Morning Flurries: is Nikita Zadorov on the trading block?

The Avs

So Scott was able to get five minutes with the Commissioner of the National Hockey League. Gary Bettman. That guy. Our guy got to talk to him. That’s just mind-blowing to me. Go check out his work, it’s more than earned a click. Scott, you are a rock star. [Mile High Hockey]

Avoiding any sort of hard-hitting line of questioning, I had a casual conversation with Bettman about the excitement surrounding the Colorado Avalanche, the relationship with the Colorado Eagles, the disastrous dispute between Altitude TV and the big three cable companies and weather small talk, among other things.

SB Nation is implementing this really cool system for getting the fans perspective and votes. They’ve used “FanPulse” for the NFL and it worked quite well. Hopefully we can get a good contingent of Avs fans sharing their thoughts and views! It’s all free to use and doesn’t include any ads. [Mile High Hockey]

Now, we’re starting a new polling project that will pull together the insights of the most plugged-in NHL fans. If that describes you, then SIGN UP HERE to join us on our new project called SB Nation FanPulse.

After he was scratched in the last game, is Nikita Zadorov on his way out? [Sportsnet]

Season Ticket Holders had a lot of fun during one of Pepsi Center’s days off, interacting with lots of members of the Avalanche organization.

The Prospects

Colorado Avalanche sixth round pick in 2017, Denis Smirnov, recorded his 100th point in the NCAA last night. the 22-year-old has spent four years at Penn State and will be looking to make the jump to the professional leagues this spring. [Elite Prospects]

Alex Newhook has a pair of games this weekend that Lauren will provide an update with in the days following. Find her on Twitter for the latest updates on the prospects! She’s really fun.

Bowen Byram is back in the WHL and has been keeping very busy. Here’s a look at his past week. [Burgundy Review]

Byram took his familiar position within the team as the number one defenseman, top power play quarterback, frequent penalty killer and alternate captain. Immediately he put up the production that he’s known for with two assists in a 4-2 loss to Portland in his season debut and ended up with a five assist weekend in that first block of three games. For his efforts Byram was named to the CHL team of the week as one of the two most outstanding defensemen in the country.

The Game

In the NHL, Valentin Zykov of the Vegas Golden Knights was tagged with a 20-game suspension for usage of an illegal performance enhancing substance. The drama around this saga is incredible. [Knights on Ice]

“I’ve been informed that I am being suspended for 20 games under the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program,” Zykov said in a statement from the NHLPA. “While I haven’t been able to discover how I tested positive, I understand that I am responsible for what is in my body and will accept this penalty. I want to apologize to my family, my teammates, and the Golden Knights organization and fans. I will work hard during my suspension to ensure that I put myself in the best possible position to contribute to my team when my suspension is over.”

The Avalanche are in the top-three of the Greg Wyshynski Power Rankings, and our slogan is pretty good, too! [ESPN]

“Go Avs Go.” In winning their first five games of the season, the Avs had a plus-10 goal differential and looked very much like they might be the best team in the Western Conference.

New slogan: ”And I For One Welcome Our New Hockey Overlords.”

Highlight of the Night: I need to change this segment into the Marc-Andre Fleury show.