Not a lot has changed for the Colorado Avalanche since its 2023-24 season came to an abrupt end in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in May.
The Avs will open training camp this week, and the biggest questions looming over the franchise last spring remain. Colorado general manager Chris MacFarland’s biggest move was to retain the club’s breakout player, Jonathan Drouin. He also made several additions to shore up the fringes of the lineup, but the same core remains.
The ceiling for the Avalanche in 2024-25 still revolves around two critical players — captain Gabe Landeskog and “one of one” power forward Valeri Nichushkin — who aren’t currently on the active roster.
When they will be, how effective they will be, and how the organization reacts to that are the biggest questions for the season as a whole, but we’re not likely to get any concrete answers on what an Avs’ potential playoff lineup might look like until months from now.
So let’s focus on what could be answered between now and Oct. 9, when the Avs line up across from the Golden Knights in Las Vegas to open the regular season.
1. Will Rantanen sign extension before season begins?
Mikko Rantanen is entering the final season of his current deal, and the next one should be for many years and many, many dollars. The two closest comparables from the offseason are Sam Reinhart, who signed a below-market, team-friendly contract (eight years, $8.625 million average annual value) with the Panthers and Leon Draisaitl, who reset the market with his pact (eight years, $14 million AAV) in Edmonton.
Rantanen isn’t the only high-profile guy entering the last year of his deal without a new one: Mitch Marner in Toronto and Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh are among several big names on contract years.
Will both sides be willing to keep talking once the season begins, or will there be an artificial deadline? Will they just get it out of the way early in camp?
The Avs need Rantanen to extend the current Stanley Cup-contending window. Trying to “Moneyball” the roster after trading him has a far smaller chance of working than just keeping him and figuring out the rest.
2. Will there be definitive timeline for Landeskog by opening night?
The Avs said it was a 12-to-16-month recovery process for Landeskog’s most recent knee procedure. The 16-month anniversary was earlier this week.
Landeskog told reporters (and fans) at the BMW Championship last month that he will play this season, but he didn’t know when. He also wasn’t sure what his status would be for the start of camp. Will he be allowed to practice? Will he be on the ice as a sort-of participant like he was during the playoffs?
The captain and the club have been preaching patience. Everyone might need a little more, especially if there isn’t any more clarity over the next few weeks.
3. When will Lehkonen be ready?
Then there’s the third member of the Avs’ in-limbo trio of indispensable forwards. Artturi Lehkonen had offseason shoulder surgery. The Avs have said at multiple points since last season ended that he might not be ready for camp. Nathan MacKinnon told John Matisz from The Score at the NHL’s preseason national media event in Las Vegas earlier this week that Lehkonen won’t start the season.
When the Avs didn’t have Nichushkin last year, it was Lehkonen who filled some of his responsibilities, particularly up front on the power play. Not having potentially three of the team’s four best wings to start the season leads to another subset of questions.
4. Does Ritchie stick around?
If the Avs are looking for a short-term option to inject some raw skill into the top of the lineup, letting Calum Ritchie, the club’s clear-cut top prospect, get a taste of the NHL before sending him back to Oshawa to obliterate the OHL makes a lot of sense.
5. Who bumps up in the lineup?
If the Avs don’t have Landeskog, Lehkonen and Nichushkin against the Golden Knights, which complementary forwards are getting a promotion?
Assuming MacKinnon, Rantanen, Drouin and Casey Mittelstadt are healthy, that is four of the top six forwards. Who lands the other two spots?
One could be Ritchie, at least for nine games. Other options will include Logan O’Connor, Miles Wood, Nikolai Kovalenko, Joel Kiviranta and Parker Kelly. Or moving Ross Colton from his No. 3 role to the wing next to MacKinnon or Middelstadt. Or a younger guy like Oskar Olausson or Jean-Luc Foudy having a great camp and earning a shot.
6. Who gets net-front PP1 role?
The three guys who have played in front of the goalie for the Avs the most in recent years are Nichushkin, Lehkonen and, before his injury, Landeskog. So who is the fourth-best option to play there? If the Avs just want their five best players on the ice, it could be Drouin or Middelstadt. If not, one of those guys will slot into the bumper spot and the other will be the trigger man for PP2.
Wood has a decent amount of experience there from his New Jersey days. Maybe it could be Colton or O’Connor? Kovalenko isn’t a big guy but seems like someone who would embrace the chaos in front of the net.
7. How much will Rantanen play with Mittelstadt?
Avs coach Jared Bednar made it pretty clear on multiple occasions last year that keeping MacKinnon and Rantanen together on the first line was the most effective way to deploy his big guns. Could that change without the other impact wings available?
Will Bednar load up L1 with MacKinnon, Rantanen and Drouin? Split up those two wings on the top two lines? See what Drouin-Mittelstadt-Rantanen looks like with MacKinnon carrying two of the other guys? Exhibition season is a good time to get in the lab.
8. Who plays on third defensive pairing?
Before free agency began, the Avs’ third pairing was Sam Malinski and … TBD. Now? Malinski might not even be one of the favorites. He’s in the mix, but so too are veterans Calvin de Haan, Erik Brannstrom and Oliver Kylington. And maybe Jacob MacDonald and Calle Rosen as well.
9. Which not-so-young players will earn spot?
Kovalenko and Malinski are not traditional prospects. Both are older. Will they both find a place in the opening-night lineup? What about guys like Olausson and Foudy, who have had injury issues hold back their development? The Avs have added enough veteran insurance options to not need these guys, but a younger guy taking a leap forward would help raise the ceiling of this club.
10. Will Avs add goalie late again?
Justus Annunen spent all of last training camp as the clear No. 2 goalie … until the Avalanche added Ivan Prosvetov from waivers the day after opening-night rosters were set. Prosvetov became Alexandar Georgiev’s backup for about half the season, but Annunen was nails when he got his opportunity and didn’t let go of the role.
Now we enter another camp where Annunen is the clear No. 2 goalie, but it could be an interesting couple of days when the rosters are set and inevitably several goalies with more NHL experience become available.
Link to original article