Colorado Avalanche: 5 Things That Need to Happen for Successful Season

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Sep 29, 2015; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Colorado Avalanche center Nathan Mackinnon (29) skates up the ice against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome. Flames won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

It’s finally time — the Colorado Avalanche will face the Minnesota Wild Thursday night. After how the preseason went, I’m a little bit, well, nervous about that. Five games with a goal total of one (1!). If somebody thinks the Avalanche can beat the Wild playing like that, they are practicing blind optimism. Something needs to change, there’s no way around it.

According to Patrick Roy, the opening night lines will be the same as in last practice, with the only exception being that it isn’t 100 percent certain what the third D-pairing will look like. Nikita Zadorov could play with Nick Holden, Brandon Gormley or Brad Stuart. The rest of the lineup seems set:

Blake Comeau—Matt Duchene—Jarome Iginla
Gabriel Landeskog—Nathan MacKinnon—Alex Tanguay
Mikko Rantanen—Carl Soderberg—Borna Rendulic
Cody McLeod—John Mitchell—Jack Skille
Mikhail Grigorenko

Francois Beauchemin—Erik Johnson
Nate Guenin—Tyson Barrie
Nikita Zadorov—Nick Holden
Brad Stuart—Brandon Gormley

Semyon Varlamov
Reto Berra

Fan reactions were interesting after this got public to say the least. Some have blind faith in Roy, others — myself included — do not. Not because I claim to know more about hockey than he does — obviously I don’t — but because being a legendary player doesn’t automatically make you a great coach. On the other hand, a guy like Jon Cooper can lead his team to the Stanley Cup Finals as someone who quit hockey after high school. Roy may be on his way to becoming a great coach, but please don’t treat him like he’s a god.

We will see how well the above lineup works, we will see if Roy is the right coach for this team. But no matter what the answer to those questions is, there are a few things that will have to change to even make a successful season possible.

Next: Will to Win

Jan 30, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Avalanche left wing Jamie McGinn (11) and Minnesota Wild defenseman Nate Prosser (39) fight in the third period at the Pepsi Center. The Avalanche defeated the Wild 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Have the Will to Win

If a team is supposed to win, it has to a) actually be a team and b) want to win. For the Colorado Avalanche, I wouldn’t even say that they don’t want to win. Judging by player interviews, it seems like most players are really motivated and judging by the 2014-15 season finale, the team doesn’t seem to give up when things aren’t perfect.

However, throughout last season, there was one question that came up every once in a while. To be honest, the way this question tended to come up was me yelling at the TV: “What the *insert emphasizing word that may or may not start with an ‘f’* are you doing in the NHL?!” Similar questions revolved around the team not playing like an NHL team, but rather like a bunch of well-paid beer league players.

Now, none of this is pessimism or anything against this year’s team. It is just a fact: If you want your team to win — in any sport and any league –, you need players who want to win and do everything it takes to achieve that goal. Will to win isn’t everything, but it’s a start. Let’s hope Roy finds the right words ahead of Thursdays game and the 81 coming after that.

Next: Stay Healthy

Oct 12, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Colorado Avalanche left wing Cody McLeod (55) kneels on the ice after being injured against the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Stay Healthy

While the will to win is something you can actively influence, staying healthy isn’t — unfortunately. If the Colorado Avalanche wants to have a successful 2015-16 season — no matter how you define success — the team needs to stay healthy.

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The Avalanche has much more depth than last season. Grigorenko is a healthy scratch, Joey Hishon, Dennis Everberg, Patrick Bordeleau and others were sent down to the San Antonio Rampage. That is nice and all, but what happens if one of the star players gets injured? What do you do if two of them get injured? It’s something you wouldn’t wish anyone, but hockey is a tough sport and injuries happen.

Despite the team’s current depth, replacing a Landeskog, Duchene, Iginla or Johnson won’t be easy. Sure, they’ve done it before. Last season, Johnson, Varlamov and MacKinnon were injured for large chunks of the season — but we all know how that season went. It’s always hard to replace your star players, no matter if you’re the Avalanche, the Anaheim Ducks or someone else. But it’s especially tough when you’re struggling to fill your top six with top players (remember, Blake Comeau is skating on the first line).

Next: Roster Competition

Sep 29, 2015; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames center Markus Granlund (60) is checked Colorado Avalanche left wing Andreas Martinsen (27) at Scotiabank Saddledome. Flames won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

Roster Competition Through AHL

As mentioned before, the Colorado Avalanche has a good amount of talent in the AHL. Chris Bigras, Duncan Siemens, Zach Redmond, Joey Hishon, Andrew Agozzino, Martinsen, to name just a few. If things aren’t going well in Colorado or if someone gets injured, the AHL guys must be ready to see some NHL action.

Even more importantly, Rampage players must really push the NHL guys. The message must be clear: “you suck, you’re out!” Those players lucky enough to be in Colorado must see that they can easily end up without a roster spot. You may have made the opening night roster, but that’s no guarantee for anything.

It may seem harsh, but players are paid millions to make their team the best it can be. The NHL is a business and those decisions are part of the deal. The not-so-kind words above aren’t meant to bash anyone — they’re supposed to be motivating, if that makes sense. If you are a Borna Rendulic and see Dennis Everberg lighting up the AHL, you should have some good motivation to work even harder than you were before. Push yourself to your limits, be pushed by who’s behind you.

Next: Line Chemistry

Feb 8, 2015; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie (4) celebrates with teammates after he scores during the first period against the Winnipeg Jets at MTS Centre. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports

Find Line Chemistry

This is one of the most important factors. In the 2014-15 season, coach Roy tried — and this is just a rough estimate — 483,000 different line combinations. Not because he’s a bad coach, but rather because nothing wanted to work the way it’s supposed to. He finally found something that worked: Ryan O’Reilly with Landeskog and MacKinnon or Tanguay. Well, that’s over now.

Star Players Must Produce

Speaking of elite players, guys like Duchene, Landeskog, MacKinnon and co. really need to produce if the Avs want to be successful again. How do you even go (almost) scoreless in five straight games when you have high-end offensive talent like Colorado does? It almost seems impossible. But yet, the Avalanche managed to pull it off.

Related: Which Matt Duchene Will We See This Year?

As we all know, none of that matters if they go ahead and kick butt Thursday night, but it’s a long way to go. It’s no secret that Duchene and MacKinnon have the potential to be two of the best centers in the entire NHL. Landeskog is one of the best power forwards and Iginla has proven his worth. All of these players will produce, they just have to do it quickly and as much as possible.

When you have Comeau on your top line, it’s even more important that the top-line center makes the players around him better. We’ve seen that Duchene can do it, and all we can do is believe that he can do it again. A 70-point season (or better) would be huge for the Avalanche, especially considering the fact that the team should be better defensively this year.

There’s only one thing left to be said now: good luck! Let’s get this season started!

What do you think needs to happen to make this season successful and what would be a “successful season” for you? Let us know in the comments!

Next: Top 5 Avs vs. Wild Fights

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