Colorado Avalanche: Should the Preseason be Shorter?

Colorado Avalanche fans, like those across hockey, lament for October to start — even when there’s hockey going on in September. Should the NHL cut the preseason short?

Colorado Avalanche fans, like hockey fans the world over, spend from the second week of July to late August lamenting, “Is it October yet?” The rationale, of course, is that’s when the hockey season begins.

I’ve always changed the lament to “Is it September yet?” After all, the last few years we’ve had hockey starting already in early September with the Rookie Camp coming before the new prospect tournaments.

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Personally, I like hockey in September. We get to see the baby Avs take their first NHL steps in Rookie Camp and then sink or swim in training camp proper. Even though we didn’t have one this season, but the Burgundy and White game is always fun.

I also don’t mind the preseason games. In previous years, the Colorado Avalanche also played the Frozen Fury against the LA Kings in Vegas. Of course, that dynamic had to change when Vegas got their own team, but the tradition sort of continued as the Avs and Knights have met in Vegas in both preseasons. Anyway, Frozen Fury were always fun games.

Well, no surprise, my opinion is not a popular one. In fact, many fans and pundits might categorize it as a “cold take.” (Another cold take: I like Gritty, the new Philadelphia Flyers mascot.)

Sports writers and even the fans lamenting for October and the start of hockey think the preseason should be shortened.

TSN Hockey insider Pierre LeBrun lamented about the length of the preseason in a tweet the other afternoon:

What’s interesting is that LeBrun also taps into another lament — that the season end before June. I thought the lament was for more hockey, not less.

The proposal is to cut down the number of preseason games but, potentially, increase the amount of time in training camp. Now, I love some training camp, but it doesn’t compare to game action. Not for fans. Certainly not for coaches. And most definitely not for players.

As the Colorado Avalanche lost their first two preseason games, all the players talked about working through the rust of the offseason. I’m sure players on other teams feel the same way.

Teams go into the first couple preseason games with inflated rosters in the 50s in the number of players. Now, granted, the coaching staff know of at least 15 players in that inflated roster who have no chance of making the NHL team. Nonetheless, that still leaves around 12 players who need to prove they have the chops to play in the NHL.

Are three or four games enough to both work off the summer rust for the regular players and evaluate who deserves a chance at a roster spot? Granted, you have training camp, but, like I said, that’s hardly the intensity of game action. And granted, you have the prospect showcase games. But that’s baby Avs playing against other babies — hardly a test of NHL-readiness.

I’m not the only one who thinks otherwise:

Here’s how the Avalanche coaching staff approaches the preseason. The first two games, the roster is pretty well set with mostly prospects, though the first home game traditionally features a few stars. In the second game, we start to see a mix of prospects and NHL roster players. These games are usually after the first round of cuts.

We had eight cuts today, and after Game 4 will come a pretty decisive round of cuts.Games 5 and 6 are like Game 3 in the NFL preseason. The coaches put in more NHLers with the few remaining prospects whom they’d like to evaluate. What’s more, according to coach Jared Bednar, he likes to give even the NHLers three preseason games to play.

I get that it’s hard to get excited about games that don’t count toward making the playoffs. However, it’s hockey. For us, it’s a chance to see not only how Colorado Avalanche prospects stack up now against the NHLers, but maybe what they’ll be capable of in the future.

So, no, I don’t think we should shorten the preseason.