Colorado Has the Stars. So Why Isn’t a Dynasty Inevitable?

The core is firmly intact. They have generational talent, and a gifted goal scorer at captain with Nathan MacKinnon. There is the finest skater in the game, a defenceman who is a throwback to the legends who formerly controlled the tempo on the ice. Cale Makar, like Paul Coffey, Phil Housley, and even the great Bobby Orr before him, plays the game at a level that very few have ever been able to tap into.

The Avalanche have the luxury of dressing two of the best players in the game for the duration of each and every season. MacKinnon and Makar play hurt. They grind. They dominate.

When they hoisted Lord Stanley for the first time in 2022, it appeared they were laying the foundation for several more. A dynasty of multiple Stanley Cups is how a handful of teams have rolled through various eras in the history of hockey. Three Cups either in succession, or within the span of a decade, can reasonably be considered a dynasty in the NHL.

Sidney Crosby and the Penguins know all about that. So do the Chicago Blackhawks, the Detroit Red Wings of the early 2000s and the great Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s. Of course, the precedent for dominance was set by the Montreal Canadiens.

The Avalanche, however, do not have the heartache of the Connor McDavid led Oilers teams of recent years, who have come so close to winning it all. Colorado has already been there. They know what it feels like to be champions.

So why have prognosticators gotten softer on Colorado winning it all this year, and the year after that?

There are a few reasons.

Supporting Cast

The Avalanche are not short on talent. In fact, that may be part of the problem.

Their 2025/26 regular season was extraordinary. Colorado went 55 16 and 11, captured the Presidents’ Trophy and led the NHL with 3.63 goals per game. They then swept Los Angeles and eliminated Minnesota before running into Vegas in the Western Conference Final. The Golden Knights swept Colorado in four games.

That is where the questions begin.

Valeri Nichushkin is gone. So is Ross Colton. Jack Drury is gone as well. Colorado deliberately changed the complexion of its supporting cast, choosing younger, cheaper pieces while preserving its elite core. Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux arrive from Nashville, while Jaden Schwartz provides another experienced forward.

Martin Necas is perhaps the most important piece of that equation. After arriving in Colorado, Necas produced a career year and enters 2026/27 as a legitimate complement to MacKinnon and Makar rather than merely another talented forward.

Then there is Brock Nelson, Nazem Kadri and Nicolas Roy down the middle, with Artturi Lehkonen providing the kind of responsible, hard nosed hockey that championship teams need.

Colorado's defence, when broken down, may actually be its greatest advantage.

Makar and Devon Toews remain the ultimate pairing, and power play specialists. Brett Kulak was retained. Brent Burns was brought back. Sam Malinski emerged as a legitimate contributor last season. The Avalanche essentially sacrificed some forward depth to maintain one of the deepest defensive groups in hockey.

That is not a bad gamble.

The biggest question may actually be in net.

Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood shared the William M. Jennings Trophy last season after Colorado allowed the fewest goals in the NHL. But their postseason numbers were considerably less impressive, particularly during the Western Conference Final. Wedgewood surrendered nine goals on 73 shots during the first three games against Vegas, while Blackwood started Game 4.

Colorado does not lack talent. It lacks certainty

Can Makar stay healthy when the games matter most?

Can MacKinnon continue to carry an enormous workload into his mid 30s?

Perhaps most importantly, can the goaltending hold when the margin for error disappears? Those are not questions about whether the Avalanche are good enough. They are about whether they are good enough at exactly the right time.

The organization clearly believes it is. Colorado made the necessary cap decisions to retain its defensive core, added younger players and, most importantly, solved the biggest offseason question by signing Makar to an eight year extension that begins in 2027/28.

The window remains wide open.

Prediction for 2026/27

I am buying the Avalanche.

Not necessarily because they are better than every other team in the NHL. They aren't. I am buying them because the combination of MacKinnon, Makar, Necas, Toews and a deep group of centres gives Colorado something almost impossible to manufacture. They know how to win, and they've already won.

The Avalanche have spent the summer making sure the next generation of the roster is capable of carrying some of the burden.

They should once again finish near the top of the Western Conference. I see 52 wins in the new 84 game regular season, good enough for roughly 110 to 115 points. More importantly, I see the Avalanche are back in the Western Conference Final. This time, I am not picking against them.

2026/27 Prediction: 52 wins, Western Conference Final, with a legitimate Stanley Cup championship opportunity.

The dynasty may not have arrived in 2022.

It certainly isn't dead yet though.