While the Colorado Avalanche have been one of the best teams in the league during the past decade under head coach Jared Bednar, each fanbase has a hatred for teams in which they do not root for. The same goes for the Avs.
Team sports aren’t supposed to be “loving.” They aren’t supposed to be friendly. Once the players hit the ice, it’s all business. Once they are off the ice, it (typically) is friendlier. For instance, there was no love between the Avalanche and Golden Knights in their 2025-26 Stanley Cup playoff series matchup. But when the game was over, now-former Vegas head coach John Tortorella was at the defense of Bednar, which was awesome to see.
Still, all of this poses a big question. Who are the current top-3 hated Avalanche players? Let’s take a look.
Nathan MacKinnon
This one isn’t due to MacKinnon being a bully or anything. It’s not because he is a dirty player by any means.
MacKinnon is hated due to the simple fact that he possesses some of the best talent in the entire league. Every year he is among the top players in goals and points. This past season, he led the league in goals with 53. That was a fun race till the final part of the season, when he was in competition with Cole Caufield and Connor McDavid, who finished second and third respectively.
There is intense hatred and then there is respectful hatred. MacKinnon has no suspension on his record, which also helps. He was “almost” suspended after a game against the Edmonton Oilers in which he committed a goaltender interference against Connor Ingram. However, the suspension was rescinded a day or two later. The call was obviously a bad one, and a suspension of MacKinnon would have been even worse.
Josh Manson
Another player who isn’t hated for anything other than hockey. Josh Manson brings a strong physical presence to the Colorado Avalanche, which makes him tough to play against.
Manson isn’t an offensive defenseman. His main goal and job is to lay out hits against opponents along the boards, and he does it very well. Manson was second on the team to only Parker Kelly in hits (177), with 174. He has 1,700 career hits, and has put up over 200 hits in a single season twice in his career.
Manson will also stick up for his teammates when opponents get in their face, which is always a nice thing to see. Captain Gabriel Landeskog does the same thing.
Gabriel Landeskog
Gabriel Landeskog is best known as the player who missed three seasons due to a severe knee injury which required multiple surgeries and a knee cartilage transplant. But other than that big news, his presence on the ice is still always noticeable.
I mentioned that Landeskog sticks up for his teammates and it has always been true. It’s part of why he was named captain of the Avalanche at just 19-years-old. Once he and everyone else hits the ice, it’s all business.
I was shocked to see how physical Landeskog became upon his return to the ice. It seems like he is more often than not laying hits on others. He is also good at getting in their face like Manson.
While there is league-wide respect for Landeskog and what he overcame, at some point, those discussions will probably go away and he’ll continue his leadership role which has players on their toes. Landeskog has the strongest voice in the Avalanche locker room as well as on the ice. Opponents take note of that fact and it makes it tougher to play the Avalanche due to the ease in which it takes Colorado to remain calm during difficult circumstances.
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