Avalanche Approaches 2021-22 Campaign with Clear Goal

Colorado Avalanche executive vice president/general manager Joe Sakic held his annual pre-season media availability on Tuesday morning at Ball Arena with a clear expectation for this year.
"Our goal is to try and win a Stanley Cup. We're one of the favorites and that's a good position to be in. It doesn't guarantee you anything, but to be picked as one of the favorites going into the season it means that you're doing a pretty good job with your roster," said Sakic. "They look at our players, we have some incredible players, talented players, exciting players. The way we play the game, I think fans love coming and watching us play. But the ultimate goal is to win a Stanley Cup and we're going to try and do that. Being a favorite is a great place to be going into the season."
The Avalanche finished the 2020-21 season with a 39-13-4 record (82 points), winning the West Division and Presidents' Trophy for the best record in the league and finishing with its highest points percentage in franchise history (.732), breaking the previous mark of .720 set in 2000-01.

It was the fourth straight year that Colorado earned a trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the third-longest run in franchise history. Despite the successful regular season, the Avs fell short of their goal when their year came to an end with 4-2 series loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Having made it to the second round for each of the past three postseasons, the team has learned lessons from its experience, but has to perform in the main campaign before it can use that knowledge.
"You're up two games to nothing, we didn't play well for stretch there and I think the lesson is you've got to deal with adversity a little bit better," Sakic said. "I thought Game 5, we played really well, made a couple mistakes, they win the game. Game 6, I thought we played pretty well, we didn't win the game. So really the lesson is for us, it was disappointing for everybody, you're going to face adversity in the playoffs, you got turn it around as quick as possible, you can't let things linger.
"We did a good job of turning it around, but we didn't win the games when they mattered and that was disappointing and I think the guys were disappointed this summer, motivated, they're hungry to go and try to get back to it but, in the meantime, we have an 82-game schedule that we're just trying to get better from the start to the end of the year. You want to make the playoffs. You want to try and get home ice advantage and when you're there, you have to play real well, you have to stay consistent and you got to get some breaks as well."

The Avs are going back to the Central Division for the 2021-22 season with a normal 82-game schedule with travel to the East Coast and Canada.
In order to prepare for the most important time of the year, the team will aim to be as stable as possible through the ups and downs of the campaign.
"You want to be playoff ready and you get that way by being consistent in the regular season and you need that consistency in the playoffs," said Sakic. "Now, to get over the hump, everybody has to take a step up and, in every round, there's another emotional level you got to get to and you can only do that by going through it. I'm hoping that the lessons from last year, we're going to learn from those. You got to get there and then you got to prove it on the ice so none of that is going to be answered until we're in that position again and see If we can make the next step."
The first step toward that goal is through the regular season, which Colorado opens on Wednesday against the Chicago Blackhawks.

TEAM UPDATES

Head coach Jared Bednar missed the final two preseason games following a positive COVID-19 test and he will once again not be available for Wednesday's season opener, but Sakic said he should be back for Saturday's contest against the St. Louis Blues. Assistant coaches Ray Bennett and Nolan Pratt are coaching the team until Bednar's return.
On Tuesday, the team announced that Nathan MacKinnon is also in COVID protocol and Sakic confirmed the center will not be available for the first game of the year against the Blackhawks.
"Nathan, he tested positive from yesterday's test. He is asymptomatic, feeling good," said Sakic. "He won't be playing [Wednesday] night but hopefully he will be able to test out and get ready we are hoping for Saturday, but we will see.
"They will be testing every day so hopefully knock-on wood that no one else tests positive but that is the world we live in. Everybody is vaccinated, we got 100 percent vaccination so hopefully that should help."

HONORING PIERRE LACROIX

The Avalanche will honor the late Pierre Lacroix prior to Saturday's game against the St. Louis Blues at Ball Arena. Colorado's former general manager and team president passed away on Dec. 13, 2020.
Fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 5:45 p.m. that night as the ceremony is scheduled to begin at approximately 6 p.m. The evening will include a banner that highlights Lacroix's achievements being raised to the rafters to hang alongside the Avalanche's six retired jersey numbers. Lacroix's family will be in attendance along with some former Avalanche greats and alumni.
"We miss Pierre. Pierre was one of the best GM's ever in this sport," said Sakic. "He came in and I remember meeting him for the first time in Quebec. You knew he knew what he wanted, and he just wanted to win. He came in and did everything he could to give us an opportunity to win. He is an unbelievable human being, cared about everybody, loved people and loved winning.
"He is a missed man. He was a guy you could call anytime and get advice from, and he'd help you out in any situation. He is sorely missed and for that night, to have the banner raised, it is going to be in the rightful place."
Lacroix was the architect of the Avalanche's two Stanley Cup championships, which included the city of Denver's first major sports championship in 1996. During Lacroix's time as GM, the Avs won a league-record nine straight division championships, made six appearances in the Western Conference Final, captured two Presidents' Trophies, and strung together the longest-recorded home sellout streak in NHL history at 487 consecutive games.

MORE QUICK HITS FROM SAKIC

On beginning the season: "I think that's something that everybody looks forward to. You go through the summer, you look forward to training camp, getting here, then after about two days you can't wait for regular season. We're here and the real season starts tomorrow."
On Darcy Kuemper: "I think the way we play and the way we defend and with the puck possession, we're hoping that the shots are going to be limited for him. We're confident, he's a number one goalie, he's one of the better goalies in the league and he's going to get his games. Pavel (Francouz) sprained his ankle, he should be back in a couple of weeks, he's a real good backup goalie so he's going to get some games. And, Jonas Johansson, he's going to get some games as well. He came in and played well for us so, I'm not exactly sure how many games Darcy is going to get but it's not like he's going to be playing 65, 70 games."
On Cale Makar: "He's still only 22 I think, or his early twenties, yeah, I think he has another step and he's going to be relied upon, he's probably going to have to eat more minutes. There's always growth in a game and he can explain you to that, but offensively for us we don't see that there's a lot of growth because he's already one of the best players in the game in the defensive position. But he's so young and he's only going to get stronger, and I don't know how you can get quicker, but he's definitely going to get stronger as he gets older."
On Mikko Rantanen: "I think last year he took a huge step; he was a force out there and it looks like he is even stronger this year. He is just an incredible hockey player--he is one of the best players in the game. He's got size, unbelievable hockey sense, can't say enough about him. He keeps maturing and growing and knowing who he is. He is a force when he is out there, he is a tough guy to knock around, when he has that puck, you are not getting it from him. A little bit like Peter Forsberg when Peter had the puck, it was tougher for opponents to try and get it off of him and Mikko is that same type of player."