The Colorado Avalanche didn’t leave much room for criticism in 2025-26. As the league’s Presidents’ Trophy winner, they were excellent from start to finish, powered by star talent and a roster that spent most nights looking nearly untouchable.
Still, even a season like that leaves a few players with something to chase. Not because they were bad - far from it - but because there was clearly another level available. Looking ahead to 2026-27, these are three Avalanche players who have room to push their seasons higher.
Cale Makar is the obvious place to start, even if putting him here feels almost unfair. He put up 20 goals and 59 assists for 79 points in the regular season, but that wasn’t enough to beat Zach Werenski in the defenseman scoring race. Werenski finished with 81 points and 1,589 votes, while Makar came in with 1,191.
There’s a strong case that Makar would have finished with the scoring title for defensemen if he had played all 82 games. He appeared in 75, and Werenski also played 75.
Even so, Makar’s all-around impact was massive. His two-way play was outstanding, and he turned the puck over just 86 times, while Werenski had 125 giveaways, seventh-most in the league.
So this isn’t about Makar falling short in any dramatic sense. It’s more that, by his own standard, there’s still another gear to find. That’s especially true as he heads toward a new extension, assuming it doesn’t get done in the offseason.
Gabriel Landeskog belongs on this list for a different reason entirely. The captain is back, and the Avalanche will likely need even more from him in 2026-27.
Landeskog played 60 games and finished with 14 goals and 21 assists, good for 35 points and a .58 points-per-game pace. That’s not a number to knock given everything he’s been through. Coming back from a major injury is an accomplishment in itself.
But the more time passes, the more expectations naturally rise. He missed 22 games this past season because of broken ribs and groin surgery, and those absences were frustrating for a player whose value goes well beyond the box score. He’s a competitor and a leader, and with Valeri Nichushkin gone, more responsibility is going to land on Landeskog’s shoulders.
Nazem Kadri’s return to Colorado brought a jolt of excitement, and for good reason. Avalanche fans were thrilled when the team brought him back in a trade deadline deal with the Calgary Flames, and it felt like he’d been away for forever.
His mid-season comeback produced four goals and five assists in 16 games. That’s a useful contribution, but it also leaves the door open for more, especially if he’s going to have a larger role moving forward.
Kadri’s ceiling has already been proven. In 2021-22, his third season with the Avalanche, he posted a career-high 87 points with 28 goals and 59 assists. He also had 75 points in his second season with the Flames, which stands as the second-best mark of his career.
Now in his mid-30s, there’s naturally some uncertainty about how much is left. But Colorado’s decision-making suggests they’re comfortable with where he is, and he still has three years left on his deal at $7 million against the cap each season. The next step is seeing whether he can still put together another big year.
In Other News...
Avalanche Risk Repeating A Brutal Problem If They Get This Wrong
The Avalanche have mostly settled their roster for the coming season, with only a few openings left to sort out on the fourth line and at the bottom of the defensive depth chart. Colorado also brought in depth help in Fyodor Svechkov, Zachary LHeureux, Vinnie Hinostroza and Noah Juulsen, giving the coaching staff more options as it tries to build a lineup that can survive the grind of an 82-game season.
The real test now is how those pieces are used. Colorado cannot afford to lean so hard on its veterans that younger players are boxed out of NHL minutes, because the whole point of adding depth is to keep everyone fresher and healthier when the schedule tightens and injuries start to pile up. If the Avalanche get that balance wrong, they risk turning a manageable roster decision into the kind of problem that shows up at the worst possible time. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Suddenly Face A Cap Squeeze They May Not Escape
The Avalanche are heading toward the 2026-27 season with a cap picture that already looks tight, and the margin gets even thinner once bonus overages are folded in. Colorado is projected to carry about $2.3 million in dead cap space, a hit that comes from Brent Burns bonus structure and leaves the club with very little room to maneuver before the roster even takes shape.
Burns had $4 million in incentives last season, and once those bonuses pushed past the threshold, the overage rolled into this years accounting. With only about $404,000 in available space after the carryover is included, the Avalanche may be forced into cap-clearing moves just to create flexibility, especially with the new waiver rules making simple paper shuffles far less useful than they used to be. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Forward Already Appears To Be Out Of Colorados Plans
Daniil Gushchins path through the Avalanche organization looks to have ended before it ever really got going. After arriving from San Jose in the deal for Oskar Olausson, the forward spent the most recent season with the Colorado Eagles, trying to carve out a place in a crowded system after already logging time in both the NHL and AHL since being drafted by the Sharks in 2020.
Now Gushchin is headed back to Russia, where he has not played in nearly a decade. The move leaves Colorado with one less depth option to sort through, and it also underscores how quickly a player can slip out of an NHL teams plans when the fit never quite solidifies at the top level. [Read more 🡒]