I have fired up my BigOl’JetAirliner to do a recon of each and every team the Winnipeg Jets will have to face in the upcoming campaign. When the wheels eventually touch back down in good ol’ River Heights, I hope to have a good idea of our competition’s key players/prospects, their strengths & weaknesses, and the overall depth of each franchise. To assist with that last topic, I opted to use the projected line ups provided by DailyFaceOff.com but since the visual display of the lines was better on PuckPedia, I ended up using that site to create the graphics included in the articles. Thanks to both of those helpful sites.
Bidding goodbye to the city of Michael Jordan & Al Capone, Joe Walsh’s Rocky Mountain Way was blasting in my ears as I took off from O’Hare International and headed in the direction of Denver.
COLORADO AVALANCHE:
The Avs are coming off another great season, unsurprising for a franchise with five straight top 10 regular seasons. In 2023-24, after 82 games Colorado found themselves sitting in the NHL’s 8th spot with a record of 50-25-7 (107 pts). The Avalanche were the league’s highest scoring team in the regular season (304), outpacing the Toronto Maple Leafs by one goal, while finishing with the 16th least goals against (254) for a +50 goal differential. The playoffs opened promising when they brushed aside our Winnipeg Jets, however the 2022 Stanley Cup winners couldn’t progress beyond the second round.
For a franchise with 7 straight post-season appearances, the Colorado Avalanche will once again be among the National Hockey League’s elite teams in 2024-25 with stars like Nathan MacKinnon (140 pts), Mikko Rantanen (104 pts), and Cale Makar (90 pts).
General Manager Chris MacFarland wasn’t overly busy this summer, but he did fill the 2nd line center spot for the next few years by re-signing Casey Mittlestadt. The 25 yr old American was coming off back-to-back high 50 point seasons and will join the Avalanche’s stable of talented offensive forwards long-term. Other than that, Colorado added a couple mid-20’s (25-27) defensemen to battle for a 3rd pairing role, Oliver Kylington & Erik Brannstrom.
Although Colorado’s lineup will be getting some key players back as the regular season progresses, PuckPedia’s graphic shows us how they may look on the opening day.

The Avalanche’s top unit has two 100 point scorers on it and they will be joined by Jonathan Drouin, who is coming off a career-high 56 pt season. So even before those important forwards return to the lineup, Colorado should have an elite 1st line. The top six could be rounded out with the previously mentioned Mittelstadt, the responsible 2-way forward Artturi Lehkonen, and unproven 24 yr old Nikolai Kovalenko. The 29 yr old Lehkonen battled injuries last season, which limited him to 45 games and 34 pts, while the right handed Kovalenko is making the jump to the NHL after two successful seasons in the KHL. The Russian had a career season in 2022-23 with 54 pts in 56 games, but took a small step back last year when he pocketed 35 pts in 42 games.
The top of the lineup will look a lot different when Gabriel Landeskog returns from a 2 year absence and from the sound of it, the 31 yr old Swede could be back as early as mid-to-late October. Getting Landeskog back will be huge if he can return to previous form (59 pts in 51 gms when he last played), but the return date for Valeri Nichushkin (53 pts) is a bit less clear. The 29 yr old Russian’s 6 month suspension lasts until mid-November, then he still needs to be cleared to play under the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program before he can get back on the ice and there is no guarantee that will happen immediately.
The bottom six forwards listed in the above graphic won’t scare any NHL coaches, but it will get the job done until the reinforcements arrive. 28 yr old Ross Colton is probably the exception as he is a quality blue collar skater that also can chip in offensively (coming off a 40 pt season).
The 1st defensive pairing of 25 yr old Makar & 30 yr old Devon Toews (50 pts in 82 gms) combined for a very impressive 140 points last year, so Colorado is looking good for that part of the roster. Things are also pretty solid on the 2nd pairing, since 32 yr Josh Manson plays a tough game while chipping in offensively (25 pts) and 26 yr old Samuel Girard are capable of handling those minutes. With the departure of Bowen Byram in the Mittelstadt deal, it will be up to Girard to show he is capable of handing the middle pairing minutes while staying healthy (lowest scoring of his 7 yrs with 18 pts in 59 gms).
The Avs are taking some chances on Kylington & Brannstrom for the 3rd pairing. Kylington missed the 2022-23 season entirely and only appeared in 33 games for the Calgary Flames last year (8 pts). Brannstrom is a former 15th overall selection who had difficulty making an impact with the Ottawa Senators, but did manage to become a permanent 3rd pairing guy over the past two years. It will be interesting to see if the Swede thrives in a new atmosphere and can surpass his career-high 20 points. Colorado does have other options with veterans Calvin de Haan and Jacob MacDonald.
A rough year for Alexander Georgiev in his 2nd season with the Avalanche, as the 28 yr old had a .897 save % in the regular season and that dropped to .894% in the playoffs. The 24 yr old Justus Annunen was very good last season (.928%), but largely unproven at the NHL level (15 career starts).
PROBABLE FATE:
Of the Central Division’s eight franchises, I am only willing to write off a playoff spot for one of them (Hawks). So that leaves seven squads hoping to challenge the Colorado Avalanche for the division title, though some of the teams might not be aiming that high (Utah, Minnesota, St. Louis). The Dallas Stars & the Nashville Predators are likely the best choices to steal the crown from the Avs, but it is possible our Winnipeg Jets might surprise everyone yet again.
With no significant roster changes, the Avalanche will be hoping to challenge for a top 5 spot in the entire NHL this season by having a re-energized Landeskog & mentally-focused Nichushkin in the mix. Which will have a trickle down effect to make Colorado’s top nine the envy of many other squads and very difficult to defend for the league’s defensive coaches.
With 13 F, 7 D, & 2 G including Landeskog and Nickushkin the Avs would be spending $90,483,750 on player’s salaries….or $2,483,750 over the cap’s ceiling. Colorado would have plenty of forwards then, so the most obvious choices to shed salary to be cap compliant are Drouin & Miles Wood’s $2.5M/yr contracts. Drouin is a pending UFA, so the more likely choice as Wood has multiple years left on his deal.
Goaltending could be an issue yet again this season, but it seems that the Avalanche have the offensive capabilities to out-score any difficulties. Georgiev did put up a .918 save percentage in his first season in Denver, so it’s possible he and young Annunen can provide the franchise with above average tending.
While I wouldn’t exactly be sizing the ring fingers of the Avs’ players yet, I think a healthy Colorado squad could add to the franchise’s collection of rings by once again lifting the Stanley Cup in 2024-25. So, obviously I will be predicting the Avalanche to challenge for the Central Division title and end up as one of the NHL’s top 10 teams once again. Must be nice to be an Avs’ fan….
UP NEXT: The Dallas Stars…..
Looking for an easy way to support Arctic Ice Hockey Use our Affiliate Link when shopping hockey merch this off-season.