No, this isn’t about the 1987 movie, starring Shelly Long, “Hello Again,” but rather a reemergence after a long absence. Truthfully, a lot has happened during this writer’s sabbatical, and if you didn’t know what I’m talking about, you probably won’t be reading this, so let’s just jump back in like no time has passed.
Being a maniacal fan is a humbling experience. In 2024, the Avs exited the playoffs in Round 2, Game 6 in double overtime with a game-winning goal by our hated foe, Matt Duchene. The late hour, coupled with the hours of overtime anxiety, left me feeling utterly gutted. Exiting Ball Arena after the loss was not fun. If hockey has taught me anything, it's that things can always get worse. And that they did on Saturday, May 3rd, 2025. Once again against the Dallas Stars, but this time in Game 7. With a two-goal lead in the third period, it finally felt like the Avs' Game 7 losing streak was coming to an end. But Dallas answered back with four straight goals, and the Game 7 curse continued to seven, the longest in history for any NHL, NBA, or MLB team. We have not won a Game 7 since hoisting the Cup in 2001. If that didn’t sting enough, Mikko Rantanen scored three of the four goals, making Duchene’s meager one goal last year feel like Rycroft’s hair - a distant memory.
They say there are five stages of grief, and if you’re a die-hard fan, it goes like this:
Denial: Avoiding sports altogether, your grief transcends all sports. Removal of all peripheral, any visual reminders of your team hurts too much. This is not a good time to go through your closet, as your beloved apparel is likely to end up in the donation bin.
Anger: It was a good thing you had already hidden your keepsakes in the garage, as they could be subject to a fate worse than the donation bin. A note here because as life doesn’t follow a linear path, neither does our grief, and anger sometimes supercedes denial. Just ask the stool after the Broncos lost the Super Bowl in 2014, oh wait, you can’t because it is in shards.
Bargaining: Here is where your mind can easily get the better of you with endless loops of “what ifs.” What if I had only worn my other hat. If only we hadn’t traded Rantanen. We should have started Landeskog in Game 2. It can even have you thinking outlandish thoughts like “If only we could have gotten out of Round 1, I would have been ok losing in Round 2.”
Depression: When it sinks in that the only sport you have is baseball until preseason starts in September, and that baseball team happens to be arguably the worst team of all time (ahem, Rockies). Five months feels like five years. How did you even occupy your time last summer?
Acceptance: Usually comes sometime after the Stanley Cup has been raised, and you can at least rest knowing that the playoffs are over. Your new reality begins by filling your nightly void with a show you’ve been meaning to watch, and you can start to enjoy going to bed at a reasonable hour. This bleeds into hot summer days, where an ice rink feels like a foreign idea in the blazing heat.
However, as late summer approaches fall, you can feel a faint stirring like the daylight hours shifting. The trade deadline has come and gone, the schedule is out, and you once again can feel life coming back to you in the sound of skates hitting the ice.
While the memory of defeat still has a bitter taste in your mouth, something is coming that holds a beacon of hope: a new season. A fresh start that isn’t tainted by the failures of last year, the past is just that. It’s officially time to move on.
The Avs lost in the First Round, but there are many reasons for Avs faithful to feel optimistic about the future. Most notably, the return of our captain, Gabriel Landeskog. After 1,032 days out of the lineup, Gabe returned to the ice, proving that not all heroes wear capes, but they do wear number 92. Landeskog’s return brings not only his leadership but also his grit, which the Avalanche have been massively lacking in his absence.
General manager Chris MacFarland has been busy since he took over the helm from Joe Sakic in 2022, with a series of trades over the last two years at the deadline, but has remained relatively quiet this offseason. This may signal that management is satisfied with the core we have. After overhauling our goaltending midseason, the Avs are poised with a pair of strong netminders, and if the roster can stay relatively healthy, there is no reason for the Avs to be concerned. With arguably two of the best players in the world in McKinnon and Makar, backup between the pipes, a historic comeback from Landeskog, and a healthy Nichuskin, the future looks bright for the 2025-26 Avalanche.
However, if the Avs fall early in the playoffs, yet again, there could be organizational changes in more than just the lineup. But now it's not the time for that kind of talk, let’s put our energy into remembering where we hid our gear back in May so that it is dusted off, and we’re ready to take on a new season!
