Rinkside with Aarif Deen

J.J. Jerez and Aarif Deen of Mile High Sports break down the Avs' loss to the Florida Panthers. They discuss the team's inability to play full 60 which results in playing a lot of catch-up hockey. They then discuss the importance of getting Pavel Francouz back, Mikko Rantanen's post-game frustrations and the opportunity the team has to string together some wins given the quality of opponents they...

J.J. Jerez and Aarif Deen of Mile High Sports break down the Avs' implosion in Vancouver. They discuss Alexandar Georgiev's frustrations after the third goal and what to make of it. Aarif then shares his reasoning for why the team is struggling, and the issues that have escalated since injuries started to get out of hand. The show ends with a quick note on the All-Star Game after Cale Makar was se...

J.J. Jerez and Aarif Deen of Mile High Sports break down the Avs' 3-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. They discuss the winless streak as a whole and how the team is playing better but not seeing the results. They also break down comments from Nathan MacKinnon and Jared Bednar postgame about turnovers affecting their play and the lack of power play productivity. The show ends with a look ahead to...

J.J. Jerez and Aarif Deen of Mile High Sports are joined by Peter Baugh of The Athletic to review the exciting, memory-filled year that 2022 was on the Avalanche beat. The guys start show by first discussing the current state of the Avs after an 0-2-1 stretch coming out of the holiday break. They then share their favorite memories of covering this team throughout the calendar year of 2022 before e...

Aarif Deen of Mile High Sports is joined by Peter Baugh of The Athletic and Bennett Durando of Denver Post to break down the Avs' tough loss to the L.A. Kings where they blew a two-goal lead. They also provide updates from Friday's practice at Family Sports and the possible return of Nathan MacKinnon in the next game or two. The guys then look at the standings and how the Avs look through 34 games...

The holidays are winding down and the season is ramping back up. Aarif Deen and J.J. Jerez are back to break down what was another gutsy win for the Avs on Thursday in Nashville. They then look at the team's lineup heading into Tuesday's game, and the health of Valeri Nichushkin among others. The show ends with a look at the standings and Colorado's path to another division and conference title. A...

Aarif Deen and J.J. Jerez are back to break down the Avs' 2-1 overtime over the Montreal Canadiens. They start the show discussing Colorado's new defense-first focus, which was successful during the homestand. They then get into the injuries and if there is any concern about Gabriel Landeskog, Darren Helm or others that are currently out. The show ends with a look ahead at the upcoming schedule, a...

The show kicks off with a segment on Cale Makar, who showed the ultimate sign of sportsmanship and flexed his good manners by declining a power play against Mat Barzal. The guys break down why he did it, his postgame media scrum and the fascinating turn of events of the entire play. They then discuss the lack of goals from a team, and a head coach's playing style, which has still led to wins in re...

J.J. Jerez and Aarif Deen are back following the Avalanche's 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. The guys spend a large part of the episode talking about J.T. Compher and his recent elevated play. They also discuss his importance to the team both right now and when it's fully healthy. They then discuss Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin's impacts on the lineup before ending wi...

Aarif Deen and J.J. Jerez are back following the Avalanche's come-from-behind victory over the St. Louis Blues. The guys break down how the game unfolded, Mikko Rantanen's second hat trick of the season and what that crucial second point could do for this team's morale. They then discuss what the returns of Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen have done for Rantanen since that dreadful Boston ga...

Following an ugly, albeit expected showing at Ball Arena on Wednesday, Aarif Deen of Mile High Sports is joined by Peter Baugh of The Athletic to discuss why this is no time to panic, yet, if you're the Avalanche. The guys break down Wednesday's 4-0 shutout loss to Boston, Martin Kaut getting placed on waivers and the potential return of both Valeri Nichushkin and Darren Helm. They then share thei...

J.J. Jerez and Aarif Deen recap the Avalanche's tough 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins. They break down the injuries that occurred both before and during the game, where Colorado lost Josh Manson and Artturi Lehkonen. Charles Hudon was then called up ahead of Monday's game. They also discuss a deeper-rooted issue with the Avs and their inability to plug decent prospects into the lineup. The show ends...

J.J. Jerez and Aarif Deen of Mile High Sports are back to break down the Avs' bounce-back victory over the Buffalo Sabres. The guys start with J.T. Compher's big night at both ends of the ice before touching on the high volume of penalties that were called. They then break down a massive game from Nathan MacKinnon, Alexandar Georgiev's tough stretch and preview Saturday's matchup in Boston. The sh...

Aarif Deen and J.J. Jerez break down the Avs' 5-0 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre. They discuss Alexandar Georgiev's tough night, Colorado's inability to test Connor Hellebuyck, and the debuts of Alex Galchenyuk and Jean-Luc Foudy. All that and more on this quick post-game edition of Hockey Mountain High: Your go-to Avalanche Podcast.  Follow the guys on Twitter @JJoftheyear and @r...

J.J. Jerez and Aarif Deen of Mile High Sports are joined by Peter Baugh of The Athletic to celebrate their 200th episode. The guys kick off the show with a recap of Colorado's victory over Dallas after a tough loss to the Canucks. They also break down some of the biggest surprises and disappointments around the team through 19 injury-riddled games. The show ends with a fun World Cup and NHL team c...

The NHL standings on Thanksgiving have traditionally given us a good sense of which teams are well-positioned to earn a playoff spot in the spring. Aarif Deen and J.J. Jerez take a peak at the standings and spend three minutes on every Central Division team and one minute on the remaining 24 teams to discuss which are contenders and which are pretenders. The guys kick off the show first with a qui...

Following another strong performance from Alexandar Georgiev, Aarif Deen and J.J. Jerez are back to discuss the goalie's exceptional play through his first 11 starts. The guys break down his first shutout of the season along with Nathan MacKinnon continuing to elevate his play this year. They also look at the Avalanche's defensive efforts and reliance on team defense. They then chat about Darcy Ku...

Aarif Deen and J.J. Jerez are back for a post-game podcast to break down the Avalanche's 3-2 overtime victory in Carolina. They discuss Pavel Francouz's exceptional performance, the Avs managing to steal two points and Alex Newhook's big goal. All that and more on this quick-hit edition of Hockey Mountain High: Your go-to Avalanche Podcast. Follow the guys on Twitter @JJoftheyear and @runwriteAari...

Aarif Deen and J.J. Jerez break down the Avs' 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues. They discuss the lengthy power-play in the final moments, Alex Newhook getting demoted mid-game and Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen's continued production. They also touch on the recent call-up of Anton Blidh. All that and more on this quick-hit edition of Hockey Mountain High: Your go-to Avalanche Podcast. Follow the guy...

Aarif Deen and J.J. Jerez are back to break down the Avs' winning streak extending to four games and the injury list blowing way past that number. The guys start the show with an explanation of LTIR and how the cap numbers work. Aarif explains why the team is making the moves they're making to navigate the salary cap. They then share their list of five players that have stepped up over the past co...

The Avalanche are finally back home and extended their winning streak to three games following a 5-3 victory over the Nashville Predators. Aarif Deen and J.J. Jerez break down the sloppy start, the scoring outburst in the second period, Logan O'Connor and Nathan MacKinnon's performance, and another victory for Alexandar Georgiev. They end the show discussing the touching tribute to Peter McNab thr...

Peter Baugh of The Athletic joins J.J. Jerez and Aarif Deen of Mile High Sports to remember the life and legacy of the late Peter McNab. The guys kick off the show with an Avs injury update and how the team will fare without a number of regulars before digging into Baugh's experience in Finland. The show ends with a tribute to McNab. The guys share personal stories of their interactions with him a...

The Avalanche completed the Global Series sweep over the Columbus Blue Jackets following a 5-1 victory in Finland. Aarif Deen and J.J. Jerez break down the somewhat surprising decision to start Alexandar Georgiev in both games. They also touch on Martin Kaut’s performance, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar’s production and Colorado’s big weekend as a whole. All that and more on this edition of Hocke...

The Avalanche were victorious in the first leg of the NHL Global Series in Finland, defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-3 in Finland. Finnish forward Mikko Rantanen recorded a hat trick and had four points. Aarif Deen and J.J. Jerez break down his poetic performance, the Avs coughing up another three-goal lead and the depth stepping up. All that and more on this quick hit post-game edition of Ho...

Aarif Deen and J.J. Jerez are back following a couple of poor performances and bad losses for the Avs. The guys first break down what they feel is ailing the team, specifically injuries, depth options, etc. They then attempt to inject some positivity into the show by trying to figure out how to fix those issues (Aarif failed at this in the beginning). The show ends with a quick preview of the upco...