In this mini-series discussing the seasons of the two teams who traded the Flyers’ their upcoming first round picks, we start off in Colorado, with an Avalanche team who have had an up-and-down season, to say the least. They began the year with a four game losing streak, which was immediately followed by a string of five consecutive wins to get them back to a game above .500. In those four losses they gave up 25 goals, while in the five wins they allowed just 11.
That’s been a microcosm of their season to this point, that currently sees them sitting at 18–14. It’s a familiar story to Flyers fans; inconsistent goaltending kneecapping what should be a very successful season. Nathan MacKinnon is leading the league with 50 points, closely trailed by teammate Mikko Rantanen at 46. Cale Makar (drafted behind Nolan Patrick), leads all defensemen in points with 34.
Add to that the return of Valeri Nichushkin, as well as names like Toews, Lehkonen, Girard, and Mittelstadt, and the Avalanche should be a team that challenges for a division title.
Their hiccups have come between the pipes, as the underwhelming tandem of Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen have both been moved on in favor of the “Forest” tandem of Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood.
The lack of stability seems to have corrected itself for the time being as those two have steadied the ship, but the stuttering start to the season sees the Avs behind the eight ball in the division race, nine points adrift of the surging Winnipeg Jets. In the battle for the two wild card spots, Colorado is hanging on by a thread, sitting just a point above Calgary for the second spot and within touching distance of Utah, St. Louis, and Seattle, all of whom have played less games.
The Avalanche being in a dogfight until the end would bode well for Philadelphia, who currently hold their 2025 first round pick from the Sean Walker trade. This pick does have a condition that if it was to fall within the top 10 slots, it would transfer to 2026, but there was really never a world where the Avs would fall to the bottom 10 of the standings after 82 games, so it is sort of irrelevant.
The best scenario that the Flyers can hope for is currently occurring. Despite Makar and MacKinnon putting up their usually ridiculous numbers, the team has still struggled at times. As well, Gabriel Landeskog still remains without a timetable for return, which while depressing for the league, will continue to limit the Avalanche’s ceiling.
However, there is too much talent on this squad to truly expect that they won’t be able to turn it around in the second half of the season, and even if they did bottom out somehow, the Flyers would still have to thread a needle hoping that they stayed out of the bottom 10 slots. Currently though, the Avalanche sit in prime position to give Philadelphia a second pick in the top 20, which would be another very valuable asset.
