The Colorado Avalanche will be duking it out in the “Death Valley” division yet again this season. The top three, Colorado, Dallas, and Minnesota, should remain jockeying for position atop the division.
While other clubs like the Utah Mammoth, St. Louis Blues, and Chicago Blackhawks made strides this past offseason, the fact is that the Stars remain the Avalanche’s biggest rivals.
Dallas averted a massive crisis by signing Jason Robertson to a one-year deal. The signing hardly ended the problem. But the stopgap solution at least bought both sides some time to figure out a definitive solution.
The Robertson signing kept the team’s core intact. Former Avalanche Mikko Rantanen, Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston, Thomas Harley, and Miro Heiskanen should all have strong seasons again next year.
Plus, the Stars have an All-Star goalie in Jake Oettinger. That makes the Stars the Avalanche’s strongest rival in the Central Division.
But as good as they are, the Stars can’t really match up against Colorado in one crucial area.
Stars don’t have depth Avalanche do
The Avalanche have a decided edge over the Stars. Colorado is one of, if not the deepest, teams in the NHL. No other club can really go toe-to-toe with Colorado insofar as depth down the middle and overall blueline strength.
Yes, the Stars have three tremendous blueliners in Heiskanen, Harley, and Esa Lindell. But it’s tough for the Stars to keep up with the likes of Cale Makar and Devon Toews.
The Avalanche’s forward depth is also something that Dallas just can’t keep up with. Over the last couple of seasons, the Avs have added even more veteran depth to the club. This offseason, the arrival of Jaden Schwartz made Colorado another example of the rich getting richer.
As it stands, the Central Division could become the hardest to navigate this upcoming season. As many as five teams could make the playoffs out of the Central. Assuming that Colorado, Dallas, and Minnesota make the top three, Utah, St. Louis, and Nashville could vie for the final two spots in the Western Conference.
The only teams that might be on the fringe would be Chicago and Winnipeg. However, fans shouldn’t discount Winnipeg as long as they have all-world goalie Connor Hellebuyck in the crease.
Yes, there are rumors circulating about Hellebuyck potentially leaving Winnipeg. But until that actually happens, the Jets remain a credible threat.
Let’s see how things go down this upcoming season. The Avalanche can’t afford to let their guard down. They have to come out guns blazing in the early going to establish themselves once again as the NHL’s top team.
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