- Joe Sakic says the Avalanche could have panicked and blown up the roster, and chose not to
- Colorado won the Presidents’ Trophy at 55-16-11 and got swept out of the Western Conference Final
- Read below for the three questions NHL.com says will decide Colorado’s season
The Avalanche won 55 games last season and still got swept out of the Western Conference Final. Joe Sakic looked at all of that and decided the roster was fine.
Colorado’s president of hockey operations walked through his offseason thinking with NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman as part of the league’s 32 in 32 series, and he was blunt about the option he passed on.
“We could panic and try and blow everything up and start all over. But this team, what they’ve done over the course of the year, was pretty remarkable. I want to give them an opportunity to try and do it again.”
What Sakic did instead was shave years off the roster. Ross Colton and Jack Drury went to Nashville in June for 23-year-old forwards Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux, plus third-round picks in 2026 and 2027.
Valeri Nichushkin went to Columbus for three picks, and clearing the last four years of that contract paid for keeping the blue line together. Brett Kulak got five years and Brent Burns got one on June 26.
Sakic explained why he wanted more young legs in the room.
“You always need some younger guys to bring that enthusiasm, the freshness. Bring your youth in and see them come along. They give the older guys a boost.”
Fabian Lysell, acquired from Boston on June 27, gets a long look in camp after four seasons spent mostly in Providence. Gavin Brindley, defenseman Sean Behrens and goalie Ilya Nabokov are all in line for chances. Take a look at the team’s first shot of undrafted Michigan signing T.J. Hughes in burgundy and blue:
Two contracts are still open. Sakic said in June that Cale Makar will finish his career in Denver and expects an extension done this summer. Coach Jared Bednar is also unsigned beyond this season.
Fixing the power play is the obvious job. Colorado ranked 27th at 17.1 percent after finishing at 24.8 the year before, and Dave Hakstol inherited the unit last summer when Ray Bennett was fired. It climbed to 21.4 percent over the 22 games following Nazem Kadri’s arrival on March 6.
Goaltending is not on the worry list. Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood won the Jennings Trophy, and Wedgewood’s 2.02 goals-against average and .921 save percentage led all goalies with at least 30 games.
Everything else still looks like a contender. Colorado led the NHL in 20-plus mph speed bursts, and Nathan MacKinnon (127 points) and Martin Necas (a career-high 100) made the Avalanche the only team with two 100-point scorers. Makar is expected to be healthy when camp opens in September.
