Colleague Terry Frei is with the Avalanche in St. Louis, covering the 3 p.m. game against the Blues. Terry filed this story about the .
John Mitchell’s awkward situation of continuing to play for a team that tried to get rid of him has been embraced by Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog. I had a conversation with Landeskog after Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Minnesota at the Pepsi Center — a game that began three hours after Mitchell cleared waivers.
Mitchell, 31, centered the fourth line against the Wild and afterward told me his 24-hour waiver experience was “brutal.” He was in no mood to talk in-depth about the situation.
“Things happen and we can’t forget that there’s a business side of this sport and at the end of the day I’m going to let management do what they have to do — whatever is best for this hockey team,” Landeskog said. “We love Mitchy in here; everybody loves him in here. He’s a great teammate and a good player who always plays hard 200-feet on the ice. That’s all you can ask from a guy — to be a great teammate and work hard.”
Avs GM Joe Sakic told me Mitchell will remain with the team for the foreseeable future and Landeskog said Mitchell won’t be a cancer.
“Mitchy’s such a quality guy. He wouldn’t let that happen,” Landeskog said. “Obviously, anybody would be (upset). This is our jobs, our livelihood, what we do every day. When something like this happens — I’m sure I’d be upset too — but he won’t let it affect the team.”
Read more about Mitchell’s situation in . I updated that today, noting that a portion of Mitchell’s $1.8 million cap hit would count against the Avalanche’s cap if he’s sent to the minors. According to that figure would be $950,000.
