The Colorado Avalanche led the entire NHL in goals in 2025-26 with 298. That led to Colorado bringing home the Presidents’ trophy. Among the team leaders in goals were Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, and Brock Nelson. MacKinnon led the league with 53, as Necas and Nelson had 38 and 33 respectively.
They scored the first goal of a game 50 times last season, and generated a record of 42-2-6 when doing so. That is a superb record and I think that it helped lead to the team’s confidence. Playing from behind is never easy. Maintaining a lead, however, is much easier because you aren’t playing against the clock. You can control the game a lot easier than if you are playing from behind.
Playing with a lead takes a lot of pressure off of your goaltender and defensemen while allowing your forwards to try and pile on in the offensive zone.
The question you might be wondering is whether or not the Avalanche can and will have that same success this season. They lost a big contributor this offseason when they traded away Valeri Nichushkin to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Nichushkin had 17 goals in his final campaign with Colorado. Having someone like Jaden Schwartz come to Colorado and step into a depth winger role might not be the flashiest move as he has struggled to stay healthy, but the hope is that he can stay healthy in Colorado and put up around 20 goals in 2026-27, which is something he has done several times in his career.
The losses of Jack Drury, Victor Olofsson and Ross Colton, all of whom contributed with multiple goals, still hurt even if just slightly, because they were all depth players. Colton’s departure may have been the least surprising because it felt like his play was becoming uninspiring. It appeared as though head coach Jared Bednar lost confidence in him. Colorado shipped Olofsson off to the Calgary Flames in the trade deadline deal that brought Nazem Kadri back after several years with other teams.
While MacKinnon will most likely lead the team in goals again this season, the more his teammates contribute offensively, the more dangerous he can become. Teams will always focus on him first, but having more firepower throughout the lineup can wear opponents down and make it harder to contain Colorado’s best player. Barring unforeseen circumstances, MacKinnon should continue to lead the Avalanche in goals as long as he is wearing the Avs’ sweater.
I want to see Necas take the next step this year. Like I mentioned earlier this month, it would be great and perhaps crucial for Necas to take the next step as an elite forward for the Avalanche.
One other big name that is key for the Avalanche’s success is Gabriel Landeskog. While he is mostly known for his captaincy, he can provide some offensive strength, too. He had 14 goals and 21 assists in 60 games last year, coming back from a three-year recovery period from knee surgery and a cartilage transplant. He could move down to the third line, but if Landeskog gets back to 100% and stays injury-free, he should remain as a strong second-line winger.
If a couple of the team’s depth players take another step this season, the sky is the limit. We already know what to expect from MacKinnon and Cale Makar. I think that being part of a supporting cast will help guys like Schwartz, as well as an already-dominant core. The more offensive power, the more likely the Avalanche are to follow up a tremendous 2025-26 season with an encore.
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