2016-17 record: 22-56-4 (48 points)
Missed the playoffs
Captain: Gabriel Landeskog
It was a season to forget for the Colorado Avalanche, and it was awful BEFORE the season started. Anything and everything that could go wrong, did, and the result was a historically bad season that began with a coaching change a month before the season started and dropping out of the top three spots in the NHL Draft after the season ended. Most of the core returns, which means digging out is going to be far easier said than done.
The Avalanche learned that picking up short-term veterans with no speed was death, which in large part explains why they will be going much younger than usual. Of course, it would help if Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and Matt Duchene (if he isn't traded before the season starts) all hit the 20 goal mark, something that only Mikko Rantanen was able to hit. If that weren't enough, the next two leading goal scorers after those four are no longer on the team (Rene Bourque with 12 and Mikhail Grigorenko with 10, also the only other players to hit double digits). Incoming are Colin Wilson and Nail Yakuppov, both of whom are undoubtedly reclamation projects. If there is a positive, Tyson Jost is expected to make the leap to the NHL, and he should provide badly needed help in possession numbers up front. The blue line is still a mess, though it is clear that they are finally going to let the prospects sink or swim here, as Francois Beauchemin was bought out, and Fedor Tyutin and Patrick Wiercioch were not the answer in supplementing the defense. The current group really can't do any worse, as Tyson Barrie was dreadful, Erik Johnson couldn't stay healthy again, and Nikita Zadorov remains unsigned at this time. There isn't much hope with this unit, and with Chris Bigras and Andrei Mironov near locks to make the NHL roster, this will also be a unit that will have no choice but to learn on the job. In goal, it's not much better. In fact, it might actually be much worse, as Semyon Varlamov couldn't stay healthy for a third straight season, and a solid but overmatched Calvin Pickard is now backing up Marc-Andre Fleury in Las Vegas. Jonathan Bernier did fairly well in Anaheim last season, but he still has a bad habit of letting in the soft goal every now and then. If he's starting in Colorado, the Avs are in even more trouble.
Prediction: 7th in the Central Division
Keeping Jared Bednar as head coach despite the wretched season was smart, seeing as this will be his first real chance at implementing his system with his staff in place. It remains to be seen if the Avs will actually do anything, as they largely return the same crew that didn't crack 50 points on the season. At the very least, things will begin much calmer to start the season, but where it goes from here is likely not good.
No comments:
Post a Comment