A look at the Colorado Avalanche’s roster heading into the 2022-23 season.
FORWARDS
81 Anton Blidh
LW | 27 | 6-foot-1 | 197 pounds
The Swedish forward signed as a free agent after leaving Boston. He appeared in 32 games for the Bruins last year and notched a career-high nine points (two goals and seven assists).
11 Andrew Cogliano
LW/C | 35 | 5-10 | 175
Colorado acquired the journeyman forward at the trade deadline last season. While his numbers weren’t huge in the regular season (one assist in 18 games), his veteran presence was welcome in the Avs’ locker room. His performance picked up in the playoffs, when he registered six points (three assists) in 16 games, including two game-winning goals. He signed a one-year deal to remain with the Avs in July.
37 J.T. Compher
LW | 27 | 6-0 | 190 pounds
Compher recorded career highs in goals (18) and points (33) for the Avs last season. A mainstay on the team’s powerplay lines.
43 Darren Helm
C/LW | 35 | 6-0 | 192
The 16-year veteran is entering his second season with the Avs after signing a one-year extension with the team in July. Helm was a valuable fourth-line forward in the postseason with a relentless forecheck and defensive shutdown ability. Helm, unavailable to start the season, may be best remembered for his game-winning goal in Game 6 against the Blues that finally got Colorado over the second-round hump.
92 Gabe Landeskog
LW | 29 | 6-1 | 215
The Avs’ captain since 2012, Landeskog is entering his 12th season in the league. Statistically, he’s coming off his best season in terms of per-game averages in points (1.16), goals (0.59) and assists (0.57). As tough as he is skilled, he’s not afraid to throw down the gloves in defense of his team. He is expected to miss the start of the season with a lower body injury.
62 Artturi Lehkonen
LW | 27 | 5-11 | 179
A trade deadline pick-up last March, the Fin proved to be a valuable addition on the wing with 14 points (8 goals, 6 assists) during the Avs’ run to the Stanley Cup. And the team rewarded him handsomely for his production with a five-year contract extension worth $22.5 million.
29 Nathan MacKinnon
C | 27 | 6-0 | 200
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 NHL entry draft has lived up to the billing as one of the league’s best players. He scored 88 points (32 goals and 56 assists) in 65 games last season and led the team in goals (13) in the playoffs. He was a Hart Trophy finalist in three of the past five seasons and is a five-time all-star.
59 Ben Meyers
C | 23 | 5-11 | 194
A Hobey Baker Award finalist after compiling 41 points (17 goals, 24 assists) as Minnesota’s captain last season, the promising young forward will start out with the big club after signing a two-year contract in the spring. How long he will stay with the Avs remains to be seen.
18 Alex Newhook
C | 21 | 5-10 | 190
The 2019 first-round pick is entering his third season with Colorado. With Nazem Kadri signing with Calgary in the offseason, Newhook is one of the young players the team is hoping can take the next leap to fill the void. A speedy forward, he scored 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists) last season.
13 Valeri Nichushkin
RW | 27 | 6-4 | 210
The big Russian forward made huge strides last season, notching career-highs in points (52), goals (25) and assists (27) in 62 regular-season games. He was the Avs’ fifth-leading scorer in the playoffs with 15 points in 20 games. His play earned him an eight-year, $49 million contract in the offseason that will keep him with the team until 2030.
25 Logan O’Connor
RW | 26 | 6-0 | 175
Gritty with offensive potential, the former University of Denver standout played his first full season with the Avs last year, tallying 24 points (eight goals and 16 assists) in 81 games.
97 Mikko Rantanen
RW | 26 | 6-4 | 215
The Finnish forward enters his eighth season in Colorado. One of the NHL’s top right wings, Rantanen hit career-highs in goals (36) and points (92) during the 2021-22 season. He is a force on the power play, and led the team with 16 goals with a man advantage and added 19 assists. He was also second on the roster in postseason points (25) and assists (20).
9 Evan Rodrigues
C | 29 | 5-11 | 184
Rodrigues signed a one-year, $2 million deal with Colorado in September. The late-blooming, undrafted forward had the best season of his career last year with the Penguins, tallying 43 points (19 goals and 24 assists) in 82 games. He was off to a hot start prior to the all-star break (32 points in 46 games), but his production tapered off late in the season (11 points in the final 36 games).
45 Lucas Sedlak
C | 29 | 6-0 | 205
Sedlak spent the last three years playing with Traktor Chelyabinsk in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League. He was the team’s leading scorer for two of his seasons there and finished with 121 points (57 goals and 64 assists) in 164 games. A sixth-round pick in the 2011 NHL draft, he also notched three seasons with Columbus as a depth forward.
DEFENSEMEN
4 Bo Byram
D | 21 | 6-1 | 190
Limited to 30 regular-season games due to a head injury last season, the 2019 first-round pick (4th overall) may find himself skating alongside Cale Makar on the Avs’ top defensive pairing someday soon. For now, the left-shot D-man will have to settle for performing like a top-pair defenseman — and possibly getting paid like one after he hits restricted free agency in the offseason.
49 Samuel Girard
D | 24 | 5-10 | 170
Knocked out of the Avs’ Cup run in the second round with a broken sternum, Girard is healthy and looking to recapture his 2020-21 form. Offseason speculation had Girard and his $5 million annual cap hit on the trading block, but his ability to move the puck remains valuable, and the right pairing could unlock his considerable skills.
6 Erik Johnson
D | 34 | 6-4 | 225
A veteran leader and steady hand on the blue line, Johnson accepted a diminished role to help push the Avs to the Stanley Cup last spring. Now down to the final year of a seven-year, $42 million contract signed back in 2016, this could be his swan song in burgundy and blue.
56 Kurtis MacDermid
D | 28 | 6-5 | 233
Perhaps best known for his marathon fight with Anaheim forward Nicolas Deslauriers on national TV last January, MacDermid is a big, physical blue liner who isn’t afraid to play the role of enforcer when needed.
8 Cale Makar
D | 23 | 5-11 | 187
Calder, Norris and Conn Smythe trophies all have a spot on the Makar family mantle. Could the Hart Trophy be next? Rare as that is — a defenseman hasn’t won league MVP since 2000 — Makar is a rare talent. Perhaps a more attainable goal for the Avs’ ice time leader: Becoming the first D-man to score 30 goals in a single season since 2008. He had 28 last season.
42 Josh Manson
D | 31 | 6-3 | 218
One of Joe Sakic’s key trade deadline acquisitions last March, Manson brought a heavy presence to an already deep D corps. But as his eight points (three goals, five assists) during the postseason proved, there’s more than one dimension to his game — something the right-shot blueliner should tap into even more with a full season in Colorado.
7 Devon Toews
D | 28 | 6-1 | 191
The other half of the NHL’s top defensive pairing, Toews is an ideal left-shot complement to Makar’s all-ice wizardry. Known for his meticulous preparation, the British Columbia native rarely puts himself or his teammates in a bad spot. That’s one of the many reasons he was fourth in the league in plus/minus (52) last year.
GOALTENDERS
39 Pavel Francouz
G | 32 | 6-0 | 179
An unorthodox right-hand-catching goalie, Francouz gives opponents a different look between the pipes. Called into action multiple times after Darcy Kuemper went down in the playoffs, “Frankie” stepped up with a 2.81 goals against average and perfect 6-0 record. With Kuemper off to the D.C., the Avs may need him even more. The one worry if he’s the team’s top man in net: Can Francouz stay healthy?
40 Alexandar Georgiev
G | 26 | 6-1 | 178
Like Pavel Francouz, Georgiev has never been a No. 1 goaltender in the NHL. Now he’s one half of the Avs’ big gamble in net after they acquired the Bulgarian in a trade with the Rangers and signed him to a three-year, $10.2 million contract extension. Georgiev had his moments in the Big Apple, but he has also seen his save percentage decline in each of his five NHL seasons.
