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Cale Makar and the Colorado Avalanche had one of the shortest offseason in NHL history after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning to win the 2022 Stanley Cup at the end of June. With a delayed season start and finish due to COVID-19, the Avs were off for only about two months before the 2022-23 season began.
It wasn't the same story at the conclusion of 2023, as Makar's squad was shockingly upset by the Seattle Kraken in the first-round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After an unusual offseason in Colorado that has stretched for almost four months, the superstar is ready to get back.
“I know a lot of the guys are itching to get back to camp,” Makar told NHL.com's Dan Rosen on Tuesday.
“I feel like last year that was maybe not the thing you wanted to get back to it, you wanted a little bit of time to make sure your body and mentally you could recover from the run we went on. I think a lot of the guys are itching to get back now.”
It certainly was a longer-than-usual offseason for the Avalanche, who hadn't lost in the first round since they were defeated by the Nashville Predators back in the 2018 postseason.
“It's a win-lose scenario, but one of the things for us as a team being unfortunately eliminated early is it gave us a little more rest time,” Makar explained after the long offseason.
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“For a team that was so banged up this past year and had so many man-games lost, I think that was huge. I think a lot of guys really took advantage. It mentally can give us a little bit of a break and clear it; guys can reset a little bit. Everything felt like it was in superspeed mode last summer.”
Cale Makar only played in 60 games last season due to multiple injuries, but the Canadian still managed 66 points while averaging over 26 minutes per night. He earned a Norris Trophy finalist nod for the third straight season and proved he's still the league's best defenseman.
It will be a new-look roster in Denver this year, with Evan Rodrigues, Alex Newhook, JT Compher, Lars Eller and Erik Johnson being replaced by Ryan Johansen, Jonathan Drouin, Miles Wood and Ross Colton.
But despite the roster turnover, the goal remains the same — bringing a Stanley Cup back to Colorado in 2024.
