Do the Avs get over the hump this year?

[avsfan9]

Hello fellow avs fans. I’m just curious as to where the fans sit going into this season with all the departures and additions. Are we a better team? Are we worse then last year? Can we at least make the finals this year?

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[henchman21]

Avs are a worse team right now with significantly more injury risk. They are still a top 2-3 team in the West and should, at very least, advance to the 2nd round (the West as a whole is pretty crappy). Additions or growth by young players made during the season will probably make or break the ability to go deeper into the playoffs (that and goalie health).

Based on the 2nd round exit part, voting about the same.

 

[avsfan9]

Avs are a worse team right now with significantly more injury risk. They are still a top 2-3 team in the West and should, at very least, advance to the 2nd round (the West as a whole is pretty crappy). Additions or growth by young players made during the season will probably make or break the ability to go deeper into the playoffs (that and goalie health).

Based on the 2nd round exit part, voting about the same.

Yeah most of our additions are injury prone players coming to an oft injured team. If they stay healthy though the additions are better and I think that helps us get to the holy grail

 

[AvsFan29]

I think Makar takes another step forward. Byram will be a completely different player than he was last year. We have the best defence in the league and the best top line. If our bottom 9 can be even average, we’ll do well. When it comes to winning the cup, who knows. There’s a lot of luck involved. Montreal was in the final last year and they aren’t really even a good team.

 

[duckbear]

I dont think the Avs are any better this year but I dont think they are significantly worse. I do worry about injuries, but I think they underachieved significantly last year, so I think they will get past the 2nd round this season.

 

[The Abusement Park]

The forward group is objectively worse this year. Unless Maltsev has a big season our C depth is somehow even worse than last season and the depth isn't ideal. But the defense looks good and depending on Byrams development the D core could take a very solid step forward. But we could also very easily lose Murray and EJ for ~40% of the season which would be a real problem. Same thing with Kuemper. Overall I don't see much difference between this and last season so my expectation is still the same as last year. Need to get to a Cup final.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

If Kuemper is healthy come playoff time they have a shot.

 

[The Kingslayer]

I said no.

Defensively I don't think they take a step back and if they do it will be minimal if they stay relatively healthy. Im looking for Cale Makar to really dominate this season. He can start by staying healthy for a change.

Goaltending I think stays about the same if not a little better. We wont see as many glove side goals go in and I can almost guarantee no goal from the blueline flat on the ice no screen goes in either. Health is a concern for Darcy but health was also a concern for Grubauer going into last season.

Forward is where I see the biggest regression. This team is close to bein a one line team again. No, I don't believe Kadri being in a contract year is going to all a sudden "flip the switch" and become a useful offensive player again. I would love to see it but I have no faith in Kadri.

Coaching. This is a make or break year for Bednar. Its pretty much third round or you out. Maybe Jared figures a way to rally the troops going into a third period down a goal or two. Maybe he steps in and does something about the stupid bumper play on the PP that has yielded a grand total of 4 goals over the past two seasons. Maybe he figures out that JTC is nothing more than a 4th line RW and doesn't play him up in the line up and PP.

Too many question marks for a cup contending team. First or second round exit this season. Massive changes next season.

 

[missionAvs]

Voted the 3rd option and that pisses me off. Last year was probably our best chance. Can they win, yes, absolutely. They have as good a chance as any team not named Tampa but I felt more confident going into last season for sure. I literally don't think we'll get 82 combined games between EJ and Murray and that'll make our incredible defense on paper look much worse overall.

 

[Balthazar]

Montreal was in the final last year and they aren’t really even a good team.

They were built for a playoff run: Deep at center, elite defensively, huge defense and top goaltending.

We, on the other hand, are built like Toronto: pretty much relying on talent alone.

In fact if we play Vegas again in a playoff series I don't see why the result would be any different as we have the same weaknesses as last year and the same coach.

I don't think Kadri can be a difference maker at this point in his career and our only wildcard is Kuemper having a higher ceiling than Grubauer.

 

[JWK]

No because the rules in the playoff completely change from the regular season

 

[AvsFan29]

They were built for a playoff run: Deep at center, elite defensively, huge defense and top goaltending.

We, on the other hand, are built like Toronto.

In fact if we play Vegas again in a playoff series I don't see why the result would be any different as we have the same weaknesses as last year and the same coach.

I don't think Kadri can be a difference maker at this point in his career and our only wildcard is Kuemper having a higher ceiling than Grubauer.

I don’t even know where to begin, you’re so incorrect.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

I don’t think they’re going to win the presidents trophy, so statistically speaking you could probably say they’ll be worse.

Can they have decent health come playoff time? That’s really all it’s about. The team is good enough to make a run.

Tampa, and maybe Boston are the only other teams that have 3 top-20 players on the same team. Combine that with guys like Toews, Girard, Newhook, Byram, Burakovsky, Landeskog, Kadri and I think this team has an overall strong roster.

Ultimately I think the losses at forward will largely be filled internally. I’m pretty confident in the defence.

Odds are still against a championship run, but they have a solid chance.

 

[Balthazar]

I don’t even know where to begin, you’re so incorrect.

Unless you mistakenly believe that rookies are difference makers in the playoffs, I even don't see where you have room to disagree. It's a weaker version of the same team.

 

[Balthazar]

No because the rules in the playoff completely change from the regular season

Not just the rules. It's a different game which is why president trophy winners very rarely win the cup. Different game that requires different strengths to win.

 

[AvsFan29]

Unless you mistakenly believe that rookies are difference makers in the playoffs, I even don't see where you have room to disagree. It's a weaker version of the same team.

Would you trade our team for Montreal’s? Obviously not. There’s a lot of luck involved in the playoffs, and it’s tough for even the best teams to be consistent enough to put together 16 wins. That’s why we beat the hell out of Vegas in game one, and then looked like a completely different team in games 3-6. That’s also why Vegas managed to beat a much better Colorado team, only to lose to a Montreal team that barely made the playoffs. It’s consistency and luck.

 

[Balthazar]

Would you trade our team for Montreal’s? Obviously not. There’s a lot of luck involved in the playoffs, and it’s tough for even the best teams to be consistent enough to put together 16 wins. That’s why we beat the hell out of Vegas in game one, and then looked like a completely different team in games 3-6. That’s also why Vegas managed to beat a much better Colorado team, only to lose to a Montreal team that barely made the playoffs. It’s consistency and luck.

Vegas struggled against Minny, kicked our ass and got their ass kicked by Montreal. That's not just luck, that how teams are built.

 

[AvsFan29]

Vegas struggled against Minny, kicked our ass and got their ass kicked by Montreal. That's not just luck, that how teams are built.

They didn’t get their ass kicked by Montreal lol they dominated most of their games and still lost.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

Can we please stop talking about Montreal like they’re some kind of standard for playoff success? They had one playoff run and ultimately lost decisively in the finals.

The only thing their run proved is that luck matters in sports.

Look at teams like Tampa, Pittsburgh, or Chicago to measure playoff success.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

I voted more of the same. 2nd/3rd round exit is the same shit for me; you didn’t get to the dance.

We need 3 key things to take the next step and change my opinion:

1. Health since many of our players are walking bandaids.

2. Significant progression from young players like Byram, Newhook, etc. and rebound season from Kadri.

3. Solid TDL acquisitions, ie. not fkn Soda and Nemeth.

As many of you know, I think Bednar is a pretty average coach with some major flaws. I don’t think he’s a coach that wins a Cup, but the three areas above can hide/mask some of his deficiencies.

A ton of ‘if’ statements, so I feel more confident choosing Option C.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

The team is worse no doubt about it, unless some of the rookies suddenly become high end players straight away.

The Avs don't have a strong 2nd, 3rd or 4th line. You need depth to win it all and right now they don't have it.

They could still make it past the 2nd round, the West only has one other top team in Vegas so who knows. Might even make the finals if Vegas gets knocked out by another team.

 

[Ararana]

Voted 'they're about the same' but not necessarily guaranteed to be another second round exit.

It all comes down to health and the development in the NHL for Byram and Newhook IMO. If the answers to those two questions are positive, I like their chances to go all the way.

Vegas and Tampa took their hits as well this offseason.

 

[katfude]

I can't vote in this poll because i think we do get over the hump, but we are not a better team.

 

[dahrougem2]

If the Avs are healthy they're going to the Western Conference Finals and likely playing Vegas again, with revenge on their minds. So if healthy, I do believe the Avs are going to the Stanley Cup Finals. Just break it down:

Central Division:
Chicago - not picking them to beat the Avs in a playoff series
Nashville - missing playoffs
Arizona - lol
Dallas - not picking them to beat the Avs in a playoff series if Kuemper or Francouz is healthy
St. Louis - not picking them to beat the Avs in a playoff series
Minnesota - close, but picking the Avs
Winnipeg - close, but picking the Avs

We're playing two of those seven teams come playoff time, and my money is on only having to play one of Minnesota/Winnipeg who I believe are the 2nd and 3rd best teams in the division.

The Avs get out of the Central and meet Vegas in the WCF. The series will be difficult, no doubt, but if the Avs are healthy and Nazem Kadri hasn't shoved his head so far up his own ass yet, I think the Avs can beat Vegas. This last season the series was 3 games in favour of Vegas and 3 games in favour of the Avs with Kadri being out for all 6 games - Grubauer just happened to suck from the 3rd period of game 5 onward. Plus, it's Lehner and not Fleury.

Ultimately, I do believe we go to the Stanley Cup Finals but like I said, I don't know if we win it. To me this feels very much like the year the Denver Broncos went to the Super Bowl and got murdered by Seattle. I think if we run into one of Tampa Bay/ New York Islanders we're going to get steamrolled unless some serious additions to the team's 3rd line are made.

 

[cinchronicity]

Nothing about the players matters one bit. If the version of Bednar this season has not changed from the past two seasons, the team has little chance to get out of the second round.