4 Big Questions for the Colorado Avalanche in 2020-21

2. Will Special Teams be a step above mediocre?

The Colorado Avalanche have without a doubt one of the most talented rosters in the entire league. Their top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen is one of the best top lines in the National Hockey League.

With talent like that, you would think that their Power Play would be quite lethal, not to mention a guy like Cale Makar on the back end to anchor that man advantage. However, somehow last year Colorado’s PP clicked at a 19% clip, which was below league average.

The Penalty Kill was slightly above league average at 81.4 %. They always say the ideal number for your special teams is 100%, and the Avs finished just below that number last year. Going into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they were able to improve their finish on the PP.

The Avs didn’t rank in the top 10 on either the PP or the PK during the 2019-20 regular season, and that will have to improve if they are to fulfil their lofty potential in 2020-21.

The Power Play ended up converting at a 22 % clip through the postseason, while the penalty kill took a dip finishing at 75 %. If the Avs win the Stanley Cup this year, I see their special teams playing a huge part in their success.