Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar is once again facing the question of whether to keep superstars Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen together on a line. The 2024-25 season brings a twist with Valeri Nichushkin, Gabe Landeskog, and possibly Artturi Lehkonen out of the lineup.
Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche celebrates his 2-0 goal against the St. Louis Blues with teammate Nathan MacKinnon during the first period at Ball Arena in Denver on Wednesday, November 1, 2023. Jared Bednar has been answering questions about the positives and negatives of playing his superstar forwards, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen , together versus apart, for several seasons.
Bednar’s recent history suggests he wants to be a “load up the top line” coach in these types of situations. MacKinnon played 83.9% of his 5-on-5 minutes with Rantanen last season. He spent more time on the ice at evens with Rantanen than No. 1 goalie Alexandar Georgiev. If the Avs begin the season with MacKinnon between Drouin and Rantanen, opposing teams will obviously do all that they can to load up their top defensive players to slow them down. Even if the top trio excels, Colorado is going to need contributions from the second line.
“With a long training camp, I’d like to give some guys who played in a top-six role in the American League or wherever they came from an opportunity to play a top-six role. If they can’t get anything done, then we’ll have to adjust and change our strategy.”
Avalanche Mackinnon Rantanen Bednar NHL Colorado
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