Recent report gives brutally honest assessment of Nathan MacKinnon's season after early playoff exit
Photo credit: (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
Once again, the Colorado Avalanche's season ended in playoff heartbreak, and their loss to the Dallas Stars came with an unfortunate milestone.
No one feels the weight of the defeat more than superstar Nathan MacKinnon. The fiercely driven center pushes to carry the team to victory each year, and falling short clearly takes a toll.
Reporter gives his honest assessment of Nathan MacKinnon's season with the Colorado Avalanche.
Ryan Womeldorf from The Hockey Writers reports that as a genuine superstar and team leader, MacKinnon carried the Avs with relentless determination.
"In those first 25 games, he posted 36 points, including a five-point effort against the Seattle Kraken. That is the kind of leadership that MacKinnon brings to the table consistently, not just during the 2024-25 season." -Womeldorf
MacKinnon maintained his elite production, helping keep the Avalanche in the hunt for a wild card spot. As key reinforcements arrived, especially through two trades that bolstered the goaltending, the burden on him began to ease.
The team caught fire and surged up the standings. Without MacKinnon's contributions, that climb would have been significantly more difficult.
"It might seem easy to just give a blind «A» to MacKinnon here, and it wouldn't be incorrect. But his performance this season was remarkable when you look even more closely. His offensive performance was at a similar pace to his MVP campaign for much of the season before eventually falling off." -Womeldorf
The Avalanche face some tough choices ahead, particularly when it comes to filling the second-line center role under tight salary cap constraints.
"The good thing about having a superstar like MacKinnon - and Cale Makar - is that the window for contention is always open. MacKinnon can put a team on his back and will them to success." -Womeldorf
With a solid goalie duo and the health of their captain Gabriel Landeskog, there will less pressure on MacKinnon to do it all for this Avalanche team.
Previously on Avalanche Insider
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MAI 23 | 35 ANSWERS Recent report gives brutally honest assessment of Nathan MacKinnon's season after early playoff exit Will the Colorado Avalanche make the playoffs next season? | ||
| yes | 34 | 97.1 % |
| no | 1 | 2.9 % |
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