Colorado Avalanche Open as Top Five 2020 Stanley Cup Contender

• Only the Lightning, Golden Knights, Leafs and Bruins have greater odds of winning the Stanley Cup next season than the Avalanche
• Jeff Skinner is on Colorado’s free agency wish list
• The Flames are pegged as enticing +2000 underdogs

The Colorado Avalanche made huge strides this season, which has vaulted the club’s chances of contending for a Stanley Cup in 2020.

The St. Louis Blues were mere hours removed from winning the franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup before sportsbooks already released Stanley Cup Odds for the 2019-20 season.

Books have the Tampa Bay Lightning as the +600 favorites to get over the hump and finally win the Stanley Cup in 2020, but not far down the frontrunner list are the Colorado Avalanche.

2020 Stanley Cup Odds

Odds taken 06/13/19. 

Avs Made Big Strides in 2018-19

The Avs took huge a step forward in their rebuild this season, advancing to the second round of the playoffs after either missing the post-season or being eliminated in the opening round over a 10-year span previously.

This season, Nathan MacKinnon:

— Led the team in scoring
— Led the league in shots
— Set career-highs in goals and points
— Tied his career-high in assists
— Tallied his 400th career point
— Played in his 400th career game

And was incredible to watch.#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/8mV8mGh6Mp

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) June 12, 2019

Is that slight progress enough to place your money on the Avalanche to win the Stanley Cup at +1200 next season?

Only the Tampa Bay Lightning (+600), Vegas Golden Knights (+800), Toronto Maple Leafs (+1000) and Boston Bruins (+1000) opened with better odds to win the 2020 Stanley Cup.

With a projected cap space amount of $37 million to spend, the Avs will certainly be active in free agency this summer in hopes of adding more talent around superstar Nathan MacKinnon.

Skinner on Colorado’s UFA shopping list

One of the players the Avalanche may target on July 1st is scoring winger Jeff Skinner.

There’s wide speculation that the Avalanche will take a run at the UFA winger when the UFA market officially opens for business. Skinner, a four-time 40-goal scorer, is coming off a career-high season with the Buffalo Sabres in which he had 40 goals and 63 points.

Skinner is coming off a career-high season with the Buffalo Sabres in which he had 40 goals and 63 points.

Skinner earned $5.75 against the cap over the last six seasons, but will demand for a significant pay raise as he enters free agency. With the space available on Colorado’s salary cap, the Avs can take a healthy run at signing Skinner.

MacKinnon has finished in the top 10 in scoring over the last two season and adding a skilled winger such as Skinner to potentially play on the top line would drastically improve Colorado’s chances to win it all.

Aside from adding players to the lineup, there won’t be much turnover to Colorado’s roster. However, there will likely be a new face between the pipes next season, as pending unrestricted free agent goaltender Seymon Varlamov is not expected to sign a new deal with the Avs.

Central Division is Stacked

The Central Division is widely regarded as one of the best in the NHL. The Avalanche, who barely squeaked into the playoffs as the second wild-card, very well could win a division that also features the Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets and Cup champion Blues.

Of those powerhouse clubs, the Avs still have the best odds to win the Stanley Cup in 2020 according to opening prices.

The issue for the Avalanche comes down to defense, which averaged three goals against per game last season. Along with a high-scoring winger, the Avalanche will need to address its blue line to make a deep Stanley Cup playoff run.

Johnny Gaudreau cannot be stopped in the puck control competition ?? #NHLAllStar pic.twitter.com/1sUDEHfUON

— Sports = Life (@SportzzTweetzz) January 26, 2019

The better early wager very well could be the Calgary Flames coming in at +2000 in early projections. All of Calgary’s top players — Johnny Gaudreu, Sean Monahan, Elias Lindholm and soon, RFA Matthew Tkachuk — are locked into long-term deals and will give the Flames a strong chance of winning the title in 2020.

Pick: Calgary Flames (+2000)