Can the Colorado Avalanche Go Back-to-Back??
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The Colorado Avalanche finally rose to the pinnacle of professional hockey and hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup in the 2021-22 season. The State of Colorado and all the outside fans have pretty much not stopped celebrating since they won it all against the Tampa Bay Lightning in June. The post season parades, the day with the cup tracking, the parties at Erik Johnson’s house and all the offseason celebrations have made this offseason go by in what felt like 2-weeks. But, this offseason has not been all celebration, there have been some serious additions and subtractions to a roster that looks to defend their crown in a season that starts in less than three weeks.
All this roster movement begs the question, have the Avalanche been able to keep this roster together enough to repeat, and go back to back as Stanley Cup Champions? I think that there are definitely some questions and concerns about the current roster, but I also have faith that this team will not be satisfied with a single cup and they expect to continue winning until they are dethroned by a worthy adversary.
Key Roster Decisions
- Let’s just start with the fact that a few days ago Joe Sakic signed Nathan MacKinnon to an 8-year contract that keeps him in Denver through his age 35 season. He will likely retire an Avalanche just as Joe Sakic did.
- Re-signed Valeri Nichushkin, who most fans believe was ultimately the highest priority for the offseason. He got PAID, 8-years and $49 million big ones. Go win an award for a top rated defensive forward, this dude is a problem on both sides of the ice.
- Re-signed Arturri Lehkonen to a 5-year $22 million contract, this dude is elite. He can play and excel with the top liners and has room from growth and development, huge resigning after a huge trade deadline acquisition.
- Re-signed Andrew Cogliano almost immediately after the season. Most fans, myself included, were unaware of the high level of impact that Cogliano was going to have on the guys and the rallying force that he would conjure to unite the guys even more to earn him his first Stanley Cup.
- Re-signed Darren Helm, again, another veteran that is a low cost, impact player, that helps tremendously.
- Re-signed Josh Manson, whom many believed was headed back to Anaheim as a done deal. Four more years of the Manimal.
- Re-signed Pavel Francouz to be the 60/40 backup goalie.
- Re-signed Jacob MacDonald to a two year contract
- Signed starting goalie Alexandar Georgiev from the New York Rangers to a three year contract. This man is on a fantastic contract, and could be a top 10 goalie in the NHL with the Avalanche’s defense in front that makes all goalies look impressive.
- Signed Evan Rodriguez who played for the Pittsburgh Penguins last season and scored 19 goals and had 24 apples for 43 points on a full 82-game campaign.
Key Subtractions
- Andre Burakovsky, who most people believed was going to be off the roster after the season anyway, signed with the Seattle Kraken, and can play the same role he played with us, for the Kraken. Coming off a Stanley Cup, mentor and help grow a young team.
- Nazem Kadri, when I was asked at the end of the season if the Avalanche were going to be able to re-sign Kadri, I told my friends and peer groups, I didnt think it was remotely possible. But, it took almost three months for him to move on, so with every passing day, I thought the possibility grew stronger, only the have my heart break when he signed with the Flames on August 19th. He signed a bigger contract than Valeri did, so that makes me believe he was never an option for the Avalanche.
- Darcy Kuemper, signed with the Capitals this offseason, and honestly I dont think that it is the biggest loss, but losing a starting goal keeper is never easy to predict the impact.
- Jack Johnson (Banana Pancakes) left to go play for the Chicago Blackhawks
- Ryan Murray left to go play with the Western Conference Finals opponent Edmonton Oilers.
- Nico Sturm went to go play for the San Jose Sharks, this one made me sad because we lost Tyson Jost for this guy who was a small impact player, and a one year rental.
Summary
I think the nuts and bolts here are that the Avalanche are looking for a second line center, and the hope is that Evan Rodriguez can be that guy. The Avs definitely have depth at a lot of positions, but consistency at center is a requirement for a second line center, and I don’t know for sure if we have that guy on the roster anymore. Losing Kadri is the biggest loss. I think they got better at goalie, I think they kept their defensive core together which was as dominant a defensive unit that existed in the NHL, and they still have elite top end offensive players and crazy depth, with young guys chomping at the bit to get on the ice.
Above shows the pairings and groupings for the first open skate of training camp, and I see some names on there that have been in the Avalanche system for just about long enough that it’s time to see something. Guys like Martin Kaut, Jayson Megna, Shane Bowers, Sampo Ranta, I feel like we are on year three or four of these guys. The guys that make me excited for competition at some positions are the Logan O’Connor, Ben Meyers, Alex Newhook, Mikhail Maltsev, and Oskar Olaussons of the world. These guy may have a serious opportunity to step into a contender roster and be asked to contribute.
We have something like 2/3 roster spots that may be open competition, and I expect some of the guys from the list above to step in and have serious growth this season.
Offense
Line 1 – Landeskog – MacKinnon – Rantanen
Line 2 – Lehkonen – Rodriguez – Nichushkin
Line 3 – Cogliano – JT Compher – O’Connor
Line 4 – __________ – Helm/Newhook – ___________
Defense
Pair 1 – Makar – Toews
Pair 2 – EJ – Byram
Pair 3 – Girard – Manson
Pair 4 – MacDermaid – MacDonald
Can They Repeat?
It is so difficult in professional sports to repeat. They lost some talent and they need to replace some depth. I think that they have retained enough of the roster to repeat, but what we need to see first is if the new keeper is talented enough to win games they should not have won, we need to see if a young guy or two can take a leap forward and step into a vacant role, and we need to see if they can stay healthy and hungry coming off their first win in 21 years.
I believe in my heart that they aren’t done, and want to make a legitimate run at a 2020s dynasty… these Colorado Avalanche have been together for a long time and know how to play together, and now how to win together. The GM, Joe Sakic, has been masterful in contract design and roster building, we have most of our key pieces under contract for the better part of the next half decade. If they get another few Stanley Cups, I think lots of these guys will feel sufficiently immortalized in Colorado sports lore. Colorado Sports has reached a peak unlike any mountain top, with the Avalanche as Stanley Cup Champions, the Nuggets are a serious NBA Championship contender, the Broncos are being sold as a contender. The Avalanche have bene put in a position to continue to set the tone for the rest of the Colorado sports scene and repeat in 2023.
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