Why The 2026 Colorado Avalanche Look Ready To Break The Presidents' Trophy Curse
The Colorado Avalanche are the popular favorites to win the Stanley Cup for good reason.
This year's Presidents' Trophy-winning team doesn't quite look the same as it did in 2022 when the Avs won the Cup – but that's because this team looks better.
After sprinting through the 2022 NHL post-season in just 20 games, Colorado has a chance to make this a brief playoff run once again.
Business As Usual: Parker Kelly Thrives In Expanded Playoff Role
A calm, steady promotion to the second line didn't change Parker Kelly's approach-he simply handled it the same way he always does: business as usual.
How The Avalanche Elevated Their Roster Depth
In the last three trade deadlines, MacFarland has shopped around for a second-line center to find a replacement for Nazem Kadri, who helped the Avs win in 2022. Finally, in the final hours of this year's trade deadline, they brought Kadri back.
Kadri's played the second-line position well with seven goals and 15 points during the 2022 run, but this time around, his role is reduced because of Brock Nelson's stability. He's still producing in middle-six role, with nine points in 16 regular-season games.
Nelson was brought in at last year's deadline to fill that second-line center spot, so the Avs now have one of the deepest center cores in the league with Nathan MacKinnon, Nelson, Kadri and Ross Colton.
MacFarland has done much more than that, however.
Along with replacing both goalies and acquiring Martin Necas and Jack Drury for Mikko Rantanen last season, the Avalanche look deeper on paper than they did in 2022.
Since Jan. 1, Parker Kelly has been the sixth-highest scorer on the team with 22 points in 43 games, setting a career-high 21 goals and 35 points.
Defenseman Sam Malinski signed a four-year contract extension worth $4.75 million annually in January, and he set career highs with eight goals, 32 assists, 40 points and a plus-43 rating.
Kelly and Malinski were not in Denver for the Cup in 2022, although nine players remain on the team from that squad.
And if there was any cause for concern on the goaltending situation, that should be put to rest. The tandem of Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood earned the William M. Jennings Award.
A 50-50 goalie tandem can be difficult to run, but coach Jared Bednar knows his team well. If they can play the way the team played all year with even a little bit of security, then they are destined for a lengthy post-season.
Wedgewood got the Game 1 start, but if he begins to struggle, you can regroup with another top-10 goaltender in goals-against average.
This year's Avalanche are more defensive than the 2022 squad anyway, with the best penalty kill in the league despite having a power play that ranked out of the top 10 for the first time since 2020.
The power play fell to the bottom six in the league this year, which can drain the momentum. But after Kadri came back to help, he scored three of his four goals on the power play, and the team ranked 15th in power-play percentage since the trade deadline.
Bad News For The Kings: The Colorado Avalanche Can Win In Any Style
Despite the Los Angeles Kings hanging on in a low-scoring game, the Colorado Avalanche showed they can win, no matter what style of game they face.
Can The Avalanche Get Through The First Two Rounds?
The Avalanche have only won one round in the last three years, but when facing Vegas and the Winnipeg Jets and losing to Dallas in six and seven games, the path was gruelling.
Their first round this year is nothing to be overlooked, but the Los Angeles Kings have it tough. The Kings scored the fourth-fewest goals in the NHL and had the third-worst penalty kill, which could work out great for Colorado to get its feet wet for a deep run.
Though the score in Game 1 was close, Colorado won 2-1 while outshooting the Kings 32-25.
If the Avs win their first-round series, either Dallas or the Minnesota Wild will give them a run for their money. Colorado tied both teams 2-2 in the regular season, with five of the eight games going to a shootout. But if any team can handle either of those squads, it's the Avalanche.
If the Avalanche find a way through the first two rounds, it's unlikely to see a team that can catch the fire and beat this squad.
Fionn McGuire is an intern with The Hockey News.
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This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 7:44 PM.