Jack Drury has been the Avalanche’s 3C all year. How’s he feeling in that position? Is a contract extension coming soon? Team Canada has decisions to make and two young superstars are making them harder. Also, did Patrick Roy take it too far on Tuesday?
All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — November 20.
Colorado Hockey Now
If Jack Drury was a poker player, he’d probably be really good at never showing his cards. I sat down with Colorado’s third line center on Wednesday after practice with hopes of getting into a discussion about his impending contract status.
Drury is an RFA at season’s end, but recent contracts to Parker Kelly and Gavin Brindley have me wondering if he’s next on Chris MacFarland’s list to sign before the season ends. Drury did his best to keep that information close to the vest.
But things got fun when we started talking about Gabe Landeskog. Check out the story below if you haven’t already.
READ MORE: Checking in With Avalanche’s Pending RFA Jack Drury. Are Contract Talks Ongoing?
Head coach Jared Bednar provided an update on Logan O’Connor after Monday’s practice earlier this week.
Here’s what he had to say.
READ MORE: The Latest On Injured Avs Forward Logan O’Connor
Around The NHL
Patrick Roy: I watched the same videos as everyone else on Twitter/X late on Tuesday that showed Patrick Roy raging at Mikko Rantanen as he was heading down the tunnel following his late third-period ejection. I also watched the last few minutes of that game and caught most of it live.
But it wasn’t until Wednesday that I went back and listened to exactly what Roy had to say before the viral clip. Forward the video below to 1:07 and listen for yourself. Did he take it too far?
Team Canada: I’ll say it. Team Canada should not leave either Connor Bedard or Macklin Celebrini off their Olympics roster. They can’t. Don’t make the same mistake as 2006.
Celebrini and Bedard both deserve to be there and both should play in the top six. Last year the top six was Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby, Sam Reinhart, Mitch Marner, and Mark Stone.
Stone is an incredible two-way forward. Sam Reinhart was a finalist for the Selke and can play defensively responsible minutes, too. If anything, both those guys should be bumped to the third line along with center Brayden Point to allow room for the two young superstars.
Put Celebrini on the wing with Crosby and MacKinnon. Let Bedard ride shotgun with Marner and McDavid. And the fourth line could be made up of Brandon Hagel, Brad Marchand, and Mark Scheifele The extra two forwards can be Sam Bennett and Nick Suzuki. Bennett is interchangeable with Hagel, albeit he’s had a tough start to the season. And Suzuki and Scheifele can duke it out for the 4C spot.
The conversations will also have to include Bo Horvat, John Tavares, and Tom Wilson. All three of those guys are among the top 14 point producers for Canada right now. Can Wilson unseat one of Hagel or Bennett? Perhaps.
If Bennett and Hagel are both shoe-ins, this would still leave 4 Nations roster guys like Seth Jarvis, Anthony Cirelli, and Travis Konecny at home. But that’s fine. You can’t possibly leave Bedard, Celebrini or even Suzuki and Scheifele off the roster. Not anymore.
Bedard and Celebrini round out the top four, along with MacKinnon and McDavid, for Canadian point producers. Scheifele is next on the list in fifth and Suzuki is 12th.
Just my two cents. (I’m Canadian and this matters to me!)
Detroit Hockey Now: The Red Wings are surprisingly at the top of the Atlantic Division and the kids are doing alright.
New Jersey Hockey Now: Should the Devils lessen Jacob Markstrom’s workload?
Boston Hockey Now: Speaking of the Olympics, this might impact Team USA. Defenseman Charlie McAvoy had surgery and his timeline is yet to determined.
Florida Hockey Now: If you thought the Jack Hughes injury was weird, check out what happened to Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen.
LA Hockey Now: Three trade targets to watch for the Kings. Like many other teams, their shopping list starts in Nashville.
