Colorado Avalanche: Who Might Comprise the Defensive Core?
As we near the Colorado Avalanche preseason, let’s look at the likely candidates for the core of the team’s defense.
The Colorado Avalanche preseason is still more than a month away — the first preseason game is September 18. Before that will come training camp and rookie camp. And before that is the Rookie Faceoff.
So, in reality, we only have until September 8, which is just about three weeks away until we have some real hockey. In my world, that’s not too early to start fretting about lines and defensive pairings.
Or, at least, considering who might actually make the team on opening night.
Naturally, for some players making opening night depends on how they show in training camp and the preseason. For others, they’re virtually guaranteed spots by who they are within the team.
The Colorado Avalanche’s defensive corps has long been an issue area for the team. However, the Avs have gone through and fortified it mostly through the draft, but also with some trading and free agency signings.
Let’s start with the four players pretty much guaranteed to play opening night.
Colorado Avalanche Defensive Core
As he has been for the last several years, Erik Johnson is the cornerstone of the blueline. At 30 years old, he’s the veteran of the defense. His $6 million also makes him the best-paid defenseman — only star Nathan MacKinnon makes more.
Johnson has had up and down seasons, but mostly because of injury. He’s had some broken bones and freak injuries such as last season’s dislocated shoulder. Nonetheless, he led the team in ice time last season. He’s also an alternate captain.
His heir apparent, if he stays according to development, is Nikita Zadorov. In many way, Zadorov is a different player than Johnson in that he’s a hard hitter who sometimes gets out of position to make the hit. And he likes to jump into the play, which also throws him out of position sometimes.
Nonetheless, Zadorov enjoyed a career season last year. He’s only 23, and he finished the year on a strong note. That said, he did have to have off-season shoulder surgery, which kept him out of IIHF Worlds. So, if he for some reason doesn’t make opening night, that will probably be why.
Tyson Barrie is our rover. He also had a career season, recording an impressive 57 points and a career-high 14 goals. Our T-Brat lacks in defense, but, boy, does he make up for it in offense.
Barrie sees a lot of favorable minutes. He’s the quarterback of the first power play unit. He’s also the defenseman likely to take the ice in the waning moments of a period of the team is down a goal or two.
His heir apparent is Samuel Girard, whom Colorado acquired in the Matt Duchene trade. The undersized defensman showed real aplomb last year. His unflappable cool let him play a two-way role while remaining defensively responsible.
Girard is scouted as a puck-moving defenseman who’s fleet of foot — and with a spin-o-rama move that sends color analyst Peter McNab into a tizzy. He hasn’t come into his offensive game yet, but that seems a sure thing considering his talents.
Likely Candidates for the Bottom Pairing
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In the offseason, the Colorado Avalanche signed unrestricted free agent Ian Cole to a three-year contract with an AAV of $4.25 million. The 29-year-old Cole last played for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Cole is a physical, left-shooting defenseman.
His competition for that spot is Patrik Nemeth, whom the Avalanche picked up on waivers from the Dallas Stars. The 26-year-old Nemeth spent almost the entirety of last season with the Avs. He’s also a left-hand shot, one the team just signed to a one-year contract with an AAV of $2.5 million. Nemeth is also a physical, shut-down d-man.
On the other side, we have Mark Barberio, who just signed a two-year contract with Colorado with an AAV of $1.4 million. Barberio came to Colorado via waivers from the Montreal Canadiens. He’s also a left-hand shot, but one who’s scouted as a puck-moving defenseman with some offensive upside.
His competition, such as it is, is Anton Lindholm. The 23-year-old Lindholm is a draft pick of Colorado’s. He’s known more as a puck-mover than a defender with offensive upside.
Outliers for the Bottom Pairing
Truthfully, the Colorado Avalanche have only two more players who might compete for the bottom pairing.
One is Mark Alt. He spent even games last season with the Colorado Avalanche after the team picked him up on waivers from the Philadelphia Flyers. Colorado rewarded his solid shut-down play with a two-year contract with an AAV of $725,000.
The other is a more likely candidate depending on his preseason — Conor Timmins. The right-shooting Timmins was Colorado’s second-round draft pick in 2017. He’s an offensively gifted, puck-moving defenseman who fits right in with the future of the team. He almost made the Avs last year — he is a good bet to make the team this season.
Next. Avs All-Time Defensive Core. dark
It’s good to see the Colorado Avalanche show some depth at a position that’s historically been thin for them. We know who the major players are going to be. It all comes down to who makes that bottom pairing, who gets selected as the seventh defenseman, and who starts the season with the Colorado Eagles.