3 thoughts on the Colorado Avalanche opening night roster

There’s little wiggle room for Georgiev

Alexandar Georgiev is heading into the final year of his current deal. In short, Georgiev needs to play well in order to ensure a new deal, whether in Colorado or elsewhere.

However, Georgiev looked shaky at times during the preseason. In particular, an ugly 6-1 preseason loss to the Vegas Golden Knights raised questions about Georgiev’s overall performance.

Of course, the hope is that Georgiev shakes off a couple of bad outings and gets back on track during the regular season. But in case he struggles, Justus Annunen could take over.

Now, it’s important to keep this in mind as there was little chance for Annunen to leapfrog Georgiev in the preseason. Nevertheless, the full 82-game schedule is an entirely different animal. The Avs will need to play solid defense in front of Georgiev to keep his confidence high.

Similarly, if Annunen is called upon to take the reins, the Avs will need to rally around their netminder to ensure he performs up to his capabilities.

Now, can it be said there’s a goalie controversy in Colorado? At the moment, no, there is none to speak of. However, there’s little wiggle room for Georgiev. There’s no telling how long the Avs will wait before pulling the plug on him and giving Annunen a real shot at becoming the team’s number-one goaltender.

Ultimately, the worst-case scenario would be to see both netminders struggle. Such a situation could send Avs’ management scrambling for a solution. But Avs’ fans certainly hope it doesn’t come to that. There are two solid goalies on the roster, giving the club a chance to win every night.

The 13th forward and the 7th defenseman

The biggest questions remaining are the final roster spots. Let’s start with the 13th forward. According to Brennan Vogt, there appears to be a four-way competition for the three fourth-line spots. Ivan, along with Parker Kelly, Chris Wagner, and Joel Kiviranta will most likely rotate for those three spots.

So, who becomes the 13th forward?

On the whole, Ivan is too good to sit in the press box. But then again, Wagner and Kelly provide grit and toughness along with solid defensive play. So, does that mean Kiviranta becomes the 13th forward? Not necessarily.

At the end of the day, the Avs will do well to keep a rotation of forwards on the fourth line, altering the lineup based on specific opponents.

Now, let’s look at the 7th defenseman. According to Vogt, the fourth pairing appears to be newcomer John Ludvig and Oliver Kylington. At the outset of training camp, the projected third pairing was Kylington and Brannstrom.

Brannstrom has since been traded and Malinski seems to have overtaken Kylington. Thus, it appears that Kylington will be the 7th defenseman while Ludvig could be the eighth blueliner.

On the whole, allowing Malinski to play this season is the smartest choice the Avs could make. They lose nothing by giving Malinski the opportunity to show what he can do. Meanwhile, Kylington could become valuable insurance in case of injuries and scheduled rest for regulars.

As for Ludvig, he was a waiver pickup from the Pittsburgh Penguins. That’s not to say he’s a bad player. It’s just that Ludvig should not see much game action unless in emergencies. He’s a low-cost insurance option the Avs will need in case of injuries.

In conclusion, the Avs have one of the deepest rosters in the NHL. The key will be consistency. Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar are as close to a sure thing as possible. Mikko Rantanen and Casey Mittelstadt are tremendous players. Things look bright for the Avs this season as long as injuries don’t derail the season.