Good morning, Denver

Good morning, Insiders, good morning, Rocky Mountains, and good morning, Denver, site of Daryl Evans’ NHL debut.

The Colorado Rockies (nee Kansas City Scouts) were not a very good hockey team. Playing out of McNichols Sports Arena, the Rockies topped out at 59 points in their second season by compiling a less-than-stellar 19-40-21 record. Having languished in the Smythe Division for six seasons, the Rockies were sold and moved to northern New Jersey, where they became the Devils and after five playoff-less years have since qualified for the playoffs in 21 of the last 26 seasons, winning three Stanley Cups and reaching the Final five times.

Meanwhile, Denver inherited a budding future when the Quebec Nordiques became the Colorado Avalanche in 1995. With two Stanley Cups, four additional Western Conference Final appearances and nine divisional titles in 18 years, the original split, though painful at the time for Rockies fans, has worked out well for both parties. Next season Colorado will host an outdoor game during the commemoration of 20 years of Avalanche hockey.

Also “celebrating” a 20-year anniversary is Denver International Airport, which was covered in our last Good morning, Denver post. We arrived just in time for early rush hour yesterday on a beautiful day in which jackets were optional.

Yeah, there’s nothing there. When I eventually get around to writing my summer evaluation of Western Conference road cities, Denver will have significant points deducted because of the 45-minute drive into town.

It was a beautiful day to fly, and while below Internet Altitude I snapped these pictures of…

…the Santa Monica Bay…

…the Rose Bowl…

…Mt. Wilson…

…Downtown Denver…

…and Denver International Airport.

Thank you for checking in this morning, Insiders. It’s a busy game day as the Kings are badly in need of two points after an idle Monday in which Vancouver and San Jose both won. We’ll be heading to the rink at 10:15 local time, and a steady stream of game-day content will follow. Let’s talk soon, Insiders.