2024-25 Avalanche Season Preview: Pacific Division

The other Western Conference division holds some contenders.

Of course, teams out West is what the Colorado Avalanche will see the most. Outside of the Central Division, the Pacific Division has its own intriguing constestants in its own right. Here’s what to expect from them and their offseason changes.

Colorado Avalanche vs. Vancouver Canucks

The last game against the Canucks was a memorable one, where the Avs came from 3-0 down to win 4-3 in overtime on March 13. It also led to one of the best hot mics of the season involving Quinn Hughes going to the box.

The big off-season acquisition was signing former Bruin Jake DeBrusk to a seven-year deal. They also signed former Av Kiefer Sherwood and Daniel Sprong, alongside playoff netminding hero Arturs Silovs to new deals. Some losses include Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm.

Colorado will play Vancouver three times this season, twice on the road and only once at home. The two road games come on December 16 and February 4, while the home game is the home regular-season finale on April 10.

Colorado Avalanche vs. Edmonton Oilers

Last year’s Western Conference Champions were beaten on the final day of the regular season last year – albeit with a much different lineup. Colorado had its way with the Oilers in a 5-1 win.

The likes of Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard are still around, and so is Leon Draisaitl. But, the latter of those three has a much bigger contract starting next season – becoming the highest-paid player in the league with an AAV of $14 million. Some interesting signings otherwise include Mattias Janmark, Viktor Arvidsson, Jeff Skinner, and Corey Perry.

Colorado only goes to Edmonton once on February 7, while hosting the Oilers on November 30 and on January 16.

Colorado Avalanche vs. Los Angeles Kings

The Avs took care of business last time out against LA with a dominating 5-1 win on January 26. It was the end of a three-game win streak heading into the NHL All-Star Break.

The big departure from the Kings was moving on from Pierre-Luc Dubois, as he heads to Washington while Stanley Cup champion Darcy Kuemper returns to the City of Angels. Other transactions included signing Joel Edmunson, Warren Foegele, and a newly-signed contract for Quinton Byfield.

Once again, the Avs only go to Los Angeles once in the penultimate game of the season on April 12, and they host the Kings on November 13 and March 27.

Colorado Avalanche vs. Vegas Golden Knights

Aside from their preseason matchup last night, the last time these two played in the regular season, Vegas got the best of the Avs 4-3 in overtime in the second-to-last game last season. Tomas Hertl would be the one to score the winner on the power play.

There was a ton of change this offseason for Vegas, including losing some fan favorites in Johnathan Marchessault, William Carrier, and Chandler Stephenson. They got a new goaltender in Ilya Samsonov for one year, and still have the aforementioned Hertl and Mark Stone.

But, it may be a very different team than we have seen in years past. Nonetheless, they’ll face the Avs in the season-opener a week from today, while Colorado hosts the Golden Knights for their remaining two matchups on November 27 and April 8.

Colorado Avalanche vs. Calgary Flames

Colorado completed a season sweep of the Calgary Flames, including their most recent 6-2 win on March 12. This win came in the midst of a nine-game win streak right after the trade deadline last season.

Calgary is going to have a long road ahead of them in terms of a rebuild after struggling mightily last season. They do have Stanley Cup champion Ryan Lomberg, however, on a two-year contract. They also signed Anthony Mantha, and have Tyson Barrie on a camp invite.

Regardless, Colorado will look for another season sweep against old friend Nazem Kadri in their three matchups. Two of them occur at the Saddledome on February 6 and March 14, and in Denver on March 31.

Colorado Avalanche vs. Seattle Kraken

This first-round matchup in the 2023 playoffs wrapped up in a 5-1 win in Seattle the last time these two teams played back on November 13. Colorado took two of three in their season series last year, which had concluded in the first 14 games of last season.

Seattle also had lots of turnover in their squad, looking to make it back to the postseason. Stanley Cup Champion Brandon Montour was signed to a huge seven-year contract, alongside Chandler Stephenson and Matty Beniers. Eeli Tolvanen also signed a two-year deal. Departures include some familiar names: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Tomas Tatar.

We’ll only find out once if Kraken fans will keep booing Cale Makar in their lone visit on October 22, while Colorado hosts Seattle on November 5 and December 22.

Colorado Avalanche vs. Anaheim Ducks

The other team in Southern California has had its own struggles, and the Anaheim Ducks did lose last time out against Colorado. It was back on December 5 in a 3-2 loss at Ball Arena.

Aside from getting some incredible new jerseys, the Ducks made no major moves. Perhaps most notable was the singing of their new third overall pick from this year’s NHL Draft, Beckett Sennecke to his ELC.

Colorado will at least get to play against their sweet new jerseys three times, twice in Anaheim and once in Denver. Those two games at the Honda Center will be on December 20, the regular season finale on April 13, and in Denver on October 18.

Colorado Avalanche vs. San Jose Sharks

Finally, perhaps the most forgotten team in the NHL is the San Jose Sharks. The Avs did complete the season sweep over the worst-finishing team in the league last season with a 3-1 win on New Year’s Eve.

Of course, the biggest acquisition for them was the first overall pick Macklin Celebrini who will play a big role for their forward core this season. They lost Kevin Lebanc, while also signing Tyler Tofolli to a four-year deal and also trading for Cody Ceci.

While it may be far from a good season for San Jose, they have some assets to help them a little more than last season – plus the return of Logan Couture who missed most of last season. They’ll visit the shark tank twice on October 20 and December 19, while hosting the Sharks for their lone visit on March 6.