Why Colorado will be alright even without Sakic

Joe Sakic looks pretty bewildered here after scoring his 600th career goal against the Calgary Flames. He scored 100 points in that 2006-2007 season, at the ripe old age of 37. He's one of the greatest offensive talents the game has ever seen, amassing six 100-point seasons over his career, and being one of the rare members of the 1000-assist club. At 39 years old, Burnaby Joe is now considering leaving the Avalanche for retirement, a move many have predicted would handicap the Avalanche heading into this season.

The loss of Sakic not only means that the Avs lose their captain, but they lose their top offensive weapon. But I think what a lot of us have forgotten is that the Avalanche are one hell of an offensive team, even without him and Brunette.

With Sakic gone, it is time for young Paul Stastny to assume the first-line center role. He will be accompanied by two 32-year olds, sniper Milan Hejduk and feisty Ryan Smyth. Both of them are capable of scoring 35+ goals given a legit set-up man. A healthy Smyth should do a lot for this top line, giving them someone to work the boards and the front of the net, and open up space for Stastny to operate and Hejduk to set up.

The second line is not so easy to predict. Youngsters Wojtek Wolski and Marek Svatos are coming off successful seasons, where both thrived alongside the brilliant Stastny. But with his promotion to the top line, who is there to fill the role?
T.J Hensick has been one of Colorado's top offensive prospects over the last couple of years, and finally broke in with the club for a few games last year, finishing the year in the playoffs with the club, putting up one point in 2 games. Many believe that the second-line spot is his for the taking.
If Hensick fails, Wolski will be shifted to the center position, a spot he's played before in junior. That 2nd line LW spot then goes to Darcy Tucker, a perennial 20-goal scorer that gives that line a gritty touch.
Either way, expect the offensive production on that line to be around 65 goals for next season, as Wolski's playmaking should do enough to make up for Stastny's absence.

The third line will be comprised of three gritty guys. Tyler Arnason is a capable 2-way player, and should excel in the bottom 6 alongside Ben Guite and character guy Ian Laperriere. They will get a lot of checking responsbility with the essential one-dimensional play (other than Stastny) of the top-6. Keep in mind if Hensick cracks the second line we'll see Tucker take Laperriere's spot here.

Rounding out the forwards are youngsters David Jones, who impressed late last year in the Avs' playoff push, and Cody McLeod, a kid who played steady in all 10 playoff games last year. T.J Hensick could be the center here if he doesn't crack the 2nd line. If he does, then expect to see Laperriere tutoring the kids on the line.

If you ask me, this offense will be in the top-3 in the division.

Now, I'll get to the goaltending last, but to make up for a potentially shoddy situation between the pipes, the Avs have assembled potentially the most defensively-sound blue line in the NHL (next to the Wings, of course).

Fresh off a brand new contract, John Michael Liles will be expected to carry the offensive load, and should get some big minutes playing alongside Adam Foote on the top line.

Although the loss of Kurt Sauer is a heavy one (in my opinion one of the most underrated defenders in the game), the Avs are going to have a sturdy replacement in proven veteran Ruslan Salei. He'll be paired alongside Brett Clark, who's 2-way game took huge strides last season. Together, they should be the second pairing, barring a Hannan/Leopold bounce back year, and should contribute a fair bit offensively while providing some solid shutdown potential.

The Avs are expecting huge bounce-back years from Scott Hannan and Jordan Leopold. Hannan, once considered a top-5 shutdown defenseman in the NHL, was atrocious last year, putting up a -4 plus/minus even after being relegated to second-pairing duty. Leopold has struggled to stay healthy since coming to Colorado, and regardless of putting up solid numbers when on the ice, needs to avoid injury if he's going to become a legit part of the team. If both can return to their true form, they should form a formidable, versatile pairing, and potentially challenge Liles and Foote for the most minutes on the team. The fate of these two players this year is a HUGE factor in determining just how good the Avs will be, they really need them to step it up.

I'd say the defense of the Avs is certainly top-2 in the division.

I know the goaltending sounds bad, especially the addition of Andrew Raycroft, but I think we're overreacting. Peter Budaj was being hailed as a legit starter by most Avs fans late in 2006-2007 when the team was making their late-season surge. He had a .905 SP on a formerly weak defensive team, and a 2.68 GAA. And this was including the early season struggles of the Avalanche. Last season, he was usurped by big-money Jose Theodore, but still managed to put up even better numbers as a back-up. I'd compare Colorado's situation right now in goal to the Oilers' at the beginning of the 2005-2006 season. You have a guy like Markannen in Budaj, who has proven over the years that he can be leaned upon when there's no one else, and someone like Conklin in Raycroft, where you don't know just what you're going to get with him. You never know what a fresh team might do for the kid, and if the Avs can grab a legit starter before the deadline while still contending for a spot, they're in prime position to make the playoffs or even win the division.

The goaltending is bottom-2 in the division as of now.

So there, even if the pundits are picking either the Oilers or Flames to win the division, I'd say we ought to keep our eyes peeled for the Colorado Avalanche, a team that regardless of potentially losing Sakic, may be a contender this season.