Colorado Avalanche: Pre-Hockey Hiatus Look at Nathan MacKinnon

The Colorado Avalanche have just the superstar we need in Nathan MacKinnon. The team goes as he goes.

The Colorado Avalanche should soon be entering Phase 2 of the NHL’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. Starting within a week or two, they players should be able to partake in informal practices in small groups at the team’s facilities.

We already know that the NHL has cancelled the remainder of the 2019-20 season. So, the Avalanche officially finished second in the Western Conference because they trailed St. Louis by two points. However, they’ll play a round robin for seeding when the playoffs resume.

So, we’re very near the end of the hockey hiatus. Which means we need to finish with these evaluations of the players in what turns out to be their 2019-20 official regular season stats.

Here are some of the latest players we’ve considered:

Today, we’ve got our final evaluation. And I saved the best for last — our superstar, Nathan MacKinnon.

Brief History of Nathan MacKinnon

The Colorado Avalanche have only ever had one first-overall draft selection. Luckily for us, that single first-overall came not after the dreadful 48-point season but rather after the finished second-to-last in the NHL in 2012-13. They won the draft lottery.

And we won our superstar, Nathan MacKinnon.

It wasn’t a guarantee that the Avalanche would pick MacKinnon. GM Joe Sakic had been leaning toward Seth Jones. However, then-coach Patrick Roy convinced Sakic to choose MacKinnon instead.

And, boy, are we ever glad he did. He unsurprisingly made the team out of camp. He went on to record a Calder Trophy-worthy season. He even made a splash in the playoffs.

The next two seasons saw him not exactly regress, but he certainly wasn’t scoring at the pace we expected of the rookie of the year. And then the Dreadful Season happened, with MacKinnon only scoring 16 goals and a total of 53 points, and we all wondered if we just had a good player, not a superstar.

Nathan MacKinnon put paid to that idea. He has since recorded three 90+-point seasons — including this year’s truncated season. He’s gone to the All Star weekend four times.

Nathan MacKinnon Stats with the Colorado Avalanche

More from Mile High Sticking

MacKinnon is just 24 years old, but he’s already completed seven seasons in the NHL. Wow. Anyway, in that time, he’s played 525 games. He has recorded 190 goals and 305 assists for 495 points. He’s been in 25 playoff games, recording 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points.

MacKinnon’s best season was last year when he was this-close to earning 100 points. He recorded 41 goals and 58 points for 99 points. That was his first 40-goal season. His previous career best was the previous year — 39 goals and 58 assists for 97 points — that was his first 30+ goal year.

He was on-pace to best both of those totals this year. At the 70-game mark, he had 35 goals and 58 assists for 93 points. However, he was also slated to miss a few games with an injury. Nonetheless, that’s his best points-per-game total in his career.

Evaluation of Nathan MacKinnon with the Colorado Avalanche

The team goes how Nathan MacKinnon goes. It’s not coincidence that the team came out of its darkest season — which was MacKinnon’s worst — to come into success as MacKinnon beats his career-best year after year.

The team can win without their superstar, but we hate to see them have to try. The Colorado Avalanche are Nathan MacKinnon’s team on the ice.

And he’s only 24. And he’s got three seasons left on his contract. With a modified NTC — like we’d ever trade our MVP.

This team will experience success in no small part because of MacKinnon.

Well, that’s it for our hockey hiatus coverage. Hopefully soon we’ll be covering hockey news. Stay tuned — and don’t forget to check out our newest contributors!

Home / Editorials