The Colorado Avalanche entered the postseason as one of the NHL's most dominant teams and favorites to win the Stanley Cup, but their campaign ended abruptly with a sweep in the Western Conference finals.
Colorado finished the regular season with 121 points and the Presidents’ Trophy before advancing through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
At the end of the day, the Avs improved on their prior three postseason runs, with those ending in either the first round (twice) or the second round.
In the wake of the disappointing finish, the organization addressed its short-term future as it heads into the offseason.
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President of hockey operations Joe Sakic made his feelings clear about what's next during the final press conference of the season, saying that the Avalanche will not overhaul their roster entirely after just one series loss.
“We could panic and try and blow everything up and start all over,” Sakic said. “But this team, what they’ve done over the course of the year, was pretty remarkable. Now, I want to give them an opportunity to try and do it again.”
Added Sakic: “We all feel that we left something on the table, but you wake up the next day, and you look to try and get better,” Sakic said. “We’ve got a great group.”
Sakic pointed to this year's playoff positives — the Avs swept the Los Angeles Kings in the first round and eliminated the Minnesota Wild in five games in the second round — as evidence that the roster remains capable of competing for a championship.
“We played really well against a big, strong LA team. Minnesota, we won in five,” Sakic said. “We just didn’t put it together in a stretch of four games.”
Regarding the speculation about coach Jared Bednar's future, Sakic also made clear the organization supports him.
“He’s got the confidence from the players,” Sakic said. “They respect him, they love playing for him.”
Looking ahead, one of the team’s top priorities will be securing the future of Cale Makar, whose $54 million contract expires in July 2027.
“Cale is going to finish his career here,” Sakic said. “We’re confident that something’s going to get worked out at some point.”
The Avalanche last won the Stanley Cup in 2022 with Sakic, Bednar, Makar and center Nathan MacKinnon in the organization. Judging by Sakic's statements, it appears that core group won't change anytime soon.
