​As I sifted through the Mailbag questions, I found three from the same reader that all seemed interesting, so I’ll address them all below. If you missed it, you can also click back to read the first part of the July Mailbag. Enjoy!
I thought Cale Makar had a bit of an off year—still great stats, but not quite on par with his usual numbers. I felt that both he and Nathan MacKinnon seemed to disappear a bit in tougher games. Fair assessment, or no? Did the Olympics affect them? With the big losses (no Olympic Gold, no Stanley Cup), do you expect them to be more motivated next year?
This is a loaded question with a few parts, and they’re all solid. It might sound crazy given Makar’s talent, but I agree that he had a bit of a down year. It reminded me a lot of his 2022-23 season. He was still excellent, still one of the league’s best, but he wasn’t quite at that otherworldly Makar level we’ve come to expect. What’s even crazier is that once he got hurt in the playoffs, you could immediately see how much the team lost without him—despite him not being at his peak.
As for MacKinnon, I thought he played as if he was possessed this season. He was incredible and came through in big moments all year, just like Makar did. We saw that in the first round against Minnesota. Unfortunately, the way the Vegas series ended has overshadowed so much of what both players accomplished. I’ve always thought the Olympics would have some kind of effect on Makar and MacKinnon. I just don’t like using it as an excuse because it’s what the players wanted. They wouldn’t trade that experience for anything, especially if they had brought home a gold medal. And yes, I think every season that ends without a Stanley Cup adds to their motivation for the next one.
Any of our potential bottom-six forwards a good prospect to try out on the PK?
I slightly edited the question to say “bottom six” instead of “fourth line” because the Avalanche will need more than one new penalty-killing forward with Jack Drury and Valeri Nichushkin gone. And as we know, Jared Bednar loves having a surplus of PKers. I think you can pencil in Nic Roy and Nazem Kadri right away. Roy has been a regular penalty killer throughout his career, even if Colorado didn’t use him much after acquiring him in March because its PK units were already set. Kadri was also an important penalty killer during his first stint with the Avalanche. Beyond that, I could see Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux getting opportunities to develop into full-time penalty killers. Both have some experience, and Bednar has always liked turning young bottom-six forwards into reliable PK options. It could help them develop a role with the team too, just like it did for Parker Kelly before.
How does this roster compare with the roster from the first half of the season for better SEO. minimum 500 words.