The Wild Wild West: Let’s Get Used to the Colorado Avalanche’s New Division
Anaheim Ducks
2019-20 Record: 29-33-9, 13th in the West (1-1-1 against Colorado)
Quack.
The Avalanche had trouble getting the best of the Ducks, only amounting to one regulation win. Pavel Francouz shut out the Ducks 1-0 on February 21, while Jakob Silfverberg and Hampus Lindholm topped the series in scoring.
The Ducks, meanwhile, finished near the bottom of the barrel in the Western Conference — the real one — picking defenseman Jamie Drysdale 6th overall. Still led by the same core, forwards Adam Henrique, Richard Rakell, Silfverberg, and a serviceable Ryan Getzlaf, and defenseman Cam Fowler, and team glue John Gibson, the fact that the team made no other big moves than bringing in Kevin Shattenkirk gives the idea the team will finish at the bottom of the West.
Still, the fact that the Avs were only able to figure the Ducks out for one game shows they need to be on their game for eight.
Arizona Coyotes
2019-20 Record: 33-29-8, 11th in the West (1-1-0 against Colorado)
Remember these guys?
The series Cale Makar cemented himself as a playoff hero, the Avs know the Coyotes too well. Although it’s been over a year since the Avalanche faced the team in the regular season, one which saw an Andre Burakovsky scoring the OT winner in his fourth game with the team, the real action game in the playoffs.
Through the five games in the first round of the playoffs, the Avs made work of the Coyotes, overpowering them in a 5 game win. The only struggle was Darcy Kuemper, the Coyotes’ undisputed MVP, and a reason the scores weren’t higher. Kuemper nearly put up 50 saves in one game, stopping the Avs at most of their charges.
The Coyotes have a growing core to look forward to, as leading scorers Nick Schmaltz and Conor Garland each put up respectable seasons, the latter getting his first 20-goal season. Still leading the team is Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who continues with the club after months of speculation. There’s also Phil Kessel, who had a down year after high promise.
What’s missing is Taylor Hall, who after his own speculation bounced and signed with Buffalo. As much as Hall got a lot of criticism, he still led the Coyotes in scoring with 52 points. The Coyotes never replaced Hall with anybody, and are relying on their young core — players like Garland, Clayton Keller, and even Lawson Crouse — to fill the void.
The Coyotes will probably end up making the playoffs, where the Avs could easily barrage Kuemper with almost 50 shots again.
Los Angeles Kings
2019-20 Record: 29-35-6, 14th in the West (1-2-0 against Colorado)
The Avs had a tough time with California teams.
Playing the Avalanche for the first time at the 2020 Stadium Series at Falcon Stadium, the Avs saw their comfy 1-1 tie broke in less than a minute, with Tyler Toffoli completing a hat trick. To make matters worse, it was the second Kings win in twelve games. The next time the Avs played the Kings, Toffoli was a Vancouver Canuck, and LA was continuing a downward trend. The Avs would play their final shootout to date, as Jonathan Quick and those beautiful Kings throwbacks couldn’t stop Joonas Donskoi from getting past and the game winner.
The third time the Avs faced the Kings, the latter happened to be on a five-game win streak, in hopes to keep going and clinch a low seed. The Kings would win two more, but the season would end before they got the chance to keep going.
For the Kings, the main change is 18-year-old face of the future Quenton Byfield. After a 32 goal and 50 assist season in junior, Byfield, currently making everyone else know he’s NHL-ready on the World stage, will probably start on the second or third line. Aside from a few minor acquisitions, and Lias Andersson, the Kings haven’t made much improvements. Gabe Viliardi will likely see a bigger role this season, alongside Anze Kopitar and Alex Iafallo, but despite a few bright spots, the Kings remain in the worst spot in the division.
Minnesota Wild
2019-20 Record: 35-27-7, 10th in the West (2-2-0 against Colorado)
You might be on the wrong site if you’re looking for positive takes on the Minnesota Wild.
The Wild have never made that jump in most of their franchise history, save for their 2003 Stanley Cup run and the signings of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, both whose contracts look less fantastic than they did in 2012. While Kevin Fiala led the way in his first full year in the Twin Cities, with Suter and Eric Staal also putting up 40-point seasons, the Wild faced the Avs four times last year, amounting to an upsetting draw.
The Avs faced the Wild their second game of the season, as the Avs won 4-2, and saw Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Valeri Nichushkin get their first points in burgundy. Months later saw a tough night for Francouz, where Minnesota was able to come back in the third.
The Wild began making changes early in the year, with Bruce Boudreau being shown the door, in favour of former assistant coach Dean Evason. Both Staal (traded to Buffalo for Marcus Johansson) and longtime and only captain Mikko Koivu (signed with Columbus) are absent, and the team, for the first time in seemingly ages, looks younger. Part of that might be Kirill Kaprizov finally making his delayed debut as a member of the Wild, where, after spending most of the last decade lighting up the KHL. Joel Eriksson Ek, who made the jump full-time last season, may look to better his 29 points. Goaltending isn’t necessarily improved, with Devan Dubnyk California-headed, and turned-journeyman Cam Talbot in his place to fill the spot.
The Avs will be very at home meeting the Wild. Getting over the two game hump from last season? That too.
San Jose Sharks
2019-20 Record: 29-36-5, 15th in the West (2-0-0 against Colorado)
A year after making it to the Conference Finals, the Sharks went to the bottom of the sea. No, the West. Both.
Grubauer and the Avs would make do of the Sharks their first meeting, which saw Cale Makar, scoring his 10th of the season, leading the charge for a 4-0 shutout and 38 shots on net. The Sharks’ second meeting would fair better, but would still see the Avs win, a game which saw MacKinnon and Landeskog each get a goal and two assists for a 4-3 win.
Elsewhere, the Sharks, sunk by signing Erik Karlsson to an eight-year, $92 million deal, a gamble which meant — aside from signing Timo Meier — losing Joe Pavelski to Dallas, and Joonas Donskoi to yours truly. With starter Martin Jones struggling, and the sight of a first round pick to save the franchise gone in exchange for Karlsson, the Sharks entered a dark, very deep abyss. While Meier and Evander Kane, as well as the always offensive Brent Burns, would put up solid seasons in scoring, the lack of a secondary crew hurt the team.
This year, other than seeing Joe Thornton on another team for the first time since 2005, and bringing back Patrick Marleau after his very brief stint on Pittsburgh, Devan Dubnyk arrives to take the brunt of the goaltending. It’s still a team that needs a lot of work, and being in a division that also includes the Anaheim Ducks, and the Los Angeles Kings, it’s going to be more of the same.
St. Louis Blues
2019-20 Record: 42-19-10, 1st in the West (2-2-0 against Colorado)
Losing Alex Pietrangelo is a blessing in disguise when Colorado meets St. Louis in less than two weeks.
The Blues topped the West, just barely hopping over the Avs in both their division and conference. The defending champs finished with 94 points, facing Colorado four times, their first meeting throwing off the Avs’ eight-point streak. A David Perron hat trick on December 16th would see the Avs still unable to notch a triumph, until their third game with Andrei Burakovsky leading the charge.
Of course, the crowning Blues/Avs moment would come months later, at a more important, less-than-a-second-depending stage.
While the Blues were largely (not in the writer’s opinion) upset by the 7th place Vancouver Canucks in 6 games, former Avs scorer Ryan O’Reilly led the team again with 61 points, while Perron, Brayden Schenn, and Jayden Schwartz all followed with 20-goal seasons. That was the upside. Key winger Vladimir Tarasenko would leave the season early after a shoulder injury, while Jordan Binnington — hailed as the missing piece in the Blues’ road to victory — put up a very good season, only to viciously slump against the Canucks.
With Tarasenko still out, longtime Blue Alex Steen retired, and Binnington uncertain to regain his 2019 form, losing Pietrangelo meant bringing in Torey Krug from Boston. Krug, certain to play with Colton Parayko, is an undersized, but still beyond lethal addition to the Blues. There’s also Mike Hoffman, who is sure to make the team, currently signed to a PTO. Happy is Ryan O’Reilly, who after reportedly being refused captain in Colorado, wears the C this season.
Vegas Golden Knights
2019-20 Record: 39-24-8, 3rd in the West (2-0-0 against Colorado)
Losing Alex Pietrangelo is a blessing in dis
Wait.
Shit.
The Vegas Golden Knights failed to put one over the Avalanche, but were able to grab a win in the postseason in OT. A 6-1 slaughter early on saw Makar and Nazem Kadri solidify their places with the team, with the Avs putting 40 shots on net.The second meeting would go slightly better, with Vegas being beat 7-3, as Kadri once again, and Bellemare, scored twice, and Nichushkin finished with a Gordie Howe hat trick.
The Knights made it farther than any other current West team, being blocked from what could have been their second trip to the Finals by Dallas. Leading in scoring was Max Pacioretty, with his first 30-goal season since 2017, with Mark Stone and Reilly Smith putting up strong campaigns. The big acquisition was Robin Lehner, who controversially made the starting job no one else’s, while the Knights continued to be an offensive force, only to see it fizzle out against Dallas. Gerard Gallant was shown the door in January, only for Peter DeBoer to curve the team upwards.
Of course, bringing in Alex Pietrangelo changes the game.
Pietrangelo solidifies a D core which already boasted Shea Theodore. A frontrunner (it should be Stone) to be the franchise’s long-awaited first captain, denied to the retired Deryk Engelland, Pietrangelo has the Blues win under his belt. Both Marc-Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner stay, casting zero doubt between the pipes.