upcoming season expectations

[twostroke27]

What does everyone hope/expect to see this upcoming season for the team?

Mine are:

- Progress towards even possession stats. I don't expect them to have a positive shot diff, but I do expect them to be much more close to even

- Battle for the wild card spot again. I don't think they'll make the playoffs, but I think they'll bring it right down to the wire.

- Mack is gonna have a breakout season this year

- Duchene is going to thrive under a competent coach, something he has never had in Colorado.

- Zadorov steps in and stays in. He's inconsistent at times, but makes big steps forward, consistently in the top 2 pairings and playing stints on the top pairing

- Grigs becomes a legit top 6 player with excellent two way play and finds a little bit of the offense.

- Picks will have an excellent season and so will Varly, making it even harder to decide who to protect for the expansion draft.

What do you guys think?

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[Taak19]

I just want them to start the game on time and make clean crisp passes.

Oh and I also want them to stop with that 4 men on the blue line and wait for 1 guy to carry it in after a drop pass on the powerplay.

 

[linusandvarlamov]

I'm fine with Avs not making the playoffs this year, but I do expect all the players on the team to fight for a playoff spot till the very end of the season. We can't close out a season again where the team goes on a 6 game losing streak.

- I'd really like to see a better transition game from defense to offense. Bednar is obviously going to have to work on it with the entire group. Seeing less turnovers this year compared to the Roy era would be awesome.

- I'd like to see a bit of a change of identity on the offensive side of the game. Hopefully we're less of an opportunistic team and a better possession team this year. Just progress in this direction would make me happy.

- I'd like to see Zads stay on the team this year. I don't know how he's looked in pre-season.

- Seeing Grigs take it to the next level would be absolutely incredible for the team.

- Mackinnon racking up more points than his rookie season would be sweet.

And lastly I'm really interested to see what Rantanen can bring this year ! I don't really know what to expect from him but I guess that's what's exciting !

 

[flyfysher]

Everything everyone else has already posted plus some semblance of a real PP. Is Army still in charge of the PP?

 

[Pokecheque]

Everything everyone else has already posted plus some semblance of a real PP. Is Army still in charge of the PP?

Yeah, and I'm pretty sure if he doesn't get it working he'll be gone. And I think we will all be shocked beyond belief if Farrish makes it to next season.

My expectations are this:

MacKinnon and Landeskog finally make that transition to franchise players. Yes, I realize they haven't sucked by any means but I feel like they have left A LOT on the table the past two seasons. I'm hoping that stops this year. And yes, I expect a little more from Duchene as well.

We finally see some balance on the back end instead of watching EJ and Beauchemin get drilled into the ice playing obscene minutes every game. I expect at least one d-man to step up, whether it's Zadorov or Bigras or someone else.

Better special teams. No more excuses at this point. And I am SICK AND TIRED of these guys making 5-on-3 look like the hardest thing in the world.

A bottom six that can actually be trusted in key situations. The Avs actually had a not-bad 4th line last season, but I want to see a GOOD 3rd and 4th line this year.

Improvement from Iggy. I can see why some issues arose last season, but Roy doesn't deserve all the blame there. I think we will see a revitalized #12. Not dominant, but better. Keep in mind even playing "poorly," he still put up 22 goals and 47 points.

Y'know one thing I'm actually concerned about...when will Bednar pull the goalie?

 

[twostroke27]

Yeah, and I'm pretty sure if he doesn't get it working he'll be gone. And I think we will all be shocked beyond belief if Farrish makes it to next season.

My expectations are this:

MacKinnon and Landeskog finally make that transition to franchise players. Yes, I realize they haven't sucked by any means but I feel like they have left A LOT on the table the past two seasons. I'm hoping that stops this year. And yes, I expect a little more from Duchene as well.

We finally see some balance on the back end instead of watching EJ and Beauchemin get drilled into the ice playing obscene minutes every game. I expect at least one d-man to step up, whether it's Zadorov or Bigras or someone else.

Better special teams. No more excuses at this point. And I am SICK AND TIRED of these guys making 5-on-3 look like the hardest thing in the world.

A bottom six that can actually be trusted in key situations. The Avs actually had a not-bad 4th line last season, but I want to see a GOOD 3rd and 4th line this year.

Improvement from Iggy. I can see why some issues arose last season, but Roy doesn't deserve all the blame there. I think we will see a revitalized #12. Not dominant, but better. Keep in mind even playing "poorly," he still put up 22 goals and 47 points.

Y'know one thing I'm actually concerned about...when will Bednar pull the goalie?

I think iggy will revitalized too. And I'm more curious to see how many times Patrick Roy is referenced during the broadcast if Bednar does pull the goalie early hahaha.

I would actually be thrilled if they had to pull the goalie a lot less!

 

[the_fan]

Based on preseason performance so far, and history of past success for the Avs under a new 1st year coach, i'd say there is a good chance Avs overtake the Jets and the Wild in central and make the playoffs as a WC team. Of course they can always overachieve like Roy's first year, probably not win the central, but perhaps finish top 4 in central although it's unlikely.

 

[linusandvarlamov]

Y'know one thing I'm actually concerned about...when will Bednar pull the goalie?

Yeah, that's one thing I'll miss. Having Roy pull the goalie with 9 min left, 4 min left, 2 min left in the 3rd ; you never knew when he was gonna do it and the number of times we actually were able to make a comeback was insane. It'll be interesting for sure to see what Bednar's policy will be on this point.

 

[kulenova seka]

I expect progression of some players, but don't think we can go into PO, too many good teams.

 

[Over the Pants Landy]

I want the same as the preseason so 82-0

 

[Lord Moriarty007]

I don't to expect to make the playoffs. I see us as a bubble team. Can't wait for iggy off the books.

 

[agentblack]

Realistic expectations ...that this year will be essentially identical to last years. We may even start hot but things will even themselves out by year's end

Fantasy expectations---Grigs, Rants, Zads makes huge leaps in their development, Mack goes Nuclear on the NHL, Landy, Dutchy, EJ, and Varly play all 82 games and all have decent to good years. Barrie puts up 70-75 pts..we make the playoffs

 

[Steerpike]

I think people are a little too hesitant about us making the playoffs.

When a team like Toronto hires Babcock while gutting the team of talent, of course you won't see the team make progress.

However the Avs have a lot of talent. We've been putting together okay seasons off of mostly talent for a while. Just watch the kind of moves EJ and Barrie regularly had to pull in order to get the puck out of our zone. We have a ton of potential.

I'm not planning the parade, but I definitely expect us to make the big show.


Avs FF%:

2010-2013: 49.1
2013-2016: 45.3


There's tremendous room for improvement.

 

[tucker3434]

Mostly I expect competitive hockey, it getting outshot by double digits night after night. I expect to be a bubble team.

 

[StayAtHomeAv]

Realistic expectations ...that this year will be essentially identical to last years. We may even start hot but things will even themselves out by year's end

Fantasy expectations---Grigs, Rants, Zads makes huge leaps in their development, Mack goes Nuclear on the NHL, Landy, Dutchy, EJ, and Varly play all 82 games and all have decent to good years. Barrie puts up 70-75 pts..we make the playoffs

That's quite the workload for Varly

 

[agentblack]

That's quite the workload for Varly

Well it is my fantasy

 

[titan]

I think with the improved coaching the Avs sneak into the playoffs as a WC team. That will be a successful season. I miss going to playoff games at the Pepsi Center! (I was at all 4 of the Wild series and most in the franchise's glory days)

 

[Nalens Oga]

So this is what the Ducks' lineup for forwards is projecting to begin the season apparently without Rakell/Lindholm signed. C'mon, we can beat this if Bednar has these guys going. If Rakell/Lindholm miss like a month or two of the season then we have to capitalize on that:

Ritchie-Getzlaf-Perry
Cogliano-Kesler-Silfverberg
Raymond-Vermette-Sorensen
Garbutt-Wagner-Boll

 

[McMetal]

The playoffs are in reach. We barely missed last year with basement level coaching. It really all depends on how Bednar can hack it in the NHL, and whether the injury bug bites us hard. If I'm right and Bednar is the coach who can channel the talent we have, making the playoffs is a real possibility we shouldn't discount.

 

[S E P H]

We also have to understand that one of the main reasons why the Avs were close to a playoff spot was due to the suckage of the Predators and Wild, BUT especially the Pacific Division. Nashville then decided to play some decent hockey and they launched off to a point of no return.

I think Avs will be the definition of a bubble team this year. I've seen much improvement in training camp and the preseason games I went to. But I do see some familiar sequences from previous seasons...like getting insanely out-shot against Wild's "C-" team for example. What this season is going to be, is a work in progress. Though with that said, there is enough talent on this squad to fix the wrongs of last season and become a middle ranged playoff club. In the end, I think they will be a bubble team where if they grab some momentum, they can definitely make a serious and contending push to the postseason. If they yet again struggle to close off games, we'll be seeing an improved team, but not one who can make some dents into the post season. I think we end up being around 13th to 17th range in the final draft rankings.

I am a big believer that each division normally goes through cycles, like teams do in terms of being good and being bad. As every team normally has to go through a rebuild, each division ebbs and flows through cycles being great for half a decade and then falling apart. I think we're starting to see the Central division start to crumble a bit, which is good news for the Avs. Winnipeg, Nashville, and Dallas are still on the rise and will be contenders for the Avs when they get their things together as well. But St. Louis has gotten noticeably weaker, Chicago has some of the worst depth of any playoff bound club, and Minnesota is aging into the abyss without any talent to replenish it. I also highly doubt that the Stars are able to replicate their success of finishing first in the division with that type of goaltending and defensive core. Even Predators have some serious problems with Rinne, he just wasn't the goaler he once was. Winnipeg is one team which does scare me because they have gotten better and it sounds like Pavelec and Hutchinson are on short leashes for Hellebuyck, who I think is going to be VERY good.

Now for the Pacific, the only wildcard here should be the Oilers, but I don't have any faith in them actually becoming good until they actually show they are not fairies. It still should be a weak division as Central should easily get both playoff spots this year. But once Avs become playoff contenders, if they ever do, the Pacific will be more battle ready then for one of the wildcards. Calgary and Arizona are looking more like they're in store for some quick rebuilds than a super long one which the St. Louis Blues went through.

 

[Pokecheque]

I think they'll fall short of the playoffs. I just think the entire conference is just way too competitive, especially in the Central. There's no single team I see taking a major step back. Maybe the Wylde implode, I don't know, depends on what version of Devan Dubnyk they end up getting.

 

[Tweaky]

93pt bubble team, with incremental development from most of the youngsters, some improvements from the core and vets due to structure, and ending up a platoon in goal.

 

[Skip2myBordyloo]

I don't to expect to make the playoffs. I see us as a bubble team. Can't wait for iggy off the books.

I can't wait till Brad Stuart is off the books.

Iginla is at least going to net us 20 goals and a trade return.

 

[tigervixxxen]

I'll eat massive crow if they prove me wrong but I'll be absolutely shocked if they actually move Iginla. But fair point that he's going to do something better than Stuart will.

 

[Pokecheque]

I don't think I'll be entirely shocked. This looks very much like the final season of the storied career of Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla, and if the Avs are on the outside looking in come deadline time, I'm guessing he'll ask for one last shot, and I think teams will be interested.