Friday Faceoff: Do the Colorado Avalanche or Denver Nuggets have a better championship chance?

Mar. 10—Do the Avalanche or Nuggets have a better chance of winning a championship?

Kyle Fredrickson, Avalanche beat writer

Answer: Avalanche

Predictable, right? The Avs beat writer takes the team he covers. But this pick is based on equal parts familiarity and reality. The Avalanche are proven champions with a 2021-22 Stanley Cup to prove it. The Nuggets are still chasing that dream. Give me the group that's already shown they can be the last ones standing.

I'll admit the Avalanche have a more difficult path to their second title. Their lineup has been decimated by injuries with still no timetable on the return of captain Gabe Landeskog. Of course, historically, winning consecutive Cups has proven especially difficult. Only eight franchises have ever done it with Tampa Bay (2019-20 and 2020-21) as the last repeat champion.

What gives me confidence? The Avalanche are built with arguably the league's best coach (Jared Bednar), definitely the league's best defenseman (Cale Makar) and a relentless top-line engine who sets the standard (Nathan MacKinnon). There isn't another team in the NHL with a better trio.

Colorado will need some unexpected good fortune along the way. Every team that wins a title, in any sport, usually benefits from a bit of luck. The Avalanche have built up loads of good karma in a challenging season. They're much closer to winning another title than the other team at Ball Arena.

Danielle Allentuck, Rockies beat writer