Although the Colorado Avalanche have been up-and-down during the 2023-24 campaign, the team enters a new calendar year on a heater. The Avs have won eight of their last 11, improving to 24-11-3 and taking back the top spot in the Central Division. Although the hold is precarious, with both the Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars hot on their heels, Colorado has looked like the best team in the division over the past three-and-a-half weeks.
On Thursday, the National Hockey League will select the first 32 players that will represent their respective clubs at the 2024 NHL All-Star festivities in Toronto. Another 12 will be added later by fan vote, but the idea is that every team has a representative, as it's been for the last few years.
Obviously, a few teams will luckily get to send two All-Stars north of the border next month. But the Avalanche have a three-headed monster that features Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar. There aren't any other candidates in Denver, and each of the three superstars has a fantastic case to be involved in Toronto. Let's start with the easiest choice.
Nathan MacKinnon a shoo-in for 2024 ASG
Nathan MacKinnon seems to get better and better every season. And that's after helping the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 2022, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in a thrilling six-game series. In 2023-24, he's again looking like one of the premier players in the National Hockey League.
The former Halifax Moosehead has scored an insane 20 goals and 61 points in 38 games this season, leading his team and sitting just two points back of Bolts superstar Nikita Kucherov for the league lead. Mack is also in the midst of a 20-game home point streak to begin the season, becoming one of just five NHL players — and the first since Wayne Gretzky in 1988 — to accomplish the feat.
The 28-year-old Nova Scotia native is making a legitimate Hart Trophy case this year, and the superstar should be a shoo-in to partake in the Canadian festivities next month. The only thing hurting his case is the fact that Gary Bettman and co. love to get new players involved in ASG festivities when possible. MacKinnon has been an All-Star six of the last seven seasons, missing only in 2021.
Still, he has to be a lock for his seventh All-Star Game in 2023.
Cale Makar should be there as well
Only one player from each team will be announced on Wednesday, and it's almost certain that MacKinnon will be the first player from the Avs selected. But, as the best defenseman in the Central Division, there's a slim chance that Cale Makar could be instead. The 25-year-old has been to two straight All-Star Games, both in Sunrise, Florida last year and Paradise, Nevada the season before.
In 2023-24, the best D-man in the NHL has another great chance. Makar continues to lead Colorado's back end spectacularly, recording 44 points in 33 games while playing above-average defense. That's second in league scoring behind just Vancouver's Quinn Hughes, who has put up 46 points in his first season as the Canucks captain.
It seems obvious that Makar will be voted in as one of the additional 12 if he isn't outright selected on Wednesday. But will Mikko Rantanen get the same treatment?
Could Mikko Rantanen make it three Avs in Toronto?
Mikko Rantanen has been scoring at a point-per-game clip for the last six seasons with the Avalanche, but he really broke out in 2021-22 to the tune of 92 points in 75 games. The Finnish superstar was even better last year, posting a ridiculous 55 goals and 105 points in 82 games.
This year, Rantanen continues to shine, putting up 19 goals and 47 points in 38 games. The chemistry he's formed with MacKinnon seems to get stronger every year, and the 27-year-old is currently eighth in league scoring. The former No. 1o overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft has already won a Stanley Cup, and looks hungry to bring another title to Denver.
But, at the end of the day, there are only so many spots. To be specific, there are 11 spots reserved for the Central Division. That means, assuming both Mack and Rant are involved, only four forwards would be left from seven teams.
Still, all three of MacKinnon, Makar and Rantanen were All-Stars in Florida last season. There's absolutely a chance that all three could be again in 2024. Something just tells me that this time around, only two players will come from Colorado. But the Central's final roster will be intriguing, and for the Avs fans reading, let's just say all three will be involved next month in Toronto.
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