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Colorado Avalanche: Why They Would Win the Stanley Cup

By Nadia Archuleta

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 12: The Stanley cup is hoisted after the St. Louis Blues defeated Boston Bruins in Game Seven of the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden on June 12, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 12: The Stanley cup is hoisted after the St. Louis Blues defeated Boston Bruins in Game Seven of the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden on June 12, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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The Colorado Avalanche have a legitimate chance to win the Stanley Cup this year because of the team they have put together.

The Colorado Avalanche, like everyone else, want the world to be safe during the pandemic crisis. However, as Avs fans, we want to see the resumption of the season.

We have so much at stake. This team could win it all — they have a legitimate chance to challenge for and win the Stanley Cup.

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Our superstar, Nathan MacKinnon, believes this is the team to win the Cup. So, too, does our captain, Gabriel Landeskog.

The Avalanche are in a playoff position right now. They’re solidly second in the Western Conference, just two points behind the St. Louis Blues. They haven’t been out of a playoff spot the entire season. So, they’re pretty certain to enter the postseason.

That’s not the only reason Colorado could win the Cup.

MacKinnon in God Mode

Every year for the last three years Nathan MacKinnon just seems to get better. He saw a career high in all measures in 2017-18 with 97 points (39 goals, 58 assists). He beat that the next season with 99 points (41 goals, 58 assists).

And he was on pace to beat that again. At the 70-game mark (though he did miss one), he had 35 goals and 58 assists for 93 points. Even if you account for the fact that he would probably have missed six games with his injury, he was on pace for 38 goals and 63 assists for 101 points.

MacKinnon is playing NHL20 on god mode, and the team goes how Nate goes.

Cale MaCalder

The other major X-factor for the Colorado Avalanche is our prize rookie, Cale Makar. He is second only to MacKinnon for scoring. He has 12 goals and 38 assists for 50 points as a defenseman.

He is a dream to watch. His skating is out of this world. And, contrary to what his naysayers say (opponent fans and writers), he is good in his own end. For all of that, he’s a favorite to win the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year.

Goal Tending Depth

We went into this season with a big question mark at goal tending. Philipp Grubauer had won the starting job from Semyon Varlamov, but this season was going to be his first as a starter. And Pavel Francouz, his backup, is a first-year player.

Their play this season has shown that the Colorado Avalanche have goal tending depth. Both have been solid, and even when we had Eagles players come up we got solid goal tending. What’s more, the Avs traded for Michael Hutchinson at the deadline for even more depth.

Secondary Scoring

We finally got that, too. GM Joe Sakic went out and acquired a second line over the summer. He traded for Nazem Kadri and Andre Burakovsky and picked up Joonas Donskoi in free agency.

What’s more, some of his depth pickups, notably Valeri Nichushkin and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, have performed very well. JT Compher took the next step in his development, and after a misstep through the middle of the season, Tyson Jost seemed to be coming into his own.

The Avalanche have players beyond the top line who can score.

Solid Defense

Defense wins championships, and the Stanley Cup is no different. Granted, it usually comes down to a hot goalie as your main defenseman, but a solid defensive core can help a goalie get hot.

The centerpiece of the defense is, of course, Makar. However, he’s joined by a couple other exciting youngsters — Samuel Girard and Ryan Graves. The Colorado Avalanche have their two shut-down guys in Erik Johnson and Ian Cole. And chaos in the name of Nikita Zadorov, who’s an excellent shadow and pest.

What was once our Achilles’ heel is now the crown jewel of the team.

Chemistry

A hot goalie wins playoff series, but in the modern NHL you also have to have chemistry. Heck, retired NHLer and former Av Stephane Yelle named it as an important component for the two Cup teams he was on.

The Colorado Avalanche have it in spades. Credit to the captain, Gabriel Landeskog, he sets the tone for the team. And he’s such a welcoming influence his pet project is an anti-bullying initiative called Friends.

Judging by the way they interact with each other and their own words, all the players are friends with each other. That chemistry is crucial in the deep playoff runs that winning the Stanley Cup entail.

Remembering Game 82. dark. Next

Any team that enters the playoffs has a chance to win the Stanley Cup. But I believe the team we have now, before the hockey hiatus, is the team to win it all. The Colorado Avalanche have all the elements, both tangible and intangible, hoist the Cup.

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