Avalanche return strong nucleus from the blue line to the top line and remain a Stanley Cup favorite
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Colorado Avalanche
DENVER (AP) — Last season: 55-16-11, swept in Western Conference Final.
COACH: Jared Bednar (445-262-75 over 10 seasons).
SEASON OPENER: Sept. 30 vs. Los Angeles.
DEPARTURES: GM Chris MacFarland, F Valeri Nichushkin, F Jack Drury, F Ross Colton.
ADDITIONS: F Jaden Schwartz, D Noah Juulsen, C Fedor Svechkov.
GOALIES: Mackenzie Blackwood (23-10-2, 2.51 goals-against average, .904 save percentage), Scott Wedgewood (31-6-6, 2.02, .921).
What to expect
As usual these days, a heavy Stanley Cup favorite. The Avalanche won the Presidents’ Trophy last season for the NHL’s top record before being swept out of the playoffs in the conference final by Vegas. Jared Bednar, the franchise’s all-time leader in wins, is waiting on an extension as he enters the last year of his deal. President of hockey operations Joe Sakic stepped back into his GM role – the position he held when the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup title in 2022 – with the departure of MacFarland to Nashville. Sakic locked up the services of defenseman Cale Makar, the two-time Norris Trophy winner who signed an eight-year, $163.2 million contract that’s set to make him the highest paid player in the NHL.
Strengths and weaknesses
The good: The top line of Artturi Lehkonen, Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas. MacKinnon is coming off a season in which he won the Maurice Richard Trophy for most goals with 53. Necas had a career-best 100 points, while Lehkonen added 21 goals. The Avalanche were the best team in the league in both goals per game (3.63) and goals-against (2.40). It’s just the fourth time a squad has led in both categories since the league’s expansion in 1967, joining the 1976-77 and 1977-78 Montreal Canadiens, along with the 2010-11 Vancouver Canucks.
The not-so-good: Hard to find many weak spot, at least the way the regular season is played This team is stacked from the blue line to the fourth line with two goaltenders worthy of starting. It could lead to tough decisions for Bednar over playing time. The tandem of Blackwood and Wedgewood won the William M. Jennings Trophy last season, which goes to the goaltenders who play a minimum of 25 games for the team allowing the fewest goals in the regular season.
Players to watch
Brent Burns, the 41-year-old defenseman who’s entering his 23rd season still seeking his first Stanley Cup title. He is 57 games away from tying Phil Kessel for the league’s all-time consecutive games streak of 1,064, a mark he could reach in February. Another skater to watch is captain Gabriel Landeskog to see if he can become a 20-goal scorer again. Landeskog, who turns 34 in November, missed three regular seasons as he recovered from a serious knee injury. He had 14 last season. He had 30 goals in the regular season when the Avalanche won the Cup in 2021-22.
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See AP’s full NHL coverage here