The Colorado Avalanche enter the 2025–26 season looking to shake off the sting of disappointment.
Three years removed from their 2022 Stanley Cup triumph, the Avalanche have struggled to regain that form despite having one of the NHL’s most feared cores. While their contending window is still wide open, their flaws were exposed last season.
The Avalanche proved once again that talent alone can carry them through the grind of an 82-game schedule. Despite injuries piling up, a reset at the goaltending position, and depth players struggling to keep up when called upon, Colorado still secured 102 points and another playoff berth.
But getting there isn’t enough for this group. By the time the playoffs rolled around, the same old cracks reappeared, including inconsistent goaltending, holes in the lineup and an over-reliance on their stars. Colorado could overwhelm most opponents in the regular season, but in the playoffs, their flaws were magnified with a first-round exit against the Dallas Stars.
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Usually, this team isn’t afraid to make a splashy move, but they didn’t have a lot of flexibility to make changes and instead had to do some work to move out money. Cutting ties with Mikko Rantanen also underscored the reality of salary-cap life as they wanted to be able to fill out their depth, which meant sacrificing one of their stars. But Colorado hopes that the pillars in place will be enough to keep their Cup window open.
Here’s how the Avalanche shape up heading into 2025–26:
The Avalanche didn’t make a big push to acquire a big name in free agency, but they still made headlines and filled a need when they signed Burns. A veteran of more than 1,400 NHL games, Burns brings size, leadership, and an offensive spark from the blue line. While he’s no longer the workhorse who once won the Norris Trophy in San Jose, his presence should make life easier for both Makar and Devon Toews. Even in a reduced role in three years with Carolina, the Barrie, Ont., native still averaged 21:53 of ice time, and scored 34 goals and 133 points in 246 games, playing 82 games in each season and extending his ironman streak to 925 consecutive games, the fourth-longest of all-time. The 40-year-old is expected to play on the second pairing, give Colorado another weapon on the power play, and provide the kind of poise that was often missing in critical playoff moments. Burns should help the Avalanche spread out the minutes on the blue line and avoid leaning too heavily on Makar and Toews.
While much of the attention in Colorado remains on the star players, the Avalanche’s fate might rest on players like Jack Drury taking a step forward. Acquired as part of the Rantanen trade, Drury showed his reliable two-way game and versatility. This year, Drury will be counted on even more. He’ll likely slot in as the team’s third-line centre and try to shut down opposing top players. However, he’ll need to provide some secondary scoring after registering just a goal and two points in the first round against Dallas.
Top Prospect: Gavin Brindley
The Avalanche’s Stanley Cup run in 2022 came at a cost, with their prospect pipeline thinned considerably, and it doesn’t help that they’ve been dealing assets in order to remain in contention. Fortunately for Colorado, they decided to try and get some assets back by acquiring Brindley from the Columbus Blue Jackets as part of the salary-shedding trade for Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood. The 20-year-old forward brings speed, energy, and an offensive spark that fits the Avalanche’s high-tempo system. He could spend some time in the AHL to start this season, but he’s probably the first name that could be called up if injuries strike.
1. Is the supporting cast enough to back up the stars?
Everything the Avalanche aspire to accomplish hinges on the health and productivity of their core players. Nathan MacKinnon is coming off another MVP-calibre campaign and shows no signs of slowing down, while Cale Makar has solidified himself as the best defenceman in the league. But the reality is that Colorado’s top-end talent has been stretched to its limit in recent years. MacKinnon often carries the offence single-handedly, while Makar’s minutes increase drastically in tough situations. Hopefully, having Gabriel Landeskog back in the fold and providing the emotional leadership can help, but the Avs need players like Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen to step up like they did in the Cup run.
2. Is the goaltending able to stay on track?
The Alexandar Georgiev experience ended in disaster, but acquiring Mackenzie Blackwood helped turn last season around and now time will tell if he can be the solution once again. Blackwood has shown flashes of brilliance throughout his career, particularly during his early years in New Jersey, but he’s also struggled with consistency. He posted a 22-12-3 record with a 2.33 goals-against average and an impressive .913 save percentage which was certainly an upgrade on what Colorado had. The real question is whether that production is sustainable because prior to joining the Avalanche, Blackwood had three seasons with a sub-.900 save percentage and goals-against average above 3.00. In a division that sports Vezina-worthy goaltenders, anything less than average for Colorado will be problematic.
3. Do they have enough depth to match the West’s heavyweights?
When you have MacKinnon and Makar on your roster, you like your chances against any team in the league. The real question is what the supporting cast can accomplish in the Central Division. MacKinnon had seven goals and 11 points in the first round of the playoffs, but Nichushkin and Lehkonen were the only other forwards to have more than two goals in that series. Sure, they did take the Dallas Stars to seven games, but they would have liked it if Rantanen was scoring a Game 7 hat trick for them rather than against them. If Colorado’s goaltending and special teams can improve in the playoffs, they might have enough to navigate a tough playoff bracket.
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