We all know of the greatness that is Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon. You know, the player who came away with the Hart trophy after his phenomenal 2023-24 season in which he recorded 140 points. It was such a tremendous achievement for MacKinnon, who some believe was snubbed of this award in the past.
MacKinnon averaged 1.7 points per game last season and was a plus-35 player.
Could he come away with a greater season in 2024-25? His current pace says so. Though it is certainly possible that MacKinnon will miss some games (god forbid), he is currently on pace to record 146.4 points this season.
The Avalanche have had trouble staying healthy, and one of MacKinnon’s linemates Jonathan Drouin has been one of those who have been hurt for a while now. Hopefully he will make his return at some point in the near future. Drouin found a groove in his game with the Avalanche last season and earned his way onto the top line. He played in 79 games and had 19 goals and 37 assists.
It really goes without saying that the sky’s the limit for MacKinnon. While it is important for lines to stay consistent in terms of players, that’s just not how it goes year in and year out. MacKinnon is the type of player that can help make everyone play better. MacKinnon and Drouin have had a history in the past, playing alongside each other in Halifax.
Joel Kiviranta is also a player who had earned a spot on the top line with MacKinnon and Rantanen while Arturri Lehkonen was injured. Lehkonen has since returned to the ice and the team is slowly getting healthy. We’ll see how much of a boost Lehkonen is for MacKinnon, and I have a strong feeling that it will be a tremendous one.
It hasn’t been the type of season the Avalanche expected to start out with, but once the team starts to get healthier, we should start to see an increase in wins and stellar play. It starts with MacKinnon, as he is the team’s best player and voted as the best player in the entire league in the league last year. He’s hungry for another Stanley Cup, and so is the rest of the team and its fans.