![]() The Lightning are (probably) the only team that will challenge the Avs But if MacKinnon and Makar play like gods again, maybe it won’t matter. While both have experience in goalie timeshares, neither Georgiev nor Francouz have ever been the guy before - neither has started more than 32 games in a season - which leaves Colorado in a strange position entering the 2022-23 season: favorites to repeat as Stanley Cup champs without a clear No. Colorado lost goaltender Darcy Kuemper to the Washington Capitals over the offseason, leaving the team with Alexandar Georgiev and Pavel Francouz in net. More than anything, the Avs may go the way of their goalies. Jumping ship for a team that could be the NHL’s next dynasty makes a lot of sense for the centerman, especially given that he might already be in the later stages of his prime. At 29 years old, Rodrigues was something of a late-blooming breakout star last season for a Pittsburgh team that appeared to be at the end of its dynastic run. But to combat that, the Avs reinforced their offensive arsenal by signing former Pittsburgh Penguins center Evan Rodrigues. Losing Nazem Kadri - who scored a career-high 87 points last season while playing a brand of hockey that’s as physically dominant as it is skillful and pleasing on the eyes - and André Burakovsky to free agency will certainly sting, and could have an impact on Colorado’s offensive output. Still, there’s been some roster turnover in Denver. The Avs return three players who scored 86 points or more last season, including perennial Hart Trophy 5 candidate Nathan MacKinnon 6 and reigning Norris Trophy 7 winner Cale Makar. Preseason Elo ratings and playoff odds for every team with at least a 1 percent chance to win the Stanley Cup, according to the FiveThirtyEight NHL forecast model Sizing up the 2022-23 Stanley Cup contenders ![]() This year, our model thinks the Avs are by far the strongest team in the NHL to start the season - their Elo rating eclipses that of their next closest rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning, by a whopping 22 points, and they have an 18 percent chance of lifting the Cup for a second consecutive season - nearly double that of the next most likely team. Colorado went on to break its franchise record for regular-season points, 4 and lost just four playoff games en route to its third Stanley Cup championship. As it turns out, we might have still somehow undersold just how good the Avs would be. Colorado is going for a repeat - and they look sorta unstoppableĪt the beginning of the 2021-22 season, our model gave the Colorado Avalanche the second-best Elo rating and the joint top odds - along with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Las Vegas Golden Knights - to win the Stanley Cup. Here are just a few of the storylines we’ve got our eyes on as the season gets underway. But the numbers are just the starting point for this conversation. To help estimate those for all 32 clubs, our NHL predictions are hitting the ice for their second year, giving you the chance to follow the ebbs and flows of your favorite team all season long. According to the FiveThirtyEight NHL Elo forecast model, the Preds will likely struggle to sneak into the playoffs’ back door, 2 while the Sharks are in danger of finishing the season at the bottom of the Pacific. 1 Playing in the breathtaking Bohemian city to a crowd of hockey-mad Czechs might be the only noteworthy thing each team does all season, however. The NHL will drop the puck on its 2022-23 season today when the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks square off in Prague as part of the 2022 NHL Global Series. The Colorado Avalanche got the better of the Tampa Bay Lightning in last year’s Stanley Cup Final. ![]()
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