After parade, work begins for Avs in bid to repeat
DENVER — Nazem Kadri will be jubilantly waving to the fans at the parade Thursday through the streets of Denver.
Possibly waving goodbye, too.
Some tough decisions loom for the Colorado Avalanche after dethroning the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final.
As the players party and mingle with the fans in the Mile High City to celebrate the franchise’s third Stanley Cup title, there’s this difficult reality: Quite a few of them may not get the opportunity to return and defend the crown. This could be their farewell.
The list of unrestricted free agent players includes big-time contributors such as Kadri, Darcy Kuemper, Andrew Cogliano, Andre Burakovsky, Josh Manson and Valeri Nichushkin. There are also several restricted free agents like Artturi Lehkonen and Nicolas Aube-Kubel.
It will be a tall task for general manager Joe Sakic to bring back everyone.
So they’ll soak up the good times on the parade route — one final memory in what’s been an epic season.
“Surreal,” defenseman Cale Makar said after his team beat the Lightning in Game 6 on Sunday night to secure the title. “I’m not too worried about the sentimental stuff but just the celebrating is the main thing with the boys.”
The core group led the way: Makar, Mikko Rantanen, captain Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Erik Johnson. With the exception of Makar, they were around for the dismal 48-point season in 2016-17, when this title seemed like nothing more than a pipedream.
“I didn’t know if I was even going to be in Colorado after that,” the 34-year-old Johnson said. “I sat down with Joe (Sakic) and said, ‘Listen, I want to do this here. I want to get this done in Colorado. Keep me a part of it.’ And we did it. Amazing. So proud of everyone.”
Down the road, there could be two Makars on the ice for the Avalanche. Cale’s younger brother, Taylor, was picked in the seventh round by Colorado in 2021. Taylor, a forward, was on hand to watch his brother not only win the Stanley Cup but earn the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the postseason. This on top of Cale capturing the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman.
“It’s insane for me to watch,” Taylor said. “He’s the hardest working person I’ve ever known. He’s so dedicated. It’s so funny to see us grow up together, have those sibling fights, battle playing fake Stanley Cup and mini-sticks. To see him finally be able to lift that, I know he’s always wanted that.”
It was a memorable postseason for Kadri, too. There was the controversy against St. Louis. Then he needed thumb surgery after being hurt in the Western Conference Final against Edmonton, only to make it back in time for Game 4 at Tampa, where he scored the overtime winner.
“You work your whole life for this and now it’s here,” Kadri said of winning the Cup. “Incredible feeling.”