The Kevin Karius Show - Mar. 10th, 2026 - Conor McGahey

0:00Hey, let's welcome in our old pal Connor McGee. He call her out of avalanche play by play band. Good morning, Connor. You're with Kevin Kerry. Thanks for jumping on sports 1440 this morning. Really appreciate it. Any time you know the rule, Kevin, you guys call like mom. It's a law of nature. You have to do it. Oh, man, you just kill me every time. So, uh, hey, what do you make of, uh, how the abs have come out after the trade deadline here? I think everyone, every hockey expert had the abs at number one, especially when the deal for Nazum Codry came down the pipe about an hour later. But, uh, how are things kind of fitting in here, uh, since the trade deadline. You know, I, I think the trade deadline was an A. Um, I love the, the Nicholas Waw addition. Um, uh, Blankenberg is Sam Gerard but four and a half million dollars less. Uh, Nicholas Waw is size and skill, which doesn't exactly grow on trees. But then the icing on the cake was Nazum Codry after everybody

1:00had given up and, uh, and moved on from the trade deadline, uh, as far as, as after the bell goes, that's probably as big as it gets. So it was an A before, but I don't know how many pluses you can put after an A. Um, I won't put that many for, for Christmas, Farland who, I mean, he, he hasn't gotten enough credit the last two years, really completely transforming the, the goalie room, like we've talked about before, um, Brock Nelson last year, um, a couple other pieces, uh, but he's, he's built this into a, uh, a headline I saw yesterday called the Abilance super team. And that's what it feels like right now on paper. And so now it's up to them to, uh, to finish it out here in the next couple of months. Is there a team that's deeper at center than the hours right now, Connor? And does that mean, even like I'm seeing, like Codry's playing a little more wing to start things off? How, how's that going to shake out? Well, we don't have luck in the land of scog in the moment. And so we need wingers. And as you know, it's easier to go from the middle outside

2:03than from the outside of the middle. I don't think kev, we've, I don't think any team in the history of hockey has been deeper at center than, than the Colorado Abilance right now because you have McKinnon, Nelson, Cadre, uh, Drury, Nicholas, Wah, Parker Kelly, who you were just talking about has played center at some points this year. So I just listed off six centers for the Colorado Abilance. But now you really have five guys who, who are, that's through us, you know, their natural position. Uh, but I, I kind of jokingly, but not jokingly, uh, said, is there been a deeper team ever at the, at the center position in the Colorado Abilance and I don't, I don't, I don't really think so. Yeah. Unreal. Uh, Connor McGahey with us on the Kevin Keri Show in sports 1440. We're very familiar with Brett Koolak. And, uh, when that trade was made, we're going home boy. Here's another possibility for Koolie to go to three consecutive Stanley Cup finals. Who knows what's going to happen here? But what's he meant to his addition to the backhand here? It's exactly what the Abilance needed because, yeah, I mentioned Blankenberg

3:07and Sam Gerard earlier, that mold of defenseman is something the Abilance have had plenty of over the years. If you go all the way back to John Michael Isles and then Tyson Berry, so on and so forth, that model of defenseman has been no problem for the Abilance. What they needed is a little more versatility and somebody who can block shots. I think in the first four games, uh, Koolak had 10 blocks, which, um, which is necessary for Colorado. We mentioned size with Nick Waw on the front end, you needed a little bit of that on the backhand. You have Manson and Brett Burns as a second D pair, but it doesn't hurt to have the player who's played in the most playoff games in the last two years on your backhand. Versatile, a guy who played with Bouchard, they're an Edmonton, a guy who can play with Latain Carlson and Pittsburgh and he's even gotten some shifts with, uh, with Gail McCar here and he doesn't seem out of place whatsoever. So, it was a need for Colorado, both financially, uh, Sam Gerard cost five million dollars and then on the ice, um, Koolak getting his second point. I thought he got his first goal on that game

4:12tire versus Minnesota on Sunday, but it ended up being an, an assist in Nick Waw. Um, but he had tennisists in the entire season. He's already got two helpers with, with Colorado here. So, uh, it's filled the need, uh, on the XL spreadsheet and it also did on the ice too for the ads. So has he, you just mentioned he took a couple spins with Kail McCar, but has he been with Melinsky more? Has he moved around? What's it been like here? Yeah, it's been, uh, third deep pairing for him mostly. It's been, uh, Koolak and Melinsky, but he's out there on the penalty kill. They put him and, and Manson together a couple times him and Burns together a couple times. So he's played with everybody. And again, as, as felt incredibly comfortable with everybody too. So, um, I've been more than impressed with, uh, with Brett Koolak here in Colorado. Yeah. Uh, you mentioned a couple guys in Landiskog and Leckon and what's the status for them moving forward here, Connor? There's still listed as, as week to week. Um, Jared Bednar described in Landiskogs as lower body and uncomfortable one. Um, you, you can go back and look and then

5:16Arturie Leckon and a little bit more of a mystery Monday in Los Angeles. Um, there was a play in front of the net that involved the puck, I think. And, uh, and he left the game, didn't return after about six minutes. So, um, still week to week for both of them. I think they're expecting them and Logan O'Connor, by the way, who hasn't played a game all season. He had some complications with an offseason surgery and, uh, a couple of follow-up instances, uh, or situations after that initial surgery, but he could be back and should be back too. So that makes, uh, uh, that decision you have to make on your fourth line with you. Well, give you a runtime. Your fourth line is likely going to be Parker Kelly, Jack Vary and Logan O'Connor, um, which for me is one of the toughest fourth lines to play against in the national hockey league. So, um, O'Connor, uh, could be back very soon and they're expecting Leckon and Landiskog back, uh, before the regular season ends. Yeah, well, every time you come on, Connor, we talk about Parker Kelly because he's a local guy at a camera's here and I've been following him a long, long time and, um, was there, there was some,

6:21like, kind of joking around about his contract? Was he, was he staying with, with Nathan McKinnon, something to the fact that I cited a terrible deal or how did that go? Yeah. Yeah. He's like, I had a terrible contract for me. I mean, he, he, his previous career eye on goals was the last two years at eight. He did it with Ottawa and then he did at eight with the ads last year. And he's just, he's just found a new level. Um, I don't know if that's because of his Taylor Swift obsession and a new album. I don't know if that's propelled him into, into this stratosphere that he is now just got married over the summer, uh, up there. And, uh, you couldn't ask for a nicer guy. You really, uh, everybody loves him and he is, uh, he could single handedly hold the room together if he needed to, but Parker Kelly has, has fit in here like a glove, which is what earned him that terrible for your contract here with the ads. Well, at least he doubles a salary for next year, doesn't he? So that's right. Uh, exactly. Uh, Connor McGay, he with us on the Kevin Carey show, here on sports, uh, 1440 Brent Burns. How does this guy, uh, continue to just do it year after

7:27year, uh, 40 years old, but he looks like he's 25. I don't, I don't know. I don't get it. Well, and he turned 41 yesterday, was it yesterday, 41 yesterday? Yeah, 41 years old. He turned yesterday. So, um, and the, the Nordic's never had a 41 year old. The average him never. So he's the oldest player in franchise history, but, uh, 682 straight, excuse me, 982 straight games now, longest Iron Man streak in the national hockey league, 15th most played, uh, all time and has no signs of slowing down whatsoever. Uh, just if he's 41 on the outside, he's 14 on the inside. And that's exactly how he, how he acts, how he plays. And you talk about the characters in this, in this line of like Parker Kelly, Brent Burns is another one of those. Um, that has, that is again, fit in perfectly. And I'm not saying it's equivalent to what happened in 2001,

8:27but you had a long time defenseman in Ray Bork, who was never able to win a cup where he was, came to Colorado to win a cup. And it has that sort of feel to it. Uh, I think that the guys who have won here want to win another one, um, for one of the, for one of the top defenseman, and then you could say players all time when it comes to the longevity and games played in the national hockey league. Yeah, you know, I saw a picture. And I guess maybe I didn't put two and two together. Uh, maybe I missed the fact that it was his birthday, but I saw it when his draft picture out of Minnesota. Did you see the bleach hair? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just bleach hair. Not a single facial hair. He's got peach fuzz going on. And then somebody actually photoshopped, uh, jubaka in for his, uh, his team picture this year. Oh, man. Does he, you know, who knows what happens in the playoffs here, Connor? But do you think he would want to come back and even play another year yet? I mean, watching him play, he could. Um, and if they don't win this year, I, I would,

9:30I would think that he would want to do that. Just a one year deal for him to come to Colorado. Um, a bonus heavy contract here with the ads, just a million dollar base salary for him. So it's quite possible if he wanted to come back. It's, it's not like, okay, well, it takes about empty. And uh, this is all we got. He could easily, for my point of view, come back and play another. Yeah. You were mentioned sort of glue guys and how, um, uh, Chris McFarlane changed the, you know, the inside of the locker room. And, and you also mentioned Brock Nelson's name there. And man, what a season he's having. Uh, I mean, just incredible in the sense that he could be breaking his single season total for goals here. I mean, that's just the type of guy that we see from the outside. What do you see from him on a daily, daily basis there? He had a lot of criticism last year when he came over from the New York, New York Islanders and was okay when he came here. But I don't, uh, the, the change from being from one team for your entire career to coming to a whole new place with four kids and the whole

10:31thing. I mean, there's a lot going on there. So for him to come back this year, um, and sign in extension and, and choose to stay with the Colorado avalanche and then putting the effort onto the ice and the goals have just been going in. I mean, before, um, before the, uh, the Olympic break and then into the Olympics, he was just, he was just unstoppable. And the avalanche had been looking for a replacement for Nazum Kadri ever since Kadri left ironic that he's back now. But that replacement, it wasn't Casey Middlestad. It wasn't Ryan Johansson and then there'd be in Brock Nelson, uh, where they finally landed on. And that was to be one of the more underrated, um, splashes for trade deadline last season that not a ton of people talked about, but he's come in. And again, fit in perfectly, um, power play time, um, even strength. We know that the avalanche of the, the best team in the national hockey league. He's a, he's a big reason for that. Uh, you talk about older guys who don't look like they're slowing down, uh, Brock Nelson is, is in the, in the exact

11:37same boat for me is, is Brent Burns in that regard. Uh, Connor McGay here with us in sports 1440. Uh, so how can a team that's plus 83 in gold differential Connor, uh, be operating at a 15.8, uh, percentage on the power play. Some things don't make sense to me. And that's one of them. Yeah, uh, although since the Olympic break, um, before that, uh, game versus Minnesota, and they had so many good chances, yes, for wallstead, um, singlehandedly kept three power play goals, uh, out on his own. So it should have been probably three for five the other day, but it wasn't. But going into that game, it's operating in about 30% since they came back from the Olympics. So they've changed some things that things are better. Uh, and, but the season average before that, whether it was, uh, overhandling, overpassing, you name it, um, you know, kale couldn't hit the net from distance. And a lot of those things have changed after they, it was, it was funny because locally we were talking about the Olympics being the great power play summit in Milan in 2026, because Marty Natius is going on the power play for the checks

12:43and the Canadians and, and, and everyone's putting in power play goals. And they sort of brought that mojo back. And it's, it, it has been better than it was before they left for the Olympics. How do you think the gold tending is going to play out here, Connor, between Scott Wedgwood, McKenzie Blackwood? Are they almost like playing equally as at a high level? Or is there, do you give an edge to one of them, uh, moving down the stretcher? It kind of changes. Uh, right now, Scott Wedgwood is, is, is, is playing better. I mean, number one goals against the national hockey league, number two, say percentage of, or Scott Wedgwood. Um, McKenzie Blackwood is the top 10 in both categories. Uh, Blackwood started that game in Dallas on Friday, ended up getting pulled after, um, allowing four goals on 11 shots. And then it was Wedgwood who came in, didn't allow any goals in the rest of regulation. And over time, got the shootout win, uh, with two miraculous saves, uh, the photos are, are works of art in that instance. He comes back and he gets the shootout win versus Minnesota on Sunday too. Um, the good news about the lumber yard is that they've

13:48played together before, um, in Jersey. They are friends. They support each other. And they're kind of interchangeable. And if you think back to the 2022 team that won the cup, you had Darcy Kemper as your starter, um, we mentioned Ryan Johansson earlier. He took, remember the stick through the goalie mask from Ryan Johansson. And he was out, uh, incomes, Pavell Franzos to go six and oh, I don't need to do that. Hands of the Edmonton Oilers, but it's, it's, it's what happened with, with Pavell Franzos and the ambulance go on to, to win the Stanley Cup. Kemper and Franzos had this excellent relationship where the goal tending position was interchangeable. And I feel like that's the case now with McKenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood. Um, don't know yet who will get the start tonight. We'll find out a morning skate, but the way that Wedgewood has been playing, it would be hard to not start him against, uh, against the Edmonton Oilers tonight. One last one for your corner. What kind of game do you think we'll see tonight? Uh, you remember when you were here last and it was nine one and it was a total blowout and the orders are trying to

14:51tighten things up, uh, defensively. We saw a little bit of that, uh, on Sunday and Vegas, but what do you think we'll see tonight? Every time I try to predict ads and oilers, it's always the opposite. Uh, but it's always entertaining hockey. I, uh, we, we all poo poo when you have to play the islanders and the, and the hurricanes and, uh, we, we played Anaheim here a couple weeks ago where they were missing half of their team and it was just, you know, get the puck and dump it out. It wasn't very exciting. The one thing you can always count on with apps and oilers is that it's entertaining hockey. So, um, I would think that coming off, uh, that win in Vegas the other night, Edmonton, um, knows their spot in the Pacific Division, uh, home ice is critical and, uh, this is, this is not going to be easy for the avalanche. I think, you know, this, this feels like a, like a four three five four hockey game tonight. So watch it be a two one game. That's exactly the road. I always take it earlier in the show. Uh, as always, Connor, really appreciate your time.

15:52Have a great call tonight and we'll see you soon. Take care, man. No promises, Gav, good to see you.