The Break We All Need

The Olympics offer Avs a chance to hit reset button.

From my trip with the Dartmouth hockey team to Northern Italy 13 years ago. This is from the area around Balzano, just to the west of Cortina.

“What are you going to do with yourself?”

“Sleep.”

That exchange — or some variation of it — has come up repeatedly over the last two days with co-workers as the Olympics and the NHL break have worked their way into casual conversation.

For three months, I dreaded this break. Why should anyone welcome a three-week hiatus when our beloved Colorado Avalanche were in the middle of an historic season?

Then January happened.

First came the Devon Toews injury in Carolina. Then, a day later, the freak injury to Gabe Landeskog against the NHL’s golden boys in South Florida… the undisputed champions of never being held accountable for their actions. In that instant, the season split cleanly in two: before the injuries and after.

The moment Landeskog smashed into the boards with a thud that echoed through the building — after also colliding violently with the goal post — was the line in the sand. The Avalanche have not been the same team since.