The Colorado Avalanche have long been known as a team that lacks on defense. Well, no one’s going to mistake them for a defensive team, but they do appear to have finally shored up their blueline. They have cornerstone defenseman Erik Johnson, his partner from last year, Francois Beauchemin, and offensive defenseman Tyson Barrie.
Eric Gelinas was a trade deadline pickup last season, but he got injured after just six games. We’ll be seeing what he can do this year. Colorado also picked up two defensemen in the summer, analytics wiz Patrick Wiercioch and Columbus Blue Jackets buyout Fedor Tyutin.