LEADING SCORERS
RW Jarome Iginla (29 G, 30 A, 59 P)
LW Gabriel Landeskog (23 G, 36 A, 59 P)
LW Alex Tanguay (22 G, 33 A, 55 P)
LAST SEASON
The Colorado Avalanche's season was somewhat of a disappointment. When I say disappointment, I don't mean it was an all around bad season. The Avalanche didn't do too bad, they finished the season with a record above .500, but unfortunately the Western Conference was too good, and they didn't make the playoffs. After an amazing 2013-14 season that saw them come close to winning the President's Trophy, the Avs had high expectations coming into 2014-15, but failed to meet those expectations. The offseason prior, they added two veterans to boulster their roster and help out their young players. These veterans were Jarome Iginla and Daniel Briere. Iginla worked out really well, leading the Avalanche in points, but Briere struggled to find ice time and even watched a few games from the press box. At the deadline, the Avs traded Maxime Talbot along with Paul Carey to the Boston Bruins for Jordan Caron and a 6th round pick in 2016. They followed up with two minor moves, dealing Karl Stollery to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Freddie Hamilton, and then finally traded Michael Sgarbossa to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Mat Clark. When the Avalanche finished their season, they were disappointed, but with their young talent coming up, they looked forward to the offseason with optimism.
OFFSEASON
IN
Carl Soderberg
Nikita Zadorov
Mikhail Grigorenko
J.T Compher
Francois Beauchemin
Blake Comeau
OUT
Ryan Wilson
Jan Hejda
Tomas Vincour
Ryan O'Reilly
Jamie McGinn
Jonas Holos
Jordan Caron
Mitchell Heard
Markus Lauridsen
Daniel Briere
Bruno Gervais
The Colorado Avalanche began their offseason with a somewhat significant trade, dealing a sixth round pick to the Boston Bruins in exchange for centre Carl Soderberg. This seemed to be a sign that someone would be traded, and it turned out to be true. On draft day, the Avalanche traded Ryan O'Reilly and Jamie McGinn to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Nikita Zadorov, Mikhail Grigorenko, J.T Compher, and a second round pick. They went into the draft and used their first round pick at 10th overall to select big winger Mikko Rantanen from TPS of the SM-Liiga. Heading into free agency, the Avalanche released several veterans along the lines of Daniel Briere and Jan Hejda, and replaced them with new veterans such as Francois Beauchemin and Blake Comeau. Besides the O'Reilly deal, this was a relatively quiet offseason for the Avs, but they continued to slowly and steadily improve their roster for the upcoming season.
NEXT SEASON PT 1. OFFENSE
Heading into the following season, look for the Avalanche's offseason to be led by the young talent of Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, and Nathan Mackinnon, with veteran help coming in from Alex Tanguay and Jarome Iginla. Carl Soderberg will have large shoes to fill because of O'Reilly's departure, but he should do a decent job. Regarding another part of the O'Reilly trade, expect Mikhail Grigorenko to join the Avs roster and rebound this season under his old head coach and current Avs coach Patrick Roy.
NEXT SEASON PT 2. DEFENSE
The Avalanche lost veteran defensive help such as Jan Hejda and Ryan Wilson, but they brought in a new presence in Francois Beachemin. Look for their defense to be led by Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie, with Beauchemin providing further help. Nikita Zadorov will likely look to make a push for the roster as well as fellow acquisition Mikhail Grigorenko, and hopefully look for the roster spot to be permanent.
NEXT SEASON PT 3. GOALTENDING
The Avalanche goaltending will without question be led by Semyon Varlamov, with Reto Berra backing him up. That being said, if Varlamov or Berra gets injured, Calvin Pickard will likely be the first callup to take over for one or the other and get a small taste of NHL action.
POSSIBLE 2015-16 OPENING NIGHT LINEUP
Gabriel Landeskog - Matt Duchene - Jarome Iginla
Alex Tanguay - Carl Soderberg - Nathan Mackinnon
Blake Comeau - Mikhail Grigorenko - Dennis Everberg
Cody McLeod - John Mitchell - Borna Rendulic
Tyson Barrie - Erik Johnson
Francois Beauchemin - Nick Holden
Nikita Zadorov - Brad Stuart
Semyon Varlamov
Reto Berra
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