Avalanche Next Steps After Western Conference Finals Sweep – Hockey Writers – Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche, in 2022, completed the mission every organization set out to do at the start of the season: win the Stanley Cup. Since then, however, they have yet to find their way back to the Stanley Cup Finals, as the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers have both claimed the Western Conference twice, respectively.

The Avalanche were swept by the Golden Knights in the Western Conference finals. Cale Makar missed the first and second games due to a physical injury. Nathan MacKinnon didn’t miss the game, but he was clearly playing with something, too. However, Vegas captain Mark Stone also missed the first two games of the series. Also, the playoffs – everybody’s going to be playing for something – that’s normal.

After winning the Presidents’ Trophy during one often dominant season, and still eight wins away from the Stanley Cup, how far are the Avalanche from a trophy in the near future, and where do they go from here?

First Point Fingers to Jared Bednar

After Tuesday’s loss to Vegas, a few fingers quickly pointed at head coach Jared Bednar and whether he should have the job next season. Bednar, who coached the team to its Stanley Cup championship four years ago and brought the team major success, has been coaching the team for the past decade, making him the second longest-tenured coach in the NHL. The first decision should be whether he should be returned or not.

The 54-year-old is one of the best coaches in the league, and more importantly, one of the most respected coaches. In a press conference after the Golden Knights completed a four-game sweep over the Avalanche, Vegas coach John Tortorella told everyone to get behind Bednar.

It would be a bad move to get rid of Bednar, at least this offseason. As the winning window gets tighter, and the finals aren’t even reached, you go back to the drawing board and start asking questions.

Bednar recently led the team back to the Western Conference Final for the first time in four seasons; that’s progress. The thing is, there is something called coaches who have been around for a long time; players just start getting sick of their coaches, or otherwise. If that starts to happen, whether now or later, changes need to be made.

Looking to the Future in Context

It’s not too early to start asking questions about the Avalanche’s core, especially with contracts coming to an end and nobody getting any younger. The leaders of this franchise are clear: MacKinnon and Makar. Colorado may find itself in an interesting spot, however, when it comes to re-signing Makar.

Will they do it? Most likely. But depending on how crazy they go about the cap space and if Makar is satisfied with the current situation the team is in (he will be an unrestricted free agent and can do whatever he wants), there is an opportunity to negotiate. Makar will be 29 years old when his next contract starts. MacKinnon is signed through the 2030-31 season.

Martin Necas is locked in, making $11.5 million per season through 2034. Devon Toews, Makar’s defensive partner, is signed to 2031, making $7.25 million per season. The captain, Gabriel Landeskog, is on the books until 2030. Nazem Kadri, Sam Malinski, and Valeri Nichuskin are all signed for the next three seasons. The problem, however, is that the core is aging even if it is past its onset.

MacKinnon is 30, Kadri is 35, Toews is 32, and Brock Nelson, acquired at the trade deadline last year, is 34. After the sweep, how many more years should they offer, and how do the Avalanche decide when is the right time to get rid of them (without MacKinnon) and acquire other future assets? Right now, it looks like next season could be the last with this core together.

Finally, scoring is not a big problem. The defense chased the forwards too much, got out of position and got tired, leaving the goalie out to dry; Scott Wedgewood has not been an underachiever, he will be better next season after re-signing.

The Avalanche will struggle to make any additions because they don’t have the necessary capital. Fortunately, they have some room to work with in the next few years. The best thing they can do is see what magic they can do in the summer, keep this current core and restore it to the way it was, maybe for the last time. Was this just the President’s curse, or has his time passed? At the end of next season, we will know.