For a team with 17 regulars back from a deep playoff run, there will still be intrigue at Colorado Avalanche training camp.
Assuming everyone is in good health, it wouldn’t be hard to predict 19 of the 20 players who will dress for the Sept. 30 game against the Los Angeles Kings. How Jared Bednar plans to deploy his players in the lineup, however, remains uncertain as camp officially opens Thursday.
The top six defensemen and both goaltenders are back from the Presidents’ Trophy-winning team that was swept out of the Western Conference Final. Three forwards are gone, including two-way terror Valeri Nichushkin, trusted center Jack Drury and versatile but streaky Ross Colton.
As a reminder, when thinking about Avs roster construction — particularly up front — here is what president/general manager Joe Sakic said July 1 after signing a top-nine forward option (Jaden Schwartz) and a No. 7 defenseman (Noah Juulsen).
“We’ll go with 12 forwards, but we feel we’ve got some really good young prospects that are ready to get some opportunities, get some games, so we wanted to give those guys every opportunity,” Sakic said.
That’s the best path to having a decent chunk of salary cap space available ahead of the trade deadline. It could make the final roster decisions pretty interesting.
Here’s a look at each spot in the lineup at the start of camp:
First line
Left wing
Favorite: None?
Contenders: Gabe Landeskog, Artturi Lehkonen
Lehkonen spent more time in this spot during the regular season, but Landeskog saw more time next to Nathan MacKinnon in the playoffs (a Lehkonen injury played a role in that). Both of these guys are going to play somewhere in the top six, unless Bednar gets really creative and tries to give the third line a boost.
Center
Favorite: Nathan MacKinnon
He’s pretty good.
Right wing
Favorite: Martin Necas
Contenders: Gabe Landeskog, Nazem Kadri
MacKinnon and Necas made magic together at even strength. The power play is another story, but the Avs outscored teams 84-36 when they were on the ice together (70.0%) during the regular season and 8-2 (80%) during the playoffs.
There is one intriguing wrinkle here. What if Bednar wanted to take a longer look at Necas on the second line, especially at some point when the offensive depth is a little stagnant? He should be able to trust his $11.5 million wing to drive his own line in a pinch.
Second line
Left wing
Favorite: Jaden Schwartz
Contenders: Artturi Lehkonen, Gabe Landeskog, Nazem Kadri
This is the first big pivot point. Will Schwartz get a shot in the top six from the start? Will Kadri get bumped up but shift out to the wing? If there are three lefties on the wings of the top two lines, which one will play on his off side, like Valeri Nichushkin often did?
Center
Favorite: Brock Nelson
Contender: Nazem Kadri
Nelson had a great regular season and feels pretty locked in here, at least to start. It would probably take a Nelson funk or an injury for Kadri to slot in as the No. 2 center.
Right wing
Favorite: Gabe Landeskog
Contenders: Nazem Kadri, Gavin Brindley, T.J. Hughes, Nicolas Roy, Martin Necas
Will the Avs give Brindley or Hughes an early-season shot with the big boys? Itap a short camp. Not much time to make a big impression. Itap worth noting that Colorado has 12 forwards on one-way contracts … while both Brindley and Hughes are on entry-level pacts, which means they don’t have to pass through waivers to play in Loveland.
Third line
Left wing
Favorite: Parker Kelly
Contenders: Jaden Schwartz, Zachary L’Heureux, Nazem Kadri, Gabe Landeskog
This feels like the right place for Kelly coming off a 21-goal season … unless Brindley or Hughes gets a shot on the second line.
Center
Favorite: Nazem Kadri
Contenders: Nicolas Roy
Kadri could end up in a bunch of different places … or Bednar could just let him start the year in the spot that makes a lot of sense and figure the rest of it out. Roy was the presumptive 3C addition ahead of the trade deadline last year, until the Avs brought Kadri back from Calgary the next day just before the buzzer.
Right wing
Favorite: Nicolas Roy
Contenders: Logan O’Connor, Parker Kelly, Gabe Landeskog
This one could also be pretty simple. If Kadri is the 3C, then Roy makes a ton of sense next to him. If Roy is in the middle, this one becomes more of the “after the other eight top-nine spots are set, who is left to fit here” variety.
Fourth line
Left wing
Favorite: Zachary L’Heureux
Contenders: Parker Kelly, Gavin Brindley, T.J. Hughes, Taylor Makar, Fabian Lysell, Nikita Prishchepov, Tristan Nielsen
Given both the contract situation and Sakic’s comments when the trade was made, this is probably L’Heureux’s spot to lose. They’d like him to find a role on this team, and add a different kind of energy.
If L’Heureux has a bad camp or there’s an injury, this spot becomes wide open and there are lots of guys who could get in the mix.
Center
Favorite: Fedor Svechkov
Contender: Nicolas Roy
Svechkov looks like a pretty easy fit here. Bednar could decide to load up down the middle, and MacKinnon-Nelson-Kadri-Roy would be one of the best and deepest center groups in the NHL.
Right wing
Favorite: Logan O’Connor
Contenders: Gavin Brindley, T.J. Hughes, Zachary L’Heureux, Taylor Makar, Fabian Lysell, Nikita Prishchepov, Tristan Nielsen
The Avs could have two young guys on this line, but O’Connor would be an obvious veteran mentor for Svechkov and L’Heureux or one of the prospects. Having a healthy O’Connor is another reason the Avs might not be better on paper than the team from May, but could be on par with the roster from the first two-thirds of last season.
Extra forward(s)
The Avs could keep an extra forward or two, but unless Sakic changes his mind, that’s not likely to happen. They will likely need an extra forward at times during the season — like, say, when a regular is nicked up and questionable to play on a given night.
Defense corps
First pair, left side
Favorite: Devon Toews
Contenders: Brett Kulak
Bednar and every patron at Ball Arena know that Toews and Makar work together as one of the best pairings in the NHL. But Bednar likes to tinker, and he found something last year with Toews and Sam Malinski. That pairing was really good together, but Kulak and Makar had pretty so-so results.
First pair, right side
Favorite: Cale Makar
He’s pretty good.
Second pair, left side
Favorite: Brett Kulak
Contenders: Josh Manson, Devon Toews
Second pair, right side
Favorite: Sam Malinski
Contenders: Brent Burns
If Bednar starts with Toews-Makar, the second pairing is likely to be Kulak next to Malinski. It was a breakout year for the latter. Whether or not he can maintain the gains he made last year is a storyline to watch, but he’s probably locked into this spot right now.
How much the second pairing plays compared to the third duo could fluctuate from night to night, and it might look more like 2A and 2B some games.
Third pair, left side
Favorite: Josh Manson
Contenders: Brett Kulak, Noah Juulsen, Alex Gagne
Third pair, right side
Favorite: Brent Burns
Contenders: Josh Manson, Sam Malinski
Manson settled in as the right-handed guy who played on the left side last year. Will that continue? Seems likely, considering that all six guys are back.
Extra defenseman
Favorite: Noah Juulsen
Contenders: Alex Gagne
Juulsen is the obvious guy here, but his $1.1 million salary cap hit does mean the Avs could put him on waivers and send him to Loveland without any cap penalty. Still, it’s a pretty short camp and it would be hard for one of the guys to supplant him.
Goaltenders
Starter
Favorite: None?
Contenders: Mackenzie Blackwood, Scott Wedgewood
Backup
Favorite: None?
Contenders: Mackenzie Blackwood, Scott Wedgewood
To recap last year, these guys combined to win the Jennings Trophy for the fewest goals allowed. Wedgewood finished the season in better form and began the playoffs as the No. 1 guy. Then Blackwood took over briefly in the second round, but Wedgewood got the net back for the conference final. He didn’t play poorly against Vegas, but Carter Hart was better while helping the Golden Knights build a 3-0 series lead. Blackwood was great in Game 4, but the Avs were a shell of themselves by that point and it ended in a sweep.
So, who is the guy now? Do the Avs need there to be a No. 1 guy in October? Probably not. Assuming there are no cracks in “The Lumberyard” relationship, those guys are probably going to split games when both are healthy. It might be better for the Avs’ championship ceiling if Blackwood is the guy in form when mid-April arrives, but that’s a long ways off.
No. 3 guy
Favorite: None?
Contenders: Trent Miner, Ilya Nabokov
Miner had a very nice playoff run last year until he got outplayed by a guy who wasn’t the other team’s starter earlier in the year (sounds pretty similar to what happened with the Avs). Nabokov is the club’s top prospect, but how ready is he for AHL games, let alone NHL action? We don’t know yet.
If one of the NHL guys gets hurt during camp, Miner is probably the better bet to backup on opening night, but don’t be surprised if Nabokov gets the call if the third guy is needed later in the season.
