The biggest hockey news of the day came from Alex Ovechkin, who announced on Monday that this will be the final year of his NHL career. The timing was almost impossible to miss: the announcement came exactly 21 years to the date his career began on Oct.
5, 2005. And as soon as the news broke, resale ticket prices jumped across the league, including for a game in New Jersey.
That wasn’t the only major storyline around the NHL. In San Jose, Macklin Celebrini was a late scratch on Monday night, and the Sharks unraveled without him in a 5-0 loss to the Dallas Stars. Mikko Rantanen and Joel Kiviranta each scored for Dallas in a game that left San Jose looking completely out of sync.
Detroit, meanwhile, found a strange new channel for a public message. Red Wings owner Chris Ilitch addressed fans in a LinkedIn post, and the reaction around the team was far from warm.
In Philadelphia, the Flyers opened the season in rough shape. The club that changed the course of NHL contract strategy after its early-July offer sheet is getting scored on heavily and having a hard time producing offense.
Pittsburgh’s latest loss came at the hands of Winnipeg, and the Jets have now won two straight by the same score. That puts them at 2-0-0 heading into their matchup with the Colorado Avalanche tomorrow.
Boston also took a loss, falling to the Ottawa Senators. That leaves Ottawa, along with Colorado, among the last four undefeated teams.
As for the Avalanche, they were back at practice later this morning, with more expected on whether Logan O’Connor and/or Zachary L’Heureux can go tomorrow night in Winnipeg. If either one is available, Colorado could finally dress 12 forwards for the first time and has some lineup decisions to make. The team also wants questions for its October Avalanche Mailbag.
In Other News...
Avalanche Suddenly Have A Tough Lineup Decision Up Front
The Avalanche have been able to get through the opening stretch of the 2026-27 season with Logan OConnor and Zachary LHeureux both out because of lower-body injuries, but the roster math is about to get a lot trickier. Jared Bednar has leaned on an 11-forwards, seven-defensemen setup while those two forwards were sidelined, a look that gave Colorado some flexibility and helped the club manage the early going.
Now both players are nearing a return, and the real challenge is figuring out who comes out of the lineup when theyre ready. T.J. Hughes has made a strong early impression in the first two games and, because he is waiver-exempt, he stands out as one of the more movable pieces, but the Avalanche still have to decide how to balance reward, development and roster security once the injured forwards are back in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Nathan MacKinnon Suddenly Has The Help Colorado Needed Most
The Avalanche did not spend much time easing into the season, and Nathan MacKinnon had plenty of company in the offensive explosion that followed. Colorado put up 14 goals in its first two games, tying a franchise record, and the latest outburst came in a 6-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. Martin Necas stood out with two goals and an assist, giving the lineup another dangerous piece to go with MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen.
For Colorado, that kind of support matters as much as the scoring itself. The top line combined for three goals and eight points against St. Louis, and the Avalanche backed it up with strong defensive play, a combination that has long been the formula for October success. If Necas can keep fitting into that mix the way he has so far, the Avalanche may have found exactly the kind of help MacKinnon needed most. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Hot Start Is About To Face Its First Real Test
The Avalanche got a soft landing to open the season, with just two games in the books over the first week and enough time to bank extra recovery and practice work. That lighter schedule has helped Colorado ease into the year, but the pace is about to change fast as a demanding three-games-in-four-nights stretch arrives, with Winnipeg, Calgary and Toronto waiting in sequence.
Colorado will have to lean on its depth and handle the workload carefully over the next few days, especially with forwards Zachary L'Heureux and Logan O'Connor back in the mix. The goaltending rotation also figures to matter, with Scott Wedgewood expected to get a start as the Avalanche try to stay sharp through a run that should reveal a lot more about their conditioning and roster flexibility. [Read more 🡒]