Colorado Avalanche: Playoffs are a Win-Win for the Avs

We all want the Colorado Avalanche to make a strong push in these playoffs, but however it ends up will only be the beginning of a long road of success for this team.

The Colorado Avalanche made the playoffs with the official cancellation of the rest of the regular season.

So Gary Bettman has laid it all out there, for the most part. There are some details that need to be ironed out and others the league knows about they are not willing to divulge just yet to the general public. But we know what to expect at this point whenever the NHL is given the green light to continue and complete it’s season that was put on hold due to COVID-19. The regular season is complete and we will move forward with a 24 team playoff.

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Of course the natural thing to do at this point is turn the focus to our Colorado Avalanche and how this will affect them once they hit the ice in what will be in all likelihood somewhere near four months since they last played a meaningful game if everything goes according to plan. Can we pick apart certain aspects of this plan that are unfair to the Avs? Sure, but when it’s all said and done no matter how this season ends up for Colorado it’s really a win-win situation for the franchise.

Let’s start with what the Avalanche can control which is their seeding. Is a round robin tournament between them and the other three teams to determine seeding the most ideal scenario? No, but what else would you have the league do if they are starting right off the bat with playoff games and no completion of the regular season? This does give the Avs a shot at a #1 seed as well as playing three games against the top of the Western Conference. A small sample sure, but because that small sample is so meaningful each of those four teams will be giving their all in an effort to claim first.

The upside here for the Avs is experience. At the start of the season the Avs were the youngest team in the league at 25.7 years of age. That might have gone up a tad due to players like Conor Timmins who made the initial roster but was not with the team when the season was suspended as well as acquiring Vlad Namestnikov at the trade deadline, but the fact remains the Avs are one of the youngest teams in the league. Playing in a once in a lifetime, odd scenario like this team is about to experience, will only prepare them for the playoff years we all expect to come.

Since there will be an extended layoff between when the season was suspended and when it picks back up there is no telling on how these playoffs will turn out. Chicago might have just as enough chance of a deep run as any team in the tournament. Really, anything can and might happen. If the worst were to occur and the Avs face an early elimination would the fan base be upset? Undoubtedly, yes. Will they get a pass? I’m not trying to make excuses here, but I think every team will.

That is not to say the team that wins the Stanley Cup will not have earned it and an asterisk should be placed next to their names when they are engraved on it. It is just difficult to ask any team that had been on a roll in a season that was nearing the finish line to take immediately four months off, not take part in any team related functions, then pick back up and within a couple weeks continue that road they were on and be equally as successful.

Don’t forget that all of these games, including the Stanley Cup finals, are taking place in empty, quiet arenas. We won’t get the roar of the crowd that the Pepsi Center can be known for that lifts up the spirit of the team as they put together a string of solid line changes and offensive attacks. Or the chant of ‘GRUUUU’ after a Grubauer save that can lead to an up ice run and goal. A team feeds off that energy and those plays. The Avs (nor any team) will have that.

What these players will take part in is something they most likely will never take part in again. If they can find the will to power through and hoist the Stanley Cup in a tournament they will never see the likes of again, then we are looking at the beginning of a dynasty. If they falter, the circumstances will no doubt have played a role in that and while not an excuse, will be used for future fuel.

Next. Avalanche fans divided on return to play. dark

I will of course be rooting for the Avalanche to go as deep into these playoffs as possible and hope it ends with a championship. If it doesn’t I will be looking forward to the next season with a team another year older, wiser and coming off the experience of one of the most bizarre finishes to a season in sports history. Plus, once this season comes to an end next season begins almost instantly.

However, if this Avalanche team can win these playoffs under these circumstances, what can stop them in future seasons? Long term it’s a win-win scenario for the Colorado Avalanche.

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