Not many people in the history of the sport have been a beat writer for four different NHL teams. Not many beat writers will ever cover 17 Game 7s. I’ve never covered a Stanley Cup winner on one of the four beats, but I covered every Cup Final game from 2011-15 as a staff writer at NHL.com.

I’ve also been fortunate to cover some of the best players and best individual seasons of the salary cap era. In 12 seasons as a beat writer, I’ve covered the Hart Trophy winner four times (2008, 2009, 2018, 2024), and it might be five times for the Lester B. Pearson/Ted Lindsay Award winner.

Watching Alex Ovechkin and the “Rock the Red” era of the Washington Capitals was incredibly entertaining, but even some of the bad teams I covered in New Jersey and San Jose featured individual brilliance. Getting to watch Ovechkin, Jack Hughes, Erik Karlsson and now Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar at the peak of their powers is something I’ve tried to never take for granted.

So that led to this personal, but hopefully fun idea: What are the best individual seasons I’ve covered? I think I’ve seen the three best offensive seasons by a defenseman this century, by three different players. And at least two of the very best seasons by a forward as well.

Here’s the list I came up with:

15. (tie) Mackenzie Blackwood, Devils, 2019-20

The numbers: 22-14-8, .915 save%, 2.77 GAA

Mackenzie Blackwood, 2024-25, Sharks/Avalanche

The numbers: 28-21-6, .912 save%, 2.55 GAA

I haven’t seen a lot of great goaltending, though. In fact, no goalie who started the year in my city has earned any votes for the Vezina Trophy. Cristobal Huet finished 8th in 2008, but arrived at the trade deadline.

Blackwood had a really strong half-season rookie debut for a bad team, then made his own journey to Denver via San Jose and should get some Vezina love when the voting is revealed June 12. He can break this “trend” next season.

14. Jack Hughes, Devils, 2021-22

The numbers: 26 goals, 56 points (in 49 games)

The stats don’t look like much, but this was a “had to be watching a lot to see it” kind of thing. Hughes was a force of nature, when healthy, for a really bad team. He’s had his injury issues, but he looked like a future MVP candidate this season, then had a full breakout the following year.

13. Nicklas Backstrom, Capitals, 2009-10

The numbers: 33 goals, 101 points

Forever overshadowed by the guy at the other end of his silky setups, but also just a delightful player to watch if you’re into passing, vision and manipulating time, space and defenders without elite speed. Like Gabe Landeskog, his road to the Hockey Hall of Fame was likely derailed by a serious injury.

12. Mikko Rantanen, Avalanche, 2023-24

The numbers: 42 goals, 104 points, 22:54

When I got the Avs job, a few people relayed some version of, “You already know how great Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar are, but wait until you see Mikko Rantanen on a daily basis.” They were right. The discourse about him in this city has changed, maybe forever, because of this past season. But there haven’t been many hockey players more gifted at his size in league history.

11. Alexander Semin, Capitals, 2009-10

The numbers: 40 goals, 84 points

Speaking of gifted, Semin was a hockey genius. Sometimes brilliant, sometimes frustrating and endlessly fascinating. One of the best releases in league history. For a brief period of every season, I was on the beat, he was basically Ovechkin, with less hitting but also Selke-level defense. But never for more than a few weeks. This was his best year, even with nine missed games.

10. Cale Makar, Avalanche, 2023-24

The numbers: 21 goals, 90 points, 24:46 TOI/g

He set the franchise record for points by a defenseman (again) and was disappointed with how his season went. He scored one of the greatest goals I’ve ever seen in person against the Jets in the playoffs, and played it off as lucky because the puck glanced off him at the right angle while he was dancing through the Winnipeg defense.

9. Taylor Hall, Devils, 2017-18

The numbers: 39 goals, 93 points

I’m cheating a little here, because I didn’t start covering the Devils until close to the end of this season. But it was remarkable to watch Hall at the peak of his powers, carrying a mediocre team into the playoffs. I’m glad I didn’t have a PHWA vote that year, because I had no idea how to choose between him and MacKinnon for MVP. Still don’t.

8. Alex Ovechkin, Capitals, 2009-10

The numbers: 50 goals, 109 points, 368 shots

Ovechkin’s underrated superpower was his durability, but he did miss 10 games this season. And a bunch of his teammates were great, so the Caps still rolled to the Presidents’ Trophy and a now-famous opening-round date with Jaroslav Halak and the Canadiens.

7. Mike Green, Capitals, 2008-09

The numbers: 31 goals, 73 points, 25:46 TOI/g

It’s hard not to put Green higher just because he was the first. People hadn’t seen an offensive explosion at his position like this in a long time. Ovechkin’s one-timer from the left circle is legendary, but Green could hammer them as well. His offensive skill set wasn’t far from Makar’s, just without the hypersonic gear.

6. Cale Makar, Avalanche, 2024-25

The numbers: 30 goals, 92 points, 25:43 TOI/g

This is too low, or at least it feels like it. Before the season, I asked a bunch of people what a peak Makar season would look like. Got a lot of 30-plus goals, 100-plus points in response. It’s scary to think he might find one more small bump from here, and do something truly silly like 35 goals and 110 points if he has “one of those years.”

5. Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche, 2024-25

The numbers: 32 goals, 116 points, 320 shots, 22:47 TOI/g

Given the injuries and some of his bad finishing luck, there’s a real argument that MacKinnon had a better narrative case for MVP this season, after having such a great statistical resume a year ago.

4. Alex Ovechkin, Capitals, 2008-09

The numbers: 56 goals, 110 points, 528 shots, 243 hits

Those last two numbers are not typos. That’s the second-most shots on goal by a player in league history, behind Phil Esposito’s 550 in 1970-71. It was Ovechkin’s second-most hits in a season, though the league didn’t track them officially until his third year.

3. Erik Karlsson, Sharks, 2022-23

The numbers: 25 goals, 101 points, 25:37 TOI/g

Makar had a better all-around season this year (and the year before, and the year before that, etc.), but this was a pièce de résistance from Karlsson. The Sharks were a bad, rebuilding team, but they were also very fun to watch and lost a bunch of high-scoring, entertaining games. That was almost all because of Karlsson. It was two different games — one when he was on the ice and one when he was on the bench — most nights.

2. Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche, 2023-24

The numbers: 51 goals, 140 points, 405 shots, 22:49 TOI/g

1. Alex Ovechkin, Capitals, 2007-08

The numbers: 65 goals, 112 points, 446 shots, 220 hits

Calling these two seasons 1A and 1B would have been a cop out, but they were both brilliant, all-time years. I’m sure MacKinnon would not only say Ovechkin’s year was better, but he’d scoff at me if I suggested otherwise.

Ovechkin had 14 goals in the 21 games before Boudreau took over, but the new system and freedom from his coach unlocked an offensive force unlike anything the league had seen since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr toyed with defenses in 1995-96.

Ovechkin was incredibly fast, incredibly violent and like MacKinnon had an engine that just never stopped. There was also an urgency every night because the team roared back from last place in the league standings to make the playoffs, but it was also still a young team that could look terrible for two periods and then blow the doors off someone in the third.

Like the Makar-Karlsson comparison, MacKinnon is/was a better all-around player, but in a sport where defense usually wins, watching the apex predator of Ovechkin was something else.

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The Stanley Cup Finals are here, and the only thing about that fact that depresses the puck lovers on the Grading The Week crew? How the Oilers coulda been, shoulda been the Avalanche.

But despite the boys in burgundy being dormant for about a month — it feels longer — as of last Friday, the first week in June turned into a fairly newsy one for Avs faithful.

Alas, not all of that news was good. Or pleasant.

Still: Let’s start with the good stuff, shall we? Especially a little skating schadenfreude delivered by, of all people, the Dallas Stinkin’ Stars. Stars that, for once, might actually be aligned in Colorado’s favor.

Pete DeBoer’s firing — A (Although it depends on where he lands)

As a point of editorial policy, Team Grading The Week (GTW) tries very, very, very hard not to celebrate coaches or general managers losing their jobs.

Will we call for it? Oh, sure. Sometimes. Occupational hazard. Will we cheer it lustily once the deed’s done? Not as loudly as you’d think.

There are, however, some milder exceptions to those rules. Such as when Pete DeBoer once again finds himself out of work.

Whiny Pete is an interesting case study. He’s eliminated the Avs for what feels like nine of the last 10 Colorado postseasons. The wacky part is how he’s done that particular deed with three different franchises since 2019 alone. And how he’s now looking for a fourth after Dallas GM Jim Nill gave DeBoer his walking papers on Friday.

Strange, isn’t it? Our man Pete is wired — maybe wound is a better word — so tightly that his act eventually turns his locker room against him. This time, DeBoer fought his No. 1 netminder, Jake Oettinger, during a mess of a series against Edmonton. And lost.

He’s also a darned good coach — one of the better bosses of his generation, having missed the playoffs just once from 2015-2025. While also somehow getting canned after Year 4 with San Jose, Year 3 with Vegas, and Year 3 with Dallas. He’s like the Jim Harbaugh of NHL coaches, a force who burns hot, burns fast, and then inevitably burns out.

The upside for Avs faithful — and downside for Pete — is that Dallas was the league’s only vacancy during the summer hiring cycle. The music’s stopped. And, at the moment, there’s nowhere for DeBoer to go.

Which, if you’re a Colorado fan, might be the best news of all. Until Whiny Pete becomes Zombie Pete and inevitably rises again. Hopefully in the East.

Logan O’Connor’s hip surgery — D

No sooner had the GTW kids cleaned up the break room for our Brock Nelson Extension potluck that news came over that one of our favorite bottom-6 Avs, forward Logan O’Connor, was going on the shelf for 5-6 months after undergoing hip surgery.

On the plus side, it was successful. Less sunny? It was O’Connor’s second such procedure in the last 16 months. For a player who relies on physicality — and that’s what we love about him — as much as LOC does, it does complicate the Avs’ third-line/fourth-line picture with three weeks until the curtain goes up on NHL free-agency.

Gabe Landeskog’s Instagram message of thanks — A

Back atcha, min kapten. Right. Back. Atcha.

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Coming off a heroic postseason run that saw him notch six points in seven games, the Avalanche forward is expected to miss the next 5-6 months after undergoing the procedure on Friday morning, the team announced.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Bryan Kelly at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. The team did not specify which hip was operated on, or if it was the same hip that had previously been repaired, but did declare the operation “successful.”

O’Connor was in the midst of a career year during the 2023-24 season when surgery to repair a torn labrum sidelined him for the final two months of the season. The University of Denver product told reporters before the 2024-25 campaign that he’d had a torn labrum for six years.

“For whatever reason, come November, it just became symptomatic,” he said at a golf tournament in August 2024.

O’Connor played through the discomfort for 57 games and scored a career-high 13 goals before undergoing the season-ending surgery in March 2024.

The winger was back on the ice for the start of the 2024-25 campaign and missed just two games while tallying 21 points (10 goals/11 assists) in an up-and-down regular season.

Yet O’Connor was one of the team’s more productive postseason performers playing alongside Jack Drury and Parker Kelly on the team’s fourth line. He had two goals and four assists — the last of which gave the Avs an early 1-0 lead in Game 7 against the Dallas Stars — and was a big part of the team’s penalty kill.

Now comes another setback that will keep him off the ice until November at minimum, if the team’s projections are accurate.

Avalanche beat writer Corey Masisak contributed to this report.

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The Avs and Nuggets continue to stretch the elasticity of loyalty, determined to run it back with rosters that fell short this spring. This point was driven home Wednesday as the Avs re-signed free agent Brock Nelson to a three-year, $22.5 million deal.

The move means the Avs will feature their best opening day roster since 2022, their last championship season. And it puts general manager Chris MacFarland and coach Jared Bednar on notice.

Colorado deserves praise for taking big swings. But there are no consolation prizes for shots off the post. Another early playoff exit must come with consequences. And a slow start — say 9-15-1 — has to spell the end for Bednar, regardless of how well he is respected or his resume.

The Avs are where the Nuggets were. And we all know how that ended for Calvin Booth and Michael Malone.

They believe they have a Stanley Cup-worthy team. If this fails, everything not bolted to the floor — Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Gabe Landeskog, Val Nichushkin and MacKenzie Blackwood — must be slapped with a price tag.

President Joe Sakic made it clear last month that he wanted to keep the main pieces in place. Nelson was always part of the plan. At first glance, this seems like an overpay.

Some of us are old enough to remember when Nazem Kadri was deemed too expensive at $7 million per season.

The Nelson move, however, makes sense with context. The Avs’ most pressing need is a second-line center. Is Nelson worth $7.5 million? No. But the alternative was even more unsettling: filling the position with spare parts before making a desperate trade at the deadline, a strategy that has not worked the past few years.

Players who could have slipped into the 2C role — Calum Ritchie and Casey Mittelstadt — were shipped off last season. And did you really want Charlie Coyle in that spot?

Nelson was the second-best free-agent option behind Florida’s Sam Bennett. He had leverage with Minnesota expected to offer big dollars to bring him home. And what’s considered market value is rapidly changing with the salary cap increasing over the next three years.

It is OK to not like the deal. But like the fit.

A second line of Landeskog, Nichushkin and Nelson is ridiculous if the players are healthy and available. It is the type of depth that can win another ring.

But in keeping Nelson, MacFarland penalty boxed himself into a corner. The Avs will likely need to buy out Miles Wood and deal Ross Colton when his full no-trade clause becomes limited on July 1. They have limited assets. There will be no repeat of the 2024 in-season roster upheaval.

This is it. And for MacFarland, the onus is on Martin Necas to produce. He is eligible for a new deal this summer, and could ask for $10 million-plus if he reaches 100 points playing alongside MacKinnon after next season.

There has been speculation the Avs will attempt to trade Necas, that he might be unhappy in Colorado. But lest we forget, he was the centerpiece of the Mikko Rantanen deal. Moving him means trying to get a similar haul all over again. That would put yoke on MacFarland’s face that is already smeared with a Denver omelette after Mikko’s postseason performance.

The Avs and Nuggets are similar, but not identical.

The Nuggets’ belief that they are close to usurping the Thunder and Timberwolves is delusional without change.

The Avs are better off. They held a two-goal lead over the Stars with 13 minutes remaining in Game 7, and would have likely been favored, or close to it, in all remaining matchups.

But Dallas’ Pete DeBoer outcoached Bednar. And that cannot be dismissed when the Avs begin 2025-26 as one of six teams with a realistic shot of winning a championship.

Nelson’s return is evidence that the Avs’ posture hasn’t changed. They are all in.

Life is about moments. And this just doesn’t feel right. The Avs had their best chance in 2023 and 2024 before Nichushkin vanished. Now they are like the couple that forgot to take the heart hands photo in front of the Eiffel Tower. When they returned to recreate it, the vibe was off.

It’s the same picture. But it is different. The Avs insist it is not. That is why Nelson is back. So, the challenge is clear after three straight disappointing summers: Prove it.

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Colorado signed Brock Nelson to a three-year contract, the club announced Wednesday morning. The deal is for $7.5 million per season, The Denver Post confirmed.

“My family and I are excited to be staying in Colorado,” Nelson said in a news release announcing the signing. “Having spent my entire career with one organization, we weren’t totally sure what to expect when we arrived in Denver. But getting the opportunity to play for the Avalanche, to compete with a great group of teammates in that locker room, and in front of the tremendous fans at Ball Arena, we knew this was where we wanted to stay.”

The Avs acquired Nelson, who will turn 34 years old in October, before the trade deadline this past season to slot in as the team’s No. 2 center behind star Nathan MacKinnon. Colorado sent a huge package to the New York Islanders for Nelson, including top prospect Calum Ritchie and a future first-round pick.

“We’re thrilled to have reached an agreement with Brock to keep him in Colorado for the next three seasons,” Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said in the release. “He’s been a great center in this league for a long time, and he brings professionalism and a dedicated work ethic on and off the ice. We think he’s a great fit and is a stabilizing presence to our second-line center role with his size and ability to touch all areas of the ice. We’re excited to see what his contributions will be over a larger sample size with the Avalanche.”

Nelson had six goals and 13 points in 19 regular-season games for the Avs, then no goals and four assists in a seven-game series loss to the Dallas Stars in the opening round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Avs had about $9.5 million in cap space available for next season before this move. They now have 12 forwards, four defensemen and two goalies on one-way contracts for next season.

Colorado will need to move someone off the current cap sheet to fill out the roster, but NHL teams are also allowed to go over the cap ceiling, which is $95.5 million for 2025-26, by 10 percent in the offseason.

Kucherov named players’ MVP: Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov was named the winner of the Ted Lindsay Award on Wednesday, as the forward edged out fellow finalists and Colorado teammates Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar for the honor.

It marked the second time Kucherov has won the award, voted on by members of the NHL Players Association. The last time two teammates were named finalists in 2001, Avs great Joe Sakic won the award over Pittsburgh teammates Mario Lemieux and Jaromír Jágr.

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Keeler: The Nuggets were playing with house money last month. The Avalanche bet the farm — and lost. Avs management and Avs fans should be angrier. Because they were closer, despite that first-round exit. Even with a bunch of pieces potentially moving, they’re still closer. Let’s put it this way: If Colorado got past Dallas, this thing might’ve kept rolling for a while. The Avs had an excellent chance, on paper, of doing to Winnipeg what the Stars did (Dallas won in six). They more than matched up, also on paper, with the Oilers. The Nuggets, meanwhile, would’ve landed Minnesota in the conference finals. And we know how that chapter would’ve ended.

Renck: The Nuggets are stuck. They provided Michael Porter Jr. a max contract under different CBA rules. Now, he is viewed as untradeable until he has an expiring contract in the 2026-27 season. Plus, the Nuggets are showing signs of age. Do we really think that Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon are going to get healthier as they get older? The Avs have more flexibility to make moves, and a full season with trusted goalies will help facilitate a better start. But the most important strategy is to manipulate their seeding because every time Jared Bednar faces the Stars’ Pete DeBoer, it is guaranteed disappointment.

Keeler: The greatest danger the Nuggets pose to themselves is treating that OKC series as evidence of how “close” they really are. I mean, sure — great effort. Some good game plans. Some serious toughness all-around, especially on Aaron Gordon’s part. But they need to heed the advice of the best player in the world, who also doesn’t mince words. Nikola Jokic said this roster, as constructed, wasn’t deep enough to reach the NBA Finals. He’s right. Are you going to act on that assessment? Or just give it lip service?

Renck: At this point, it would be comical, if not reasonable, for the Nuggets to lean into their past. Why not just sign guard Bruce Brown and center Mason Plumlee and call it good? It seems misguided, but if Denver is going to run it back, run it all the way back. To 2023, to 2020, and beyond. Then replace Believe with Nostalgia on the playoff towels. So, yeah, the Avs are closer to a title.

Keeler: Love me some Brucey B, but he’s probably too expensive. Monte Morris, anyone? I even got a note over the weekend pitching for the return of Gary Harris. Can anyone talk Will Barton out of retirement? We kid, but the Nuggets’ cap situation isn’t just comical. It’s borderline tragic. There’s just no room to sign the kind of players in slots 6-9 on your bench who can match the Thunder’s reserves. Which means what you’ve got on hand either has to be swapped out for another wave of rookies — or the current second unit has to get a lot better. Like Christian Braun better. Right now.

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There couldn’t have been many Colorado Avalanche fans who thought so last year, when their team was carving up the Winnipeg Jets in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Pionk did have a nice year for the Jets this season.

For the second time in three seasons, the puck went in a little more for him than expected. Pionk is a smidge bigger than Girard, but not by a lot. Their production at even strength has been about the same for a while, though Pionk has played a little more over the past three seasons.

Pionk plays on Winnipeg’s second pairing, but is nominally the club’s No. 2 defenseman because he gets more power-play time than Dylan DeMelo and sees the ice regularly in overtime.

Maybe some people would trade Girard for Pionk straight up if finances were not an issue and see it as a slight improvement for the Avs next season. Maybe not.

Here’s the point: Pionk just signed a new contract with the Jets in April. He’s going to cost $7 million against the salary cap for the next six seasons, the last of which he will be 35 years old.

Now, about that trade …

The Avs are always scrambling a bit with salary cap compliance. It’s life as a franchise that begins every season with a Cup-or-bust goal and a roster filled with good players.

One player who often comes up as a potential trade candidate is Girard. He’s stuck behind Cale Makar and Devon Toews, so he never really gets to show his full potential on the power play. He and Makar are both small relative to league standards, so pairing them together doesn’t happen very often.

If the backup quarterback is the most over-appreciated athlete in every sports town, the No. 3 defenseman is often the most under-appreciated. Girard’s size, and the idea that Colorado is a small-ish team that needs more grit and defensive aptitude in the playoffs, also lead people back to him as a trade candidate.

Send him somewhere where he’ll get more power-play time, and that team will give the Avs something nice and shiny in return. Sounds simple, right? It’s an idea that’s been floated around these parts for a long time.

One issue with this idea? Girard is quite good at hockey. He is part of why the Avs are such a good offensive team, and he’s a better defender than he’s given credit for.

Another issue is the contract. Well, not his contract. At $5 million for two more seasons, a No. 3 defenseman who helps generate 5-on-5 offense and is a secondary helper on both special teams is a team-friendly pact.

For a team like the Avs — up against the cap and often looking to squeeze extra value out of its roster — trading a No. 3 defenseman on a team-friendly deal is a tough ask. Replacing him with a No. 3 guy of equal or better on-ice value could be cost-prohibitive.

The salary cap ceiling is finally going up in the NHL. And it will be way up relative to where it’s been for the past half decade.

Pionk wasn’t a $7 million defenseman last season. But next year, when the cap increases to $95.5 million, or keeps rising to $113.5 million in year three of his deal? Yeah, that number makes more sense.

Six veteran NHL defensemen have signed new contracts since late January. The NHL officially announced its projected cap increases on Jan. 31, but everyone in the league knew big numbers were coming before that.

Here is a look at those six players, compared to Girard over the past three seasons:

Key: ES goals/points = even strength; TOI/G = time on ice per game; GAR = goals above replacement, courtesy of Evolving Hockey; Click here to view chart in mobile

Chychrun had a huge offensive season with the Capitals and will now cost the same for the next two seasons as Makar. Neither Maata nor Borgen should be in the second pairing for an upper-echelon NHL team.

If someone wanted to trade Girard and replace him with Marcus Pettersson, that wouldn’t have been a terrible idea. Pettersson is big and a bit underrated offensively. The Canucks just signed him through his age-34 season at $5.5 million per, though. That deal is probably going to look pretty good in a year or two.

There aren’t going to be a lot of players like Pettersson available, and most of them are going to cost a lot more. Three left-handed defensemen are pending unrestricted free agents that could *maybe* fit as a No. 3 guy on a contender.

Vladislav Gavrikov is the best of the lot. He’s a fine defense-first player in the mold of Jaccob Slavin. AFP Analytics, which does NHL contract projections, has Gavrikov’s next deal at seven years and more than $7.6 million per season. Ivan Provorov, who has played lots on bad teams but might not even be an upgrade over Girard? Six years, a little more than $7 million each.

Dmitri Orlov, who just had a rough time trying to handle the Florida Panthers? His projected AAV checks in at almost $6 million.

Here’s the bottom line: It would be harder than fans think for the Avs to replace Girard. Not just because he’s a good player, but his contract was signed in a pre-cap spike world.

Those contracts are going to be even more valuable in the next couple of seasons. This isn’t just about Girard, either.

Pick another veteran outside the inner-circle core. Artturi Lehkonen? Valeri Nichushkin? Josh Manson?

They’re all signed to contracts that are very favorable to the Avs, given their production and value. Trying to replace any of them with a player of similar talent and value at a similar cost would be very difficult.

It will be next to impossible to do it in the free-agent market, because lots of teams now have lots of cap space. And while the Avs have made some nice trades in recent years, they are short on draft and prospect equity. So trading one of the players we’ve mentioned to fill a hole is one thing, but then making a second swap to replace the guy just shipped out will be hard as well.

Financially speaking, the Avs are stuck. It’s not as bad as that word suggests. When all of those players are healthy, the Avs are still an excellent hockey team. It’s a first-world problem by NHL standards.

Maybe there is a trade or under-the-radar signing or two to be made that will make the Avs a better playoff team. It’s not going to be easy to find, though.

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Ilya Nabokov, the club’s first selection in the 2024 NHL draft, signed a two-year, entry-level deal Friday. Nabokov, who turned 22 years old in March, has been one of the top goaltenders in the KHL over the past two seasons.

He helped Metallurg Magnitogorsk capture the Gagarin Cup in 2024, earning league rookie of the year and playoff MVP honors. That persuaded the Avalanche to select Nabokov in the second round with the 38th pick of the draft after he had been passed over previously.

Nabokov is listed at 6-foot-1 and 179 pounds. That’s on the smaller side for modern NHL goalies, which partly explains how he didn’t get drafted until he was 21 years old.

Since drafting Nabokov, the Avs have traded for NHL veterans Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood. Colorado has Blackwood under contract for the next five seasons, but 2025-26 is the final year of Wedgewood’s pact.

It is possible that Colorado will loan Nabokov back to his KHL club for next season, and then he’d have a chance to replace Wedgewood for the 2026-27 season. The Avs also have Eagles goaltenders Trent Miner and Kevin Mandolese under team control for next season, though both are restricted free agents.

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Do you see the Avs improving next season with (Gabe) Landeskog and (Martin) Necas playing for them the full season?

— AccomplishedHair3582 on Reddit 

I think there are two different questions in play for the 2025-26 Avalanche season. One, can the Avs be better next year during the regular season, even with just the players they have right now? Two, can they be as good, on paper, as they were in the Dallas series? The second one is trickier, and the answer might not be known until the trade deadline.

The Avs have been a very good team each of the past two seasons, but the gauntlet to get out of the division has been rough (see Dallas in the conference finals). Having an “easy” first-round series really helps. Winning the division does matter (see Colorado in 2022).

How can the Avs be better during the regular season next year? Here are some ways, ranked in order of probability:

1. A full year of Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood. This one is pretty easy/obvious — 80-ish starts from those two instead of 54 could be worth another 5-6 points, at a minimum.

2. Better health luck in general. The Avs used 50 guys this season. That’s nearing historic territory for a Stanley Cup contender. Colorado may not get 80 games from Val Nichushkin or Artturi Lehkonen, but something like 70-75 each could add more wins/points.

3. A (slightly) improved power play. The Avs had the No. 1 power play from the day after they traded Mikko Rantanen until the end of the regular season, but still finished eighth overall at 24.8%. They have the talent to finish higher, and a new voice in charge could make that possible. A few extra PPGs could be worth an extra win or two.

4. A full-ish season of Landeskog. No one is going to expect him to play 75-80 games (no one expected him to be as good as he was against Dallas, either). He’s likely going to run into some minor things, and the Avs may just rest him in some back-to-backs as well. But even 55-60 games of Landeskog, given what he showed during the playoffs, would be valuable.

Having Necas for a full year doesn’t feel like an upgrade, but if he can continue to produce close to what Rantanen did, that’s definitely a plus.

The potential downside for the Avs is the top guys (Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Rantanen, then Necas) have all been very durable of late. A serious injury for any of them would put huge pressure on the club’s depth and likely prevent it from challenging for the top two spots in the Central Division.

Do you foresee the rising cap as an opportunity for teams like the Avs to use a buyout option to open up cap space, knowing that the penalty down the line will be a smaller percentage against the cap than in years previous?

— Gabe, Fort Collins

I could definitely see that being a trend. The first year of MacKinnon’s current contract (2023-24), the cap ceiling was $83.5 million. By year five of his deal, the cap ceiling is expected to be $113.5 million. That’s more than a 25% increase. A $2 million cap hit from a buyout is going to be a lot less punitive in 2028 than it has been in recent years.

If a GM with some cap issues in 2025 can save enough money to add an extra player now, those penalties at the end of the decade might be a lot easier to justify.

With not a ton of room in the cap and some prospects and picks traded away from this last Cup push, how do the Avs retool to be able to be a Cup contender again with strong Central Division rivals? What pieces would you mortgage now? Or do you run it back until the wheels come off?

— TopShamrock, via Reddit

How the Avs navigate this coming season is going to be fascinating. I think we can basically lump the offseason and the lead-up to the trade deadline together. Would it be ideal if they figure everything out before opening night? Sure. But the Avs couldn’t afford Brock Nelson, Ryan Lindgren, et al. under the salary cap in October.

They don’t have many premium assets left to trade. Trading young goalies is hard, and the market can be weird for them. Plus, Ilya Nabokov could slide in as the replacement for Wedgewood after next season.

Mikhail Gulyayev is the most intriguing prospect they have. But he’s also small-ish and Russian, both of which could affect his trade value. Do the Avs keep him and plan for him to slot in as a replacement for Samuel Girard? Or is he the key piece in a deal for a No. 2 center/No. 4-5 defenseman at some point in the near future?

I think any other prospect they currently have should be available in a win-now trade, but none of them are likely to get a big deal done on their own.

The one young player they have with significant trade value is Necas. Trading him would obviously create another significant hole, and at some point, trading the best player in a deal for two or three parts could eventually hurt the club’s ceiling. Moving Rantanen may already have, but there is time for the Avs to “fix” that.

If Mitch Marner ends up an Avalanche this summer at $12.5 million-$13 million per year, do you think this would reflect positively or negatively on (Chris MacFarland) and (Joe) Sakic, with their inability to extend Rantanen?

— WastedTalent34, via Reddit

Marner isn’t going to end up here. The Avs would need to move multiple players under contract to make that happen, and it’s hard to see them deciding that Marner is worth twice as much as Necas next season.

Now, if it did happen? It would be a … strange look, given what Avs management has said about Rantanen/team building since the trade. Are there ways to talk around it? Sure. There could be some (more) subtle blame put on Rantanen’s agent. They could just say they have new/different information than they had in January — the projected cap figures weren’t known then, the team’s first-round exit informed the decision, etc.

Free agent Mikey Eyssimont — any chance the Avalanche could sign this relentless forechecker?

— Bill M., via email

Eyssimont has an interesting backstory, and not just because he’s a local guy and former Colorado Thunderbirds player. I was covering the Sharks when they got him on waivers from the Jets and he immediately became a regular for them. San Jose flipped him to Tampa Bay, and 20 games of a waiver claim for what became a fourth-round pick (from the Jets, no less) was a nice bit of business.

As Bill mentioned, there’s an obvious appeal to Eyssimont’s game. He’s pretty similar to Miles Wood, both good and bad. An agent of chaos, but also takes a few too many penalties at times. He could be a nice pickup, but I’m guessing the Avs wouldn’t be able to go much past $1 million for him. He made $800K the past two seasons, but could be a nice fit next to Jack Drury and Parker Kelly.

Who are we leaning into to make the next permanent jump from the AHL to the NHL?

— DoctaMan, via Reddit

The simple answer is Ivan Ivan. He played 40 games for the Avs this season, but also hit the rookie wall. He can be a defensively responsible fourth-line guy, but whether or not he provides enough energy and offense to become a trusted guy for Jared Bednar like Kelly, Drury or Logan O’Connor have remains to be seen.

Nikita Prishchepov is intriguing. He might have a little more upside. He looked like he belonged at times with the Avs last season. But he’s going to need to prove he can do more and do it more consistently to become a regular for them and not just an injury fill-in.

Oskar Olausson and Jean-Luc Foudy have the potential to be more, but they both had so-so years at best and would need a big training camp to get back into this type of discussion.

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A very important offseason is coming for several players on the roster, but maybe none more than forwards Oskar Olausson and Jean-Luc Foudy. Both players had difficult seasons, and their status as top prospects in the organization has slipped.

“It was some good experience in the playoffs, but this offseason is going to be huge,” Olausson said. “I sort of found my game a little bit, but it’s been up-and-down this year.

“I’m excited for next year and to get back to work.”

Olausson was a late first-round pick in the 2021 NHL draft. Foudy was a third-round selection the year before.

Both have dealt with injuries, though that’s been a bigger issue for Foudy. They were the only two skaters on the ice Monday for the Eagles who were drafted by the Avalanche.

Trent Miner, a seventh-round pick, was in net. Sean Behrens (second-round pick, injured) and Taylor Makar (seventh-rounder, healthy scratch) were also with the team, but Olausson and Foudy have been the homegrown players on the Eagles’ roster with the highest expectations for multiple seasons.

They are different types of players. Olausson has obvious NHL attributes, namely his skating and heavy shot, and a sturdy frame that should allow him to find success in the difficult scoring areas.

Getting to those areas and finding opportunities for him to shoot have been a problem at times, even at this level. Olausson has scored exactly 11 goals in each of his three AHL seasons, which was a solid total last season (in 39 games) but less so this year (in 61 contests).

He’s also scored one goal in 16 career Calder Cup Playoff games. He did not score in six postseason games for the Eagles this year, though he had an assist in each of the previous three games before this one.

“He’s got all the tools,” Eagles coach Aaron Schneekloth said. “When he’s playing his game, using his speed and skill, he’s dangerous. We’ve had conversations with him about it. It’s tough to get to the next level. Consistency, strength, battles, some edginess — that’s what he needs to work on.

“He comes to the rink every day and he skates hard. It’s not the easiest path for him, but he’s going to need to be persistent.”

Foudy is smaller, but often plays with a fearless attitude. He’s gotten more time with the Avalanche than Olausson — 13 games, including his first NHL goal in 2023-24.

But the Avs used 11 forwards this season who spent time with the Eagles, plus rookies Calum Ritchie and Nikolai Kovalenko, before they were traded. Foudy was not one of them. And Olausson only earned two games with the big club.

Foudy did score a big goal for the Eagles in Game 4 to help get the club into this win-or-go-home elimination contest. He’s also a restricted free agent, while Olausson has one more year on his contract.

There was an opportunity to plant seeds with the Avs this season. Undrafted center Ivan Ivan took advantage and spent 40 games in the big leagues. Whether it was injuries or inconsistent performance, these two promising forwards have yet to earn an extended look with the parent club.

“It’s unfortunate,” Foudy said of the injuries. “This year, the year before, but it is what it is, and you’ve got to learn from it. It gives you a chance to work on stuff, like getting stronger.

“Every year, you get a chance to reset in the offseason. You can get bigger and stronger, especially when you’re younger. (The Avs) have a great team, but it resets every year and you get a new opportunity, so we’ll see what happens.”

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