LAST SEASON

The Colorado Avalanche had a dream season in 2021-22, going 56-19-7 and ultimately finishing just a few points back of winning the Presidents’ Trophy for the league’s best record.

While the Avs were always a favorite to win the Stanley Cup, general manager Joe Sakic didn’t just wait around without adding reinforcements. He had among the busiest trade deadlines of any general manager, acquiring two-way winger Artturi Lehkonen from the Montreal Canadiens, defender Josh Manson from the Anaheim Ducks and veteran checker Andrew Cogliano from the San Jose Sharks.

Come playoff time, the Avs were completely dominant. They swept the Nashville Predators in the first round, beat the St. Louis Blues in six games in the second round, and then swept the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final. Colorado then dethroned the Tampa Bay Lightning as the Stanley Cup champions in six games.

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At no point in the playoffs did the Avs trail a series and they never lost back-to-back games.

Come offseason time, Sakic did a good job of keeping the band together, but Colorado lost some key names to their inevitable salary cap crunch. Trade deadline additions Manson and Lehkonen were re-signed to new deals while Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky, and Darcy Kuemper left the team in free agency.

 

KEY ADDITIONS & DEPARTURES

Additions

  • Alexandar Georgiev, G
  • Brad Hunt, D
  • Jonas Johansson, G
  • Anton Blidh, LW
  • Charles Hudon, LW/RW

 

Departures

  • Nazem Kadri, C (CGY)
  • Darcy Kuemper, G (WSH)
  • Andre Burakovsky, LW (SEA)
  • Nicolas Aube-Kubel, RW/LW (TOR)
  • Nico Sturm, C (SJS)
  • Kiefer Sherwood, RW (NSH)
  • Dylan Sikura, C (CHI)
  • Dennis Gilbert, D (CGY)

 

OFFENSE

Colorado was the fourth-highest scoring team in the NHL last season, behind only the Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and St. Louis Blues.

Colorado scored at a high level at even-strength and boasted a very good power play. No team in the league got more opportunities with the man advantage last season than the Avs did and they scored on 24 percent of their chances, resulting in them leading the NHL with 67 power-play goals, all told.

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