With the offseason entering the quieter stretch of the summer, it\u2019s a good time to examine some of the different line combinations the Colorado Avalanche could open the season with.<\/p>\n
Colorado has plenty of NHL-ready talent, even if some of its younger options are still developing. Depending on how training camp unfolds, head coach Jared Bednar has several viable directions he could take.<\/p>\n
Over the next several days, I\u2019ll break down a handful of different scenarios, starting with what is likely the safest and most straightforward option.<\/p>\n
Artturi Lehkonen \u2014 Nathan MacKinnon \u2014 Martin Necas
Jaden Schwartz\u2013 Brock Nelson \u2014 Gabriel Landeskog
Gavin Brindley \u2014 Nazem Kadri \u2014 Nic Roy
Parker Kelly \u2014 Fedor Svechkov \u2014 Logan O\u2019Connor<\/p>\n
Devon Toews \u2014 Cale Makar
Brett Kulak \u2014 Sam Malinski
Josh Manson \u2014 Brent Burns
Noah Juulsen<\/p>\n
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood<\/p>\n
This scenario is exactly what it sounds like. Every departed player is replaced by the next man up, while the rest of the lineup remains mostly untouched.<\/p>\n
Jaden Schwartz slides into the spot vacated by Valeri Nichushkin, Gavin Brindley takes over Ross Colton\u2019s role on the third line, and Fedor Svechkov inherits the fourth-line center position previously occupied by Jack Drury. <\/p>\n
Bednar has never been afraid to make changes when needed, but he has also shown a preference for keeping successful combinations together, albeit that usually comes later in the season. This approach allows Colorado to maintain some continuity while giving younger players a chance to earn larger roles. Instead of forcing several new pieces into unfamiliar spots immediately, the Avalanche could let the season unfold and adjust as needed.<\/p>\n
That doesn\u2019t mean those jobs are guaranteed by any means.<\/p>\n
Brindley may be the first option to replace Colton given his familiarity with the roster from a season ago, but Zachary L\u2019Heureux, Fabian Lysell, T.J. Hughes, and perhaps another young forward will all have an opportunity to make their case in training camp. L\u2019Heureux, specifically, seems like he could be the closest challenger. Likewise, Svechkov still has to prove he can handle the defensive responsibilities and faceoff workload that come with playing center in Bednar\u2019s system, especially on the fourth line. <\/p>\n
Schwartz might be the easiest fit of the three. While he won\u2019t replicate everything Nichushkin brought to the lineup, he\u2019s an experienced two-way winger who still forechecks well, kills penalties, and can complement skilled linemates. The question is less about whether he belongs in the top six and more about whether he can give Colorado enough speed and puck retrieval alongside Brock Nelson and Gabriel Landeskog. Let\u2019s face it, it would be an older line. <\/p>\n
The biggest advantage of this lineup is continuity. Although that might be the reason many won\u2019t like it (in some ways, me included). <\/p>\n
MacKinnon\u2019s line remains untouched, the Nelson and Landeskog duo stays together, and Colorado avoids asking too many young players to immediately take on unfamiliar roles. It\u2019s a more conservative approach.<\/p>\n
Can Brindley lock down a top-nine role? He looked like an NHL player during the first two months of last season before cooling off later in the year. If that early production was a sign of things to come, Colorado may have already found Colton\u2019s replacement.<\/p>\n
Is Svechkov ready to center a line on a Cup contender? The defensive tools are intriguing, but playing center under Bednar requires reliability in all three zones and success in the faceoff circle. Those areas will likely determine how quickly he earns trust.<\/p>\n
Is Schwartz the right stylistic fit? Replacing Nichushkin isn\u2019t just about replacing points. Colorado also needs someone who can win battles, retrieve pucks, and keep up with two veteran linemates on a second line that isn\u2019t getting any younger.<\/p>\n
This was the conservative approach. Next, I\u2019ll look at an option where, if Bednar wants to, can load up down the middle and fill in the empty spaces around that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the offseason entering the quieter stretch of the summer, it\u2019s a good time to examine some of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":629771,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5116],"tags":[193,192,144,5277,5,4],"class_list":["post-629770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-colorado-avalanche","tag-avalanche","tag-colorado","tag-colorado-avalanche","tag-coloradoavalanche","tag-hockey","tag-nhl"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116972594298438601","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=629770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/629771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=629770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=629770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=629770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}