A plea to Avs’ superstar Nathan MacKinnon - you’ve set the tone that the team won’t be pushed around this season. That’s what a leader should be doing. Avalanche nation greatly appreciates the toughness you’ve exhibited. It’s now time to wind it down and focus on putting the puck in the net and setting up your teammates moving forward. Let the guys signed to engage in the pugilism and physicality handle it the rest of the way.
Pundits and fans alike clamored for the team to have a bit more toughness, to build a team that won’t be so highly reliant on skill and has some sandpaper to it. Management listened and went out and acquired some toughness, especially to the bottom-six forward group.
The team also needed some core players to set the tone at the beginning of the season. MacKinnon did just that, dropping the gloves with LA Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke, a thorn in the Avalanche side last season. MacKinnon then dropped the gloves with Roope Hintz of the Stars, sending the message that the team won’t be pushed around by the Stars this season. MacKinnon did catch quite the knuckle sandwich from the Fin to open the fight, and had to leave the ice to receive some repairs from the training staff prior to returning to the game.
MacKinnon had some comments about his physical start to the season, and how he’s likely to cease fighting, unless he has to, which is likely music to Avalanche fans’ ears.
Nathan MacKinnon is the definition of taking one for the team 💪
— BarDown (@BarDown) October 14, 2026
(H/T: @jessemontano / @espn) pic.twitter.com/XkD5hyA3G4
Now, I won’t claim to be from the Maritime area MacKinnon is referring to, but I did grow up on the east coast, and we also like to think grit is part of growing up. The difference between Nathan MacKinnon and myself is that he’s a Hart trophy winning hockey player, and I write about his Hart trophy winning escapades.
He’s able to win Hart trophies because he’s playing in games and arguably the most valuable asset to the burgundy and blue when doing so. If he continues to fight and play a more physical game than he usually brings, he risks missing some of these ever-important games.
Part of MacKinnon’s allure is the intensity he brings to games – it’s one of the reasons Avalanche nation adores him. He plays with a physical edge – likely, as he said, from his upbringing in the maritimes. He’s got to be able to tame that physical edge and turn it into productive aspects of play – which he usually has no trouble with.
It’s also an avenue he seems to realize as well, judging by the comments of him likely stopping this portion of his game. The fans of the Avalanche can collectively breathe a sigh of relief after hearing that.
Although the fans appreciate his willingness to take, and dish out, physical abuse, they’d certainly prefer him to leave the pugilism to the more suited players of the team. If MacKinnon gets hurt and remains out for any extended period as a result of a scrap he got into, there will be far more questions than answers; questions that the burgundy and blue will hope to have answers for.
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