One of the greatest things about sports is rivalries. Some of the greatest moments in hockey history happened because of the rivalry between two teams. Whenever your team faces their rivals, there always seems to be a little extra juice in the arena. Since the Colorado Avalanche moved to Denver in 1995, they have had their fair share of bad blood with other teams. The only part that stinks is that the Avalanche do not seem to play their rivals enough.
With the way the NHL structures their divisions and its schedule, rivals are not the team priority. However, what if that was different? What if the NHL put rivalries at the for front and built their divisions around rivals? This is what the Avalanche division would look like if it was soley based on them and the teams they have called rivals over the years.
How a division based on the Colorado Avalanche and their rivals would look
The first two teams in that division would be the Detroit Red Wings and the Minnesota Wild. The Wild and Avalanche are rivals because the two teams are separated by three hours. With the two in such close proximity, they're always fighting to be the dominant team in the region. The Red Wings, on the other hand, is a rivalry filled with hatred. Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, no two teams hated each other more than the Avs and Wings. From the "Bloody Wednesday" to playing each other in the playoffs five times in six seasons, it was must-watch television when they played.
The next three teams are more of the Avalanche's modern rivals. They're not officially rivals, but these teams are good at the same time the Avalanche are. These would be the Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators, and Vegas Golden Knights. This will make the regular season exciting. The Stars and Knights should be playoff-bound, and the Preds have enough high-end talent to play spoiler. Add the Utah Mammoth as a team in close proximity, and this division is filling out nicely.
That leaves one spot and to fill it, we will have to go back to win the Avalanche, which still played north of the border. When they were the Quebec Nordiques, they had a bitter rivalry with the Montreal Canadiens. The Battle of Quebec was fueled by the cultural differences between Montreal and Quebec City. One of the most infamous moments in this rivalry was "The Good Friday Massacre," which was a massive brawl between the two teams back during the 1984 playoffs.
So, to make it simple, this division would consist of:
Avalanche
Red Wings
Wild
Stars
Predators
Golden Knights
Mammoth
Canadiens
This division would easily be one of the most competitive in hockey. Only the Mammoth and Predators are rebuilding, but their rosters are decent enough to play spoilers. You can make a real argument for any of the six other teams to make the playoffs. But even with such a competitive division, the Avalanche would still finish within the top three. While they might not win the division, their roster is better than the Red Wings, Wild, and Canadiens. The real competition the Avs would have would be with the Stars and Knights.
While this division is a pipe dream and will never happen, it is fun to think about. It would make every game during the regular season must watch.