The Sheet with Jeff Marek - On the Sheet: Peter Baugh on the Avalanche Getting Swept, Bednar's Future, Colorado's Offseason, and more

Episode Date: May 27, 2026

Peter Baugh joins Jeff Marek and Greg Wyshynski for an in-depth breakdown of the Colorado Avalanche after their disappointing playoff exit. The conversation dives into Jared Bednar's future and whether major changes could be on the horizon, the injuries that piled up throughout the postseason and how much they altered Colorado's path, and why the Avalanche were unable to find another level when they needed it most. Baugh also examines the team's power play struggles, looks back at Nazem Kadri's impact during his time in Colorado and what may still be missing from the team's identity since his departure, and discusses where the Avalanche go from here heading into a crucial offseason.SHOUTOUT TO OUR SPONSORS!!👍🏼 Fan Duel: https://www.fanduel.com/👍🏼 Ninja: https://www.sharkninja.ca/ninja-crispi-pro-6-in-1-countertop-glass-air-fryer-rose-quartz/AS101CRS.html?utm_source=Meta&utm_medium=Paid+Social&utm_campaign=H1NinjaCrispi&utm_content=NinjaEN&dwvar_AS101CRS_color=cdb9b8Reach out to [e-mail] to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us!If you liked this, check out:🚨 OTT - Coming in Hot Sens | https://www.youtube.com/c/thewallyandmethotshow🚨 TOR - LeafsNation | https://www.youtube.com/@theleafsnation401🚨 EDM - OilersNation | https://www.youtube.com/@Oilersnationdotcom🚨 VAN - CanucksArmy | https://www.youtube.com/@Canucks_Army🚨 CGY - FlamesNation | https://www.youtube.com/@FNBarnBurner🚨 Daily Faceoff Fantasy & Betting | www.youtube.com/@DFOFantasyandBetting____________________________________________________________________________________________Connect with us on ⬇️Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/daily_faceoff💻 Website: https://www.dailyfaceoff.com🐦 Follow on twitter: https://x.com/DailyFaceoff💻 Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dailyfaceoffDaily Faceoff Merch:https://nationgear.ca/collections/daily-faceoffReach out to [e-mail] to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There we go. I'm sorry you had to come on while mom and dad are fighting. No, no, no, no. I'm more than happy to listen to the fight. I'm not sure if you have a thought or two on that one, if you think there was enough gray area to defend a non-call or a non-wistle, or is this just simply counting six, even though multiple times during a game there are six players on the ice?

Your thoughts, Peter Baugh? I have a confession that I wasn't watching overtime that closely. I had it on in the background, but I was doing some other work. All right. So, Peter, how did it not watch every moment of Carolina run to the Eastern Conference final? Yes. Yes. Okay.

So the Colorado of it all now. So I look at this one and say, like most situations in the playoffs, this was about injuries and that's it. Let's not overreact. But there's still very much a conversation out there about roster change. about coach change, about what's happening in the management suite as well. I think we looked at that game last night and said, it's going to be a miracle of all miracles for Colorado to pull out a single game from this one, considering what McKinnom was going through,

what Kyle McCar was going through, and a bunch of unknown players as well, and we'll find out at some point, hopefully, who was dinged up and how. But what did you take away from it? And what do you see Colorado doing next? Yeah, I've thought a lot about this series. I've texted with a lot of people about this series. And it's a really tricky one to figure out because I think there are a lot of truths

that are coinciding. Like the abs were not in the best position to succeed because of injuries. You had McCarar, who missed the first two games and then was presumably hampered the rest of it. McKinnon goes down in game three. He's probably not 100%. Natushkin misses a game. Lackinen missed part of the last series and he didn't have a point in this series.

which we don't know what his injury status is, but I think it's fair to say he and Malinsky, given the time they missed last series and the drastic drop-off in production, probably were not 100%. So that's two of your top 3D and three of your top six forwards. And that's a very valid excuse

when you're looking to explain kind of why this happened. What I keep coming back to that is a little tougher to explain and that they are going to have to sit with and live with is that they had a 1-0 lead midway through the third period in game two, and they had a 3-0 lead in the second period of game 3, and they lost both of those games in regulation. And that's just a really tough pill to swallow for a team as good and as talented and as deep as Colorado was.

So there are a lot of explanations. I think a fair amount of it is kind of the luck of injury and bounces, but I think there is an element of Vegas stifling their all. offense. They weren't able to generate much as games went on in the third period. They didn't, they often weren't generating. And it's unquestionably a really disappointing end that that there's going to be a lot of big decisions ahead for a lot of people within that organization over the coming weeks. You know, I think we all, Peter just at this one. Just to say, just to say Peter's bona fides. He covered the, covered the abs for a long time. Yes. And you were

on the first two rounds of the series. So you know this team in and out, doesn't he, Merrick? He does, and he's written books about the avalanche too. So we'll throw that one on the fire. So here becomes a question. When the avalanche won in 22, I think we all looked at this team and said, that's not the only cup this team is going to win. Like we're looking at a team that's going to like rip off like two or three, minimum, like two or three Stanley Cups.

They are that good. Do we look now here in 2026 and say it's only been the one cup and they need to change? direction or is it there's still an elite team chalk it up to injuries here and stay the course I keep going back and forth because whenever I say like no they're really good stay the course here the course there's that thing in the back of my head that says Merrick you were saying the team's going to win three Stanley Cups and they still haven't won another one going back to 22 yeah and I think I've thought a lot about like is it a failure if this core only gets one Stanley Cup and I I think ultimately the answer is it's so hard to win that it's never a failure if you only get one.

Because, I mean, ask the 2010s San Jose Sharks if they would, what they would trade to, like, only have one. You know, like, it's really hard to win. And not to, what we didn't know in 2022 is that Landisog was going to miss three, three seasons with three he had. And I think that was really impactful and cut into some of the window that they had. I think there's probably a middle ground between, because when you're looking at, I mean, the big changes they could make are they could fire the coach and Jared Bednar could be out of a job. And I think there's going to be a lot of those conversations speculating on that in the coming days. But I think with the roster itself, like you already made your big shakeup with the Mika Ranton and trade.

It's going to be more tinkering around the edges. and I wonder about players like Valnuchskine, Arturie Lekin, and guys who would presumably have some trade value, who now with the cap rising, some teams might be interested in getting in on, could they use some of those guys to maybe get a little younger? Because I think if you look at this team, McFar is going to be good for a while.

He's 28. McKinnon's still an elite player, and I think you look at the way he takes care of himself, and you can assume he's going to be elite for a while. But I wonder if there's room to get younger around the edges, especially knowing that Brock Nelson isn't going anywhere. He just signed. They have kind of Devon Tez is under contract.

These are guys that you want around, but you also don't want your whole team to be over 30, which a lot of it was this year. That being said, if the Aves ran it back with pretty much the same roster, I think they'd still be one of the three or four, have one of the three or four best odds to win next year's cup at the start of the season. So it's tricky. And then there's the coach question, which I'm sure we'll get into a little bit.

But that's where you could make probably the most of the one. Do it. Do it. Go wish. Let's get into it now. I mean, like, how much of the bed. First off, how much of the Bednar stuff as far as like his future goes is related to the biggest hot shot coaching prospect in hockey coaching in the same state at the University of Denver?

Like how much is the David Carl Factor a reason why people are kind of like side-eyeing Vennar right now? I'm sure there's some of that. And then I'm also sure that some of it is both the lack of success after the 22 cup final. Like you'd like to think that even if you don't win another, there are a number of series that like the Aves still haven't won a game seven with Bednar and this core. Like Nathan McKinnon and Kilmacar, they've never won a game seven. They've never, in every series that they have won, they have either led 3-1 or 3-0. They've never come back from more than a 1-1, 1-0 series deficit. Like, they've either dominated or they've lost.

And this is, like, those are the things when I'm wondering what's going to happen. I think those are the things you have to consider to some degree. But I also look, are we sure that there is a better NHL coach right now available for the Avalanche to hire than Jared Bednar. There might be, but, like, that's what they really have to consider. And I'm not positive. I mean, David Carls never coached a professional game. That's not saying he couldn't come in and be awesome.

I'm just saying it's certainly. You don't know. I'm with you. You don't know. Like, Bruce Cassidy is an excellent coach. Is Vegas going to let him talk to Colorado? If they're not going to let him talk to Edmonton, I'd have my serious doubts, especially with how that front office seems to be

operating in that regard. Like, you're completely right. on Carl. Like, like, like, like, like, I think him go into a place like San Jose, not to say that he should, but like him going to a team on the come up makes a lot more sense than him walking into a room of being like, hey, Nathan McKinnon, I know a way for you to win a cup. Like, like, that's a hard gig for a guy and it's never got to the NHL before. Yeah. So I think like when I think about, I've been really torn on like what I think they're going to do because you can make a really compelling case either way. And I keep coming back to like, you can't. can't fire as good as good as Jared Bednar and not feel really good about getting someone who you're confident is better.

And I don't know if that coach is out there right now. John Tortoralla. I had to. I had to, Peter. I had to. I know, but a side tangent, like, are we going to start seeing teams who are kind of Vegas-asked? And Vegas was a little

weird because all their underlying numbers were really good all year. But, like, are their coaches like Peter LaVuette and John Tortorella who are now just going to, like, come in for these? Could this be a trend, I guess, is what I'm asking? Could, like, if Vegas doesn't keep Torrella, could he do the same thing with another team next year? Could Peter Lauduette?

Yeah. This is the Larry Robinson, the Lou LaMerello. Could we see this now as a tactic? You're not feeling too great about your team two weeks before playoffs? Well, guess what? behind door number two, we have someone that knows what to do. I think we've all thought about it.

I think we have. Sure, but it could easily become a trend because ultimately what are general managers, but they're people in love with their own teams. They never want to kill their darlings. They never want to admit fault. So obviously it's the coach

if your team isn't hitting its marks late in the season. So I can easily see a bunch of guys being, like, turfing their head coach for an established winner late in the season based on what tour. It's a copycat. league as we always talked about Merrick. But I will say, though, the one thing is, I feel like we can, we can say that,

but how many of those teams are going to have the roster? Like this Vegas roster was way better than a 95 point roster or whatever it finished with. And the goaltending, it got good, it got saves. And yeah, it changed, that changed a lot of it. And I think the vibe shift from Tortorella clearly, like, gave them a bit of a jolt. And they were off and running. Um, not that you want to base all your decisions on what fans want.

There's the old saying, if you listen to your fans for too long, soon you'll be sitting with them. But what do fans want to happen here? Like, what do avalanche fans want? Do they want run it back? Do they want fresh? Do they want younger? Like, what do avalanche fans want here? See, this is a hard question for me to answer because a lot of the avalanche fans I see are people on Twitter,

which I don't think is largely representative of most fans. I think there's certainly, yeah, I think there, I know that's shocking. I think there's certainly a segment. There's my fainting couch. I mean, my fainting couch. There's like, one of my college buddies is a, he's from Colorado and is an abs fan, and he's kind of like it's time for a change, but then there's other people I know who are like you can't overreact to one series.

this team is still going to be really good. And like the roster is pretty much set for next year. Like they're going to have to do some tinkering around the edges. But like most of the guys are under contract and there's cap. Like, like it's under the cap. So like they could make some decisions to make it younger. But if they want to run it back, they could come a lot closer to running it back than they did in 2022 when they had to

move on from Cadre, move on from a few other guys who played key roles in that team. You just mentioned Cadre. I'm curious because this was obviously major acquisition this year by the avalanche. As we run the audit back on what worked and what didn't work, did Cadry work? I think the biggest thing that Cadre worked with that I guess went cold this series so you could pour some cold water on this is the power play with him was so much better after they got him. I think it was in games that he played the latter half of the season,

the power play was top 10 in the league, which is much more in line with what we would envision compared to the kind of 27th, 28th that the avalanche powerplay was for a majority of the year, which was very jarring given the talent on it. And against Minnesota, the power play was really good. And I think Cadre played a really key role in getting that going. So I think he deserves a lot of credit for that.

I think he can still score. There's definitely going to be, like, he is getting older. Like, there are going to be some stylistic changes in his game that he's probably going to have to adjust to as he's aging. So do I think that Cadry can be a strong middle six player on the Avalanche next year? I 100% do. Is that worth the package they gave up that included a first? round pick, it probably depends on the results you get. But I don't think that it's like a, I don't think it was a slam dunk win, but I think because of the power play progression,

which again, went cold against Vegas. So maybe I'm, I don't know. But I think some of that is also that Kail McCar was off the power play, the first two games in the series. So I don't know. But like, it's, it's hard for me to get too hung up on it. But I do in general, the age of the team is, I think, a little more concerning than that acquisition in particular. Yeah, I mean, like with McCar out, they really showed what I think is a glaring weakness, which is the need probably for another park mover on that blue line, a little bit younger, maybe like a, I don't know, like a Bowen Byram type. Like a Sam Gerard, what?

Anyways. One thing I will say, Sam Malinsky was excellent this year. Yes, he was. And he fills that archetype. He gets hurt in the Minnesota series. And I don't know what he was dealing with. I don't know if maybe Vegas just gave him a whole bunch of fits and he was fully healthy. But he did not play very well in that Vegas series.

And I think he's kind of the guy you could look at as like, oh, that's the type of player that we need that puck moving guy. Yeah, he was good. Last one for me, Pete. So you covered him for a long time. Is this the most nightmarish year that you could. ever imagined for Nathan McKinnon. Oh, geez. Like silver medal in a beanie baby in Italy, what happened to him?

I mean, not even his team losing, but his team losing after he, you know, blocks a shot and gets injured. Not to say they would have won the series, but obviously they've got more of a puncher's chance if Max healthy. Like, what do you think his reaction is to this series and is this like the nadir of his time? Like, while the avalanche have been a cup contender, obviously he has a rough years earlier in his career, but during this era of relevance for Colorado.

Maybe, I mean, I don't know. He got, I see what you're saying. Like, there are some really low lows this year, but he still represented Canada at the Olympics and got to play with Sidney Crosby at the Olympics and might win the MVP this year. So I think you can look at like certain losses that happened this year and say that is one of the like more painful Nathan McKinnon, uh, moments he'll have in his career. But I also think that he had some really good moments. So I don't know. I guess it's on average, it's probably not the nadir of his time, but I think the lows were

probably pretty painful, would be my guess. Okay. Are you worried for the safety of that Beanie Baby? I am. I'm very worried. I don't know if it did, he's going to bite its head off like Ozzy Osbourne of that. Let me, last one for me, Pete, and I'll, I'll end on a text

that someone sent me last night at 1155 Eastern. Okay? So it's over. Vegas is one. I get this text. A long time hockey person.

McKinnon is already doing dynamic deep squats while measuring teammates' body fat percentage in preparation for preseason. Closer to the truth or not. I don't know about measuring teammates, but he is a very

focused guy, and I have no doubt that he is going to turn the page to be very for next season, and it's going to be just as good as he was this year, would be my guess. Had to get that in there. Pete, you're the best. Thanks. That's pretty good. As are you, thanks, as always, for stopping by. We appreciate it, pal.

Yeah, appreciate your time. Peter Ball, the wait to Peter Baugh from The Athletic, who's just a delight to talk to, whether you're talking Avalanche, the beat that he was on forever, or the Rangers beat as well for the athletic.