The Avalanche's Burgundy and White Game will be played on Sunday, Sept. 21, at the University of Denver's Magness Arena. Game time will be 11 a.m. (Mountain time).
The Avalanche open preseason play the next day with a split squad -- home and away-- against the Anaheim Ducks.
This will mark the fifth time the Burgundy and White Game will be played at DU but the first time since 2006. Tickets, priced between $10 and $25, will go on sale to the general public on Thursday, Aug. 21, at 10 a.m. through DU’s athletic department.
A special presale for Avalanche season ticketholders, partial plan holders, Avs Alert subscribers and fans who follow the team on the official Avalanche Twitter and Facebook accounts, will run from Monday, Aug. 18, at 10 a.m. until Wednesday, Aug. 20, at 10 p.m.
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NHL.com's 30 teams in 30 days coverage began Aug. 1. The Avalanche preview is now on the site.
It includes a look at offseason moves, five questions facing the team, a feature on defenseman Tyson Barrie (a restricted free agent who remains unsigned as of Friday), an analysis of possible lineups and fantasy league play, and a story on the club's top prospects.
Nothing new to report on Barrie. Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy have been away on vacation with their families, but I would certainly hope Barrie is signed before training camp, just one month away. The Avalanche is about $3 million under the NHL salary cap.
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According to RDS, goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere will make it official next week: no surprise, but he's retiring.
Jiggy had his best seasons with Anaheim, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2003 after the Ducks lost a seven-game Stanley Cup Final series to the New Jersey Devils and winning the Cup in 2007.
Giguere, 37, posted an 11-6-1 record with the Avalanche last season as Semyon Varlamov's backup with two shutouts, a 2.62 goals-against average and .913 save percentage. He had a 31-21-8 record in three seasons in Colorado with four shutouts.
His career record in 15 NHL seasons: 262-216-50, 38 shutouts, 2.53 goals-against average, .913 save percentage. Giguere went 33-17 in 52 playoff games with six shutouts and a 2.08 goals-against average.
"I knew my role when I was coming here," Giguere said during the season. "When you accept a role you have to be willing to do it. I came here knowing I was going to be a No. 2. It was a different situation for me at the time, but it's something that I've appreciated to a point because it's a different role but an important role. I've tried to be a leader and tried to show a good example. Part of me knew that I couldn't play 65 games, and the No. 1 guy needs to be able to do that.
"Especially when (goalie coach) Francois Allaire came here, I told Varly that it would be very good for him. It would be something that would bring him to the next level as long as he was willing to work, which Varly always is willing to do. I told him you're going to get better with him coaching you and it's been a great relationship between the two of them. They've worked really well together and it's helped Varly to become the goalie that we all knew he had the potential he had. This year wasn't about potential, it was about how good could he be."
Jiggy will be missed. We'll find out soon enough if new backup Reto Berra will be nearly as effective.