from top to bottom, and it's been everybody doing their job perfectly and giving Tampa Bay absolutely nothing. It's the Avalanche's depth that's given the Li...

The Avalanche draw first blood in the Stanley Cup Final, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in overtime with a game winner from Andre Burakovsky which made Griffin, who waited his whole life for this, cry. The Avalanche played a fantastic game to draw first blood against the two time defending champs, and everybody pulled their weight for an almost perfect performance. Do the Avalanche have anoth...