Meet the Avalanche

Tyson Barrie, RD, 510/190 (Victoria, B.C.)

Barrie, 27, is again paired with Nikita Zadorov at even strength and quarterbacks the No. 1 power play. He had a terrific preseason and seems as confident with the puck as ever. Look for Barrie to take his puckmoving game to a higher level this season as the Avs’ entire offense improves. Barrie is a highrisk, highreward player but his defensive game is coming around. Erik Johnson, RD, 64/225 (Bloomington, Minn.)

The Avs’ alternate captain, 30, will again begin the season on the top pairing, this time with secondyear man Sam Girard. Johnson’s minutes might decrease this season because he’s not on a powerplay unit, but he’ll again play big minutes and kill penalties alongside newcomer Ian Cole. The key for Johnson is to remain healthy; he has missed 100 regularseason games the last four years. Patrik Nemeth, LD, 63/219 (Stockholm)

Nemeth led the Avs with a plus27 rating last season, his first with the club after being picked up on waivers from Dallas. Nemeth, 26, signed a oneyear contract worth $2.5 in the offseason and is betting that if he duplicates his 201718 season, he will get a bigger, longterm deal. He will begin the season playing with Cole on Colorado’s clearcut shutdown pairing. Nikita Zadorov, LD, 65/230 (Moscow)

Zadorov had a rollercoaster season last year, reporting to camp late and out of shape and being scratched opening night. He was then benched multiple times for long stretches. But “Big Z” seems like a better pro now and had a terrific preseason. At 23, he’s coming into his own as one of the league’s biggest hitters, and a trusted defensivedefenseman while paired with Tyson Barrie, who always has the green light to jump into the offensive zone. Zadorov is a big reason why Colorado has its best blue line in more than 10 years.