THN.com/podcast. From THN On The 'Q': QMJHL Commissioner Resigns and Avalanche Prospects Ryan Johansen [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk5ODAxODgxODMxMTU0Nzkx/usatsi_19892248.jpg] Ryan Johansen The NHL’s 2023-24 regular season is a ways off, but every one of the people connected with an NHL team feels some degree of pressure year in and year out. This THN.com Hot Seat series is an analysis of many forms of that pressure, continuing today with the Colorado Avalanche. We’re moving in alphabetical order of teams, pointing out individuals on some form of the hot seat: one player, coach or GM will be on the hot seat itself, categorizing them as someone under considerable pressure to post positive results this coming season or find themselves in the doghouse. A second person will be placed on the “warm” seat – putting them in a position where, although a trade or firing isn’t imminent, there remains a chance their time with their current team ends at some point next season. A third individual will go on the cold seat, indicating they’re an individual very likely to be staying with their current franchise for the foreseeable future. AVALANCHE’S HOT SEAT: RYAN JOHANSEN, C With star forward Gabriel Landeskog sidelined for the entire 2023-24 season, Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland went out and changed the complexion of his lineup. First and foremost, he acquired Johansen from Nashville, with the Preds retaining 50 percent of Johansen’s $8-million annual salary cap hit for the final two years of his contract. Despite playing on the Predators for many of their most successful seasons, The 31-year-old comes into Colorado with some people waiting to see if he has a bounce-back year after a disappointing, injury-wracked 2022-23 campaign. A leg injury limited Johansen to 55 games with the Preds last season, and his individual numbers on offense (12 goals, 28 points, and an on-ice average of just 15:45 per game) were not what a team hopes to see out of a guy with his cap hit. Johansen will join training camp as the Avs’ second-line center, with Valeri Nichushkin on one wing and new Avalanche member Jonathan Drouin on the other wing. That second line must do more of the heavy lifting to take the load off of stars Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen – and that task starts with Johansen. If he can return to the form he showed in 2021-22 – when he netted 26 goals and 63 points in 79 games – Johansen will have happy bosses in Denver. But if he doesn’t produce, the Avs could seek out teams to absorb Johansen’s final year of his contract. The Avalanche are motivated to improve on their first-round series lost in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, but they won’t get there if Johansen fails to thrive in this change of scenery. AVALANCHE’S WARM SEAT: PAVEL FRANCOUZ, G The Avs have committed to Alexandar Georgiev as their starter for the next two seasons, but the future of 33-year-old veteran Francouz as Colorado’s backup could be short. He’s in the final year of a contract that carries a $2-million cap hit. This past season, Francouz was limited by injury to only 16 appearances in 2022-23. His individual numbers (.915 save percentage, 2.61 goals-against average) weren’t bad, but Avs brass have already shown a willingness to move on from their goaltenders, and Francouz could be dealt early this season, if not at the trade deadline. The Avalanche need someone to play more than 16 games as Georgiev’s understudy. If Francouz doesn’t do well, he’s one of the few expiring contracts on a team locked up for the long haul. As such, he could be sent out of town to make any trade fit under Colorado’s tight cap constraints. He’s got some degree of control over his future, but that could quickly change. AVALANCHE’S COLD SEAT: NATHAN MACKINNON, C/RW As an individual, MacKinnon had an astonishing season in 2022-23, putting up 42 goals, 69 assists and 111 points – all career bests – in only 71 games. He’s almost always going to miss a little bit of time each year, but that’s a product of his engaged, fearless style of play. In that sense, he reminds us of another Avs legend, Peter Forsberg – a star in the regular season and playoffs, a force of nature capable of playing mistake-free hockey in his own zone while taking it to opponents at the other end of the rink. MacKinnon is so good that nobody begrudges him his $12.6-million cap hit, which runs through the 2030-31 season. He’s worth every penny, and there’s not a situation we can imagine where MacKinnon would ever wear another team’s uniform. He’s Colorado’s foundational bedrock, and the best part is he’s still only 27 years old. The Avalanche are going to continue to contend for a Cup for a long time to come, and MacKinnon is the key reason why.
