The Colorado Avalanche are off to a hot start for the 2025-26 NHL season with a 4-0-1 record through five games. The team's only loss came at the hands of Mikko Rantanen and the rival Dallas Stars. However, the team has looked very impressive at 5-on-5. A sound positional game with downhill pressure has worked in their favor. The only notable issue has been the failure to convert on the power play.
As far as player performances go, there's really little to complain about. Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas have come flying out of the gate. Gavin Brindley has found his place in the lineup, and Jack Drury seems to have cemented himself into the 3C position. How the bottom four on defense would shake out was a major question heading into the season. A glut of right-handed defensemen, someone was going to play on their off-hand side. Surprisingly, that player is now Josh Manson, who has had an impressive start to this season.
The defensive group is learning to adapt
With only two lefties, Jared Bednar gave the switch-hitting role to Sam Malinski to try and grow his game. The results were varied. In the preseason, Malinski looked like he was in over his head, but in the first couple games of the season, he looked very good, contributing a goal in the opening game against the Los Angeles Kings. However, the plan changed when Sam Girard suffered an upper-body injury.
With Girard out, waiver pickup Ilya Solovyov would be slotted into the lineup. This time, Bednar chose to put Malinski back on the right side and pair him with Solovyov, who is a lefty, for the third pairing. That left Manson and offseason acquisition Brent Burns to man the second pair. Both Manson and Burns are right handed and Manson is the one now playing on his off-hand side. With how Manson has played in the past and how I've felt about his wildly up and down performances, I was surprised to see him playing on the left side.
Josh Manson becoming a steady presence on the back end
Besides his penchant for injuries, the biggest complaint I have about Josh Manson is the feast or famine play we've seen from him over the years. There's moments where the big defenseman makes an incredible pass to set up a great scoring opportunity or shows off his dangles to get the puck deep into the zone. But there's also moments where he'll make an absolutely terrible read and turn the puck over in the defensive zone.
However, to start the season, Manson has been much more responsible and efficient with the puck, He's been a steady presence on the back end, which has been a major benefit for a fluctuating back end for the Avalanche. Brent Burns is still getting himself integrated into a much faster team than he's used to. Solovyov has only played three games with the Avalanche and 18 in his career. Manson has been able to lead the bottom-four defense and help keep some of the pressure off of Cale Makar and Devon Toews.
Manson leading the charge with his physical game
The first thing about Manson that's probably stood out for everyone is his physical play. He's good for at least one big hit each game. He plays clean in the physical game and delivers clean, heavy hits. His first and only fight this season came against Jeff Malott after laying a big check on Warren Foegele in the opener. He always comes to teammates’ sides when a post-whistle scrum happens. This has given the team a toughness that we haven't seen for a long time.
Not only is he reveling in the protector role, Manson is at the top of the team in the physical statistic department. He's second in hits with nine, behind Parker Kelly. He leads the team in blocked shots. But his true value has been in the eye test. He's continuing to make smart decisions with the puck and positionally. Manson has been noticeable all season as a positive, instead of a negative as he's been in the past.