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Avalanche haunted by Rantanen as Game 7 struggles continue: Off-Season Recap

Originally posted on Oilersnation | By Ryley Delaney | Last updated Aug 22, 2025 4:00 PM ET

This is Off-Season Recap, a summer series where we’ll look at what the other 15 teams in the Western Conference have done ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season. So far in the series, we’ve looked at every Pacific Division team, and we’re now covering the Central Division. In this article, we’ll look at what the Colorado Avalanche have been up to.

The Colorado Avalanche’s 2024-25 Season in a Nutshell

Everything clicked for the Avalanche in 2021-22, as Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Cale Makar, and Mikko Rantanen led the Denver-based team to their third Stanley Cup in franchise history.

They didn’t find the same success in 2022-23, being bounced by the Seattle Kraken of all teams in the first round. In the 2024 postseason, they thumped the Winnipeg Jets in five games but were defeated by the Dallas Stars in six games. To add insult to injury, former Avalanche Matt Duchene scored the overtime goal that sent them packing (keep this in mind).

Once again, the Avalanche had a solid regular season in a stacked Central Division, finishing with a 49-29-4 record, their 102 points good for third in the division. They made a questionable mid-season move, trading Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes for Martin Nečas and Jack Drury.

They also added Ryan Lindgren, Jimmy Vesey, Brock Nelson, Charlie Coyle, and Erik Johnson to load up for their postseason push, where they’d once again meet the Stars.

After six hard-fought games, the two teams played game seven in Dallas. Early in the third period, MacKinnon scored to give the Avalanche a 2-0 lead. But remember how Duchene ended their 2024 postseason dreams? It happened again.

See, Rantanen wasn’t a fit for the Hurricanes, and they sent him to the Stars for Logan Stankoven and picks, with the Stars and Avalanche meeting in the first-ever “Rantanen Bowl”. It was all Rantanen after MacKinnon’s goal, as he cut the lead in half with just over 12 minutes left in the game, tied it with just over six minutes left, and scored an empty net goal with three seconds left for a 4-2 victory.

He didn’t score the third goal, but both Duchene and Rantanen picked up the assist on the game-winning goal that sent the Avalanche home. That has to hurt, but they’re still in their window of contention.

Who can lead the Avalanche back to glory?

Although he didn’t finish with 140 points as he did the season before, MacKinnon scored 32 goals and 116 points, leading the Avalanche in both categories. Makar put up an incredible 30 goals and 92 points on defence, while Artturi Lehkonen had an underrated season, scoring 27 goals and 45 points. Joel Kiviranta br oke onto the scene, scoring 16 goals and 23 points in 79 games.

Valeri Nichushkin came back from his suspension (which was given out during the Stars series in the 2024 playoffs), scoring 21 goals and 34 points in 43 games. After the trade, Nečas scored 11 goals and 28 points, Coyle scored two goals and 13 points in 19 games, and Nelson scored six goals and 13 points.

Early in the season, the Avalanche traded for Mackenzie Blackwood, something I wanted the Oilers to do. With the Avalanche, the netminder had a .913 save percentage and 2.33 goals against average, but struggled in the postseason.

It was a disappointing end to a Stanley Cup contender’s dreams, but what have the Avalanche done to improve?

Oct 22, 2022; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns (8) during the first period against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

Off-Season Transactions

It has been a relatively quiet off-season for the Avalanche. Before the draft, they sent Coyle and Miles Wood to the Columbus Blue Jackets for prospect Brindley Gavin and two picks, a 2025 third-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick. Their other trade came at the end of July, as they sent Danil Gushchin to the San Jose Sharks for Oskar Olausson.

They didn’t do a whole lot in the free agent market either, with their biggest move being the addition of 40-year-old Brent Burns on a one-year, $1 million deal to help their backend. Signing extensions were Parker Kelly (four-year, $1.7 million AAV), Kiviranta (one-year, $1.25 million), and Josh Manson (two-year, $3.95 million AAV).

Most of their notable moves were departures. Coyle and Wood were traded, < a href="/nhl/players/jonathan_drouin/261439" class="yard_link">Jonathan Drouin signed with the New York Islanders, and Lindgren signed with the Seattle Kraken. Johnson remains a free agent.

On Wednesday, the Avalanche signed Viktor Olofsson to a one-year deal worth $1.575 million. Last season, the forward scored 15 goals and 29 points in 56 games with the Vegas Golden Knights.

What’s next for the Avalanche?

The Avalanche need to do two things: Get out of the first two rounds, which likely means getting through the Stars, and win a Game 7. The Stars aspect is possible, as they got weaker over the off-season.

Breaking their Game 7 curse is a little bit more of an ask. Over their last seven Game 7s, the Avalanche haven’t made it to the next round. This curse date s all the way back to the 2002 postseason, as they fell in seven games to the Detroit Red Wings, after defeating the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks in seven games in the first two rounds.

The key is getting past Rantanen and Dallas. If the Avs can do that, they’re as good a Stanley Cup contender as anybody.