The Colorado Avalanche: News from around the NHL - July 23rd, 2013

The new Leafs' CEO is feeling the pressure.

Tim Leiweke says he meant no disrespect towards former players in talking about taking down photos of past Maple

But the new Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president and CEO is also not backing down on the concept of focusing on the present rather than the past.

“I’m not here to stomp on the alumni,” he said in an interview Monday. “One of the reasons anyone wants to come and be a part of this organization is the history and tradition of the Maple Leafs.

“It is 100 years that is unbelievable and, quite frankly with the exception of maybe the Canadiens, unmatched.

“And so this is not a debate nor is it meant in any way to criticize or minimize our history. It was never meant to do that. And for that I’m extremely apologetic, because I don’t want the alumni thinking there was any debate there.

Two years later,Radulov is defending himself publicly.

Former Nashville Predators winger Alexander Radulov is disputing the reported events that led to his team suspension prior to Game 3 of the club’s Western Conference semifinal matchup against the Phoenix Coyotes two seasons ago.

At the time, reports claimed Radulov and teammate Andrei Kostitsyn were seen out and about in Scottsdale, Ariz., well into the morning.

But in an interview with KHL.ru over the weekend, the 27-year-old Radulov disputed the entire thing. “Not true,” Radulov started. “Do you want to know what happened? We were in Phoenix and the only places to go out and eat were on the other side of town from our hotel.

Puck Daddy has an interview with Nathan MacKinnon, he talks quite a bit about his hockey gear as well.

Being a No. 1 overall pick and joining a team with young guys like Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog and Ryan O'Reilly, do you feel any added pressure on yourself to help turns things around for the Avalanche?

I'm there to help. I know there's going to be a very strong team there. We have all the potential to have a very solid team for the next decade. Hopefully we can have a good start next year and build from there. For me, I'm going there to help. I think it adds less pressure because there's very talented guys playing there.

What's the first big thing you plan to buy with your new contract?

Hopefully I can get a truck when I go out to Colorado. I've always wanted one.

The Winnipeg Free Press has a short article about Lord Stanley's Cup.

1,287,475: The number of kilometres it has travelled since the 2000-01 season, including trips to Russia, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, Japan, Austria, Germany, Italy, England, Belarus, Ukraine, Belgium, Afghanistan, Dubai, France, the Bahamas and the Arctic Circle. Notable stops include Kandahar, the Kremlin, NATO headquarters and the Eiffel Tower.