The Colorado Avalanche could be dealing with the same issue that the Florida Panthers have been dealing with.
The “unenergetic” and largely inconsistent games this season could be the result of several seasons of prolonged action. In other words, the last two or three seasons have seen the Avalanche play too much hockey.
That’s what afflicted the Florida Panthers after three seasons of going to the Stanley Cup Final. Last season, Florida sank to the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Injuries caught up to them, leaving the team with a bottom-10 finish.
Now, I’m not saying that the Avalanche are ready to sink to the bottom of the Eastern Conference. But there is something to keep in mind here: Fatigue could be catching up to the Avalanche.
Think about it.
Brent Burns is 41 and still embarking on a remarkable Ironman streak. Cale Makar hasn’t missed any time, even after dealing with that shoulder injury at the end of last season and the playoffs. Then, you have vets like Nathan MacKinnon, Nazem Kadri, Gabe Landeskog, Artturi Lehkonen, Devon Toews, Josh Manson, and even Martin Necas all racking up significant flight hours over the last couple of years.
That’s not nothing.
Plus, you have to think that all the extra hockey that came for MacKinnon, Makar, Toews, Lehkonen, Necas, and Landeskog during the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025 and the Olympics in 2026 has added to the toll.
And it just so happens that it’s the Avalanche’s core players that have taken the extra mileage. That’s why it looks like all that extra hockey has finally come home to roost for the Avs.
This season’s Avalanche inconsistency is Jared Bednar’s fault to a degree
Yes, it’s always easy to pin the blame on the coach. But in this situation, Jared Bednar does deserve a share of the blame.
To be clear, when a team struggles, there are three responsible parties: The coaching staff, the front office, and the players. And yes, all three parties deserve their share of the blame for the Avalanche’s “weird” early-season performances.
However, you have to think that Bednar’s insistence on that 11-7 setup has added even more flight hours to an already taxed core group. The Avs have plenty of healthy forwards they can call up. The organization finally moved on that recently by calling up Gavin Brindley and Taylor Makar.
But what sense does it make to call up Brindley and Makar if they’re going to play like eight minutes a night?
Bednar needs to roll with four consistent lines. And if he doesn’t have that much faith in his bottom six, well, it’s incumbent on Joe Sakic to go out there and get the guy that they need to make that happen.
Let’s see what happens on Wednesday night. The Avalanche finally get a few days off in between games. So, that could be enough to help everyone get some additional rest and push the reset button after that disastrous showing in Nashville on Sunday night.
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