Latest / Jablam Sports Hockey / Colorado Avalanche 2026-2027 Season Preview: Can GM Sakic build around A Top Heavy Cap Team?

Transcript

Colorado Avalanche 2026-2027 Season Preview: Can GM Sakic build around A Top Heavy Cap Team? · Jablam Sports Hockey

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Jablam Sports Hockey, your home for everything happening around the NHL.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Peter Bojarinov, and every episode we break down the biggest topics all hockey fans are talking about, with writers, TV, and radio experts from all 32 teams.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Today we're still doing our season previews with the Colorado Avalanche.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: And we've got guest Evan Rowal on the show, the beat writer for the Colorado Avalanche.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the show, Evan.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thanks for having me on.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: And in trending now, we'll talk about a GM getting locked up.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Let's drop the puck.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: You like the sound effect, Evan?
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I do.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: So last season, Colorado flew through the regular season.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Just destroying everybody.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: And they got to the conference final and it just looked like they ran out of steam, of course.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Nathan McKinnon, McCart not being 100% was a big factor in losing, getting swept by Vegas.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: What's one thing, maybe other than health of those two guys, that needs to happen for this team to get to the final and win it all?
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, if they're going to be facing similar teams to the Vegas and Dallas that have given them trouble in the past, it's going to be a willingness to, you know, maybe not stick around the outside so much.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: Things that work in the regular season that worked against like Minnesota, um, that didn't work against Vegas.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: You got to get to the nitty-gritty areas.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: And um, that's something that the Aves are constantly having to kind of deal with is do they have the guys that can go to the net?
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: They got Landiscog, they got Lekan and those guys will definitely go to the net, but um, so much of their offense is built around shooting from the point that if the puck's not getting through, it makes it a little bit tougher.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: So um that's kind of the big thing they're facing.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: Then I would obviously say goaltending as well.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: Who's gonna be the guy?
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: The Avs want Mackenzie Blackwood to be the guy.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Scott Wedgwood had a great year, but they clearly uh acquired Mackenzie Blackwood to be the goaltender, and they want him to take over, and they want him to be the guy that can steal games for them.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: So I would say those are the two things beyond just health.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: You mentioned those two goaltenders.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: They might be the best goaltending tandem in the NHL right now, McKenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgwood.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, Wedgewood was top five in the league in saves made above expected.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: He's the UFA after this year.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: So what do you think Sakik is gonna do?
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Is he gonna retain him or is he just gonna maybe lose him after a one year trial?
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: He's probably not gonna trade him, right?
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: I I would be surprised if he traded him.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, there are their options, are they have options, I guess I'll say.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Mackenzie Black was locked up.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if he has a good year, I don't I can't imagine they're gonna trade him because for a starting goaltender, he's got a great contract.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh with Wedgewood, it's really gonna come down to how he plays, if he can repeat what he did last year, um, and how Ilya Nabakov plays in the AHL, who they brought over from Russia.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: He's their top prospect.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: If he comes over to North America and he plays great, then you know the ads are in a bit of a cap crunch next year, where they're gonna have to make some tougher decisions.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, one of them might have to be losing Wedgewood and paying Ilya Nobakov, who would be kind of on the not an entry-level deal anymore, but a little bit of a cheaper deal and save some money there.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: So those are the options.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: Wedgewood had an awesome year.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: He's a fantastic guy in the locker room.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: He understands his role.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: He even understands like as great a season as he had last year.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: He knows that this team will go far if McKenzie Blackwood's the guy.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: They have a great relationship.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: So um, it wouldn't be an issue of they want to lose Wedgewood, it's just be a matter of are they able to afford him with you know with their cap situation coming up.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: This summer, of course, Sakik's team has been depleted of some of that depth.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Gonner, Valerie Netrushkin, Pierre Edward Bellomar, and of course, the trade for with Ross Colton, Jack Dury gone to Nashville.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, in that trade, they got younger and of course probably cheaper.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: Zachary Lerau and Feder Svechkov.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: How will they replace some of that offense lost?
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's well, I mean, Ross Colton didn't have a very good year, so I don't think replacing his offense will be that difficult.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Jack Drees, fourth line center.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: I think they're gonna be able to replace that.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: The big question is gonna be Valerie Nechushkin.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's not just the offense with him, it's a two-way play.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: He's a fantastic defensive player as well, and he played some tough minutes for them last year.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: So uh replacing him is gonna be, yeah, they got the young guys.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think LaRue is probably the guy that's gonna fit best in the long term.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: I'm interested to see how Svechkow fits with um if they're gonna keep him in a bottom six role if he's really fit for that.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but I I look at their goal, or I look at the the guys they brought in.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Jaden Schwartz is gonna be a guy they rely on to replace some of the offense that Nachushkin brought, and then the guys they signed at the or they brought in at the deadline last year.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: Nick Waugh and Nazim Kadri, they're gonna have him for a full year.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's a big reason why they felt okay moving Nechushkin for picks is because they're gonna have these guys for the full season, and offensively they're gonna be able to replace a lot of what Nachushkin and Drury brought.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that's how they're gonna go about replacing those guys.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's just the guys that they signed the summer and the guys they brought in at the deadline that they're gonna have for the full season.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: The big move he made, of course, was giving the largest contract in NHL history to Norris winner, Kale McCarr.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: Almost giving him the max at 20.4 million per year.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Can Makar still be better than what we've seen out of the magic that he's produced so far?
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know about better.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it's hard to be better than what he's been in the first seven years of his career.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but they just need him to keep being the guy.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think they understand maybe towards the end of that contract, when he's in his 30s, you know, he might not be the same guy anymore.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um but for now, for the next four years, they just expect him to be KL McCarr, who they've had for you for years, and he's been the best defenseman in the world.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: He plays in all situations.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: He's scored 20 plus goals uh since he's come to the NHL.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: He's had a 30 all season, one of the few defensemen in the NHL to actually do that in the last 30 years.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: So um, yeah, I think they just expect him to be the guy.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if they they really expect him to be any better.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: If he could actually get better, that would be incredible because you know he's already incredibly good.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: So um it's just a matter of prices are going up, and Kale McCarr just happened to be uh due for a contract the same summer that uh some craziness went down in the NHL and it worked out in his favor and the Aves kind of had to pay up.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: If you were to make one hot take for the Aves this season, what would it be?
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: Ooh, hot take for the Aves this season.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um let's see, I'm trying to think.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of people are down on this team.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: I still think they're the best team in the central division.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, they they lost some guys this summer, but so did the other two teams in the in the central.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: Minnesota lost 150 points off their roster, and you know, they're not gonna be as good, I don't think.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then they have the Quentin Hughes situation kind of floating over thing.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: And then Dallas, I think, is still gonna be good, but they lost Maverick Bork for nothing, so they could retain Jason Robertson.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: So um, yeah, the Aves got worse, but they were also so much better than everyone last year.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: And if you compare this team to what they started last season with, um the rosters are very similar.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like this is still a very, very good team.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I still think they're gonna win the Western Conference in the season.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: Still win the Western Conference.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's gonna be great for the Aves if they can.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you we mentioned some of the the guys that have come in, like Codry and Wah, but again, some of those kids, who could out of the younger guys be a bit of a breakout for them this year?
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the one guy that we are that they're kind of talking up in camp right now is TJ Hughes, who they signed out of Michigan at the end of last season.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um he's he's probably not gonna start the season on the NHL roster, but he is absolutely gonna play NHL games.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, not the fastest guy in the world, but incredibly intelligent, super skilled, and they just seem to love everything about him.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: He got to camp early.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he got to Colorado early this summer.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: He was living with Brent Burns for a little bit, so not the worst guy in the world to spend some time with.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I think they just really like him.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: And um, to me, it's just a matter of the first injury he hits, he's gonna come up and he's gonna have a chance to steal a spot.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they're trying to crew cap space for the deadline to start the year, so they're only gonna keep 12 forwards, which makes it difficult for him to start here.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: But once he gets a chance, yeah, he's gonna have the opportunity to stick because they really like his game.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: You mentioned Arturi Luckinen.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: He is in a top six guy for the Avs, but he's a UFA after this season.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think the plans are gonna be with, especially with that cap crunch they have going on?
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's gonna be an interesting one because uh you look at the contracts that have been thrown around, and there's not like a direct comparable to Arteri Lycon and like some of these young guys getting 7 million a year, it's just not comparable because he's older and they're those guys are getting paid for their prime.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, if you're Lycanon's agent, I can I can't imagine you're looking at that and saying, well, you know, we don't think we can get that, but they absolutely can get that.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: If he hits the open market, some team I think would give him, you know, seven, eight million dollars.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: Now, can the Aves afford to give him that much?
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they probably could, but it would deplete the team.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then you also have the questions moving forward with Likanan, just the way he plays.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he is so fearless that you know he gets hurt and he's not a big guy.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: And do the Aves want to sign him to a long-term deal with a lot of money where his body may potentially break down?
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: So um I think they can sign him.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: I think they're just trying to find the right number because if it's too high, it's gonna make things awfully difficult moving forward for them.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Time for some trending now.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: We mentioned the Minnesota Wild, and Bill Guerin has re-signed a multi-year contract extension with the Wild sources told ESPN.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I find it a little interesting after him making those big moves in locking up Capri Sov to that big contract, shifting all the salaries in the NHL at the beginning there, and of course, the Quinn Hughes trade, and he has one year left and he hasn't locked him up yet.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: Do you think it's a little early for them to be given Guerin this big contract, or or is it a great move?
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, I'm not surprised they gave him an extension.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: You know, teams usually stick with the guys, and he's had a success there.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: He's gotten him in the playoffs, got him in the second round this year or last season.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: So um honestly that's more success than most Minnesota Jams have had, so you have to kind of give them credit for that.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: But also, you know, like I said, they they haven't they lost a lot of good players this summer, and no one's really talking about that.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm a little I'm a little skeptical on it.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then the Quinn Hughes situation.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: I I I really don't know what's gonna happen there.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: He's they have the money to pay up if they want to, um, but you know, nothing's happened yet.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: And if if that situation goes awry, then they're in real trouble.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: So not really surprised.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: He's he's had success there more than the GMs there in the past, but um obviously he's still got a something he's gotta tick off the the check sheet there of what he's got to do.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: And uh Quinn Hughes is a big deal.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: Evan, thank you for joining me.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thanks for having me on.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: That's it for this episode.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: Fans, remember to subscribe to your to the show in your listening app.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: And if you have any questions, follow us on X at Jamlam Sports.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: See you next time.