Avalanche Are Getting Older, but Are They Getting Too Old?
There has been plenty of conversation lately surrounding the age of the roster for the Colorado Avalanche.
That’s not really something one can deny. Colorado has built a team that is ready to compete for the Stanley Cup, and that takes a lot of veterans.
The Avalanche enter the 2026-27 season with many of their core players well into their 30s. Brent Burns is even already past 40. The roster surrounding Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar is full of experience and is built to win.
Joe Sakic stayed true to having a championship team and keeping the contender window open.
The question is has experience started to turn into “age”?
Maybe the more pressing question is: Are the Avalanche getting too old to win another championship?
Well my answer is not yet, but there is a fine line. This is a question that can’t be ignored.
Avalanche Have Plenty of Miles
Take a dive into the roster. Age does add up quickly.
Burns is 41. Nazem Kadri is 35 and close to turning 36 this season. Brock Nelson will play this season as a 35-year-old. Gabriel Landeskog and Jaden Schwartz are both 33 now but will turn 34 during the season.
Continue down the list and you find Brett Kulak is 32 and Devon Toews is 32.
MacKinnon who seems like he’s been in his prime forever, will be 31 after the season begins.
Now, if you just look at those players all individually, there’s really nothing there that should set off any alarms. But when you look at the group collectively, there is a risk.
Each of these talents is an individual, and honestly, we all age differently. The time does come for all of us, though, and hockey is demanding and grueling on the body.
Every one of these contributors is going to start to lose a step. The risk is that they all start to decline at roughly the same time.
That’s where the argument makes sense that this is a situation worth watching.
Age Doesn’t Mean Unproductive
The argument can be made just as strongly from the opposite side as well. Putting too much emphasis on a birth certificate can be detrimental as well. Burns is a classic example. Imagine writing him off because of his age.
Last season he appeared in all 82 games and contributed 35 points from the blue line. That’s a lot of contribution from an “old” guy.
Nelson scored 33 goals and finished the season with 65 points. All of this from a player who was 34 at the time.
This isn’t a “has-been” team. They haven’t kept their jobs because of what they accomplished in the past. This team is full of veterans who just keep producing. There is a serious advantage to having that kind of experience on your roster.
When the goal is hoisting the Stanley Cup, you can’t take one thing away from this roster, including pointing out the age.
Colorado and Joe Sakic never set out to build the best roster for 2030. They built one to win the championship in 2027. Period.
That’s a very important distinction.
Colorado Getting Younger
Now, after putting all that emphasis on experience and actual age, it is important to point out that Sakic hasn’t just ignored the issue. This offseason, there has been plenty of younger talent injected into the team.
Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux are 23. They are both former first-round pics who could be the centerpieces of the next version of the Avs.
Fabian Lysell is also just 23. He’s yet another example of the organization trying to find young, affordable talent.
We haven’t even mentioned some of the core of the organization: Makar and Martin Necas. They will enter the season at 27 years old, while Sam Malinski is just 28.
Championship Clock Is Ticking
The Avalanche aren’t too old. They certainly aren’t too old to win the Stanley Cup in 2026-27. Their experience could be the exact reason they are able to finish the job.
The question isn’t how good this team can be. It is much more about how long it can remain this good.
Sakic knows that, and he has made moves that prove it. They are riding a delicate balance, but for now, this team still has it.
The question is valid and no one can deny, the clock is ticking.
Laura Lambert resides in Wiggins, Colo. with her husband, Ricky and two sons, Brayden and Boedy. She attended the University of Northern Colorado while studying economics. She is an accomplished rodeo athlete and barrel horse trainer along with being a life-long sports fan. Over the years, Laura has been active in journalism in a variety of roles. While continuing to cover western sports and country music, she is currently enjoying expanding her reach into multiple sports including MLB, NHL, NCAA and WNBA. Laura covers the Miami Marlins, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays, Colorado Avalanche and Rodeo for On SI. You can reach her at lauralambertmedia@gmail.com