Avalanche has been having a moderately good season so far, so Corey Masisak asked various guys as to who gets to claim the most credit for that. Gabe and the goalies got the most votes, obviously, but I instead would like to discuss the following:
It looks like something else, but it's actually the MS Paint graph (split in two parts) of who was praising who for this okay season. The reds are, sadly, one-sided, while the pinks are mutual.
Mackenzie Blackwood: 62. He’s always good. He’s always the same guy. No one ever talks about (Artturi Lehkonen).
Artturi Lehkonen: Our goalies have been unreal for us. They are a big reason why we are winning so many games.
Joel Kiviranta: I feel like everybody is playing so good, it would be hard to pick. Maybe the goalies. They’ve been so good this year. When you have good goalies, it just helps you automatically. So I’d say the goalies. Both of them.
"Everybody" was also a popular option.
Gavin Brindley: I think everyone has been contributing. It’s never just been one guy. Different guys contributing at different times, finding different ways to win. It’s been a lot of fun.
Nathan MacKinnon: I don’t think anyone deserves any credit, except for everybody, I guess. Everyone is pulling in the same direction this year, and we’re healthy. I think (Alexi Pianosi) doesn’t get a lot of credit, but I think we have the best strength coach in the league. He gets guys ready to play. I think we’ve had a lot of good starts because of how you get your body ready. We don’t have guys taking 10 minutes to get warm or get activated. Alexei has been amazing, and everyone has bought into his stuff, which is great. It’s been a huge, huge help.
Who's Pianosi? Why, a guy from Halifax, Nova Scotia, who has been training Nate since 2009 during the offseasons, and also was employed by Pittsburgh Penguins for seven years in a simillar role because of course. Nate has smuggled him on the staff in 2024.
Nate wasn't the only one with an unconventional answer.
Sam Malinski: A lot of credit goes to the core group of guys for the culture they’ve built. I give a lot of credit to (general manager Chris MacFarland) for assembling this team and finding a group of guys that’s all very committed to winning. But also, it’s a team game, and I think a lot of our success comes from everyone showing up every night.
Martin Necas: Everybody talks about Landy, and that is well deserved. I will say C-Mac (MacFarland). I don’t know if he’s talked about as much. I don’t really follow the media, but I think he really did a great job in the summer. The guys that he has locked in, the guys like (Burns) that he brought. They have been great additions not just on the ice, but in the locker room as well.
CMac has been cooking, and we've been eating well. Seems like Martin is grateful for how things has been coming for him this year. I had no idea what was going on with Burns signing, but it has worked out, like most of the things have. I would ultimately attribute it to Landy, personally. Sometimes it's worth it to wait on a beautiful dead wife.
Ross Colton: I feel like the leadership this year has been so much better. (Gabe Landeskog) obviously helps out. I think (Burns), having (Brock Nelson) back. Just the feeling in the room is so much better than it’s been the last couple of years that I’ve been here. I just feel like we’re so much tighter this year as a group off the ice. It makes coming to the rink more enjoyable. It’s definitely translating to the ice that we enjoy being here and want to battle for each other on the ice.
Josh Manson: I feel like everybody is contributing. Maybe I would say (Landeskog). Is he putting up like a point a game right now? No, but the way he’s come back and how handles himself in the room. Everyone is on the same page. He’s a big part of that.
Brock Nelson: There are a lot of really good answers for that one. I’m sure you’ve heard Landy’s presence, the goaltending. I’ll go with Nate and Cale. You always knew they were like the top of the top, but now I see the ins and outs every day. I know Nate gets a lot of credit, but he probably doesn’t get enough, honestly. He’s playing a different level of game than everybody else.
Parker Kelly: I’ll give you three answers. I think one is probably (Landeskog). I know he probably gets a lot of recognition, but sometimes I don’t think people know all the details in the game, and man, he just does it right every night. Hard on pucks, so huge in the room. It’s been awesome to have him back and just learn from him. The next guy is Burns. Just great for the room, revamped the d-core a little bit. Another guy who does all the little things and is so hard to play against. And then someone who is definitely under the radar a little bit? I’d say Sam Malinski. We have a lot of great D, but he’s having a hell of a year and is so good at moving pucks. I don’t think it’s talked enough about how good he is.
ALTERNATE CAPTAIN PARKER KELLY 💙 MENTIONED.
Brent Burns: Every night is different, and I think there are a lot of guys who do. A guy like Jack (Drury), he does so many little things, little details on faceoffs that help the other guys out. (Parker Kelly) with his energy and his laughter, but he also creates a lot of space for guys on the ice. Jack (Drury) and (Parker Kelly) and (Joel Kiviranta) do the hard things.
Cale Makar: That is a great question. Who is not getting enough credit? I don’t know if there is just one guy. I’ll go with … maybe Sam Malinski, maybe Parker Kelly.
And then there's this guy:
Devon Toews: First off, (Brendan McNicholas, vice president of media relations). Not Joe (Sakic). Definitely not Joe. He hasn’t done anything. Editor’s note: McNicholas may have been standing next to Toews, and Sakic may have walked by while he considered his answer. I think we’ve had relatively good health for the most part this year. Obviously, the training staff helps with that, the equipment staff helps with that. All of the people behind the scenes that allow us to do what we do don’t get enough recognition, so they deserve a shout-out.
And finally, the most out of the box thinking from Wedgeman:
Scott Wedgewood: I would just say our detail. You watch the game, and we score a lot, and we don’t give up much. What does that mean? It means when we come back on an odd-man rush, and we’re backchecking, we sort it out, and we don’t give up a high-danger chance. A goal that sticks out in my mind was in Edmonton. (Connor) McDavid and (Matthias) Ekholm get back on a rush, they chase one guy, we feed the middle, and they get scored on. We are sorting that stuff out. It’s our d-zone faceoff assignments, o-zone faceoff plays. We have a high-powered offense. Well, why? If we have numbers, we attack. If the fourth man has a step, he jumps in, and we get him the puck. It’s the finer details of our puck play and our decisions. That’s an elite thing that this team does. We give up chances, but what are we giving up? We’re able to give up the type of chances that (Blackwood) and I want. These are playoff details, and we’ve had them since Game 1.
You heard it. Detail MVP 2026.