Avalanche’s glaring roster flaw that must be fixed before 2026-27 NHL season

The Colorado Avalanche were the best regular-season team in the NHL last season. Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar were the stars of the show once again in Denver. But they certainly didn’t do it alone. Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood provided strong goaltending. And the Avs got big-time supporting play from the likes of Brock Nelson and Martin Necas.

It certainly wasn’t far-fetched to believe this team could win the Stanley Cup. In the first two rounds of the postseason, it felt as if this was a good bet to make. Colorado dispatched the Los Angeles Kings in a sweep, ending the career of Anze Kopitar. The second round saw them take out Quinn Hughes and the Minnesota Wild in five games.

Unfortunately, the run ended there. The Avalanche were unceremoniously swept aside by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Finals. It was a brutal end to a remarkable season.

In the offseason, Colorado had to figure out how to get over the hump. The Avalanche have not made any significant moves outside of seeing general manager Chris MacFarland depart for the Nashville Predators. It’s mostly been depth moves to fortify the roster.

Jack Drury, Ivan Ivan, and Ross Colton have been shipped out of town this summer. In to replace them are the likes of Fyodor Svechkov, Fabian Lysell, and veteran free agent signing Jaden Schwartz.

It’s certainly way too early to tell if this is enough for the Avalanche. However, we can assess the roster and pick out one glaring roster flaw that could be an issue heading into the new season.

Avalanche’s power play remains major question mark

The Avalanche had nearly everything a team could want last season. They had a high-powered offense with three elite producers in Makar, MacKinnon, and Necas. They had strong team defense. And, in net, they had potentially the best performing tandem in the league.

And yet, there was one nagging issue the Avs were unable to truly solve in 2025-26. Colorado’s offense was great at even strength. Once they had the man advantage, though, they just didn’t look the same.

Colorado finished the 2025-26 regular season with the sixth-worst power play percentage in the NHL. In the Western Conference alone, only the Kings and Chicago Blackhawks had worse power plays. One of those teams were swept by Colorado in the playoffs. The other didn’t come close to qualifying for the postseason.

It wasn’t for a lack of opportunities, either. The Avalanche received the fourth-most power play chances in 2025-26. Only the Ottawa Senators, Anaheim Ducks, and Florida Panthers had more power play opportunities last season.

With all the talent on the Avalanche, they should have absolutely punished teams for giving them this many chances with the man advantage. And yet, they squandered a lot of those chances. It didn’t hurt them much a year ago, but that could change in 2026-27 if they aren’t careful.

Colorado did add Schwartz to the roster this summer on a three-year contract. The veteran winger has shown the ability to put up points with the man advantage. In 2019-20, for instance, he scored nine goals and 20 points on the power play. Historically, though, he has been rather inconsistent and largely not much of a factor on the power play.

The Avalanche certainly hope that their current supporting cast can put him in a position to succeed, though. With no other major additions to the team, they will need him to succeed. If the power play falters like last season, it could hold them back from the Stanley Cup once again.

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