Chambers: NHL season begins as Olympic dreams simmer – The Denver Post

The  Avalanche is preparing for the season while also thinking about playing against each other in February.

As many as eight, maybe nine Avs could represent their countries at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in February. Two have already been selected when all teams disclosed their top-three picks last week. Left-wing Gabe Landeskog was in Sweden’s trio and right Mikko Rantanen is in Finland’s threesome.

“It’s a big honor to represent your county. Look forward to it,” Landeskog said Friday. “Everybody who has been named to these Olympic rosters would probably say the same — your focus right now is on your team and starting the (NHL) season off the right way. And then maybe as the plane is about to leave for Beijing, you’re kind of shifting that focus. As of now, it’s all about the Avalanche.”

Barring injuries, center Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar will be named to Team Canada in January. Defensemen Devon Toews also has a chance to make that team, and defenseman Sam Girard is a longshot. Wingers Andre Burakovsky (Sweden) and Valeri Nichushkin (Russia) might get selected, along with goalie Pavel Francouz (Czech Republic).

“A lot of guys are hitting their prime,” Landeskog said of his Avalanche teammates in position to play in the Olympics eight years after the last time NHLers were allowed to. “We were young back in 2014 and obviously 2018 didn’t happen.”

Having eight Olympians from one NHL team would be impressive. But it’s far from the most by the Avs. They had a club-record and NHL-high 11 players at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Defenseman John-Michael Liles represented the United States, and center Joe Sakic and defenseman Rob Blake played for Canada. Team Finland had forward Antti Laaksonen and defenseman Ossi Vaananen, and Slovakia had goalie Peter Budaj and forward Marek Svatos. Goalies David Aebischer and Vitaly Kolesnik played for Switzerland and Kazakhstan, respectively. Winger Milan Hejduk represented the Czech Republic and defenseman Karlis Skrastins skated for Latvia.

Four years earlier, the Avs had nine players on the 2002 Olympic rosters in Salt Lake City. And in 1998 — the first year the NHL sent players to the games — Colorado had 10 players plus coach Marc Crawford (Canada).

Controversial week. The NHL absorbed three blind-side hits from prominent players last week, ranging from disturbing, to sad, to shocked but empathetic.

— Sharks forward Evander Kane was accused of submitting a fake COVID-19 vaccination card, which is against the law in the U.S. and Canada. Kane, who has faced a handful of other criminal allegations, will remain away from his team while the NHL undergoes its investigation.

— Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner went on a Twitter rant, accusing teams of giving players benzodiazepines and Ambien for anxiety and sleep problems, while also calling for the firing of Flyers coach Alain Vigneault, whom he dubbed a “dinosaur coach.” Lehner, who said he is a “proud bi-polar person” on his Twitter page, then met with the NHL and NHL Players Association and said he’ll stop using social media to voice his grievances.

— Carey Price, the affable veteran Canadiens goalie, entered the NHL’s players assistance program which helps players and their families deal with substance abuse and mental health. Price will be away from his team indefinitely. “No matter what is on the line, we hope we can communicate the importance of putting your mental health first not just by saying it, but by showing up and doing the work to get better,” Price’s wife, Angela, said on her Instagram account.

Source: Read Full Article