Wednesday night, the puck drops on the 2021-2022 regular season for the Colorado Avalanche.
After winning the President's Trophy, given to the NHL team with the most points in the regular season, last season, the Avs bowed out of the playoffs in the second round with a four games to two series loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
This year, Colorado is one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup. The Avs open the regular season Wednesday night against the Chicago Blackhawks at Ball Arena.
Avs Executive VP/General Manager Joe Sakic spoke with reporters on Tuesday and said, "Our goal is to try to win a Stanley Cup."
Forward Nathan MacKinnon and head coach Jared Bednar will miss the game after testing positive for COVID. Sakic said both are asymptomatic.
Sakic talked about a wide range of topics. The full press conference is below.
Avs Executive VP/GM Joe Sakic: They want to win it all.
Avs Executive VP/GM Joe Sakic: Learned lessons in playoff loss to Vegas.
Avs Executive VP/GM Joe Sakic: Got deal done with Gabriel Landeskog.
Avs Executive VP/GM Joe Sakic: Avs won't take anything for granted.
Avs Executive VP/GM Joe Sakic: Regular season gets you ready for playoffs.
Avs Executive VP/GM Joe Sakic: Once again, games will not air on Altitude TV in the Denver area.
Joe Sakic full press conference on Tuesday, October 12, 2021. Questions not audible.