John Leyba, The Denver Post)
A team-record number of injuries, poor possession time and an ineffective power play turned the up-and-coming Avalanche into a playoff wannabe last season. Colorado went from a Cinderella story in 2013-14 to a team searching for itself in the second year of the Joe Sakic- and Patrick Roy-led front office and coaching staff.
So what will it be this season? Will the Avs return to their Central Division-winning formula of 2013-14, when they finished 52-22-8 (112 points)? Or will they again be territorially dominated and struggle with the basics of the game as they did last season, when they went 39-31-12 (90 points)?