Season Preview: Colorado Avalanche
Updated: Oct 4, 2022
Conference: Western
Division: Central
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Offseason
Additions: Alexandar Georgiev, Brad Hunt, Anton Blidh, Lukas Sedlak, Andreas Englund, Charles Hudon
Subtractions: Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky, Darcy Kuemper, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Jack Johnson, Ryan Murray, NIco Sturm, Kiefer Sherwood
Keeping a Stanley Cup-winning roster together is tough, and the Avalanche simply had too many expiring contracts to keep the full team intact. The result? A slew of key contributors leaving, including their starting goaltender in Kuemper and their 3rd and 5th leading scorers throughout the season in Kadri and Burakovsky, respectively.
Colorado mainly hopes to replace the lost scoring internally, with J.T. Compher, Alex Newhook, and Logan O'Connor likely stepping into bigger roles. Also, Georgiev comes in as a proven solid backup to split the net with Pavel Francouz.
Injury Report
Probable For Opener: -None-
Questionable For Opener: -None-
Out To Begin Season: -None-
Out For Season: -None-
The Avalanche expect to be fully healthy at the start of the season.
Projected Lineup
(league ranks in parentheses)
Forwards (1st)
Gabriel Landeskog - Nathan MacKinnon - Valeri Nichushkin
Artturi Lehkonen - J.T. Compher - Mikko Rantanen
Evan Rodrigues - Alex Newhook - Logan O'Connor
Andrew Cogliano - Darren Helm - Anton Blidh
Defense (1st)
Devon Toews - Cale Makar
Bowen Byram - Josh Manson
Samuel Girard - Erik Johnson
Goalies (17th)
Alexandar Georgiev
Pavel Francouz
Even after losing some key players, Colorado's lineup is stacked. Newhook should take a leap this season and help complete the top-nine. Lehkonen was a deadline acquisition last season who came up huge for the Avs in the playoffs. He'll likely get a lot of run with a superstar and good friend in Rantanen, who will also see plenty of ice with Landeskog and MacKinnon.
The defensive unit is absolutely dynamite, led by perhaps the league's best duo in Toews and Makar. Upcomer Byram is growing into a world-class player in his own right, and Girard and Johnson would be a good three and four on just about any other team in the league.
The question stands to be the goaltending, as Georgiev and Francouz go from being a couple of the NHL's best backups to assuming bigger roles and more important games.
Dynamic Players
Snipers: -None-
Playmakers: Nathan MacKinnon | Valeri Nichushkin
Volume Shooters: Nathan MacKinnon | Artturi Lehkonen | Valeri Nichushkin
Play-Drivers: Valeri Nichushkin | Devon Toews
Shutdown Defenders: -None-
Shot Blockers: -None-
Hitters: Anton Blidh
Enforcers: -None-
Penalty Drawers: Nathan MacKinnon | Mikko Rantanen | Logan O'Connor | Anton Blidh
PP Specialists: Nathan MacKinnon | Mikko Rantanen | Cale Makar | Gabriel Landeskog
PK Specialists: Valeri Nichushkin | Samuel Girard
Faceoff Specialists: Gabriel Landeskog | J.T. Compher
Fantasy Impact
Studs: Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar, Gabriel Landeskog
Duds: -None-
Sleepers: Pavel Francouz
Other Roster Worthy: Artturi Lehkonen, Valeri Nichushkin, Alexandar Georgiev
The Avs sport three likely first-round picks in redraft and best puck leagues in MacKinnon, Makar, and Rantanen. Of course, Landeskog is great in his own right and is a stackable option with any of these three a couple rounds later.
Georgiev presumes to get first crack at carrying the majority of the start share, but the statistics support Francouz running away with the job a little more. This is reflected in our projections and makes Francouz one of the best values in your drafts.
Lehkonen and Nichushkin are great daily plays, based on how the lineup shakes out. One of the two is likely to get run with one of the league's best powerplay units, so keep that in mind as well.
2022-2023 PuckLuck Projections | | | | | | | | |
PLAYER | POS | G | A | PTS | W | GA | SV | SO |
Nathan MacKinnon | F | 46 | 69 | 115 | | | | |
Mikko Rantanen | F | 45 | 60 | 105 | | | | |
Cale Makar | D | 22 | 60 | 82 | | | | |
Gabriel Landeskog | F | 38 | 53 | 90 | | | | |
Artturi Lehkonen | F | 27 | 33 | 60 | | | | |
Valeri Nichushkin | F | 29 | 40 | 69 | | | | |
Pavel Francouz | G | | | | 33 | 116 | 1261 | 3 |
Betting Impact
PuckLuck Projection: 121 points
Floor: 97 points Ceiling: 125 points
Projection Data Confidence: 67%
(League Average: 70%)
PuckLuck Odds:
Stanley Cup: +160
President's Trophy: +140
Conference: -125
Division: -125
DraftKings Sportsbook Lines:
Stanley Cup: +380
President's Trophy: +250
Conference: +170
Division: -175
Our odds essentially mirror DraftKings here, so what you see is what you get with the league favorite. Will the Avalanche repeat as champs? Well we give it about a 38% chance. It's tough to win back-to-back, and that's reflected by the 62% chance that someone else claims the title this year.
Daily wagers might be tough to find value initially, although there's a good chance that the goaltending is better than the sportsbooks first project, and Colorado did lose some scoring in the offseason. So we'll be on the lookout for good buys on the under off the bat.
Season Outlook
Division Projection: 1st
Conference Projection: 1st
League Projection: 1st
Playoffs? Absolutely
With a floor of 97 points, it's very unlikely the Avalanche shock us all and slip out of the playoffs. The one concern is depth if they fall victim to crucial injuries, but the top lines and blueline are so great that they can takeover games at any time. If the goalies are average or better, then Colorado should be destined for another deep playoff run.
Will the Colorado Avalanche make the playoffs?
- Yes
- No