Lab #73: Falling Back into Hockey Season

We got to watch pre-season hockey! Sort of.

The 73rd installment of the Mile High Hockey Lab is available on your preferred Podcast platform! Don’t forget to download our new episode and give us a follow!

This installment is the new season’s first episode, and we have some actual game results to discuss. Although it was a preseason contest, it was nice to recap some real hockey for a change finally. The wait is over.

Logan O’Moneybags

We started the show by discussing Logan O’Connor’s somewhat surprising contract extension. Coming in at $2.5M AAV over six seasons, the contract seems like the Miles Wood deal when you look at the extended term and front-loaded contract. Evan mentioned that Logan O’Connor is a local hero and called upon his time as a DU Pioneer. He also noted that when you look at Yakov Trenin’s deal as a comparable, the LOC extension seems like the better deal for the better player. Good work for CMac.

Does LOC’s deal change our thoughts on Mikko’s?

Evan quickly noted that in terms of the bottom line, O’Connor’s deal shouldn’t affect Mikko Rantanen’s mentioning that they are different players getting starkly different contracts. I agreed but wanted to note that MacFarland has set a precedent with an extended term but won’t have that as a bargaining chip with Mikko. He’s getting eight years either way. With that, I wonder if ‘The Moose’ receives a deal with an AAV closer to MacKinnon’s than most assume. It’s possible (but not likely) that he nets a higher AAV than MacKinnon. Jackie mentioned that term and AAV aren’t the only bargaining chips and noted that guarantees could soften the deal for Mikko and bring his AAV below MacKinnon’s.

What are your thoughts on LOC’s deal and Mikko Rantanen’s AAV?

‘Give and Take’ Young Guns Edition – Week 2

We are two weeks into our new segment, in which we will quantify how we view six bubble prospects throughout the four weeks leading up to the beginning of the season. We have chosen Cal Ritchie, Andrei Kovalenko, Oskar Olausson, Jean-Luc Foudy, Sam Malisnki, and Sean Behrens. Each week, each contributor will give points (-2,-1,0, 1,2) to each player to position them among each other, from most likely to make the team least likely (all points carry from week to week). Here are our results for week two:

#1 Cal Ritchie | 8 pts

#2 Nikolai Kovalenko | 2 pts

#3 0skar Olausson | -1 pt

#4 Sam Malinski | -1 pt

#5 Sean Behrens | 0 pts

#6 Jean Luc Foudy | -3 pts

As predicted, our biggest mover from week one is Nikolai Kovalenko. We mentioned last week that the only real reason he was last on our list was that we hadn’t seen much of him in the informal skates and such ahead of camp. Well, camp has started, and with that, he has jumped from the bottom of our list to the second position, just behind Cal Ritchie. Speaking of Cal Ritchie, he did have a goal in his first preseason contest and, at a minimum, seems to be on a consistent trajectory through the first week of camp.

Our other movers were Sam Malinski, Sean Behrens, Oskar Olausson, and Jean Luc Foudy, but not in a good direction. Remember, this list is about who we think will make the team on opening night; with camp starting, performances from guys like Kylington, Brännström, and Kovalenko, and the addition of Pierre Edouard Bellemare, chances for these four young guns got slimmer. I will say I wasn’t all that impressed with Kylington or Brännström in the first preseason game. To me, they didn’t distinguish themselves from the young guys. I still think Malisnki has a real shot and that there are two or three forward spots open with Landy, Val, and Lehky not participating. That said, there is still time and opportunity for these four to make a push.

Bold Predictions

We ended the show as usual with our bold prediction of the week! Listen to the broadcast on your preferred podcast platform and see who earned a ding or a buzzer this week! Here’s Jackie Kay’s bold prediction:

Be sure to share your #BoldPredictions on X and in the comments here! We will discuss them on our show and give you any dings you might earn!

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Go Avs!

Editors Note: What happened with that ESPN+ broadcast of the first preseason game? No commentary, and the game stops broadcasting with a substantial portion of the third period remaining? Hopefully, that’s not a sign of things to come amidst this continued carriage crisis.