The retired forward was captain for Canada's gold-medal winning teams at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics and 2006 Turin Olympics before retiring Aug. 30, 2006 to join "Hockey Night in Canada" on Sportsnet as a rinkside reporter. She discussed her new role as an analyst for ESPN and why she's impressed with the Colorado Avalanche.
She said she thinks the Avalanche will contend for the Stanley Cup even if they don't do anything before the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline on March 21. The Avalanche (41-12-5) lead the race for the Presidents' Trophy given to the team that finishes with the best record in the regular season, and she said she believes they have a chip on their shoulder coming off three consecutive second-round losses in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"That's a powerful factor," she said. "When we lost our first Olympics (to the United States) in '98, you learn a lot about yourself. You need to find out how to become a better player, a better person, a better leader.
"I think Colorado went through that, and in particular Nathan MacKinnon. Him last year after the loss to (the Vegas Golden Knights), you saw, you felt the disappointment in his postgame interview. His reflection over the summer, what he did, and the conversations with (Avalanche general manager) Joe Sakic about, 'You don't have to be perfect, Nathan. You just have to be the great player that you are.' I think he did a lot of soul searching after that and realized he's a great player who's still yet to win.
"I know there's question marks that have sort of creeped in or crept back in about their goaltending, but defensively they're so strong and up front they've got so much depth. I don't know if there's top two lines that are any better anywhere else in the NHL."
Campbell-Pascall also shares her favorite to win the Hart Trophy awarded to the most valuable player in the NHL, how she feels about New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin being in the running, Auston Matthews' push for 60 goals with the Toronto Maple Leafs and her experience working as a female in the hockey industry.
"The Chirp with Daren Millard" (https://audioboom.com/channels/5041807) features interviews with players, executives, alumni and other personalities around the game. You can share your thoughts on Twitter using the hashtag #ChirpMallard.
