What Are The Differences Between The 2022 And 2023 Avalanche ?

    A new hockey season is kicking off, and every team is has playoff hopes, and Stanley Cup dreams! Last years team couldn't get out of the first round, so what has changed between last years team, and the 2022-2023 team? Simply put this years team is built for a playoff run, and not just to simply win games in the regular season like last years team. The core of this team has been solidified by the front office, and most of the core of the team are all locked into contracts for the foreseeable future. So what is different about this years team than last years team? Who are the new players on the team, and what role will they look to play? These are all things I will touch on in this blog. 

    The great thing about being an Avalanche fan right now is we have the best core of players we have had since the Joe Sakic, and Peter Forsberg days. I would say that the argument could be made that the core of this team is actually better than the core of the at least the 95-96 Stanley Cup winning team, and if they haven't surpassed the 00-01 team they are certainly nipping at their heels. The challenge each year is finding the right mix of players to put around them. There were of course many reasons the Avs weren't able to repeat as Cup champions like the health of the captain Gabriel Landeskog, who Avs fans were told was going to be coming back all year up until just before the playoffs, or the overall health of the team in general last year. At times it looked more like a Colorado Eagles game than an Avalanche game at Ball Arena last year.  It's hard to argue that Landeskog is the best captain in the NHL, and he simply brings so many things to the team that simply cannot be replaced. Issues like these made it hard to assemble the right players around the core. Simply put last years team was not built to win in the playoffs. The Avalanche front office is able to evaluate the skating ability of players better than any other team in the league as it seems like year in and year out the Avs are the best skating team in the NHL. Unfortunately that has led to the Avs being a little on the small side for a NHL team, and without the bigger body guys that will go into the dirty areas of the ice, and do what is necessary to win the battles for the puck you will not have much success in the playoffs. 

    

    In order to remedy this issue the Avalanche went out in free agency, and were looking to target a certain type of player. Obviously this player would have to be able to skate extremely well to be able to keep up with the core of the team as was mentioned above, but they also needed to be a little bit bigger than the 5'10-5'11 180lb players we had last year. The type of player they were looking for would also need to play with an edge, and be towards the top of the league in hits. Who would be able to fill all these roles? Enter Miles Wood, and Ross Colton. Miles Wood is one of the fastest players in the league, is 6'2, 195lbs, plays the body, and isn't hesitant to stand up for a teammate. Ross Colton has been among the league leaders in hits for the last few years. To put it in perspective last year Erik Johnson was the team leader with 120 hits. Last year Ross Colton had 188 hits. They also added guys like Frederick Olofsson who is 6'2 190lbs, and Riley Tufte who is 6'6 and 230lbs who came over from Dallas who both play physical, and are fantastic skaters as well. 

    Two bigger pieces the Avs were missing due to the departure of Nazem Kadri after the 2021-2022 season, and the injury to Gabe Landeskog were a second line center, and another top 6 winger. To fill the second line center role the Avalanche went out and traded for Ryan Johansen from the Nashville Predators. Following the narrative of adding more size Johansen is 6'3 and 218lbs, has put up some great numbers in Nashville, and due to him getting older the Predators were willing to retain half his salary, so he was relatively cheap to get. The Avalanche are not looking for him to have the numbers he did in Nashville when he was on their top line, but they are hoping he can be a productive second line center for them. In what might be the biggest low risk/high reward signing in the NHL Nathan Mackinnon's former teammate in the minors Jonathan Drouin was signed for a very team friendly deal in hopes he can reignite his career being back with Mackinnon. Again, Drouin being 5'11 and 200lbs he's able to win the battles in the corners when he needs to, but still has the speed to play with Mackinnon and Rantanen. 

    The additions to this team make them an instant threat in the playoffs. They now have the "dogs" to play the style of hockey you need to in the playoffs if you want to win. The skating ability of this team is still among the best in the NHL, and they managed to get bigger! They were able to find players to fill the second line center roll, and a top 6 winger without breaking the bank. This Avalanche team has all the makings of a team that could bring the Cup back home to Denver, and they will be absolutely one of the most fun teams in the NHL to watch!