This Year Feels Different...

Despite a solid offseason and a talented roster of stars, the Avs are flying under the radar in 2023-24.

As we sit around and wait for Wednesday night to arrive, there have been a few things that I’ve been thinking about.

In terms of the build up to the start of the regular season, this year seems odd compared to others in recent years 

In 2019-20, there was an expectation that the Avalanche would take the next step. COVID and then a slew of injuries in the incredibly odd Bubble followed and we fell short in overtime of Game 7 against Dallas. (Yes, I wrote ‘we’ there when talking about the team. I’m not Dater. I’m not a real jounalist. I’m a fan, and as far as I’m concerned I’m basically on the team. At least that’s what I tell my wife.)

The following season started in January. I remember watching the first few games of the year on a projector screen against the side of my house while working on my backyard rink, flooding late into the night. There were divisional matchups and two-game series to alleviate  travel issues that year, too. The Avs won the Presidents Trophy by a point, but fell to Vegas in the second round after blowing a 2-0 series lead, adding another chapter of frustrating heartbreak to the team’s recent story.

Despite not winning that shortened 2021 season, it still gave us those INCREDIBLE retro reverse jerseys in homage to the Nordiques and the game on Lake Tahoe (which — although still awesome — would have been the best outdoor game in league history had the sun not ruined it… the sun of all things!). That season was when my expectations intensified, no longer satisfied with competitive or multiple playoff series wins. No. Nothing less than 16 playoff wins would be acceptable.