Avalanche unveil championship banner ahead of game opener against Blackhawks

DENVER– The Colorado Avalanche raised their 2022 Stanley Cup Championship banner before opening the season with a 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at Ball Arena on Wednesday, and it was a night to celebrate all the little ones remembered things.

After the coaches and players were introduced, another fan favorite emerged in an Avalanche jersey. Mark Hoppus, bassist and vocalist for the band Blink-182, invited the crowd of 18,143 to sing along to “All the Small Things,” the song that has become an anthem at the ball arena. Fans cheered as a video montage showed all the moments from last season.

“It’s so humbling and amazing and gratifying that this is happening,” Hoppus told NHL.com. “[As the song caught on at Avalanche games] it got bigger and bigger and the crowd started singing longer and louder. Sometimes I choke when I see it. It’s so awesome.”

The cup appeared and was placed on a pedestal. Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog, who did not face the Blackhawks because of a lower body injury, pulled it up in full uniform and took it for a final victory round as fans roared.

Video: The Avalanche raises the cup banner ahead of tonight’s game

The banner was unveiled and players watched with their arms around each other, including the Blackhawks defender JackJohnson, a member of the Avalanche last season. After a photo, it headed to the rafters, the crowd getting louder as it climbed, eventually taking its place alongside Colorado’s 1996 and 2001 banners.

“We talked about how it’s going to be there forever,” forward Mikko Rantanen said. “It’s a pretty cool moment. When you’re 70 I don’t know if you’ll come here, but if you watch TV you’ll know it’s our championship team in the rafters. It’s hard to really think about it now. You don’t think about it too much, but I think we’ll appreciate it later for sure.

The last three days have been a blur for the Avalanche, last season’s success mingling with this season’s challenge.

They received their championship rings in a private ceremony Monday night.

Not only were the rings spectacular – 14k white gold, glittering with 669 diamonds, 42 rubies and 20 sapphires – but whoever designed the box thought outside the box. When opened, a screen inside the lid showed slow-motion video of the moment the Avalanche defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games to win the trophy on June 26 at Tampa’s Amalie Arena.

“Ring night was great,” said Avalanche coach Jared Bednar. “Really good night. Fun. Emotional. Great venue. Great dinner. Great company. It was really nice.”

When the Avalanche arrived to skate Wednesday morning, they found themselves in a renovated locker room complex under the stands of the Ball Arena. Coaches have a new office with a theater where they can show videos in team meetings. Players have a new lounge with a much-improved dining area, and in the main room, they’re seated in an oval with a huge Avalanche logo on the ceiling. Each cabin has 12 built-in fans for drying gear.

The construction workers are still fine-tuning, but it’s already cozy.

“Yeah, it’s amazing,” Bednar said. “I think they did a really good job there.”

Video: The best of the Stanley Cup Banner Ceremony

With all that and the ceremony in mind, what’s next for last season’s Avalanche? How do they keep from lounging around and enjoying the spoils of victory? How will they be pumped up with the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs six months away?

“Those are things that we kind of struggled with after our win and got off to a good start,” said the Blackhawks forward Patrick Kanewho won the cup with Chicago in 2010, 2013 and 2015. “I mean we knew we were good enough to get back in the race and be a good team but [it was difficult] just to get really flying out there and be excited all year round.

“There’s not really a lot of free time. It feels like you’ve just finished playing and all of a sudden you’re back in training camp. I know those guys got their rings the other day too, so it’s an exciting time for them, and them are probably reliving a lot of moments, so it’s difficult to kind of push that back in time and jump to another season.

At least against the Blackhawks, who are expected to land at or near the end of the NHL this season, the Avalanche looked poised. Although they conceded two power play goals, they scored four themselves. They beat the Blackhawks 35-17, including 12-4 in the first period after the ceremony. Arturi Lehkonen had two goals and one assist, Valery Nikhushkin scored two goals, Rantanen had four assists and Kal Makar and Nathan MacKinnon each had two.

The Avalanche face a bigger challenge Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET; SN1, ALT, ESPN+, SN NOW) with the Calgary Flames.

“It was great,” Forward said Andrew Cogliano, who scored the opening goal at 13:44 of the first period. “Obviously a once-in-a-lifetime moment there, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Crazy. Unforgettable, really. That closes this year and puts a lot into perspective. It’s good to get a win and move on now.” .”