One of the most interesting aspects of the 2026-27 season is the shortened preseason. In order to accommodate the new 84-game schedule, the NHL decided to whittle the preseason down from six games to four.
And that might just be what the Avalanche need.
In previous years, we’ve seen how the preseason seems to drag on, with the Avs’ most recognizable names not even hitting the ice. Of course, there’s a reason for that.
Most organizations try to avoid having their stars play during meaningless preseason games. It’s not that the games are useless, necessarily, but it’s just that the risk of an injury during a game that doesn’t count in the standings is just too high.
That’s why fans generally see guys fighting for lineup spots and prospects looking to show what they’ve got.
Fans won’t normally see players like Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon hitting the ice. It’s just part of the way things used to work. And that’s all right because sparing regular NHLers from needless injury risk is always the best way to go.
Load management is also a real consideration
There is also the question of load management. Being a high-performance, elite-level athlete is never easy. Anyone who is a top performer in their job can sympathize. Being a top lawyer, surgeon, salesperson, entertainer, educator, etc., takes its toll over time.
There’s only so long a person can perform at a truly high level before needing to take a step back.
In fact, you’ll often find that the most talented folks take as much time off as they can. It’s just part of the process of maintaining a high level of performance.
That’s called load management.
And it’s one of the factors that plays in benefitting from a shortened preseason. The Avalanche can save wear and tear on their top stars, saving precious energy and mental focus for the gauntlet of the regular season and playoffs.
Veteran teams like the Avalanche greatly benefit from shorter preseason
Nowadays, it’s not uncommon to see elite athletes train all year. In the past, you’d hear about athletes showing up to camp in “mid-season” form. That was a sort of achievement, say, 30 years ago.
Athletes today don’t really have an offseason. They skate during the summer months, hit the gym, and play other sports just to stay in shape while not actually playing hockey.
That approach to training, nutrition, and recovery has precluded the need for a long preseason. Since players don’t really need to acclimate to hockey following the offseason, they can essentially hit the ice without missing a beat.
That’s what fans can expect from the Avalanche. And with such an experienced, veteran group, there really is no need to play six preseason matches in order to have the team ready to roll.
All told, a shorter camp could become a new thing moving forward. The only thing that remains is figuring out how it actually translates to reality.
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