BSN Exclusive: Blake Comeau doesn't want to go anywhere

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Blake Comeau has played parts of 12 seasons now in the National Hockey League, 718 games and counting. Playoff games?

Eleven.

Comeau wants to play that 12th playoff game some time next week, wants it bad. At 32, he’s the second-oldest player on the Colorado Avalanche, a few months younger than Carl Soderberg. On the otherwise youngest team in hockey, Comeau knows there might be a few teammates that think, ‘Hey, if we don’t get into the playoffs this year, I’ll get a lot more kicks at that can.”

He wants and expects to play at least a couple more years in the NHL, but he knows nothing can be taken for granted in this game and tries to impart that wisdom on those younger teammates any time he can. Comeau’s message to them would be: Seize any chance at the playoffs when it’s there, because it ain’t easy in this league.

“I realize how hard it is to get in,” Comeau said, after practice Wednesday at the SAP Center, where the Avs play the San Jose Sharks Thursday night. “Being a young team, this is one of the best ways that we’re going to develop and learn as a team, being in these pressure-type games. When you’re younger, maybe you don’t realize it, but at the same time, I think the older guys that have been around have made it pretty clear that there’s a great opportunity in front of us.”

There’s no getting around it, the Avs will be doing some scoreboard watching Wednesday night. The team right behind them in the standings, the St. Louis Blues, plays the Chicago Blackhawks at home. A win for the Blues, and they’ll put the Avs on the outside looking in on the final eight, with two games to go. But, the Avs control their own destiny. If they win these final two games, against the Sharks and Blues Saturday, they’re in.

“I think everyone will be checking the score tonight to see what’s going on, but at the end of the day, if we win our two games, we get in. We’ve put ourselves in a good situation. No one in here is thinking ‘Oh, we improved from last year, it’s a good season.’ Everyone in here is a competitive guy and everyone wants to get in the playoffs,” Comeau said.

It’s possible Comeau could be playing his final two games as an Av these next few days. He is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. He’s had a good season with the Avs and is a strong locker-room leader. He’ll probably make a fine coach some day, the way he can analyze a game.

Two things, though: Comeau doesn’t want to stop playing anytime soon, and he doesn’t want to play for any other team next season.

“I hope I come back,” Comeau told BSN Denver. “I think we’ve got a great group in here, and I’d love to be a part of this team and part of this group moving forward. But, obviously, management’s got to make those decisions when the season ends and whatever happens, happens. But, hopefully, I’m able to come back, for sure.”

Comeau is making $2.4 million this season. With 12 goals and 32 points in 77 games as a third-line winger, it’s been a good showing for him. He also plays important minutes on the penalty kill. On the open market, he’d certainly command a pretty good offer from someone, and the Avs should have a lot of money to spend this summer. The NHL’s salary cap next season will be somewhere between $78 million and $82 million, and right now the Avs have contracts committed to players for a little more than $49 million, and no major players who are due new contracts.

Question is, will the Avs want to commit on a multi-year deal for someone who will be 33 next February? We’ll see, but right now there are more pressing matters for him and the team.

“We’re excited to play meaningful games this time of year and I think we’ll be ready tomorrow,” Comeau said.