Broncos coach Sean Payton was a Bo Nix injury from a Super Bowl appearance, and a large fraction of Broncos fans still wanted him run out of town for his failure to kick a field goal against New England. The Avs are in denial. Coach Jared Bednar should’ve been fired a couple of years ago.

— A.J., Denver

Kiz: After hearing general manager Chris MacFarland wax poetic about Bednar prior to the collapse against Vegas, I don’t think there’s any way the Avs want to part ways with Bedsy. But there’s one sticky wicket. Franchise owner Stan Kroenke has a well-known aversion to paying a premium price for coaching talent. With one season on his contract, does Bednar really want to be stuck in a lame-duck situation if the Avs get off to a slow start next season? But if he were to press for a contract extension, might Kroenke tell him to hit the bricks?

It was inexplicable that after two losses at home to Vegas and soft goals impacting both outcomes, that Bednar did not give Mackenzie Blackwood a shot between the pipes in Game 3. When the head coach shows no urgency, the team follows his mantra. And urgency does not equate with panic. Any knucklehead could’ve predicted this bad outcome. Oh, wait. I know a knucklehead who did.

— Ron, Denver

Kiz: I’m not your huckleberry. But I’ll be your knucklehead anytime.

Kiz, I’m still in a state of disbelief. I had no doubt – none, zero! – that the Avalanche would be playing in the Stanley Cup Final. After getting eliminated in Vegas, captain Gabe Landeskog’s words might be prophetic: “We might not get back to the Final with this core group.” By the time front-office honchos Joe Sakic and MacFarland get this team restructured, Cale Makar might be 30 years old.

— Matt, pond hockey is best

Kiz: The saddest words in sports? No game tonight. Right now, we should be arguing over a cold drink whether Carolina has the firepower to match Colorado in the Final, instead of crying in our beer about how the Avs crapped out in Vegas.

I will never forget the Avalanche line of Valeri Kamensky, Peter Forsberg and Claude Lemieux. They had everything, from skill to strength, and could just dominate teams.

— Kevin, All Avs (always)

Kiz: While this might get me challenged to a hockey fight, know what I think is the greatest scoring line in Avs history? Kamensky, Forsberg and Lemieux. Maybe not for the long run. But when the Avs came to town, nobody created more magic during that first season, and there was no bigger reason Colorado hoisted the Cup, than the line of Kamensky, Forsberg and the late great Pepe. If memory serves, all three of them scored at least 30 goals during the 1995-96 campaign. And get this: They combined for 272 points. Are you kidding me? 

And today’s parting shot is an appeal for the Broncos to resist any temptation to bring back outside linebacker Von Miller at age 37. 

Hey, Kiz! Could you please rewrite your recent column that noted Father Time is undefeated and forward it to Miller? Love the Vonster, but the sunset is calling him to ride.

— Roy from Fort Fun