Predicting when every NHL team will win its next Stanley Cup

Colorado Avalanche

It wasn’t looking pretty for the Colorado Avalanche at one point in time for the Colorado Avalanche, and it remains to be seen if 2018 Hart Memorial Trophy nominee Nathan Mackinnon and company are legitimate contenders moving forward.

Yet, the Avs are on the hockey world’s radar as a potential Cup contender and sooner rather than later. After writing one of the best feel-good stories on the year in the NHL in 2018, the expectations are set high again in Denver for the Avalanche.

Colorado has the potential superstar power in order to make deep runs in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the likes of MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Tyson Barrie; plus some youngsters that are hinting all-star caliber qualities such as Mikko Rantanen.

The front office appears to finally be following through with their part by adding the necessary depth players to transform into a legitimate contender, after the AVs acquired to improve in all three areas on the ice during the offseason; forward Matt Calvert, defenseman Ian Cole; and goaltender Philipp Grubauer.

Expect 2019 to be a very telling season for what’s to come with the Avs, and the team can’t be satisfied with another first-round exit to the likes of a team such as the Minnesota Wild or Nashville Predators.

Send the message now, and just win.

The past needs to be a distant, distant memory for Colorado and the team needs to focus on the what’s been going right. If Colorado were to win its third Stanley Cup in franchise history, then it would be within the next handful of seasons and 2023 sounds fair.