The Colorado Avalanche were one of the most surprising hockey teams last year. They went 52-22-8 with 112 points, winning the Central Division but losing the 1st round of the NHL playoffs to Minnesota in 7 games. This year they missed the playoffs with a record of 39-31-12 and 90 points. They were the 4th worst in the Western Conference. How can Colorado improve and make the playoffs next year?
The Avalanche didn’t have a great start to the season. In their 1st seventeen games they were 4-8-5. Last year they were 14-3. According to Captain Gabe Landeskog, “We didn’t start playing .500 hockey until after Christmas, and when you do that in the Central Division in the Western Conference, it’s going to be tough to catch up. It’s a lesson learned for all of us for a long time going forward.” Heading into next year, Colorado must have a better start. A better start could make the difference in them making the playoffs next year.
The Colorado Avalanche were horrible on the power play. They scored on 15% of their opportunities with the man advantage, which ranked 29th in the NHL. The only team worse than Colorado on the power play was the Buffalo Sabers, scoring on 13.4%. Next year, the power play has to be a priority. They have to make the opposition pay for taking a penalty by scoring on the man advantage.
Colorado let the opponents dictate the game. They allowed 33.2 shots per game. That was the 5th highest in the NHL. Colorado managed 27.9 shots on goal. That’s a large difference. The defense must execute better next year. It didn’t help that Erik Johnson missed the last three months of the season with a knee injury. Colorado can’t allow 33 shots per game, otherwise it will be another long year
The way to fix some of these problems is through free agency. The Avalanche have three unrestricted free agents in Jan Hejda, Daniel Briere, and Ryan Wilson. All of them are defensemen. The Colorado Avalanche should look at both defensemen and forwards for free agency. A few names who could help Colorado next year are forwards Martin St. Louis, Mike Fisher, and Derek Roy. They all can score goals. Defensemen who could assist Colorado to return to the playoffs are Scott Hannan and Jordan Leopold. Both of these players played with Colorado in their careers.
How can Colorado improve enough to earn a playoff spot next year?
I think you listed the ways the Avs can win point by point. Now if only they will listen to you.