For 236 days, the Colorado Avalanche was a Stanley Cup contender during the 2023-24 NHL season.
The calculus changed on Day 237, and the memories of how this campaign unraveled in swift fashion may only be rivaled by the what ifs and what could have beens in the decades to come.
It all came apart in a few days, weeks short of the intended destination. The final stop was a 2-1 overtime loss Friday night in Game 6 to the Dallas Stars at Ball Arena, but the end of the road started at the beginning of the week.
Former Avalanche center Matt Duchene scored in the second overtime for the Stars, who overcame a second-intermission deficit and advanced to the Western Conference Final. Dallas will face either Edmonton or Vancouver for the chance to play in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.
Duchene pounced on a loose puck to the left of Avalanche goalie Alexandar Georgiev with 8:18 remaining in the second overtime. He had been part of a controversial no-goal for the Stars in the first overtime session as well.
Jamie Benn evened this game at 1-1 just 1:54 into the third period. Evgenii Dadonov made a great backhand pass to Benn as he cut to the net, and the Stars captain tucked a backhanded shot past Georgiev.
Mikko Rantanen helped the Avalanche score first for the first time in this series with a power-play goal in the second period. Stars forward Wyatt Johnston was playing keep away and killing time in the Colorado end during the power play when Cale Makar knocked him to the ice with a big hit and the Avs went the other way.
The aggressiveness of the Dallas penalty kill has been a theme in this series, but the Stars were surprisingly passive after Colorado got set up. Eventually that led to Rantanen getting the puck to the left of Jake Oettinger near the goal line. He had time to pick his corner, and he did it at 5:48 of the second.
The Avs were down 2-1 in this series, but Jonathan Drouin was set to return to the lineup and the team finished its morning skate Monday morning confident that a fully-operational battle station was ready to even the series with Dallas and continue its pursuit of the franchise’s fourth championship.
Then Valeri Nichushkin was suspended for at least six months just before the start of Game 4. And Devon Toews could not play because of illness. Game 4 was a washout.
Toews returned for Game 5, and the 2022 champions made one last stand. It was not enough, and a long offseason that begins with more questions than answers is here.
This was a roster built to win a second championship in three years. It was bolstered with reinforcements before the trade deadline to make a run to 16 playoff victories possible. The Avs ended up 10 shy of the goal.
There were plenty of great moments to remember from this campaign, once the emotions of the past three days subside. MacKinnon had a season for the ages, setting the franchise record with 140 points. Makar set a new standard for defensemen with 90, topping the mark he set two years ago.
If there was a comeback player of the year award in the NHL, Jonathan Drouin would be a top contender. Samuel Girard found the help he needed, and played the best hockey of his career.
The Avalanche still has one of the best cores in the NHL, with MacKinnon, Makar, Rantanen and Toews in the primes of their careers. What they don’t have is clarity on two of the most expensive players who should be part of that core.
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Captain Gabe Landeskog has returned to the ice in limited capacity, but now has not played in an NHL game in two full seasons. Nichushkin is suspended until at least mid-November, and it could be longer. That is more than $13 million of salary cap space for two players who, when right, are capable of being difference-makers during a Cup run.
But the Avs have no idea if and when either will be available again. There are other questions as well – Drouin leads a group of eight unrestricted free agents that dressed for Game 5, and cap space will be limited. Rantanen is now entering the final year of his contract and is eligible to sign a new one in July.
This team began the season as a Cup contender. The way it played shortly after the trade deadline and while it wiped out Winnipeg in five games cemented it as one.
Now, the wait begins again. What will come of the 2024-25 Avalanche could hinge on Landeskog’s repaired knee, Nichushkin’s latest attempt at the rehabilitation process and how general manager Chris MacFarland’s team can replenish the depth around the world-class core.
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