Avalanche need to plan ahead as key pieces get older

The Colorado Avalanche’s season came to a sudden end after they were swept in the Western Conference Final by the Vegas Golden Knights. It was a disappointing end, but the disappointment comes from more than just the nature of their playoff exit.

With how dominant the Avalanche were in the 2025-26 regular season, this felt like their best chance at capturing another Stanley Cup in the era of the core of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. They’re already the oldest team in the NHL, so another year tacked on to some important pieces means the team is destined to take a step back sooner rather than later. That means the Avalanche will need to be smart about how they approach the offseason, because one wrong move could slam their contention window shut.

Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton talked about the Avalanche’s disappointing exit and how the team isn’t getting any younger on Daily Faceoff Live.

Tyler Yaremchuk: I’m starting to look at a few guys here. Brock Nelson had a tough series. He’s going to be 35 next year. Gabe Landeskog, no one’s ever worried about the leadership side with Gabe. He’s 34 next year. Nichushkin’s 32 next year. Nazem Kadri, who I really didn’t think had a good series, 36 next season. Toews is 33. Manson’s 35 next year.

You go down that line, all of a sudden in Colorado… I don’t think you’re all that concerned about a major step back next year. But if you don’t start planning ahead, the end could be closer than a lot of people think.

Carter Hutton: Yeah, and I think that’s the concerning factor. I don’t think you need to reinvent the wheel, but now you’re looking at that window of Makar, MacKinnon, where they’re at health-wise, all this depth that you’ve gone and accumulated through trades, through free agency, and you’ve built this team.

The Central’s not getting easier too. That’s the other factor that you have to keep adding in. Dallas is still going to be good. You have Minnesota who is pedal to the metal, it feels like. So there’s a lot of question marks that goes into this team.

I think for MacKinnon, it’s just one of those years. I actually felt bad last night where, on the broadcast, I don’t know if you felt this way, they just kept zooming in on him on the bench. The goal goes in, it’s right to MacKinnon. I know that is the theater of TV and watching it. But you think of the Olympics and everything he went through this year, this was a tough beat. And I know his intensity.

Is Jared Bednar safe from being fired in this carousel of head coaches? When we look at Vegas, who just got [to the Cup Final] and they hired Tortorella with barely any time left in the season, and it seemed to work. Not that he changed a lot, but he is a figurehead. And whether it’s an X’s and O’s change or it’s just the communication through leadership. Nathan MacKinnon is an intense individual, so it will be interesting to see what Sakic does with MacFarland and Jared Bednar for that sake headed into the free agency.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Well, and MacFarland’s being connected to that Nashville opening. And there’s some rumblings from Elliotte Friedman that MacFarland could end up being the president out in Nashville when all is said and done. So there could be some changes coming to Colorado.

You can watch the full episode here…