Ahead of the start of the 2026-27 season, there are people who have complete or almost complete faith in the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche are looking to not only make it back to the Stanley Cup Final, but bring the mighty trophy back to the Mile High City. They’ll face an uphill battle, as they moved on from Valeri Nichushkin and Jack Drury this offseason. That being said, it stands to reason why some people would have them falling short once again.
NHL.com had its panel give their division winners, as well as who they predict will be hoisting the Stanley Cup when it’s all said and done. Out of 14 total writers, seven of them picked the Avalanche to win it all.
That’s especially notable given that we still don’t know if Mackenzie Blackwood and/or Scott Wedgewood will repeat their incredible season as the William M. Jennings Trophy winners.
Additionally, some people are taking it to another level with Avalanche doubt, suggesting that their window is almost over given the team’s aging players. That’s funny because players in the organization believe their window will remain open as long as Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon are leading the team.
The two player I just mentioned, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, are by far the best players on the team and when people discuss team leaders in terms of statistics, they think of those guys. Both players will need to have a better postseason than they have in the past if the Avalanche are going to advance to the Stanley Cup Final. They both need to step up their game despite MacKinnon leading the team in postseason goals in 2025-26.
MacKinnon is coming off of a 127-point season, and it’s a fair assumption that he will surpass 110 points again and perhaps even 127. While I would love to see that happen, the Avalanche will need more than just MacKinnon to exceed his totals of last year. Martin Necas and Brock Nelson will need to have a big year and show that they can perform in the postseason. If that happens, good luck stopping the Avalanche.
The majority of the writers who have the Avalanche winning in the end also have the Carolina Hurricanes or Florida Panthers as the Eastern Conference champs. One even has the Montreal Canadiens defeating Colorado in the final round of the postseason. That’s wild to me, especially given that, despite the Canadiens’ recent playoff success, they aren’t exactly a postseason regular.
If the Avalanche are to win the Stanley Cup, they will have to be a lot more than the Presidents’ Trophy winners. In fact, history shows that their chances of winning the championship are greater if they do not earn the regular-season trophy.
In reality, every team starts 0-0-0. Things could go many different ways for any team. It’s a new season, and each team has to prove itself. They have to prove that they belong. It’s easy to say that the Avalanche will make the playoffs. Barring any sort of injury voodoo, it should be a foregone conclusion that they earn a playoff spot.
It’s what you do once you’re there that matters. The Avalanche will want to prove doubters wrong in the end.
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