Central Division Preview: Colorado Avalanche

We're taking a look at the teams in the newly revamped Central Division. Who are they? Who plays for them? How much booing should Predators fans be expected to rain down upon them? Today brings us the Colorado Avalanche.

By Jonathan Garcia Jul 31, 2013, 7:30am EDT

Previous Season

15th in the West. Not much more to say than a disappointing season that led them to the first overall pick. At least they were able to score one especially mind-blowing goal this year...

2012 Season Stats

16-25-7 (39), GF & GF/G: 114, 2.38 (26th), GA & GA/G: 150, 3.12 (27th), PP: 15.0 % (24th), PK: 80.3% (20th)

Goaltending

Semyon Varlamov: .912%, 2.61 career

J.S. Giguere: .913%, 2.53 career

It's not a bad tandem to have. Varlamov is a more than capable goalie and Giguere is a Stanley Cup winner. All things considered about this team, their goaltending isn't that much of a problem.

Notable Additions

Nathan MacKinnon (1st overall pick)
Alex Tanguay
Andre Benoit

It's not that the Avs didn't pick up players this offseason, they just didn't pick up anyone you've likely heard of on July 5th. They are all AHL or fringe players, and will likely spend most of the time in Lake Erie.

Players You Should Know

Gabriel Landeskog
Matt Duchene
Paul Stastny
Ryan O'Reilly
P.A. Parenteau
Erik Johnson

To their credit, the Avalanche posses some talented young players. Duchene and Parenteau seemed to be the only players that didn't suffer from a down year. They tied for the team lead in points (43) and were almost 20 points ahead of the next highest, Paul Stastny (24). Parenteau also had as many goals last season (18) as he did in 80 games with the Islanders the previous year.

Landeskog should have a rebound year if he doesn't get any more concussions, but the one to watch is O'Reilly. After the never-ending saga last year, there has already been much speculation on whether his time with the team is over, or just beginning.

Rivalry Potential

2 Weber Smashes

Generally, for a rivalry to blossom teams need to either meet in the playoffs or play each other competitively during the season. Neither of those is likely to happen in the near future as the Avs look to be the punching bag of the division for a while. Also, let's kill the "Seth Jones wants to punish Colorado with his talent" narrative now, OK? Thanks.

Playoff Team?

Guys, help me out with the harmonies. Of course not, this team is retooling. As stated above, they have some talented players and MacKinnon is great for the future. But most of those players are still inconsistent and their defense is horrendous. They are in no way, shape, or form ready to be competitive on a nightly basis.

Game Dates vs Nashville

Date	Visitor	Home	Time (Central)
Fri Oct 4, 2013	Nashville	Colorado	8:00 PM
Wed Nov 6, 2013	Nashville	Colorado	8:30 PM
Sat Jan 18, 2014	Colorado	Nashville	7:00 PM
Tue Mar 25, 2014	Colorado	Nashville	7:00 PM

Blogs to Follow

For all your Colorado Avalanche coverage, make sure to check out Mile High Hockey, Jerseys and Hockey Love, and All Things Avs.