theScore is previewing each team leading up to the 2016-17 season.
It'll be a change in philosophy, not on-ice personnel, as over the summer, Joe Sakic and the Colorado Avalanche management worked primarily at the margins of a roster now in the hands of head coach Jared Bednar.
Here's how the Avalanche will return under new direction this season:
LW
C
RW
Blake Comeau
Matt Duchene
Jarome Iginla
Mikhail Grigorenko
Nathan MacKinnon
Gabriel Landeskog
Mikko Rantanen
Carl Soderberg
Andreas Martinsen
Cody McLeod
Joe Colborne
J.T. Compfer
Gabriel Bourque
John Mitchell
Ben Smith
Rocco Grimaldi
Rene Bourque
This puzzle is incomplete. There is so much room for experimentation in this lineup with versatile forwards, as well as a blend of young and old littered throughout.
Joe Colborne is the only real newcomer. He's a natural center, but after earning a multi-year contract from the Avalanche after a 44-point season, it's likely he'll be deployed with some playmakers.
LD
RD
Francois Beauchemin
Erik Johnson
Fedor Tyutin
Tyson Barrie
Chris Bigras
Eric Gelinas
Patrick Wiercioch
Nikita Zadorov
Duncan Siemens
Patrick Wiercioch and Nikita Zadorov are two interesting pieces, though as it stands now, outside the top six. Both are teachable high-upside defenders on modest salaries.
G
Semyon Varlamov
Calvin Pickard
The Avalanche locked up their highly effective backup to a reasonable two-year extension over the summer.
It's the most welcomed facet that a new season brings, especially for clubs who faltered or just barely missed out on the postseason a season ago.
Heading into this season several teams have addressed dire needs that hindered them in 2015-16, while others simply would like a do-over to prove that the last campaign was a fluke.
Whatever the case, here are three teams that missed the playoffs last season who should earn a playoff spot come April:
Boston Bruins
The Bruins missed out on the postseason not because they didn't have enough points, but simply because they had one less win in regulation or in overtime than the Detroit Red Wings.
With the move the team loses a bit of its offensive touch, but adds more grit - a feature Bruins clubs never seem to be in short supply of.
On top of that, the Bruins can expect improved performances from several players. Young studs such as Ryan Spooner and David Pastrnak should only continue to develop into high-end scorers.
Meanwhile, if the World Cup has proved anything it could be that Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand appear to be in mid-season form after combining for nine goals and 15 points in six games - good for second and third in tournament scoring.
If goaltender Tuukka Rask can also rally after a career-worst season statistically, there is no reason to think the club can't return to the playoffs after a two-year absence.
Calgary Flames
The biggest reason for the Flames missing the postseason last year: goaltending.
The biggest acquisition by the Flames this offseason: a goalie.
The team addressed its biggest need by acquiring Brian Elliott and signing Chad Johnson as a relief option. Elliott and Johnson immediately help a club that finished 30th last season with 260 goals against.
Up front, the team added a player who can seemingly do it all in Troy Brouwer. However, the Flames said goodbye to head coach Bob Hartley while naming Glen Gulutzan his successor.
The Flames are just one season removed from making it to the second round of the postseason and still boast the majority of that club. The team has addressed its biggest holes and should be poised for another playoff appearance.
Winnipeg Jets
It's hard to imagine a scenario where a team loses its captain and yet are projected to do better the following season.
However, the Jets find themselves in such a predicament after Andrew Ladd was traded away last season and ultimately signed with the Islanders.
A large reason for this is because of the young, talented contingent the Jets have at their disposal.
Of course, the team now boasts a proven goal scorer in Patrik Laine who should deliver an immediate impact. The likes of Nikolaj Ehlers and Connor Hellebuyck should continue to develop, as well as Mark Scheifele who is coming off his best season to date.
Factor in that the team will have a healthy Bryan Little back in the fold - after he was limited to just 57 games - and it's no question the Jets posses a deep roster, one certainly capable of making up the nine points they missed the playoffs by last season.
theScore is previewing each team leading up to the 2016-17 season.
Though the club's 112-point outlying season achieved under his watch was approaching three seasons in the past, the Colorado Avalanche appeared committed to having Patrick Roy return for another year. But in a surprise announcement made weeks before training camp, Joe Sakic revealed that he and his staff made the decision to sign off on terminating the (other) franchise legend's contract.
It seemed like after several months of internal tug-o-war, and debating philosophy, Sakic and his team came to the realization that Roy wasn't going to budge, and they made the decision to cut the cord.
And of course, this didn't exactly provide a boost for the team's optics. But the decision, especially at the time, was critical. The Avs were quickly able to find a head coach in Jared Bednar, who before the start of camp, could begin overhauling the flawed system that's failed the growth process in Colorado.
Midseason worked for the Pittsburgh Penguins; maybe midsummer's the answer for the Avs?
What will Bednar bring?
We know Roy was unable to organize a system that worked in Colorado, and that it was time for a change. What we don't know is if Bednar has the answer.
The Calder Cup championship coach with the Lake Erie Monsters from last season said at his introductory conference call that he wants to employ an aggressive, uptempo style both offensively and defensively, and focus on pushing the puck up the ice quickly, and into the hands of their skilled position players.
This obviously comes across as a sound, even exciting brand, and one that would appease Avalanche fans. But Bednar's challenge will be educating a largely unchanged roster on how to efficiently retrieve the puck and initiate the process of exiting the zone. Colorado's spent the last four years under Roy buried in its own end, reducing the star talents on its roster to covering the points, and chasing pucks below their own goal line.
Nate's re-arrival
Nathan MacKinnon reminded us in his time with North America at the World Cup of Hockey that not only is he too a No. 1 pick, but like Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews, he should be a dominant, appointment-viewing player in the NHL.
His speed, skill, power, and doggedness that contrasted so brilliantly with Johnny Gaudreau's wizard-like skill set was simply stunning to watch in his time with the North America squad. And while it's on Bednar to manipulate schematically to put him in the best position to succeed, there's reason to believe that MacKinnon will break out this season regardless of who's at the helm.
MacKinnon is heading into his fourth professional season at full health, and ostensibly over the issues that affected his performance since his sublime 63-point rookie season.
Suspect that his $44.1-million extension quickly becomes a bargain.
Who else can make an impact?
Colorado didn't make a major splash via trade or the open market, but do have candidates that can step in and make a difference this season.
There's the obvious choice in Mikko Rantanen, the former 10th overall draft pick who won the American Hockey League most valuable player award after his demotion from the Avalanche. And there's also J.T. Compher, the Michigan Wolverines star who scrapped his final year of eligibility to jump into the professional ranks.
But the Avalanche also may have uncovered value with low-risk signings in free agency. Patrick Wiercioch never found a home on the Ottawa Senators' blue line, but Hockey Canada saw enough in him to invite him to a World Championship, and he has the puck-moving abilities Bednar could find useful on an $800,000 salary. And Joe Colborne has been a multi-function asset for the Calgary Flames over the last few years, most recently hitting a career-high 44 points.
Playing in front of a full house in Nashville - a franchise first for the preseason - P.K. Subban offered the Predators and their fans a preview of what's to come with a power-play bomb past Ben Bishop of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Music City's officially got another star performer.
For those who slept through the summer, Taylor Hall is now a member of the New Jersey Devils, and No. 9 scored his first goal with his new team during Saturday's preseason game against the New York Rangers.
The Senators' new head coach benched Bobby Ryan and Cody Ceci for the first period of Saturday afternoon's preseason game against Montreal, after both players were late to a team meeting earlier in the day.
Boucher said "that's our rules."Spoke to players about the decision to sit Ryan and Ceci. #Sens
"It's very simple. You're on time or you're not on time," Boucher added. "You own it and you move on."
Considering Ryan is the team's highest-paid player, the move speaks volumes as Boucher looks to set the tone early in his tenure.
Ryan responded with an assist in the loss, while Ceci - who signed a bridge contract as a restricted free agent during the offseason - recorded two shots.
It's a two-pronged process - the restricted free agent is looking for a new contract, while also recovering from surgery to remove scar tissue, relating to an appendectomy back in the spring.
Rakell has yet to resume his training after being unable to play for his homeland in the World Cup of Hockey. But it is believed that while the Ducks would prefer to stay lower than Rakell’s six-year, $24-million asking price, they’ve made more headway with the center’s agent, Peter Wallen.
In an e-mail to the Register, Wallen confirmed as much while saying Rakell has slowly started to work out again and will need "a couple of weeks" to get back in top shape. "Back negotiating," Wallen said. "More frequently now."
Rakell recorded 20 goals and 23 assists in 72 games for the Ducks last season, in which the 2011 first-round pick asserted himself as a key member of the team.
