If last season's playoff run was a preview of what's to come, the Avalanche can be expected to fight for the Central crown.
Does Nathan MacKinnon have another gear?
His stellar rookie season was followed by some mediocre years, but MacKinnon has made his star turn and there’s no looking back. He followed up his near Hart Trophy-winning campaign in 2017-18 with a career-best 41-goal, 99-point season, and there’s no reason to believe his ascension to high-scoring stardom is going to end there. When he’s on form, which is more often than not as evidenced in last year’s playoffs, MacKinnon can change a game in an instant, and he’s going to be asked and expected to do that on a nightly basis for the Avalanche. If Colorado is going to climb to the top of the Central Division, it’s going to be on Mac’s back.
Has the depth improved enough?
The knock on the Avalanche last season is that they were a one-line team. Of course, if you’re going to be such a group, you could do a lot worse than being led by MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog, but GM Joe Sakic needed to address his middle-six this summer and did so by bringing aboard Nazem Kadri and Andre Burakovsky via trade and inking Joonas Donskoi in free agency. That’s transformed the middle of the lineup, particularly the addition of Kadri, who alleviates the pressure on MacKinnon to shoulder both the offense and matchup-game loads. Those responsibilities can now be split as Kadri slides into a second-line role, which is the perfect place for him after a season spent as a third-liner with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Can Philipp Grubauer get the job done?
Colorado can ice one of the most impressive attacks in the league, and there’s potential for the Avalanche to score in bunches on any given night, but goaltending can sink even the most offensively gifted clubs. With Semyon Varlamov moving on, Grubauer steps into a clear-cut No. 1 job for the first time in his NHL career. He was solid last season in 33 starts, but no matter how good Pavel Francouz was in his two games last season, his inexperience offers little in the way of a safety net if Grubauer struggles at any point. Grubauer got better as the season wore on and was sharp in the playoffs.
Stanley Cup Odds: 12/1
Rookie Watch
Cale Makar’ssix points in 10 playoff games have Avs fans salivating. He is a blue-chip defense prospect whose scoring touch, skating ability and first pass already have people talking Calder Trophy. His ice time was limited in the post-season, but he has the potential to be a top-pairing rearguard right away.