Colorado Avalanche: The Sun has Set; It Will Rise Again

The Colorado Avalanche were eliminated from the playoffs when they lost to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night, so their next two games are meaningless essentially.

Here come the summertime blues for the Colorado Avalanche.

In all other parts of the world, summertime is a haven where humans take up residency and enjoy the sun.

In the world of hockey — especially if the Colorado Avalanche aren’t making the playoffs — summertime is a cold and desolate existence reserved for the dreariness of boredom.

The fan anxiously awaits October, when hockey begins again and the hopes of hoisting Mr. Stanley are inspired once more.

Colorado Avalanche fans are in the midst of this brutal truth.

Two games remain, and even if games have been hard for you to catch in the past this season, this is when you scour the field for any scraps left over from a time when you had the right to ask for time off.

Sure, not all fans can bear watching their team play two meaningless games knowing the Minnesota Wild handed the Avalanche an opportunity to make the playoffs on a silver platter.

Consider the following: You will not be watching the Colorado Avalanche play any regular season NHL hockey for another six months. That number will make the stomach turn in inexplicable ways.

I know I am just throwing salt — in copious amount — to the wound, but understand that I have to suffer through this with you, dedicated Avalanche fans.

It’s a difficult time of year, but Mile High Sticking will be your guide through this treacherous time.

Is There Anything to Look Forward To?

That’s a difficult question to answer, but the answer is a tentative yes. First, there are the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which will help any hockey-induced fiend grapple through the debris of Post-Avalanche-Missing-the-Playoffs-Syndrome.

If you gain any masochistic relief from seeing how teams that are better than the Avs fair in the playoffs, and want an Avalanche-centered dialogue about the playoffs, then MHS is your home.

The playoffs will come and go however, and a Stanley crown will dubbed upon the deserving Lord.

Nonetheless, the draft will take place shortly after, and the lock on trading capabilities will be opened a few days before the draft.

All Avalanche fans know that trades will be necessary this offseason, especially if they want to pay Tyson Barrie and Nathan MacKinnon, while retaining the services of Mikkel Boedker and Shawn Matthias.

Last season’s trade for Carl Soderberg’s rights was a great move, and the Ryan O’Reilly trade was the biggest trade made during the draft.

Speaking of the draft, I checked the standings after Tuesday night’s disappointing loss, and the Colorado Avalanche are currently in place for the No. 12 pick in the draft.

However — if they lose out, and all the teams currently near them win out — the Colorado Avalanche could end up with No. 9 pick in the draft.

That’s only one pick better than last year, which is the blight of nearly missing the playoffs.

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However, the Colorado Avalanche picked Mikko Rantanen with the No. 10 pick in last year’s draft, and he’s currently tied for the AHL rookie lead in points at age 19.

If the draft isn’t exciting enough with the potential trades that might happen — don’t forget that Jonathan Drouin could still be moved this summer — then Colorado Avalanche fans have free agency to look forward to.

There are some potential big names that could hit the market this summer; unfortunately, there aren’t many big opportunities in the defensive position. Still, the Colorado Avalanche could go after some targets like Keith Yandle, Kris Russel, or Luke Schenn.

After free agency, the lull will hit, but moves will have been made by then, and new acquisitions will have joined the team. At that point we’ll be mired in speculation, and the writing will reflect it.

Speculation is fun, especially when new players join the team, and big offseason moves are made. The Colorado Avalanche want to make the playoffs and move beyond the losing mindset they are currently trapped in.

As such, moves will be made this summer.

This may seem like a promotion for what Mile High Sticking can bring you while you struggle through this summer and the woes inevitable, and perhaps it is.

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However, we’re all united in this Colorado Avalanche nation, and joining together throughout the strife is how a connected fanbase is built.

Plus, the rabid Avalanche fan needs good content throughout the lull of this six month break from hockey because it’s a lonely time being separated from the routine of watching games.

And so, the summer begins; do not miss the next two games because the next two games are a dying breed of Colorado Avalanche hockey only to be reanimated when October finds its place in the year.