We interrupt this blog to bring you some breaking news....
Oh! Hello there! Fancy meeting you here. My name is Steve and I'll be doing my best to fill the very big shoes left behind by Rick Sadowski. My goal is to have a little fun, share a few thoughts and enjoy what could potentially be another successful season with an even longer playoff run at the end.
Now back to the show...
The NHL was set to make its big debut on ESPN with the much anticipated Expansion Draft on Wednesday night. Instead, what we got was a boring couple of hours full of former Seattle celebrities and sports stars butchering names and uncomfortably pretending to be lifelong hockey fans. I understand the sentiment, unfortunately it didn't translate well on the broadcast.
Not that the broadcast meant much anyway. By the time I ate my lunch the entire roster had already leaked out on social media. This left little mystery for ESPN's broadcast. Mix that with no reported side deals and the whole event fell flat.
But, you didn't come here to read me drone on about bad TV.
The Avalanche are already facing a summer of uncertainty after failing to reach their lofty goal of winning a Stanley Cup. Joe Sakic faces the possibility of losing his captain, his starting goalie and one his best goal generators on the team. That's because Seattle nabbed Joonas Donskoi from the Avs in the expansion draft.
Colorado left him exposed and now he's heading to Washington. The Kraken get a heck of a player with Donskoi. The 29-year-old winger is coming off a season in which he collected a career high 17 goals in just 51 games. He was a key cog in the power play and value top-six player on this roster.
Colorado essentially lost a big strong guy that can skate, hit and score for nothing. This loss is a big blow to Colorado if you compare it to some of the other players picked in the draft.
Throw in the the stalled talks between the team and Gabriel Landeskog and Sakic faces a real possibility of losing three of his top-six forwards from the playoffs if you include Brandon Saad (UFA), the captain and Donskoi.
I guess the biggest plus from all the potential changeover is a boatload of money to work with. per
Cap Friendly, the Avalanche have over $30 million in cap space to play around with. Not too shabby.
Things should really starting heating up with the end of the roster freeze, the NHL Entry Draft and the start of free agency all happening in the coming days.
I look forward to sharing my thoughts throughout the entire summer and into a rapidly approaching 2021-22 season. Buckle up.
Thanks for reading,
Steve
Colorado Avalanche Blogger • 
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