The Colorado Avalanche will open a new NHL season without three of their best players — and a trio that was absolutely critical to the franchise capturing its first Stanley Cup in over two decades in 2022. Neither Gabriel Landeskog nor Valeri Nichushkin will be available when the Avs open their 2024-25 campaign against the Vegas Golden Knights on the strip on October 9, and Artturi Lehkonen's status is still up in the air after offseason shoulder surgery.
With those three players healthy, Colorado again projects as a championship contender, with elite talent at every position and knowledge of how to win the hardest trophy in professional sports. But without them, what is the ceiling for this club in 2024-25?
It's no secret that, as things stand, the Avalanche's depth up front is really lacking. Reigning Hart Trophy winner Nathan MacKinnon and superstar Mikko Rantanen will continue to drive the bus offensively, but at least in the early going, the squad is going to need a couple of others to step up. That includes Jonathan Drouin, who had a great first season in Denver, and Nikolai Kovalenko, a highly-touted prospect who made his NHL debut against the Winnipeg Jets in Round 1 of the playoffs.
After dispatching the Jets in five games, Colorado's season ended in Round 2 against the Dallas Stars, at the hands of a Matt Duchene double overtime dagger at Ball Arena in Game 6. But the hope around the team is that this roster can tread water until Landeskog, Nichushkin and Lehkonen are ready to return, and excel after that.
Still, no team with MacKinnon, Rantanen and generational defenseman Cale Makar is going to go quietly, and Colorado should still hang around at the top of the Central Division all season long. Here are a couple of Avalanche bold predictions ahead of training camp kicking off on Thursday.
Nathan MacKinnon wins the Hart…again
It's no longer in doubt that MacKinnon is one of the greatest hockey players of his generation. After being selected No. 1 overall by the Avalanche in the 2013 NHL Draft, he immediately made an impact, scoring an impressive 10 points in seven games in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The 29-year-old was a finalist for the Hart Trophy for the first time in 2017-18 after he amassed 97 points in 74 games for a good but not great Avs squad. He ended up controversially losing out to Taylor Hall, but in 2023-24, ‘Nate Dawg' would not be denied.
MacKinnon went absolutely nuclear last season, recording an absolutely ridiculous 51 goals and 140 points over a full 82-game slate. It was one of the most exciting Hart races in recent memory, with Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov reaching 144 points, and the best player in the game in Connor McDavid putting up 132 of his own.
Although any of those three players could have won the award, it was well-deserved for MacKinnon, who seems to get better and better every time he steps onto the ice. He formed immediate chemistry with former junior linemate Drouin, and along with Rantanen, that projects as one of the best lines in the NHL heading into 2024-25.
The question is: can this player be even better? Scoring 140 points is bonkers, and it's hard to see any player reaching that threshold this season. But with a full summer of training under his belt, familiar linemates in Drouin and Rantanen, and a chip on his shoulder after the Avalanche failed to win it all, bet against the Canadian superstar at your peril.
Let's not forget that MacKinnon also won the Ted Lindsay Award after being judged the most outstanding player by members of the NHLPA. He commands a ton of respect across the league. The race for the Hart Trophy is going to be wide open again this year, and MacKinnon has as good a chance as any player on the planet to win it.
Cale Makar scores 30+ goals for 1st time, edges out Quinn Hughes for Norris
Speaking of superstars, Makar has solidified himself as a top-two defenseman in the NHL — and many would say he isn't No. 2. Quinn Hughes turned into a true superstar in 2023-24 after earning the Vancouver Canucks' captaincy, and these two figure to compete for the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman for years to come.
Although the Canadian probably wasn't quite as good as his American counterpart last season, he still had an unbelievable year. Makar amassed 21 goals and 90 points despite missing five games, and was even better in the playoffs, putting up 15 points in 11 tilts.
His point total was even higher than when he won his lone Norris Trophy in 2021-22, the same year the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup. That just goes to show how good Hughes was — Makar was well-deserving of his second nod as D-man of the year as well.
Still, Makar is in his prime at 25-years-old, and his shooting percentage was only 9.1 percent last year. That's the second lowest of his career, and if he can increase it to say, 11 or 12 percent, there's a good chance he could score 30 goals for the first time. If he does, he's got a great chance to add some more hardware to his case this season.
There are a ton of excellent blue liners in the NHL — Adam Fox, Roman Josi, Evan Bouchard, Victor Hedman and Miro Heiskanen come to mind — but based on last year, it looks like Makar and Hughes are just a step ahead. It'll be intriguing to see who has the best year, but based on the oddsmakers, it's Makar's award to lose in 2024-25.
Nikolai Kovalenko breaks onto scene, eclipses 60 points in rookie year
Although the absences of Landeskog, Nichushkin and Lehkonen are brutal for this Avalanche team, it also creates opportunity. And maybe none more so than for Kovalenko, who is poised to put together a full NHL season in 2024-25.
The 24-year-old Russian has ripped up the KHL over the last few years, scoring 54 points in 56 games with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in 2022-23 and following it up with 35 in 42 last year. He made the transition to North America with the Colorado Eagles, scoring three points in four regular-season games and chipping in another goal in two playoff contests.
Kovalenko made his big league debut against the Winnipeg Jets in Round 1, and it was clear that he hadn't fully acclimated to the North American style of hockey. He really needed to get his feet moving, and getting thrown into NHL playoff hockey is no easy task. But with a full offseason of training under his belt, he should be much-improved this year.
While he likely won't get a look on the top line, he should slot in on the second line with Casey Mittelstadt and either Logan O'Connor or Miles Wood, and he's an option to join MacKinnon, Rantanen, Drouin and Makar on the top powerplay unit. He should also benefit from a stronger offside winger when Lehkonen returns, which ideally won't be too long into the season.
Kovalenko proved overseas that he's a capable scoring winger, and if he can translate that success to North America, he should be able to hover around the 40-50 point mark — and potentially more if he gets a long look on PP1. If we're being bold, let's say the Russian export puts up 60 points with the Avalanche in 2024-25.
Follow Us
Subscribe
