There's no hotter team in the National Hockey League than the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs have racked up a ridiculous nine wins in a row since the trade deadline, vaulting into second place in the Western Conference and, as of March 26, just two points out from leading the President's Trophy race.
The fact that seven teams are still battling for the title of the league's best regular-season is unheard of; the Avalanche, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks, Dallas Stars and Carolina Hurricanes all have a legitimate shot to be the last team standing — in the regular-season, of course. This is the first time in history that the top seven teams have been separated by one point after each has completed at least 85 percent of its schedule, per NHL.com.
The stat is startling, but the Avalanche are well-positioned to fight for the No. 1 spot right until the end. Nobody on that roster is going to care too much about the title — especially after Colorado won the trophy in 2021, only to be defeated in the second-round by the Vegas Golden Knights. But the prospect of home ice for the entire postseason is tantalizing, and the roster Jared Bednar is putting out there is as potent as any hockey club in the world.
Heading into the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Avalanche will be looking for their second championship in three seasons. But the West is a gauntlet, and could genuinely be as good as it's ever been. More realistically, it's the strongest group since the heyday of the Chicago Blackhawks in the early 2010s.
But in an absolute dog fight at the top — with multiple clubs desperate for a championship — here are three reasons why Nathan MacKinnon and co. are the favorites.
GM Chris MacFarland made key trade deadline moves that are paying off
The Avs were floundering before the March 8 trade deadline, losing seven of 10 games between February 5- 24 to fall to third-place in the Central Division as the other two heads of the three-headed monster took over the top of the division. That's the Stars and Jets, of course. But since that cold spell, Colorado has won 11 of 12 — and of course, nine straight.
So, what prompted such a dramatic turnaround for this club? The easy answer is the additions that were made at the deadline. General manager Chris MacFarland did an objectively phenomenal job, shipping underachiever Ryan Johansen out of Denver, along with talented but under-utilized defenseman Bowen Byram.
Replacing the two were Casey Mittelstadt from the Buffalo Sabres and Sean Walker from the Philadelphia Flyers. Both have been excellent fits in a short window, with the former giving the Avs something they have badly needed this season: a capable 2C. The latter filled another need, for a strong defensive defenseman who can jump into the rush and play Colorado's style. Both Mittelstadt and Walker have been rejuvenated under Bednar, and it's clear that both are hungry for a Cup.
It's hard to point to a bigger winner than MacFarland and his Avalanche at the trade deadline, and the results are paying off in spades.
No team has scored more goals than the Avalanche this season
Look no further than the 3.76 goals being scored per game for Colorado to tell you how well this roster has meshed. That includes an insane 42 tallies over the nine-game win streak, which has the team up to a sparkling 46-20-5 on the 2023-24 campaign. Fantasy hockey managers who have goaltenders playing against MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar and co. would be wise to sit them — especially in fantasy playoffs.
And the Avs don't figure to stop scoring goals down the stretch. Former junior teammates MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin are getting better and better together as the season goes on, while Valeri Nichushkin hasn't missed a beat since returning from the NHL/NHLPA player's assistance program. Rantanen and Makar are both at the top of their game, and Mittelstadt has fit in excellently on the second line and second powerplay unit. Oh, and Artturi Lehkonen is finally healthy. Everything is clicking at a prolific clip, at the perfect time.
And maybe most importantly, Denver knows how to win a Stanley Cup.
Colorado has been there before, and knows what it takes to win
It took MacKinnon a decade to win his first Stanley Cup, and the Avalanche had teams that were probably good enough to win it all ever since at least 2018-19, when they lost to the San Jose Sharks in Round 2. Even after putting together a President's Trophy winning campaign in 2020-21, the Avs were unable to get out of the second-round. That's how hard it is to win in the NHL.
But everything came together in 2022; Gabriel Landeskog was healthy, Nazem Kadri was on the team — he had the best season of his career in 2021-22 — and Darcy Kuemper was a rock between the pipes. Even then, it wasn't easy. But the experience the roster gained throughout that run was invaluable, and a plethora of the roster still remains in 2024.
Colorado could dominate the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Or, they could get upset in the first-round, like they did in shocking fashion to the Seattle Kraken last season. But the Avalanche are better-positioned than probably any other team: the trade deadline acquisitions are paying off, the team is scoring prolifically, and the core has been there before. It'll be intriguing to see if the league's hottest team can keep it going and capture their second championship in three seasons come June.
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