3 Under-the-Radar Avalanche Storylines to Follow This Season

This upcoming Avalanche season and how it plays out really feels like it’s going to determine quite a bit for how the team moves forward.

Every year with Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar is an all-in year. But things haven’t gone well for three seasons now, and there are many reasons why.

But here we are. The 2025-26 season is upon us with a healthy Gabe Landeskog, solid goaltending, a No. 2 centerman, an available Valeri Nichushkin, and a full season of Martin Necas. Jared Bednar is still the head coach, despite losing to Pete DeBoer and the Dallas Stars in consecutive years. But with Ray Bennett taking the fall this year, it sure feels like the pressure is ramped up now for the longtime Avs bench boss.

And that doesn’t even explain the pressure Chris MacFarland is probably feeling as general manager. MacFarland, who was elevated to the role following the 2022 Stanley Cup championship, traded Mikko Rantanen last January after failing to reach an agreement on an extension. Rantanen went on to bury the Avs with a hat trick in the third period of Game 7 in the first round.

The coach is coming back. The GM is staying on board. They signed Brock Nelson, they have Landeskog, Nichushkin, Devon Toews, Cale Makar, and Artturi Lehkonen — all key pieces from 2022. This team has a lot on the line, and we’ll see how it unfolds in a pivotal year.

I’m curious to see what Necas looks like after a full training camp and season with the Avs. For the first time in four years, Landeskog is spending his offseason training to get better rather than rehabbing a knee injury. Will he be the same Landeskog we’re used to? Is Mackenzie Blackwood primed to take another step after saving the Avs from their goalie troubles?

Is Nelson going to succeed in his role, or will he join the likes of Ryan Johansen and Casey Mittelstadt as failed No. 2 centermen behind MacKinnon?

There’s more. Who’s going to play at 3C? What depth options are they looking to add?

These are all obvious storylines we’re keeping an eye on.

But there are others that I’m following. Three, specifically, that intrigue and interest me.

Can Valeri Nichushkin Stay (Physically) Healthy and Be the 2023-24 Goal Scorer We Saw? 

Last season ended with Nichushkin still in the lineup, which in itself was an improvement from the previous two years. But his offense sort of took a dip (for his standards) after a New Year’s Eve injury kept him out of the lineup for an extended period. And in the playoffs, he wasn’t the guy he needed to be. Nichushkin finished with three goals and an assist in seven games.

Back in 2023-24, Nichushkin, when in the lineup, was a goal scoring machine. He had a career-high 28 goals despite playing just 54 games. And that was followed up with an insane nine goals in eight games in the postseason. Basically, he scored 37 goals in 62 total games, which extrapolates to 49 goals over 82 games. He was in fire.

Can he be that guy again? And if so, should he be on the top line with MacKinnon now that Rantanen is gone? That’s something I’ll be keeping an eye on.

Where Are the Avs Going to Play Samuel Girard?

I still stand by the thought that the team had and continues to have plans to trade Girard. Why? Because they tried to sign Ryan Lindgren in the days leading up to July 1 before he landed with the Seattle Kraken.

Lindgren was brought in ahead of the trade deadline and became the second-most used left-shot defenseman behind Devon Toews. So, where does that leave Girard? Were they planning on playing him with Sam Malinski on the third pair? I really find that hard to believe.

But the Lindgren signing didn’t happen, and they instead brought in Brent Burns. That means Girard is one of just two lefties on the back end.

Last year, Girard was the only other defenseman to average more than 20 minutes per game in the regular season behind the top pair. He was far and away the No. 3 defenseman during the regular season.

In the playoffs? That was far from reality. Girard played the first two games on the third pair with Erik Johnson and was fifth in time on ice. In the remaining five games, he was with Josh Manson on the second pair but was often playing fewer minutes than Lindgren.

The Avs clearly see less of a role for him than in years past. And it’s part of the reason why I think they’re still trying to trade him. If they weren’t keen on keeping Charlie Coyle in a third-line role at his salary, I can’t see them keeping Girard at $5 million to play a career-low 17 minutes like he did in the seven-game series loss to Dallas.

Who is the Avs’ Version of Ross Colton? 

When the Lightning traded Colton to Colorado two years ago, it was largely because they couldn’t re-sign him to a contract that could fit under their salary cap. Colton is a winner. He scored the Stanley Cup deciding goal in 2021 for Tampa Bay and was a great depth piece in 2022 when they lost to the Avs.

But since coming to Colorado, he hasn’t had a chance to entirely be himself. Bednar shifted him to center in 2023-24 — a position he’d not played before at the NHL level. Colton did an admirable job, but it wasn’t a perfect fit, even if his line with Miles Wood and Logan O’Connor was solid all throughout the year.

Just a month into the 2024-25 season, Colton was on the wing in Colorado for the first time with MacKinnon and Rantanen and was scoring at will. At one point, He was top three in the league in goals.

Colton has the ability to play with star talent, he’s better on the wing, and he’s the type of guy that you win with. He just needs to be set up for success. That means having the ability to be a Swiss army knife in the top nine with three consistent centermen.

His buddy Wood is no longer around. There’s been zero talk of Colton shifting back to center. As long as the Avs use him appropriately, I’d expect a big year for Colton, for his standards.

I’ve spoken a lot about the idea of trading him, but it was more or less for cap reasons. With Coyle and Wood gone, they can afford to keep him. And it would be smart to do that while we wait to see if Necas commits long term.

Who is the Avs’ version of Ross Colton? Can he have his best season in his third year?