The power play for the Avalanche last season was a painful experience.
There’s no way it could be worse this year, right? It can’t be.
Recommended Stories
▶
Jobs might depend on it.
The Avalanche last season made minor adjustments, at best, to the top unit. It was a rotating cast of characters beyond the big three of Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas and Cale Makar, who drive the power play. Systemically, the only change made was to flip-flop MacKinnon and Necas’ positions on the power play.
The Avalanche power play was awfully stationary and awfully predictable.
“If I think about what my problems are with (the power play), it’s too slow,” Jared Bednar said during training camp. “Pass it to player ‘A,’ who stickhandles it around for a little while. Pass it to player ‘B,’ who stickhandles it around for a little while. Pass it to player ‘C,’ who stickhandles it around for a little while. That’s not going to work. That’s my take on it. Everyone has an opinion on it from (Joe Sakic) all the way down to our players. If you polled 10 guys, you might get 10 different answers.
“But for me, as the coach of this team, it’s too slow.”
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) during the second period in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
For years, the Avalanche power play was excellent because it had superstars forming a triangle up top in Makar, MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Since Rantanen left town, the Avalanche have tried a number of players in his old spot. Whether it was Jonathan Drouin, Gabriel Landeskog, Brock Nelson or Nazem Kadri, it hasn’t worked. My past suggestion had been to move Makar into Rantanen’s old spot, giving the Avalanche a new look and putting one of their best shooters in a better position to shoot.
The Avalanche took my advice … kind of. One of their stars will be setting up in Mikko’s old office. It just won’t be Makar.
It’ll be MacKinnon.
“We’re going to start that way,” Bednar said. “Nate tends to have the puck a lot on the power play, so having a righty, the handedness, is important to us with what we’re trying to do. I think it gives you better options, shooting and passing and using guys. … We’ll take a look at it and use it for a while and see how it looks.”
It will be an adjustment for MacKinnon, who has played on the left wall the majority of his career. He likes the options he’ll have in his new home.
“It’s different options,” MacKinnon said. “I think it’s good for me to have three one-timer options. I think we can also roll to different looks from there. (Hughes) is really active in the middle, which is great. (Landeskog) is great net front. In the games, we’re looking to load up Cale for one-timers. We can’t really do it in practice, we’re not shooting as much, but in games, we’re hoping to (get) Cale’s one-timer.”
What made the Avalanche power play so dangerous with Rantanen was having a triangle consisting of three elite players that were a threat to shoot or pass at any moment. The opposition couldn’t predict where the puck was going next and couldn’t cheat to one side. That’s the exact opposite of what the Avalanche trotted out all last season.
With Necas and MacKinnon on the same side and Makar up top, they became predictable and easy to defend. That showed in the numbers. Teams didn’t have to worry about the other half of the ice because it wasn’t a threat.
Instead of hanging around the top of the league with the likes of the Oilers, Stars and Wild in terms of power-play efficiency, they ended up at the bottom with lottery teams like the Blackhawks, Flames and Islanders. That’s a baffling statistic given the talent they can throw on the ice.
MacKinnon on the right wall won’t look like it did when Rantanen was there. Unlike Rantanen, MacKinnon is right-handed, meaning there is no one-timer option, making it a bit more of an awkward fit. But MacKinnon will force opposing penalty kills to defend that side of the ice, which should, in theory, open up some new options. At the least, it’s something different — finally.
After last season’s performance, all options should be on the table. In a league where the margins between teams are dwindling each day, the Avalanche can’t afford another season where a power play that should be an advantage turns out to be a hindrance.
Jobs may depend on it.