Top 5 Avalanche to Watch 2015-16

Matt Duchene

Colorado Avalanche center Matt Duchene is a pure goal scorer. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

Avalanche center Matt Duchene is our franchise player. As such, eyes will always be on him.

Duchene has had a streaky career thus far. Since being picked third-overall by Colorado in 2009, he’s only played one full season (last season) but has come close three other times. He’s had four 20+ goal seasons and four 50+ point seasons.

Last season wasn’t exactly a low since he had both 20+ goals (21) and 50+ points (55), which was good enough to put him in fourth place on the Avalanche. However, there were stretches of time during which Duchene just seemed to disappear.

Avalanche fans still want to believe that Duchene is going to be one of our stars. He certainly makes pretty enough goals. He certainly has the skating ability — he’s one of the fastest on the team, and it’s been said he’s faster in the corners than Nathan MacKinnon. He certainly has a certain panache. I think it’s safe to say the majority of Avs Nation wants to see him have a stellar year — maybe break the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career.