Underlying Avs' Problem: Poor Player Development Of Picks

Trades, free agency don't work after a while

In criticizing the Colorado Avalanche’s top two-round draft selections from the last 15 years, defenders of the team rightly have a bunch of picks that worked out quite nicely. Gabe Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Bo Byram, Mikko Rantanen, Matt Duchene, Ryan O’Reilly - all very good picks the Avs took from 2009 onward.

The Avs pretty much aced their selections in the top 10 from those years, and had a great bargain in second-rounder O’Reilly in 2009.

Here’s the problem: Lots of other first-rounders never panned out, and it’s very hard to find picks from the second and third rounds on who have made a real difference for the team as it currently stands.

Now let’s look at a team like the Dallas Stars, who are up 2-1 in the Western semifinals after beating the Avs in seven games in the first round.