Folks, the Avalanche can’t decide what kind of team they want to be, and that drives me nuts. One night they look like Cup favorites. Two nights later they look like a beer-league team that ate too many wings. In the middle of it all, the top story in Denver hockey is the Avalanche Lehkonen contract situation. The guy leading the team in goals is playing on an expiring deal, and nobody seems to be in a hurry. Let’s get into it. Jim, take notes. You’ll want them for your next bad take.
The Jekyll-and-Hyde Avalanche
Here’s the evidence. Before Wednesday, Colorado had lost four of its previous six games (2-3-1), a stretch that says this team is still searching for the consistency its talent promises. They came into Wednesday at 6-5-1, and the lowlights are ugly. On Sunday, the Avalanche lost 6-2 to the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena. That’s a Nashville team that was 4-3-4 even after beating us.
Then Wednesday night it flipped again. Nazem Kadri’s go-ahead tally in the third period began the four-goal final frame in the team’s 5-2 win against the New Jersey Devils at Ball Arena. The Devils came in at 8-4-0, so that’s a real win against a real team. MacKinnon added his eighth goal of the season via a breakaway goal after splitting two Devils players.
Ball Arena in Denver during an Avalanche game. Photo: Murphpics, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
My diagnosis: this team plays up to good opponents and naps against mediocre ones. The talent is obvious. What keeps going missing is effort. That’s on the room, not the roster.
The Avalanche Lehkonen Contract: Keep Him or Trade Him?
Artturi Lehkonen is on fire. Through the first 12 games of his season, the Avs winger has posted a career-best 10 goals and 14 points, the former of which leads the team and ranks third in the NHL. He’s doing it the hard way, too: of Lehkonen’s 10 goals, a co-NHL-leading seven have been from that high-danger area.
The catch is that he is in the final year of his five-year, $22.5 million contract with the Avalanche, which he signed in the summer of 2022 after helping them win the Stanley Cup. GM Joe Sakic said back in September that negotiations with Lehkonen could stretch into the regular season. This week, TSN’s Chris Johnston said “The sense is there’s nothing really too close in terms of any extension work being done with the Avalanche”.
What’s slowing it down? Money, mostly. The Avs gave Cale Makar a massive eight-year contract extension worth $163.2 million that will run through the 2034-35 season, and SI raised the real question: whether the Avalanche would cough up the pay that Lehkonen might be asking for. Health has also been a concern.
To be clear, there’s no credible report of a trade on the table. For now, the trade talk is fan speculation. My take: you don’t trade a guy who scores the dirty goals, wins puck races and has a Cup ring with this franchise. You pay him. Two years ago Jim would’ve traded him for a bag of pucks and a coupon. Sakic gets it done before the deadline. Bold prediction locked in.
Harry’s Avs Gear
Halloween night at Ball Arena. Burgundy and blue is a costume.
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NHL’s Hottest Teams Right Now
NHL.com’s Super 16 panel released new rankings today, and the voters agree on one thing: Carolina Hurricanes at No. 1 on ballot after ballot. My heat check:
Carolina: the consensus top dog. Boring, relentless, and annoyingly good.
Minnesota: 9-3-2, up to No. 2 in this week’s rankings. That gives me the shivers.
New Jersey: as high as 3 on one ballot, even after the Avs beat them up Wednesday.
Boston: ranked No. 2 by four voters. Don’t look now.
Vegas and Edmonton: No. 5 and No. 4, right in the mix.
The Avs (7-5-1) land anywhere from 4 to 16 depending on the voter, one voter left them off entirely, and they’re No. 13 overall. Sounds about right for a coin-flip team.
Avalanche Schedule: Next Week
Date
Opponent
Time (MT)
TV
Sat., Oct. 31
vs. Calgary
8 p.m.
ESPN+ (out of market)
Mon., Nov. 2
at Chicago
6 p.m.
ESPN+ (out of market)
Tue., Nov. 3
at Columbus
5 p.m.
ESPN+ (out of market)
Thu., Nov. 5
vs. Nashville
7:30 p.m.
ESPN+, Disney+, Hulu
Saturday’s game is at Ball Arena on Halloween night, so watch the Avs face the Flames in your best costume. In Denver, Altitude+ is the official streaming home of the Avalanche; ESPN+ carries the out-of-market feeds. Jim’s going as “a guy who picked Colorado State.” He doesn’t even need a costume.
Harry’s pick: Avalanche over Flames.
DU Hockey: The Champs Are Wobbling a Little
DU (in white) plays RPI at Magness Arena in 2014. Photo: PumpkinSky, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Denver is defending a title. They raised their 2026 NCAA National Championship banner to the rafters of Magness Arena, the program’s 11th title banner. That banner hangs where a whole city can look up at it, and that’s what this sport means around here.
The season so far has been a mixed bag. DU swept Alaska Anchorage on the road, winning 6-2 on Friday and 4-1 on Saturday. Then Michigan came to town on banner weekend and took both games, 4-1 and 4-3. The Pios bounced back to beat No. 18 Boston College 5-2, then tied BC 2-2 to close the homecoming series. That leaves them 3-2-1, and they moved up to No. 3 in the national rankings this week. Freshman Daxon Rudolph has already been named NCHC Rookie of the Week.
Who’s hot in college hockey? Start with Michigan. Coming into Magness and sweeping the champs on banner weekend is a statement. Boston College also looks legit after leaving Denver with a split-ish weekend.
DU’s Next Games
Date
Opponent
Time (MT)
TV
Fri., Oct. 30
vs. Omaha
7 p.m.
NCHC.tv
Sat., Oct. 31
vs. Omaha
6 p.m.
Altitude 2/NCHC.tv
Fri., Nov. 6
at Arizona State
7 p.m.
NCHC.tv
Sun., Nov. 8
at Arizona State
Noon
NCHC.tv
The Omaha series at Magness Arena opens DU’s NCHC schedule, and then the Pios head to Tempe for two at Arizona State. DU plays 10 of 12 games at Magness from Oct. 16 to Nov. 21, so get out there.
Harry’s pick: Denver over Omaha (Friday).
Pioneers Gear for the Champs
Banner-season gear for the defending national champions.
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Quick reminder on the scoreboard: I’m leading the season series at 8-6, and I’m a perfect 5-0 in the NFL. Jim’s sitting at 8-9. Yes, my college record is 3-6, but that’s college football. Hockey is my house.
So here’s the question for the comments: will Sakic extend Lehkonen before the trade deadline, or does Colorado’s cap math push him out the door? Give me your call, and if you agree with Jim, tell me why you hate being right.
Your turn: Think Jim or Harry got it wrong? Make your case in the comments (join the Balz Fan Club free to comment and like the best takes). Want the bigger picture beyond the box score? Read The Hairy Times, our sister paper.
My brother Harry Balz put up a new post over on our main site, Sports by the Balz. It’s the Avalanche talk you’d expect from him, and he got it published before me. I’ll give him that, since being first is about the only contest Harry wins in this family.
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