Josh Bailey - Matt Duchene - Jarome Iginla
Gabriel Landeskog - Carl Soderberg - Nathan MacKinnon
Dennis Everberg - Eric Fehr - Michael Frolik
Rene Bourque - John Mitchell - Max Talbot
Niklas Hjalmarsson - Erik Johnson
Jan Hejda - Tyson Barrie
Matt Carle - Brad Stuart
Semyon Varlamov
Reto Berra
We are very excited about the upcoming season as well as the future of the Avalanche. This off-season we managed to add a big power-center in Carl Soderberg, an addition that Patrick Roy has talked about a few times, we believe that his game will mesh well with that of Landeskog and MacKinnon, and we'll see big numbers from this line. We also addressed the need for a shutdown line by adding shutdown center Eric Fehr, as well as two-way winger Michael Frolik.
We made no changes to the defense since the trade deadline where we added Hjalmarsson and Carle. Having a healthy Erik Johnson will be key to our teams success, and we think being paired with defensive stalwart Nik Hjalmarsson will really free up his game. We think that Matt Carle will look good in a more limited role playing alongside defensive defensemen Brad Stuart. This will allow him to focus on crisp breakouts and getting the offense moving.
What we are really excited about is the success of our most recent draft. Adding the top-ranked defensemen and goalie in Hanifin and Blackwood, as well as a very high potential forward in Marner was a coup. We believe that our defense will only get better as Hanifin, Bigras, Geertsen and Wood mature. Additionally, we already have a good offense, which allows us time to properly develop Marner and allow him to play with talented individuals.