There’s no question that the end to the Colorado Avalanche’s 2025-26 season was bitterly disappointing. The entire Avalanche nation wanted to see the season end with Gabriel Landeskog hoisting his second Stanley Cup as captain of the Avs.
But the fact that that was not the case does not take away from how wildly successful this season was.
After last year’s first-round elimination, there were questions about whether the Avalanche could actually make another prolonged playoff run. The Presidents’ Trophy win, curse notwithstanding, proved that Colorado was, and remains, a legit playoff contender.
While we will be dissecting what happened to Colorado in the coming days here at Mile High Sticking, the simplistic answer is that the Avalanche just ran out of gas. It became more than evident that Cale Makar was playing through a major injury.
As I’ve speculated in the past, he was dealing with a separated shoulder. Perhaps there might be a lot more to it, as insider Elliotte Friedman speculated.
Then, there was Nathan MacKinnon, who hobbled through the end of Game 3 and likely wasn’t 100% through Game 4. And that’s the thing. There’s no telling how many of the Avalanche players dealt with stuff despite the long layoff in between the Kings and Wild series, and then the Wild and Golden Knights showdown.
Injuries are a good excuse, of course, and while injuries would explain a lot, it does little to take away from the sting of the loss.
That said, the Avalanche have nothing to hang their heads about. Just about every other team in the NHL would have killed for the season Colorado had.
And it’s worth pointing out that the team will have a full season of Nazem Kadri and Nic Roy. While question marks remain with the blue line as Brent Burns, Brett Kulak, and Nick Blankenburg will become UFAs, the fact of the matter is that this club looks solid next season.
All told, it was a great year for the Colorado Avalanche. Players, while understandably frustrated, have no reason to feel ashamed. The fan base, meanwhile, has plenty to feel good about this team.
Next year could well be the year, as there will be less of a compressed schedule and no international tournaments. That might well be the difference in 2026-27.
Add us as a preferred source on Google