State Your Case: Can the Avalanche repeat as Stanley Cup champions?

The Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup last season, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.

It was their first championship since 2001. Now can they win it again?
Repeating as Stanley Cup champions has proven difficult. Since the NHL salary cap was introduced in 2005, two teams have done it, the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016-17 and the Lightning in 2020-21. And prior to the Penguins, the previous team to repeat was the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998.
There certainly will be hurdles along the way for the Avalanche, among them a short offseason filled with celebrations, then navigating an 82-game regular-season schedule and another run through the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
So, can the Avalanche do it?
That's the question before NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman and staff writer Tracey Myers in this installment of State Your Case.
Kimelman: Can they? Absolutely. Good luck keeping up with Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen, arguably the best line in the NHL when they play together. And Cale Makar remains a unique talent and the best defenseman in the NHL. That's a championship foundation. Losing forwards Nazem Kadri and Andre Burakovsky to free agency could affect their offensive attack, but they re-signed forwards Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin, and their roles could increase. In goal, I think a combination of Alexandar Georgiev and Pavel Francouz could end up being just as good as Francouz and Darcy Kuemper were last season, and with the salary cap savings they'll have more money to spend elsewhere if an improvement is needed during the season. So you've got a team basking in the glow of a championship that has the kind of players that won't be satisfied by winning once. That's a pretty good recipe for success, don't you think?
Myers: Oh man, this is a tough one. On paper, I love how the Avalanche look heading into the season: good depth returning and some very good moves in the offseason. But then you remember how hard it is to repeat. Yes, I know, the Tampa Bay Lightning, who the Avalanche defeated in six games to win this season, won in 2020 and 2021 and just about pulled off the trifecta in 2022. But there's a reason it doesn't happen often. From the wear and tear of an 82-game season to any injuries that may arise (and some usually do), to other teams improving, there are many hurdles the Avalanche will have to clear. Will the Avalanche be one of the best teams in the NHL again this season? Absolutely. I'm just not sure they'll repeat.
Kimelman: Those are all good points, but let's look at the competition they'll likely face in the Western Conference. The Calgary Flames, who won the Pacific Division last season? They lost two-thirds of their top line with Johnny Gaudreau signing with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Matthew Tkachuk being traded to the Florida Panthers. The Minnesota Wild? That's a lot of pressure on a 37-year-old Marc-Andre Fleury, and their lack of center depth is troubling. The Edmonton Oilers? Signing goalie Jack Campbell is a step up in that area but question marks remain. The best team in the Eastern Conference still could be the Tampa Bay Lightning, and we saw how that went in June. The New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs could match the Avalanche's depth, but they lack that winning element. To me, the champ is the champ until someone beats them. I agree that repeating as Cup champ is hard, but this Avalanche team makes it look possible.
Myers: Hey, I hear you. You're talking to the woman who, when asked for Stanley Cup Playoffs predictions, picked the Avalanche to win the Cup (and MacKinnon to win the Conn Smythe) every year I've been with NHL.com. Still, I have doubts. As for the competition, I'm good with Fleury and the Wild, even with their center issues. The Los Angeles Kings have made it clear with their moves that they're ready to take the next step after making the playoffs last season. You always have to watch out for the St. Louis Blues too. They play such a heavy game, something the Avalanche felt up close during the second round of the playoffs when the Blues pushed them to six games, and they still have some of the core players who helped them win the Cup in 2019. The Avalanche have rolled (pardon the pun) through regular seasons recently but that's not the true marker for me. How are they going to feel when the playoffs begin? Between that and other teams getting better, I remain skeptical of their chances to repeat.