It’s pretty crazy to think that we’re already two full seasons removed from the Avalanche’s Stanley Cup parade. I often think about how this era of Avs hockey will be defined if the team only ends up with that one championship. But that conversation is way too early to have.
Fans I’ve spoken with are understandably worried. There are far too many question marks about Gabriel Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin, center depth, and the long-term future of goaltending.
On that note, here are the remaining questions from my Avalanche mailbag series right before the start of training camp next week.
This first one is probably my favorite.
@thriller1 asks: On a scale from 1 to 10, how excited should Avs fans be about the upcoming season, and in particular about their chance to win the cup?
I’d put them at a solid 7 right now, with the potential to jump way up to a 10 over the next six months. Whenever you have Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon on the same team, you’re a contender for the Stanley Cup. But we know it takes more than that to win the thing.
Last year the Avs struggled to put together a complete lineup for most of the season. Then suddenly at the deadline, Bowen Byram gets traded for Casey Mittelstadt. The team dumps Ryan Johansen in the deal for Sean Walker, Yakov Trenin and Brandon Duhaime are brought in, and Nichushkin came back from his two-month absence.
The vibes around the team and their chances at making a deep run flipped on a dime. That type of scenario is very much possible this season as well.
Also, I don’t think we speak enough about how fun it’s going to be to have a full season of Mittelstadt as the 2C. I think he’s going to have an incredible year.
@wastedtalent34 asks: The gauntlet that is the Central Division is only getting tougher; What position will the Avalanche finish in the Central this upcoming season?
I’d pencil them in for second place. With a healthy roster, the Avalanche are the best team in the Central and probably win it every year. But similar to last year, it’s going to take some time to piece this roster together.
Dallas just seems like they’re going to have most of their forwards ready to go to build on what they did in the regular season last year. So I can see them giving the Avs a run for the division title — although I’m not a fan of the roles they’re expecting Ilya Lyubushkin and Matt Dumba to play on defense. And they still need to sign Thomas Harley.
But then there’s Nashville. Losing Ryan McDonagh is tough but replacing him with Brady Skjei is solid. And of course, the additions of Jonathan Marchessault and Steven Stamkos completely change the outlook of this team’s offense.
On one hand, both of those guys could realistically begin their fall from stardom as they’re both in their mid-30s. But on the other hand, 17 players eclipsed the 40-goal mark last season and Marchessault, Stamkos, and long-time Pred Filip Forsberg were three of them. Mix that in with Ryan O’Reilly’s two-way brilliance and you’re suddenly looking like a potential offensive juggernaut.
Nashville isn’t as deep at center as Colorado is. So like the Stars and Avs, the Predators also have holes in their roster with hopes of filling those before the trade deadline in early 2025. An underrated part of Nashville’s offseason is the impending termination of Ryan Johansen’s contract with Philadelphia. If that winds up being successful, the $4 million that Nashville retained for this season also gets wiped away.
Suddenly, the Preds, who also have three first-round draft picks in 2025 to use as trade assets, would open up the type of cap flexibility to make a deal that both Colorado and Dallas might not have.
Will the Avalanche ever take a page from the Dallas Stars and set up a free streaming service for local fans?
Whether or not it’s offered for free is its entirely own conversation. But bringing regional broadcast rights to a streaming platform is absolutely the way to go. And there are rumblings that something is coming. I spoke with a source who is close to Altitude and heard as much. We’ll see where it goes over the next month.
I also genuinely believe all teams will be on a streaming platform in the future – hopefully soon.
@somewhereinthebetween asks: Did you hear rumblings of any trades or signings that didn’t end up happening?
I spoke to an Insider at the NHL draft about this, and the one that I heard was on the table was a potential Ross Colton trade. It’s unclear which teams were interested but the Avs did shop him around.
I also did get confirmation that teams asked about Josh Manson but the Avs were unwilling to move him. That was the right decision if you ask me.
@Legitimate_Asparagus asks: When are you putting out more podcast episodes? Haha. Real question though. Do you have another favorite sport or are you only a hockey guy? Why?
Podcasts are definitely coming back full-time in 2024-25. I’m in the process of formulating a plan to make this work better without a co-host. It’s one of my favorite parts of the job so let’s consider 2023-24 a hiccup! Expect an announcement of some sort for this very soon. I’m excited to get back to doing this more regularly.
Hockey is tops, but I’m a pretty well-rounded sports guy. I grew up watching a lot of international soccer. The World Cup and other international tournaments are always staples for me. I’m also a big Michigan Football fan and enjoy watching NFL games too (Go Lions!). I usually save my basketball viewing for March Madness or the NBA playoffs. Although basketball isn’t my thing.
As for the sports I play, I grew up playing goalie in soccer. I’m also a pretty decent tennis player and played throughout high school. I can play a pickup game of hockey but nothing competitive. And if this counts, I’m an excellent ping-pong player.
And as many of you know from my Twitter handle, I’m a big runner. I’m well over 400 miles since the summer began.
What level of outrage is required to reverse the NHL allowing Bowman, Quenneville and MacIsaac back into the league? Why is Bowman becoming Edmonton GM and VP of hockey ops not way more heavily scrutinized?
I think it’s completely okay to be outraged with this situation. Everyone is going to have differing opinions and I’ll never be one to question how somebody feels about all of this or how they should feel. And, unfortunately, I don’t expect the NHL to reverse this decision.
But I will say, I think there has been a lot of scrutiny for Stan Bowman taking that job. Oilers fans and local media outlets in Edmonton have been all over the Oilers for hiring him and most of them are not on board. I think the NHL snuck this in later in July to try and mitigate the outrage. But it’s there locally. The offer sheets have kind of overshadowed it in recent weeks, though.
I also just don’t think Bowman’s that good at being a GM. Edmonton didn’t need to hire him.