When the Colorado Avalanche finished the 2016-17 season, it was hard to see any way that this team could become a competitor in the near future. A historically bad 22-56-4 season had fans looking at a long and painful rebuild. Now, a season later, it’s not hard to see an open window for contention - and it might be closer than many had anticipated.
Before we get ahead of ourselves, it’s worth noting that it’s not here yet. Despite the drastic improvement this season and the ten-game winning streak we just saw, this is not a team that is ready to contend for anything more than the second Wildcard spot.