DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche realize history isn't exactly on their side and they're just fine with that.
Fresh off winning the Presidents' Trophy, they now contend with this stat: Just eight teams since 1986 have earned the NHL's top overall seed and proceeded to capture the Stanley Cup title.
But that's not a sign so much as a reminder to keep them focused. The franchise is 1 for 3 in winning both — a cast led by Joe Sakic accomplished the feat
in 2001 — with this one pending.
“I don’t know if history necessarily means anything,” Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said after a 3-1 win over Calgary on Thursday night to clinch the top spot. “Listen, you’re trying to prove yourself every single day. There have been plenty of people and teams have done things that nobody’s done before, haven’t been done in a long time. So those things aren’t necessarily something that we’re thinking about much.”
The last time a team captured the Presidents' Trophy and then the Stanley Cup title was the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012-13. That season was abbreviated to 48 games because of a lockout. The last team to play a full 82-game schedule to earn the best record and then win the title was the Detroit Red Wings in 2008.
It's not like a team wants to avoid the top seed or anything. A Game 7 at home certainly could've come in handy last season when the Avalanche lost to the Stars in Dallas during a first-round series that went seven.
“You want home ice,” said defenseman Josh Manson, whose team is 25-9-5 at Ball Arena this season. “But you're going to have to do well home and away if you want to win the Cup. It’s just the way it goes.”
Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and several others have been in this position before when they won the Presidents' Trophy in 2021. Colorado lost to Vegas in six games in the second round.
The Avalanche were up 2-0 in the series going heading Vegas and had a late lead in Game 3, only to see the Golden Knights rally for four straight wins.
“That was the lesson for us: You have a chance to step on a team, step on a team,” Landeskog said.
The following season they went 16-4 over their playoff run to hoist the Stanley Cup.
“Individual playoff runs and playoff series gives you lessons that can apply throughout your career, after the fact,” Landeskog said. “It had nothing to do with the Presidents’ Trophy that year (2021). It had nothing to do with anything but just some lessons here and there, some things you take from it. I think this group is more experienced than that one, hungrier than that one.”
Colorado has won at least one playoff round in all three seasons where it was the Presidents' Trophy winner. In 1996-97, the Avalanche reached the conference final before losing to Detroit — the eventual Stanley Cup winner — in six games.
Once the playoffs start, records of any sort no longer matter — a point of emphasis to coach Jared Bednar.
“This game has a way of humbling you if you don’t play your best hockey,” Bednar said. "If you’re not playing your best and you’re making too many mistakes, or you’re not dialed in as a group of 20-plus, then you can expect it to be a tough road.”
The Avalanche are getting closer to full strength, missing only Nazem Kadri (finger) and Makar (upper body). With four games remaining, Bednar will hold meetings and talk to the players about who needs rest and who may want to play.
MacKinnon is currently the league's goal-scoring leader with a career-best 52 this season. He's three goals away from tying Mikko Rantanen for the most in a season in Colorado history and five away from matching Quebec's Michel Goulet for most in franchise history.
On the team front, the Avalanche (114 points) have a chance at their first 120-point season. There have been only 12 teams that have reached 120 or more points, with the most recent being Boston in 2022-23. The Bruins won the Presidents' Trophy and lost in the first round.
“It fuels us knowing that we’ve won a lot of hockey games in a lot of different ways,” Landeskog said. "That’s important to remember. You’re not winning the Presidents’ Trophy if you haven’t been finding ways to win hockey games.”
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