2019 Colorado Avalanche Odds to win Stanley Cup with Expert Predictions

As a Calgary Flames fan, I know all too well what kind of potential this team has this year. They struggled early on, but rounded into form late, and then absolutely demolished the Flames, who were tops in the West in the regular season, in Round 1. It was ugly. And there is still much room for growth. They have plenty of young talent still to come, and Cale Makar, the young defenseman, will be with the team all year and shined after joining the team in the playoffs last year. There are some challenges and concerns, but there is also just a ton of talent and massive potential. They aren't going to sneak up on anyone, though, as they have quickly become one of the elite contenders in the eyes of the oddsmakers .

Colorado Avalanche Offseason Moves

For a team that finished off so well last year, this team certainly didn't rest on their laurels this offseason. They were as active as any team. Before we look at what they did, though, we have to look at the one huge thing they haven't yet done as I write this. All-world forward Mikko Rantanen was one of the best of the stellar group of young restricted free agents this summer. And he is one of just three of the big names yet to sign - along with Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine in Winnipeg. It's not that Colorado doesn't have cap space, but they are so young that they need to look ahead to the future while dealing with this. It's very hard to believe that something won't get done fairly soon, though.

The big move of the summer was sending defender Tyson Barrie and Alex Kerfoot to Toronto for Nazem Kadri and Calle Rosen. Rosen is just a depth defender who will likely spend a lot of time in the press box once injured defender Ian Cole returns from injury. But Kadri is a strong two-way center who could really boost the second line. That second line could conceivably be totally new as traded for winger Andre Burakovsky from Washington and brought in free agent winger Joonas Donskoi from the Sharks, and both will likely get a shot beside Kadri. It has the potential to be an improved second line - and that would leave an improved third line as a result, as the core of that line last year can move down a notch.

The changes didn't end there. They sent center Carl Soderberg to Arizona for depth defender Kevin Connauton. They also made some moves in net, which wasn't an area of strength last year. They let Semyon Varlamov leave for the Islanders in free agency and replaced him with Pavel Francouz, who was with their AHL affiliate last year.

The draft was far more lucrative than their record would suggest, as they had Ottawa's fourth overall pick after trading Matt Duchene. They selected Bo Byram, the top defender in the draft. He has been returned to junior for the season.

Colorado Avalanche NHL Outlook

There are some uncertainties here. They need to sign Rantonen. And they need some of their young guys like Makar to step up and shine. And they have a whole lot of new faces to integrate and find spots for. And the goaltending needs to be better. But the top-end talent for this team is scary, and their upside is huge. Their floor is still competitive, and their ceiling is very, very high.

Colorado Avalanche Schedule

They open at home with a rematch against Calgary as part of a four-game road trip. But then they head on the road for six straight - all against likely playoff teams. It's a brutal trip - they play both top overall team Tampa, and top team in the West, Vegas. If they can survive that, we'll really know that they are a team to be impressed by.

Colorado Avalanche NHL Futures Odds

At +1400 to win the Stanley Cup, the Avalanche are tied with Boston as the fourth choice, trailing only Tampa, Toronto and Vegas. They are the second choice to win the Western Conference at +600, just barely trailing Vegas at +550, and are favored to win the very tough Central Division at +300. There are five teams at +450 or less, though, so it's a wide-open race. The season point total sits at 98.5, with the action split between the "over" and the "under" evenly. They are at -250 to make the playoffs, and +210 to miss them.

2019-20 Colorado Avalanche Predictions

I like this team a lot. If Rantonen comes back reasonably early, then this is my pick to win the tough Central. And to scare teams beyond that. The sky is the limit here. And the bad news for other teams is that their window is just opening. Among other things, I really like the season points total over here .

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