We are wrapping up our Central Division Preview Series with the two top teams in the Central Division. The Colorado Avalanche are going to be a tough team to play against this season. They have Gabriel Landeskog returning after two seasons of dealing with an injury. With a full offseason under his belt, the Avalanche will be the nastiest division team the Stars will face this season. That's not even including Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. Here's more on why the Colorado Avalanche will be the one team that will challenge the Stars this season.
Colorado Avalanche Preview: Gains and Losses
Gains:
Brent Burns
Victor Olofsson
Gavin Brindley
Losses:
Charlie Coyle
Jonathan Drouin
Ryan Lindgren
Colorado Avalanche Preview: Summary
The Colorado Avalanche didn't have much money to spend on free agents this season. However, they didn't really need to do much like the Dallas Stars since they have the offense. You can tell they didn't by the players they signed. Brent Burns will bring a veteran presence to the team, given his extensive experience in the league. Trading Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes before the trade deadline came back to bite them since Carolina shipped him to Dallas.
Colorado Avalanche Preview: 2nd place
I think the Avalanche will be the runner-ups in the division this season. I don't know if they have enough talent to compete with the young superstars the Dallas Stars have. Dallas has a couple of players who are poised for breakout seasons. Mavrik Bourque is one of the two players who might cause some issues when the Avalanche take on the Stars. However, they could prove me wrong with league superstars MacKinnon and Makar on their team. Those two are always at the top of the statistics.
I can't wait to watch the Stars and the Avalanche play each other this season. It feels like the games against both teams will be heightened after what happened in Game 7 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. The Rantanen storyline is expected to continue growing over the next decade, based on Rantanen's performance in Dallas. However, the Avalanche will be the main threat to the Stars winning the Central Division this season.