Which player will be each NHL team’s superstar in 5 years?

Colorado Avalanche- Nathan MacKinnon

After an unholy bad season in 2016-17, things looked like they would take a couple of years for the Colorado Avalanche before they would be ready for playoff contention again. But they found the savior they were looking for the very next season with the emergence of Nathan MacKinnon, who almost single handedly led them back to the postseason with a breakout season for the ages.

Mackinnon jumped from a 53 points in 82 games season, to a 97 point season in 74 games. He finished second in Hart trophy voting behind Taylor Hall, and a real argument can be made that he should’ve won it with how much he carried Colorado to the postseason. Last season alone turned him into a bonafide star in the league and the undisputed best player on the Avalanche, and this season is already looking like it could turn out even better, but Colorado will need it.

In just eight games so far this season, MacKinnon has scored a goal in every single game and is well over the point per game mark with 14 points. Everybody on his line is over ten points in eight games, which isn’t a coincidence, and the next closest is Alex Kerfoot with 6 points. The Avalanche’s depth is among the worst in the league, but MacKinnon alone is making them look like playoff contenders.

Like several young stars, MacKinnon still has plenty of room to grow at 23 years old. His reaching the best parts of his career right now, and if he can keep going at the same pace or even improve it somehow for the next five or ten years, there’s no question he’ll but not only the Avs best player, but at worst a top ten player in the league.

Having MacKinnon clearly already makes Colorado playoff contenders, but get MacKinnon some decent support on the lines beneath him, and the Avalanche can easily be Stanley Cup contenders. He’s already a stud, and he’s just going to keep getting better.