Avalanche want 'to get a little grittier' in free agency, Sakic says

NASHVILLE -- Joe Sakic feels the Colorado Avalanche need to get better and healthier in their bid to win the Stanley Cup for the second time in three seasons.

The 2022 Stanley Cup champions were upset in seven games by the second-year Seattle Kraken in the Western Conference First Round in April. Less than a month later, the Avalanche announced that captain Gabriel Landeskog, who missed the season due to injury, would be out for the 2023-24 season as well after undergoing cartilage transplant surgery on his right knee.

"It's going to be a long summer," said Sakic, their president of hockey operations. "We need to heal."

In a 1-on-1 interview with NHL.com at the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena, Sakic discussed where the Avalanche need to improve, their flurry of recent trades, and what lies ahead for them.

First off, you acquired two forwards in separate trades this week, bringing in Ryan Johansen from the Nashville Predators and Ross Colton from the Tampa Bay Lightning. You've obviously been active even before the opening of free agency July 1. What's been the thinking behind making these moves early?

"We're trying to help our team get back to competing again. We've got to get back to competing again. We've got a great core, but depth is everything. We're trying to do whatever we can to help our group and change things up a little bit."

There's been a lot of speculation of what you might do in free agency. You've been linked with, among other players, Ryan O'Reilly, who played for Colorado from 2009-15. What's the team's mandate come July 1?

"We feel we'd like to get a little grittier. We'll see what we can do July 1 as well, just to kind of help our group out."

After winning the Stanley Cup in 2022, how much was wear and tear an issue last season, the physical Stanley Cup hangover as it were?

"Obviously, we never had a healthy lineup all year. I know it's not an excuse. We don't make excuses. But the reality is, we never had a chance to really find chemistry during the year."

Admittedly, that would be difficult to do when you only had four players on the roster play 82 games. In fact, when it comes to some of your key players, forward Nathan MacKinnon missed 11 games, forward Artturi Lehkonen 18, defenseman Cale Makar 22, and forward Valeri Nichushkin 29. That came on the heels of second-line center Nazem Kadri leaving for the Calgary Flames as a free agent last summer.

"Right? You know, I think it was a long year. We had guys coming in and out of the lineup. We just didn't have it. It's a long summer now. It's time to get everyone healthy, get minds fresh and get eager to get going again. We're excited about this year, and I know the players are excited to get back to the level we were at the year before."

When you hear core guys like MacKinnon talk about how irked they were to be eliminated, how encouraged are you about the group's focus moving forward?

"It's a competitive bunch. I mean, our exit, Seattle was better than us. They had a better round. We just didn't have it. At the same time, we have a group that's very competitive and wants to win. Not only that, it expects to win. And, to be honest, it's no fun to lose. It's time to reboot, get bodies and minds in shape, get that excitement back, and make another run. I think the time is going to be beneficial to the guys. We have a defined goal. That hasn't changed."