Hockey Mountain High Podcast

Just like that, the Avalanche are back to .500 after a four game win streak and sweeping the three game road trip with Seattle and Utah in their first ever visit to Delta Center. It's not much of a coincidence that since starting Justus Annunen in goal, the Avs have looked significantly better, playing with more confidence and giving up significantly less goals. Is he the starter now? Of course no...

The Avalanche have won not one, but two hockey games in a row with wins over the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks and officially on the board for the season. With the monkey off their back, can this turn into positive momentum as they wait for reinforcements to arrive? Justus Annunen played very well against San Jose, is the clock ticking on Georgiev's job with Kahkonen in town as well? Does Ross...

The Avalanche are 0-4 to start the season, and that's not good to put it mildly. But the world is not ending yet, there are several reasons to view this as a simple losing streak and nothing more. This Avs team is missing five very key players as now Drouin and Toews are missing time, and the top six for the Avs is almost entirely depleted. MacKinnon, Rantanen, and Makar are all towards the top of...

The Avalanche's 2024-25 season is underway, but a 8-4 setback to the Golden Knights in the season opener has them asking questions about their goaltending after 7 goals against on just 20 shots for both Georgiev and Annunen. How tight is the leash for Georgiev from here on, and can he bounce back similar to in the playoffs? Mikko Rantanen still doesn't have a contract as the season starts and just...

The Avalanche's roster is finalized ahead of the regular season opener, with some major salary cap shenanigans already taking place. Ivan-Ivan and Kovalenko have seemingly been sent down and not on the roster, but it's actually a smoke screen purely for salary cap reasons, so no reason to panic. They will play. With Lehkonen seemingly not coming back before the end of October, the new kids will ha...

The Avalanche are the busiest team in the NHL as the regular season approaches, trading Erik Brannstrom to the Vancouver Canucks after claiming John Ludvig from the Penguins as the defense continues to shift everyday. Is this really a good move for the Avs to send out Brannstrom, or would there be no role for him with the emergence of Malinski? Also with Kovalenko, Ritchie, and Ivan Ivan making th...

It is T-Minus one week until the regular season, and there's still plenty of roster questions to be answered in the final batch of preseason games. Has Sam Malinski won a roster spot despite the defensive signings? What's Olausson's future after an early cut, and the state of the Avs scouting. Looking around the NHL, how badly have the Bruins botched the Swayman contract talks? Finally, answering...

The preseason is well underway, and some Avs have impressed already with the season less than two weeks away. More importantly for fans however, it's now actually possible to watch the games for the first time in five years with Altitude+, but how come this took so long and is it worth the wait? Is this the beginning of a new era in streaming for sports? Finally, answering your mailbag questions!...

Logan O'Connor is going nowhere! LOC has signed a six year extension to remain an Av for the foreseeable future at $2.5M a season, which is more than reasonable. We'll list all the reasons why this deal and LOC himself kick ass, and how the third line is shaping up for the future. How far behind could a Mikko Rantanen extension be? Also, training camp is underway, and the Avs are prepping for thei...

Happy training camp day! The Avs are back and so are we as we get ready for our fifth season of covering the Avalanche, but of course we missed a lot of things while on our break, so lets get ourselves all caught up. What will be the right approach with Cal Ritchie for the early portion of this season? How do we manage optimism with positive reports surrounding the returns of Landeskog and Nichush...

It's the final episode of the season review/preview series, as now we look at players that have moved on to other teams. Bo Byram heads off to Buffalo at the deadline for Mittelstadt. Ryan Johansen couldn't have been shipped out to Philadelphia fast enough. We say goodbye and farewell to fan favorite veterans Andrew Cogliano and Jack Johnson after three successful seasons, and remember them as the...

It wasn't the busiest offseason for new additions to this Avalanche roster, but the players that were brought in all could have a part keeping the Avs as Stanley Cup contenders this season. Erik Brannstrom is the most exciting addition of the bunch, with a high ceiling and a lots of room to grow into an everyday defenseman, but is Colorado the best spot for him to grow into that role? Oliver Kylin...

Alex Georgiev was easily the most frustrating part of the season, finishing with an .897 and forcing the team into several bad spots, but saved his job with a great playoff run against Winnipeg and Dallas to remain as the starter for next year. With two seasons of polar opposites, what can be expected in Georgiev's third, and most likely final year in Colorado going into the final year of his deal...

Sam Girard is so back. After coming back from the player assistance program, Sam Girard turned into the Avs most reliable defenseman on a nightly basis even if the numbers don't jump off the page. Can Girard prove once again this coming season how important he is to the Avs defense? Send questions to the mailbag here: https://forms.gle/7aveTJBXg2RkMkhi8 Welcome to The Tell It Avs It Is Podcast, yo...

Josh Manson finally had a healthy regular season and playoffs to show off what he means for the Avalanche's defense, was it his best season so far? Even with his ups and downs, how important will he be to Colorado's back end again next season? Send questions to the mailbag here: https://forms.gle/7aveTJBXg2RkMkhi8 Welcome to The Tell It Avs It Is Podcast, your home for everything Colorado Avalanch...

After a breakout season that saw Logan O'Connor's best season ever in Colorado, can he replicate that season again after a season ending injury and going into a contract year? Is it at all possible for the Avs to be able to keep him after this coming year? Send questions to the mailbag here: https://forms.gle/7aveTJBXg2RkMkhi8 Welcome to The Tell It Avs It Is Podcast, your home for everything Colo...

One year into a six year contract, Miles Wood proved to be a serviceable bottom six forward with incredible speed that contributed to a solid third line, but also an incredibly streaky player for long stretches of the season. Entering year two, can he continue to work on the third line and enforce the Avs style of play? Is the length of Wood's really a concern? Send questions to the mailbag here:...

After an early season injury, Artturi Lehkonen wasted no time returning back to form and being the ultimate utility player in the Avs top six. Even better, Lehkonen dominated in the playoffs, as he's done every year since joining the Avalanche. Is he in the conversation for most underrated player in the NHL? Is there anything that this guy does wrong? Send questions to the mailbag here: https://fo...

In his first season with the Avalanche, Ross Colton performed at a decent level for a third line center, with room to improve. However, after some trade rumors around the draft, does Colton still fit the vision of this team after Mittelstadt's acquisition at the deadline? How much does his contract come into the conversation when discussing his future? Send questions to the mailbag here: https://f...

Devon Toews is always the model of consistency year over year, and this last season was no different. Even with some low moments, Toews still took care all of the little details that makes one of the Avs most valuable players. After signing a seven year extension to remain an Av, can Toews keep up his top pair form with Cale Makar as the best defensive pair in the NHL in the long term? Send questi...

Val Nichushkin is a complicated topic after not being available for the second straight playoff, but being nothing short of fantastic when he was on the ice this season. First and foremost, we still wish Val the best with the Player Assistance program, and hope to see him on the ice again. As one of the most important members of the forward core, can the Avs still succeed if Val is not available?...

Jonathan Drouin was one of the best stories of the Avalanche season, putting up career numbers on a 900k contract and becoming an intergral part of the Avalanche's top six down the stretch. After signing a deal to stick around for another year, can Drouin top what he did last year while staying with MacKinnon and getting top powerplay minutes? Will he stick around past this season? Send questions...

Casey Mittelstadt impressed after being acquired at the trade deadline for Bo Byram this past season, and turned into one of the best even strength producers the Avalanche had down the stretch. After signing a new three year contract, have the Avalanche solved their issues at second line center? What's needed for Mittelstadt to evolve into a bonafide elite player in Colorado? Send questions to the...

It's time for the best topic of conversation, Cale Makar. The best defenseman in the NHL set a new career high in points and was nominated for the Norris once again, yet some would consider this past season to be a down year for Cale Makar. What can we expect from Makar in his 6th full NHL season? Could 100 points be on the table? How about a second Norris? Send questions to the mailbag here: http...

Mikko Rantanen is fresh off a second consecutive 100+ point season and a bonafide top 5 winger, but is still a point of contention while entering the final year of his contract. Was last year actually a down year for Rantanen, or is that narrative unfair? Is a third straight 100 point season and a return to 50 goals in the cards for next season? Will that contract extension be signed before the se...