Eurolanche

Are the Avalanche a better team?

The NHL season is just around the corner. The draft has come and gone. All notable free agents have been signed and for the most part any major deals have likely already been struck.

This time of year there’s nothing we like more than making incredibly bold (and often ridiculous) predictions about how many points players will get and even which teams will be playoff bound.

We won’t go quite that far but we’ll talk about a couple points and try to address the question of whether or not the Colorado Avalanche are a better team now than they were last year. Not an easy question to answer so let’s take a look at some important factors.

          Additions 

• Jarome Iginla
• Daniel Briere
• Brad Stuart
• Jesse Winchester
• Zach Redmond

        Subtractions

• Paul Stastny
• P.A. Parenteau
• J.S. Giguere
• Andre Benoit

Replacing Stasnty

 The major thing that jumps out is how will the Avs replace Paul Stastny who signed a four-year contract with the St. Louis Blues as a free agent. Stastny has been a key part of the Avs since the 2006 season. He’s been a reliable first and second line center putting up 60 points last season and was arguably Colorado's best player in their first-round playoff series. His departure makes room for Nathan MacKinnon to move back to the middle – his natural position.

P.A. Parenteau is also gone. Often in Patrick Roy’s doghouse for various reasons and battling injuries there’s no denying he struggled last season. Though it’s hard to forget how he went at nearly point-per-game pace the year before on a line with Matt Duchene. Daniel Briere was brought in from the Parenteau trade but no one is expecting him to bring the offensive production that Parenteau did.

Fans and management are hoping the answer comes in the form of Jarome Iginla. The 37-year old right winger comes to the Avs after signing a three-year $16 M deal. It’s risky to put your faith in a 37-year old but Iginla still put up 30 goals and 61 points last year. Not the mention he’s a former NHL captain, six-time NHL All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medal winner. Some already have him penciled in to play with the two former Calder Trophy winners Gabriel Landeskog and MacKinnon. As Adam Foote said, Iginla will add 10 pounds to each of his linemates because of his toughness and respect around the league.

Young Guns Growing Up. Veterans Stepping In.

Another thing that should help replace Stastny is the fact that the young core group of forwards all have another year of NHL experience. I’m talking about Matt Duchene, 23, Ryan O’Reilly, 23, Gabriel Landeskog, 21 and Nathan MacKinnon, 18 (19 on September 1). As these guys grow up and learn to play together and win in the league they should become more and more dominant.

There’s a nice mix of young and old now too. New additions Iginla, Briere and Brad Stuart have been around a while. They should be a huge help in the locker room mentoring young captain Gabriel Landeskog and the rest of the players. Their post-season experience will be invaluable should the Avs get there again.

Avoiding the Sophomore Slump

Nathan MacKinnon just won the Calder Trophy as the league’s most outstanding rookie. Now he’s likely moving back to center and will be playing against the league’s best shutdown lines and top defensive pairs. No more sheltered minutes for the kid. Pressures on. Can he deliver?

Log Jam On D

What’s up with the Avs back end? Seems like management isn’t familiar with the phrase quality over quantity. Currently there’s about a dozen guys fighting to make the roster. There’s Erik Johnson who has now proven himself as a bonafide number one defender and Tyson Barrie who seems to be an emerging talent. Cross your fingers Avs’ fans that he gets signed soon. Other than that your guess is as good as mine as to who will be the regular six or seven guys who see the ice. The rest of the list includes aging veteran Jan Hejda, often injured Ryan Wilson, AHL-journeyman Nate Guenin, last year’s surprise Nick Holden and newly acquired Zach Redmond and Brad Stuart. Don’t forget AHL guys like Stefan Elliott and Duncan Siemens who have to make the jump soon. Chris Bigras is another guy who could be in the mix if he impresses at camp. Hopefully the log jam of defenders will be beneficial to the Avs with healthy competition forcing guys to be at their best. 

Goaltending

Semyon Varlamov was the best player for the Colorado Avalanche last year. He was runner up for the Vezina and 4th in Hart voting. If the Avs are going to have success again this year he has to prove it wasn’t a fluke. Expect him to get a lot of games this year with J.S. Giguere announcing his retirement. Last season he had a very capable backup and mentor in Giguere. He might not be quite as fortunate this season. The Avs are going to be looking to Reto Berra to perform the duties. From the little we saw of him last year no one is blaming you for holding your breath. 

Patrick Roy Factor

Last year Patrick Roy was all the talk. The on ice legend was stepping behind the bench. It’s obvious his coaching style worked and he got tremendous response from his players. We’ve seen it before though where a new coach steps in and a team has success only to crash and burn the next year. Roy has to find a way to give his team the same feeling they had last year. If anyone can do it, it’s probably Roy.

So will the Colorado Avalanche be a better team? I guess it depends on your definition of better. The chances of them reaching 112 points again and coming 2nd in the tough Western Conference are pretty damn low. In a division that includes the St. Louis Blues, Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars, all of which have improved, I don’t think it’s smart to make any predictions at all.