Denver Post sports writer Corey Masisak opens up the Avs Mailbag periodically throughout the season. Pose an Avalanche- or NHL-related question for the Avs Mailbag.
What are the expectations for Zakhar Bardakov this season? Will he see any NHL time, or is he strictly playing for the Eagles?
— John B., Houston
Avalanche general manager Zakhar Bardakov met with the media three times in short order — after the Charlie Coyle/Miles Wood trade, after the NHL draft ended and after the club signed Brent Burns. He mentioned Bardakov as a player the Avs are excited to see in training camp twice.
It was certainly notable. When the GM goes out of his way to mention a player twice, he moves up the list of intriguing players at camp in a hurry. I was covering the Devils when they drafted Bardakov to very little or no fanfare in the seventh round in 2021.
He was similar to Nikita Prishchepov, a Russian overage prospect very late in the draft. The difference was Prishchepov played in the QMHJL, while Bardakov had just finished his first full season of KHL action.
Bardakov didn’t look like a future NHL player after the Devils drafted him. What’s changed? Well, he moved to a better KHL team — SKA Saint Petersburg — and 2024-25 was a breakout season for him. Bardakov nearly doubled his career high in points (35) and nearly matched his total from the previous four years combined in goals (18).
Is he actually going to win a spot on the Avs roster? We’ll see. I think a decent comp for him might be a not-as-fast Miles Wood. Similar in size and a desire to create chaos on the ice. Whether or not that will translate for Bardakov on the smaller ice and in a much faster paced game is to be determined.
Has there been conversation on how/if they will address scoring depth?
— M_Stefski, via Reddit
Who are some guys that could fill the bottom-six forward spots?
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If everyone is healthy, the Avs have four obvious guys for the bottom six — Ross Colton, Jack Drury, Logan O’Connor and Parker Kelly. O’Connor is expected to miss the start of the season after hip surgery, but eventually he’ll slot in.
That leaves three spots in the opening-night lineup, and probably a fourth as the extra, up for grabs. The Avs will almost certainly add at least one more forward, if not multiple guys, before camp starts — even if its someone on a tryout deal.
It could be a wide-ranging, wide-open competition in training camp. I think Ivan Ivan should be the favorite to lock down one of the jobs, but he’s got to play more like he did at the beginning of the year than he did towards the end after his demotion.
Prishchepov was a nice story last year, but he’s got to prove the handful of solid NHL games he played were not a small-sample burst. Bardakov is clearly going to have a chance to skip the line on some Eagles guys if he looks the part.
Matthew Stienburg might not be a bad bet. Avs coach Jared Bednar took a bit of a liking to him last year before the suspension. He and Bardakov are probably the guys who play the most like typical fourth-line forwards.
If Bednar decides he’s just taking the guys who can help him win right now, Alex Barre-Boulet and Jason Polin could win spots as well. Gavin Brindley has the most upside of the bunch. If things ever click for Oskar Olausson — and this year might be his last chance to make that happen — he could move to the front of this group, but it might take a few strong preseason games before the Avs believe in the improvement.
Any update on Kiviranta? He helps our bottom 6 be strong and would hate to lose him.
— PigletAmazing1422, via Reddit
Of all the guys still on the open market, Kiviranta makes the most sense for the Avs. They know him. Bednar trusts him. So why is he still out on the market?
Kiviranta scored a career-high 16 goals this year. He’s spent the past two years on league-minimum deals, so this was likely his best chance to cash in and get a nice contract. If another team had signed him to a three-year deal worth $1.5-1.75 million per on July 1, the reaction would have been, ‘Good for Kiviranta, that’s solid for him and his new team.’
So what gives? Teams don’t expect him to score 16 times again, which is fine. Even as a 10-goal guy, he’s worth more than the league minimum.
I think he’s also getting squeezed in the Summer of Smashmouth Hockey. Kiviranta is a good NHL player, a solid fit for anyone’s fourth line and even third on some clubs. But he’s not big and he’s not mean. And everyone in the NHL is trying to get bigger and meaner because the Panthers keeping winning.
He could still end up back with the Avs. Here’s one theory why he and his agent might be willing to wait — the Dallas Stars are probably still going to find a team to take Matt Dumba’s $3.75 million off their books, which will get them under the cap ceiling and leave about $2 million in space to play with.
The Stars are the other team that knows Kiviranta well. He might still be able to get a little more money — from the Avs, Stars or someone else — if he waits out the Dumba situation.
Are there any indications that the Avs might get another outdoor game appearance soon? Ryan Smith indicated that Utah may be involved in an outdoor game, and the Avalanche would seem to be a logical, easily-marketable opponent.
— Keith L., Seattle
It certainly makes sense for Utah to host an outdoor game soon, just as Seattle did in 2024. And the Avalanche is the most logical opponent, to help the league try and build up something of a regional rivalry.
The TL;DR version: Yes, the Avs should play the Mammoth in an outdoor game in Utah and yes, it could be awesome.
The two big questions would be where and when. The two candidates for where are Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City or BYU’s LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo. They are two of the prettiest settings in college football. If you’re not a CFB fan, do a google image search. If the weather cooperates, either would be a titanic home for the NHL from a game presentation standpoint.
Rice-Eccles is in the same city as the Mammoth, but don’t rule out Provo. Edwards Stadium is bigger, and most importantly … Smith is a BYU guy. He’s the BYU guy right now, helping transform the Cougars into a potential recruiting powerhouse in both football and basketball.
When is probably less tricky. The days of the NHL hosting a Winter Classic in a major college stadium are likely over, thanks to the expanded college football playoff. As of right now, only the first round is on campus (Dec. 19-20 this coming season), but that could very well be expanded as the playoff itself grows in 2027 and beyond.
So, that means a Stadium Series game, likely in February or very early March. One question that needs to be answered — is either stadium winterized? That was the hold up for Ohio Stadium, but the expanded playoff and the ability to host games was the nudge Ohio State (and Penn State, which will also likely host an outdoor game) to get that done.
One final wrinkle — Rice-Eccles is going to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2034 Winter Olympics, and a big expansion/renovation is planned. When that starts could affect the NHL’s plans if it doesn’t grant the Mammoth a game in the next couple of seasons.
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