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Central Preview: Colorado Avalanche |
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The Colorado Avalanche on next on the list in our Central Division Preview.
They have a great balance on youth, speed and skill and they are fun to watch. Well, unless they are playing the Blackhawks, then they are a bit of a pain in the butt to watch.
Let's look at how they fared last year and what's to come in 2019-20 for the Avs.
2018-19 Recap:
Colorado finished 5th in the Central – just 6 points ahead of the Blackhawks but I have a feeling this is the lowest they finish in the division for the foreseeable future.
Even though he's been a really good player since he entered the league at 18 years old, the 2017-18 season was Nathan MacKinnon's coming out party transferring him from superstar to MEGAstar. He had 97 points that year, coming in 2nd in Hart Trophy voting.
The 24-year-old picked up where he left off last year finishing with a 99 point campaign.
The MacKinnon, Rantanen and Landeskog finished top 3 in Avs scoring and as one of the most productive lines in the NHL.
After, an average 90-point season which just good enough to sneak into the playoffs as the 8th seed, COL was scheduled to take on the Western Conference Champs, the Calgary Flames.
The Flames were helpless against the speed and skill of the Avalanche with Colorado taking them down in a 5-game series.
The Avs then battled their way to Game 7 against the San Jose Sharks but they were left on the losing side of that series.
A playoff series win and one win away from a Conference Finals, I would say the Avs are trending in the right direction.
Therefore, Joe Sakic and Co. wouldn't need to change much this offseason, right? Wrong.
Let's look at the "Who's In" and "Who's Out" section next.
Who's IN: Kadri, Burakovsky, Donskoi, Bellemare, Connauton, Rosen, Byram
Who's OUT: Andrighetto, Bourque, Brassard, Kerfoot, Soderberg, Barrie, Nemeth, Varlamov
Projected Lineup:
Landeskog – MacKinnon – Rantanen
Burakovsky – Kadri – Donskoi
C. Wilson – Jost – Compher
Nieto – Bellemare – Calvert
Zadorov – Makar
Cole – Girard
Connauton/Byram – E. Johnson
Grubauer
Francouz
2019-20 Outlook:
Well, unfortunately for Hawks fans, the Avalanche look poised to be a real good team for a long time.
Looking at the additions above, Sakic went out and signed and traded his way to a brand new 2nd line of Burakovsky – Kadri – Donskoi.
He also made a real smart signing with Pirre-Edouard Bellemare. He will serve as a great role player and leader in the bottom 6.
I really like mini-Toews, Tyson Jost to have a solid year this season. I also really think J.T. Compher could have a break-through campaign as well. The latter had 16 goals and 16 assists in 66 games last season.
If the Avs get some strong secondary offence, they will be able to score themselves out of any problems defensively they may have throughout the season.
I don't think COL is a bad defensive team (246 GA was 16th last year) however with young D comes big responsibility especially if all of Girard, Makar and Byram make the team.
Yes, you will see that I have Bowen Byram on the "additions" list above as there is a possibility he makes the Avs team out of camp.
COL has a nice balance of promising youth on the backend and veteran presence with Erik Johnson, Zarorov, Cole and Connauton all in the fold.
In net, I like Grubauer but I thought the Avs would have gone out and secured a backup goaltender to help support him.
I don't know much about this Francouz character and apparently, he's good but he remains unproven. This is an area that could slow this team down.
Still, I believe Mikko Rantanen will sign soon and the Colorado Avalanche will be one of the teams to beat in the Central Division this season.
For more information on the Rantanen situation, here's an article (from August 28th) from fellow HBer, Rick Sadowski.
Rick Sadowski's Take:
Rantanen, 22, is expected to pass Nathan MacKinnon ($6.3 million cap charge through the 2022-23 season) as the team's highest-paid player after collecting 87 points (31 goals, 56 assists) in 74 games last season, with 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 12 playoff games.
The Avalanche have about $16 million in projected salary-cap space, according to capfriendly.com.
General manager Joe Sakic told reporters that he spoke with Rantanen by phone and said both parties would prefer a longtime deal. Rantanen is represented by Mike Liut.
"I don't want to do (a) bridge (contract)," Sakic said. "I talked to Mikko and I'm certain he would prefer long-term as well. I didn't call him about negotiations, but just to see how his summer was going and telling him we're looking to do long term. Not negotiating or anything. That's for myself and Mike Luit. I just wanted to touch base."
Avalanche veterans are scheduled to report to the Pepsi Center on Thursday, Sept. 12, for medicals and physical tests. The first on-ice training camp sessions begin the next day at Family Sports in Centennial.
"We want him here for training camp," Sakic said. "No one needs the distraction."
(Source: Rick Sadowski, https://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Rick-Sadowski/Catching-up-News--notes/188/101140)
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Thoughts on the Avs?
See ya out there!
TC
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Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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