The Colorado Avalanche have made the playoffs in each of the last nine seasons. Unfortunately, they have only come away with one Stanley Cup championship. For that to change, they will need a lot more help from more of their players, particularly Martin Necas and Brock Nelson.
Necas has 13 goals and 35 assists in 79 playoff games over seven playoff-qualifying seasons. That equates to 1.8 goals and and five assists per year in the playoffs. He has just two playoff goals for the Avalanche—one in each of the past two years. Despite having 13 assists, we need a lot more scoring from him, a top-line winger.
Nelson has made the playoffs in 10 of his NHL seasons. He has played in 98 games, scoring 29 goals and 28 assists, good for an average of .29 goals per playoff game and 2.9 goals per playoff year and 2.8 assists per playoff year. He has just two goals and five assists for the Avalanche in the playoffs over the past two seasons.
There is no question that every Avalanche player needed to be better against the Vegas Golden Knights in the 4-0 series defeat. The most goals the team scored against the Golden Knights was three, in a 5-3 loss. The goals were scored by Gabriel Landeskog, Nazem Kadri, and Jack Drury. The team’s top stars were unable to find the back of the net, and that is a problem.
Though this article is not about the likes of Nathan MacKinnon, having the top line be more impactful during the postseason would provide Necas with a bigger chance at being an impact player in those situations.
As a second-line center, I want Nelson to be a lot more consistent in the playoffs. The Avalanche signed him to a three-year contract fully knowing of his disappointing playoff outing. That move, along with Necas, baffles me everytime I think about it because the Avalanche are a great regular season team, and I feel like they could be fine without the likes of Nelson—if they found someone who is known for being a playoff performer.
Two of your top-six forwards are underwhelming in the playoffs, and are making a good chunk of money in the process. It’s just something that I will never understand. Head coach Jared Bednar and assistant coach Dave Hakstol need to draw something up for both of these players to bring out their full potential. We’ve seen it be done before in various sports.
I still believe that it can be done. Both Necas and Nelson have a lot to prove when the playoffs come around. They can’t do it alone. With an 84-game season upon us, the Avs will have two extra games to cook something up and figure out ways to make two of their underwhelming playoff performers the opposite—high-energy players who can find lanes and shooting opportunities more often than they have been able to.
If the Avalanche go another playoff series without scoring impact from these two players, they will need to take a long look in the mirror.
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