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The Colorado Avalanche are looking to repeat as Stanley Cup champions in the 2022-23 NHL season, and early on the indications are that they'll be among the Cup favorites in 2023. The Avalanche did lose some talent in the offseason, but they're retaining most of their core players and star power. We're back with some bold Colorado Avalanche predictions for the 2022-23 NHL season.
The Avs had a busy offseason. In terms of acquisitions, Evan Rodriguez was signed on a one-year deal to bolster the attacking units. They made a change in net, too, acquiring former New York Rangers backup goaltender Alexandar Georgiev in a trade. Additionally, the Avalanche gave Nathan MacKinnon a much-needed contract extension, making him hockey's highest-paid player.
The Avs did see some key players leave the club, however. Darcy Kuemper latched on with the Washington Capitals, while Nazem Kadri's long free agency decision ended with him signing a mega-deal with Calgary. Those departures will be noticed, but Georgiev and Rogriduez are capable replacements for the pair.
With all that in mind, here are our bold predictions for the Colorado Avalanche in the 2022-23 NHL season.
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Colorado Avalanche Predictions for 2022-23 NHL season
4. Cale Makar records 100 points
Cale Makar took the step from promising young defender into becoming an all-world superstar and one of, if not the single best defenseman in the NHL. The 23-year-old logged 86 points last season in what was a breakout year, and we're expecting him to further build on that campaign.
Makar is exceptional in virtually every aspect of the game. He's a remarkably fast skater, he's strong and capable of delivering big hits, he's agile and a smart passer, and he has one of the nastiest slap shots in the league. Among defenders, there's hardly a player more capable of beating a goaltender with a long-range attempt than Makar.
Because of that, we're expecting him to take even more shots than the 240 he registered in 2021-22. Across his 77 games, Makar averaged 3.1 shots on target, an impressive number for a defenseman. Assuming he plays 82 games this year, it's possible Makar can reach 300 shots on target at a clip of 3.5 shots per game. If he does that, the points will continue to flow in, and reaching 100 shouldn't be unreasonable.
3. Alexandar Georgiev finishes top 5 in Vezina Trophy Voting
After spending the first five seasons of his career serving as the backup net-minder in New York, Georgiev should have the opportunity to start ahead of Pavel Francouz in Colorado. Georgiev has been eager to get the chance to prove he's a capable starter in this league, and he has the perfect opportunity to do just that with the Avalanche.
He'll be playing behind an elite defense and a team that often dominates possession of the puck. The Avs play at a high pace and can often overwhelm their opponents with their relentless attack. That should help make the job of Georgiev easier, as he'll likely see fewer shots come his way throughout the game. He's finally in the position to prove he's the guy, and we're expecting him to be among the top goalies in 2022-23.
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2. Nathan MacKinnon wins Hart Trophy
Had MacKinnon managed to avoid injury last season, he'd certainly have been among the favorites to win the Hart Trophy. Across 65 games last year, MacKinnon registered 88 points, including 32 goals and 56 assists. He was constantly firing shots from all over the ice last season, averaging 4.6 shots on goal per game.
The Hart trophy has evaded MacKinnon thus far into his career, but that should change in 2023. MacKinnon was the runner-up for the award in 2019-20 and finished third in 2020-21. He'll need to outplay the likes of Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews in order to get his hands on the trophy, and those three, among a few other candidates, figure to make the race for hockey's most valuable player interesting.
We're predicting MacKinnon to take home the award and put up a bonkers season with at least 110 points, including 45+ goals and 65+ assists.
1. Avalanche repeat as Stanley Cup champions
The Colorado Avalanche had one of the best teams on paper in the 2021-22 NHL season. That translated directly onto the ice, as there wasn't a team that looked more consistently formidable than the Avalanche last year. While the Florida Panthers won the Presidents' Trophy after earning the best regular-season record, they struggled in the playoffs.
The Avs on the other hand, were dominant from start to finish last year, and it never truly looked as if they were at risk of bowing out in the playoffs.
While Kadri and Kuemper not being around in 2022-23 will be a loss, Rodriguez and Georgiev will be solid replacements and help compliment fellow stars such as MacKinnon, Makar, captain Gabriel Landeskog, Devon Toews, Valeri Nichushkin, and Mikko Rantanen, among others. This is a team with championship aspirations and anything less than a trip back to the Stanley Cup Finals will be considered a disappointment.
