The Avalanche is dealing with an extraordinary availability crisis to start the 2024-25 season, but one of the most important developments so far might involve the world-class healthy players.
Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen have been great to start the year, carrying an offense that has finished every game with between four and six of the top-10 forwards on the roster not available. But how much the Big Three are playing — or maybe more importantly not playing — is an intriguing storyline in the first month.
Despite missing all of those key forwards (and defenseman Devon Toews for four games), MacKinnon, Makar and Rantanen were all averaging about the same ice time per contest through the Wednesday night loss to Tampa Bay that they did during the 2023-24 campaign.