Projecting the Colorado Avalanche's Opening Night Roster

We're now less than three weeks from the start of the NHL season. Teams are finalizing their rosters and signing their RFAs, and players are beginning their training camps and gearing up for pre-season action. The Colorado Avalanche had to make some tough decisions this summer, letting some key players walk in favor of holding on to others. As the salary cap begins to catch up to this very talented team, they've had to make some concessions about certain parts of their roster, and are no longer able to wait for some of their younger players to be NHL ready. The window is open for the Avs, and it's time for them to push for the ultimate prize: a Stanley Cup. There are some big changes to the Colorado roster following this offseason. Let's see how it looks, starting with the forwards:

Gabriel Landeskog - Nathan MacKinnon - Mikko Rantanen

Valeri Nichushkin - Nazem Kadri - Andre Burakovsky

Tyson Jost - Alex Newhook - J.T. Compher

Mikhail Maltsev - Darren Helm - Logan O'Connor

Kiefer Sherwood

Stefan Matteau

Martin Kaut

Not a bad-looking group for the Avs up front, although the loss of Joonas Donskoi is deeply felt in the bottom 6. That said, if Alex Newhook and Tyson Jost can take another step this year it will mitigate some of the damage. The additions of Maltsev and Helm make up a newer look on the 4th line. Helm is a long-time NHL veteran who is more than capable of holding down that 4C position and calming the waters for his younger wingers. Meanwhile, for players like Kiefer Sherwood and Martin Kaut, the goal this season is to prove they can stick in the NHL. Particularly for Sherwood, who has gone a few seasons without scoring a goal, this may be his last best chance to make a career for himself.

On defence the Avalanche are still stacked, and an offseason signing may have even made them a little better:

Samuel Girard - Cale Makar

Devon Toews - Ryan Murray

Bowen Byram - Erik Johnson

Kurtis MacDermid

Jacob MacDonald

The addition of Ryan Murray in the stead of Ryan Graves is a solid exchange. Murray is just one year older but has more than double the number of NHL seasons under his belt compared to Graves, and that experience will go a long way in solidifying that second pairing. That leaves Erik Johnson in the lurch a little bit, the former 1st-overall pick is being paid too much to play on the third pair, but the Avs don't have much of a choice in that regard. There are simply better players ahead of him. Johnson only has a couple seasons left on his current contract, which will take him until he's 35.  If he returns, he won't be making a $6 million AAV. The Avs are pretty well set on defence before training camp even wraps up, but if an injury occurs there are a few prospects bubbling to the top. The first callup will likely be Jacob MacDonald, but someone like Jordan Gross could climb up that list with some good play in the AHL.

In net, there are big questions following the departure of one of last year's Vezina Trophy nominees:

Darcy Kuemper

Pavel Francouz

Jonas Johansson

Losing Philipp Grubauer in free agency is a big blow to this team, one that they only partially recovered from. Darcy Kuemper is a good goaltender, a starter for most teams in the NHL. The problem is he has a history of injuries, often occurring multiple times in a season. As such, the Avs may need to rely on their backup, a position that is a bit unsteady. Francouz has shown well in limited appearances in the NHL, but he missed all of last season with an undisclosed injury that required surgery. He is expected to be ready ahead of the 2021-2022 season, good news for the Avalanche, but the extended time off means he'll need to catch up quick. He may end up in the starter's net before the season ends, particularly considering this is the last year on Kuemper's contract.

What do you think of this Avalanche roster, and what would you change?

Photo credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports