Last Word on Hockey’s Puck Drop Previews are back for the 2024-25 season! As the regular season approaches, Last Word will preview each team’s current outlook and stories to watch for the upcoming year. We’ll also do our best to project how things will go for each team throughout the campaign. Today, we’re previewing the 2024-25 Colorado Avalanche.
2024-25 Colorado Avalanche Puck Drop Preview
2023-24 Season
The 2023-24 season was a success for the Avalanche overall. They did finish third place in the Central Division and did so without Gabriel Landeskog for the second season in a row. The hurdles the Avalanche had to climb were enormous, especially with Valeri Nichushkin being removed from the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second year in a row as well.
Unfortunately, the Avalanche lost in the second round to the division winner Dallas Stars. There are a multitude of things that went wrong for the club down the stretch, but they are poised to make a run at it again during the 2024-25 season.
2024 Offseason
It was a minor off-season for the Avalanche, as a they head into 2024-25 with the same roster. They opted to not sign trade deadline acquisition Sean Walker, but did manage to sign depth players. The Avalanche brought back Jonathan Drouin, and also signed depth players Joel Kiviranta and Oliver Kylington. They also added depth to the back end with Calvin de Haan and Erik Brannstrom.
The moves are minor but they are moves that the club needed to make. Now let’s take a look how the 2024-25 Avalanche looks.
Lineup Projections
Forwards
Jonathan Drouin-Nathan MacKinnon–Mikko Rantanen
Artturi Lehkonen-Casey Mittlestadt-Nikolai Kovalenko
Miles Wood–Ross Colton-Logan O’Connor
Parker Kelly–Chris Wagner-Joel Kiviranta
Extra: Gabriel Landeskog
Top Six
The top six finally has balance. Joe Sakic was able to land a legitimate second line centre. It is a position that the team has had little success with since Nazem Kadri went on to sign with the Calgary Flames. It came at the price of defenceman Bowen Byram, but Mittlestadt is the perfect centre for this team. He is versatile and can play both centre and wing and is also great on faceoffs. The wings could use some depth on the second line, but that’s a good second line for the Avalanche.
As for the top line, well they are among one of the best lines in all of hockey. Also, they are led by one of the best players in all of hockey. The top line spent over 400 minutes of ice time together. They managed to generate 28.7 expected goals throughout the season and averaged 3.55 expected goals per 60 minutes. The results? Among forward lines that spent 100 minutes together, the Avalanche top line finished seventh in goals (33).
A career year by Drouin. An MVP performance by MacKinnon and Rantanen and the top line should pick up where they left off. Landeskog could also return to the lineup and give them some leadership.
Bottom Six
The bottom six is pretty similar to what it was during the 2023-24 season. Wood and Colton bring an element of speed but also a tenacious forechecking effort. They can help be that extra layer of scoring and be tough to play against. The fourth line is a pesky group that comes with veteran presence. It may not be the talented group to score, but they’ll certainly log minutes to wear down the opponent.
Defence
Top Four
The top pair of Toews and Makar is one of the best and for good reason. Toews is stellar with has two way play and his ability to play shutdown defence is crucial. It is so crucial, as it allows for Makar to be the dynamo he is offensively. The pair together is a weapon, as they were on the ice for 52 goals, which was sixth most among pairs that logged 100 minutes. They can always be counted on and will play in key situations.
Girard and Manson is another pair that complements one another. Girard is the speedy offensive player and Manson is known for his more rugged style of play. They did a good job of taking the attack to the opponent and suppressing the opposition. They averaged 2.32 goals against per 60 minutes. The results were higher the their expected rate, but overall they can be a good effective second pair unit.
Bottom Pair
Erik Brannstrom-Oliver Kylington
Extra: Calvin da Haan
The bottom pair has the recipe to be successful. Adding physicality with Brannstrom is absolutely huge and gives them some bite in the lineup. One of the sneakiest signings via free agency was adding Kylington to the club. His offensive upside will fit in nicely with the way the Avalanche like to play. He is one year removed from his career best of scoring nine goals and 31 points. Having that type of dynamic presence on the third pair is huge for this club.
Goalies
This is the biggest x-factor for the 2024-25 season for the Colorado Avalanche. Georgiev faced his largest workload during the 2023-24 season for the Avalanche. In fact, this is the second season in a row where he played 62 games. He did fair out better in 2023-24 than last year. Georgiev went on to finish the season with a subpar .897 save percentage and 3.02 goals against average. He was out of gas and getting a reliable backup is huge for not just him but the overall team.
Annunen will be the guy in net for the Avalanche this season to backup Georgiev. In 12 games, he did finish with a 2.25 GAA and a .928 save percentage. It will be interesting to see what a heavier workload does for him and how he can handle it. Georgiev has the talent and is a very good goalie. But every goalie needs a breather and needs rest. Having that goalie to rely on and form a tandem goes a long way.
Player to Watch
Jonathan Drouin
Drouin has been around a while in the league. However, his first season with the Avalanche was a gem to watch. It was a low risk-high reward type of contract, but it went well. Drouin went on to have his best output of his career (56 points) and came two goals shy of tying his career high.
After having a career year points wise and reuniting with MacKinnon, it’ll be interesting to watch Drouin take off again and build off of it. With no Landeskog and Nichushkin, Drouin is an X-Factor for the Avalanche this season.
Prediction Time
The 2024-25 Avalanche are going to be a good team. With the western conference being wide open, the Avalanche will be right in the mix. They are a lock to make the playoffs and should be able to advance far. This is a good team and it is led by their high profile players. Sky is the limit for the Avs.
Prediction: Advance to Second Round
Main Photo: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
