Another way Jared Bednar could shape the Colorado Avalanche’s forward group is by simply putting his best attackers together and letting the top six do the heavy lifting. It’s a look he already used in Game 4 against the Vegas Golden Knights after Valeri Nichushkin was ruled out with an injury, and it remains a very real option here.
That setup would give the Avalanche a lineup built around their most proven forwards:
Artturi Lehkonen - Nathan MacKinnon - Martin Necas
Nazem Kadri - Brock Nelson - Gabriel Landeskog
Jaden Schwartz - Nicolas Roy - Gavin Brindley
Parker Kelly - Fedor Svechkov - Logan O’Connor
Devon Toews - Cale Makar
Brett Kulak - Sam Malinski
Josh Manson - Brent Burns
Noah Juulsen
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood
The biggest ripple effect in this version comes at center. Kadri moves off the middle of the ice and onto the wing, lining up with Brock Nelson and Gabriel Landeskog. That pushes Roy into the third-line center role and puts Svechkov in charge of the fourth line.
Even that part could still change. If Svechkov isn’t ready, Kelly has already shown he can handle center duties, which would open the door for L’Heureux or another young winger to get into the lineup. Bednar has used that kind of adjustment before.
Kadri’s flexibility is what makes this arrangement workable. He looked comfortable on the wing in the limited time he played there last season, even if center is still his preferred spot. Whether he’s skating with MacKinnon and Necas or with Nelson and Landeskog, he has the kind of game that can fit in either place.
Roy and Kelly give Bednar the same kind of freedom. Having three forwards who can move between center and wing gives Colorado a versatility that not many teams can match.
Nelson could also spend more time on the wing this season. Last year, with Jack Drury and Zakhar Bardakov behind him, Bednar didn’t have the same options. With Kadri and Roy available for a full season, Nelson becomes another piece Bednar can shift around when he wants to jump-start the offense, just like he did last year when he put Nelson with MacKinnon and Necas late in games.
The appeal of this setup is pretty straightforward: Nichushkin is not easy to replace. Even if moving on was the right call, his absence leaves a major opening in the top six.
Among the choices available, Kadri looks like the cleanest fit. He already has chemistry with nearly everyone in that forward group, and his skill set works with whichever line Bednar wants to build.
There’s still a case for Schwartz to get more chances higher up the lineup, and the younger forwards deserve real opportunities too. But if the goal is to stack the most established talent together, Kadri is the obvious answer. He can go back with MacKinnon and Necas, skate with Nelson and Landeskog, or even stay in the middle if Bednar decides to keep him there.
There are still a few questions hanging over this look. Can Roy handle 3C full-time?
He has the tools to center a strong third line on a Stanley Cup contender, but the real issue is whether that unit loses some of its edge without Kadri driving it. Can Roy, Brindley, and Schwartz produce enough offense while still taking on tough matchups?
There’s also the age question. This version doesn’t solve that problem.
Swapping Nichushkin for Schwartz already pushes the group older, and sliding Kadri into the top six only adds to it. Whether that matters over an 84-game season is another matter, but it’s still a fair concern.
And then there’s the Kadri question itself: will the Avalanche get his best version on the wing? Colorado brought him back because it knows exactly what he is. His versatility matters, but the bigger debate is whether moving him away from center is the best way to get the most out of him over the course of a full season.
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Ritchies latest stretch with the Islanders showed why there is still plenty of belief in his upside, even if the road has not been linear. After opening the year in the AHL with Bridgeport, he earned a recall and finished with 30 points in 65 NHL games, a reminder that he is still learning how to translate his game against top competition while spending the offseason working on his strength, skating and shot. [Read more 🡒]