The Avs won’t hoist the Stanley Cup in June if they wave the white flag at the trade deadline in March.
There is too much fight in this team for general manager Chris MacFarland not to make a major move that gives Colorado more than a puncher’s chance to retain its title as NHL champ. While many of the big-name trade targets have been removed from the market, would Arizona’s Nick Schmaltz or Philadelphia’s Kevin Hayes make sense in an Avalanche sweater?
With the mystery of captain Gabe Landeskog’s knee injury entering its 20th week and New Jersey telling Colorado to fuhgetabout its six-game winning streak, you must be looking at these Avs through burgundy-and-blue tinted glasses to believe they have what it takes to have a truly legit shot at winning back-to-back championships.
Colorado died hard Wednesday during a 7-5 loss to the Devils, falling behind by four goals early in the second period before mounting a comeback that blew the roof off Ball Arena but fell just short on the scoreboard.
Maybe write off this loss to a very dangerous team, as 22-year-old Justus Annunen made only his third NHL start between the pipes for the Avalanche and had a devil of a time stopping New Jersey from lighting the lamp. After falling behind 5-1 to a Jersey team demonstrating what Colorado coach Jared Bednar called a “pack mentality,” the Avs came roaring back because center Nathan MacKinnon refused to let his teammates fold.
But maybe the setback also revealed Colorado is plenty good enough to emerge from the junior varsity side of the playoff bracket in the spring and represent the Western Conference at the Stanley Cup Final in June, only to get humbled by any of six powerhouse teams from the East.
Colorado’s record against Boston, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Carolina, the New York Rangers and New Jersey is 3-6-2. Since the all-star break, the Avs have a nifty 6-0-0 record against the West, but have recorded only two points in the standings during five games against foes from the East.
Nothing against the recent deals for veterans Lars Eller or Jack Johnson, but this Colorado team has battled through too many injuries and worked too hard to regain its championship mojo for MacFarland to settle for adding nothing more than muckers and grinders before the trade clock strikes zero Friday.
Before a victory earlier this week against Las Vegas — one of those championship pretenders from the mild, mild West — MacFarland discussed salary-cap challenges and the concerns of relinquishing draft capital in an effort to improve the current Avalanche roster, which will have a hole in its heart if Landeskog can’t return to full strength in time for the playoffs.
But MacFarland added: “If it makes sense, then we will strike.”
Both Schmaltz and Hayes carry salaries that would are by no means cheap. Schmaltz is the more creative playmaker. Hayes can rumble like a bull down on the wing or the center of the ice. If smarter hockey people than me have better ideas for the Avalanche, I’m all ears.
But let’s make a deal. Please.
From the first golden age of Avalanche hockey forged by Joe Sakic, Patrick Roy and Peter Forsberg, if there is but one regret in retrospect, it’s that a super-talented group didn’t win more than two championships.
This feels like a new golden age, when MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen dare to forge their own legends. That’s serious business, allowing no time to waste.
The time to strike? It’s always now. It would be a crying shame if MacFarland doesn’t make a deal.
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