Avalanche Mailbag: Does Colorado need a “hard-nosed, gritty” top-six forward at the trade deadline?

Denver Post sports writer Bennett Durando opens up the Avs Mailbag periodically throughout the season. Pose an Avalanche- or NHL-related question for the Avs Mailbag.

Bennett, what’s your take on the Avs signing Alex Galchenyuk? Do you think now with a better surrounding cast he could possibly regain some of that form he had early in his career? We could sure use another offensive weapon with our team getting the injury bug.

— Joe, Aurora

Recent history supports the notion that a better surrounding cast will benefit him. When Galchenyuk landed in Toronto via trade, he had just been ignored on the scrapheap by the entire league, clearing waivers and being reassigned to the AHL for the first time in his career. Toronto was his lifeline.

On a playoff roster, he turned it around with 16 points in 32 games. Then he went back to Arizona for the next season and tallied 21 points in almost twice as many games (60).

That said, he has a lot to prove defensively no matter who’s around him — and once Colorado is healthy, the leash will shorten. Galchenyuk’s first game was a 5-0 loss in which his line was “chewed up” in the defensive zone, Jared Bednar said. Bednar went on to praise Jean-Luc Foudy’s defense, yet when I asked about Galchenyuk, Bednar described his night as “just OK for me.” Galchenyuk was on the ice for two Winnipeg goals; Alex Newhook for one; Jean-Luc Foudy for none.

Maybe, to your point, that’s just another case of Galchenyuk lacking ideal linemates. But Bednar stuck with the line two nights later, saying the trio “makes sense if they can sort of get in-tune with one another.”

If Valeri Nichushkin returns from injury while Evan Rodrigues is still out, Nichushkin will need a center. I wonder if Bednar would try matching them together to form a more offensively gifted second line than the current iteration, with the forechecking line playing the second-most minutes. Galchenyuk is more than capable of playing center.

Nichushkin’s last year-plus, by the way, is a perfect example of this organization’s ability to revive the career of a top-10 pick whose offensive output wasn’t quite up to that potential. Galchenyuk has already displayed his scoring talent in the past; the Avs knew what they were getting into when they signed him.

Do you think Oskar Olausson can make a big impact on the team this year?

— Mike D., Arvada

It’s helpful to get him some early looks in the NHL, especially while there’s more than enough roster room created by injuries. But a big impact? Not yet. The day after Olausson debuted, he was sent back to Loveland. I asked Jared Bednar that day about Olausson’s chances to return, and he was pretty matter-of-fact: “Never say never,” but “he needs time. I don’t think he’s ready to be an everyday NHL player.”

The idea of the call-up was to get a quick look. If he had played an extraordinary game, he would have stayed. The Avs feel Olausson has a high ceiling, but they don’t envision him playing meaningful ice time deep into the season unless injuries somehow persist at this downright stupid rate.

Bottom-six forward Darren Helm’s injury hasn’t gotten as much attention as the others, but he’s a reliable, veteran bottom-six forward. Once he’s back, that’s another job.

With Nazem Kadri gone and Gabe Landeskog out until late in the season, it seems like we’re missing a little bit of that hard-nosed, gritty top-six forward we had during the Stanley Cup run last season. Do you think Joe Sakic could look to make a trade for an Evander Kane-type player (you know, minus the baggage)?

— Kevin O., Parker

I agree with the “top-six forward” part of your assessment. I would push back on the “hard-nosed, gritty” portion. As you noted, Landeskog meets that criteria. And Nichushkin is a tank who can also score a lot. That’s a pretty hard-nosed duo if you ask me.

Or maybe once Landeskog is healthy, he joins Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen on the top line. In that case, the second features Artturi Lehkonen, who I would describe as “gritty” (or maybe “relentless”) if you gave me only one word to use. Ultra-intense forechecker who’s also skilled.

It’s a foregone conclusion that the Avs will be buyers at the deadline, but I don’t think they feel bound to that exact type of player. The more important trait will be someone who’s comfortable playing center.

The season is young but it feels like the Avs have two very competent goalies. Anything we should worry about with this team? It feels like injuries could be an issue going forward. 

— Matt, Denver 

I wrote after Colorado’s shutout win at Washington that if the Avalanche’s current goaltending quality is the reality — not just an anomalous start — then the rest of the league should be terrified.

This was the one position Colorado felt at peace with building around as a potential weakness. Alexandar Georgiev was a total wild card, with no everyday starting experience in the NHL. He was cheap. Resources could be devoted elsewhere.

Other contenders hoping to dethrone the Avalanche started the season circling Colorado’s goalie situation as the reason they could pull it off; the reason the champs were mortal. It turns out Sakic, Chris MacFarland and company might have discovered an absolute dude. Maybe Georgiev was legitimately one of the league’s best-kept secrets while backing up Igor Shesterkin in New York. Or maybe his numbers will level out. Either way, goalie isn’t the Achilles heel it was supposed to be.

It’s fair to worry about forward depth for now if you’re a worrier, while injuries linger. Not even that is long-term, though. The scoring production will balance out eventually.

Yo, those Colorado special edition uniforms are so sweet. Any plans on those getting into the rotation a little more often, or just have set dates going forward? You have a favorite jersey combo? 

— Rip, Aurora 

Glad you asked. I’m still new here, so I hope this doesn’t offend anybody. But I’m of the opinion that the Avs’ everyday look is their most boring.

My take: The alternates worn for home divisional games should be Colorado’s primary uniform. Clean logo; sharp-looking sweater that leans into navy and white; state flag on the shoulder.

I was lukewarm on the new reverse retros at first, but they’ve grown on me, especially after seeing them live. The gold and red on the socks won me over. Great touch.

There are only three more games built in this season for those uniforms: Dec. 11 at St. Louis, Dec. 29 hosting Los Angeles and Jan. 2, 2023, hosting Las Vegas.

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