Mile High Pollster: Avs fans hold hope for upgrading the third line

Colorado’s bottom six doesn’t appear ready for opening night — yet.

The countdown to the 2025-26 NHL regular season is officially underway, with the release of the full schedule expected sometime this week. Meanwhile, the Colorado Avalanche still has some questions to answer. That is according to this week’s pollster, as fans agree that Joe Sakic and Chris MacFarland need to address their bottom-six.

Moving but Going Nowhere

The Avalanche have been pretty busy this offseason, but most of their work has been inspired by logistical necessity rather than improvement. You don’t get improvement without proper cap construction, so I see this as the calm before the storm for the Avalanche, who have proven to be ready and willing to pull the trigger on a big trade. According to this poll, fans agree that despite the few moves we’ve seen, the Avalanche remains “about the same” team as it was before the free agency window opened.

The bottom six isn’t typically tough to sort out financially, so it should just be a matter of time until we see this roster filled. That is, if that’s the approach for the Avalanche. The golden standard is someone in the same vein as Andrew Cogliano: a penalty killer and gritty player with leadership prowess.

Will the Avalanche make another splash and add branches to the Mikko Rantanen trade tree? It’s starting to feel that way in my opinion, with the Avalanche only delaying the same problem they had with Mikko, but now it comes in the form of a Marty party. Some people have Marty slated to make upwards of 9M AAV, and if the Avs are focused on playoff success, Necas is still relatively unproven in that regard. The proximity to that price tag being the tipping point in this deal, and the trade deadline being mid-season, feels like déjà vu. Will they repeat history and flip Necas?

Jack Drury is 3C?

This next poll comes in response to Chris MacFarland’s comments about Jack Drury potentially filling the 3C role come opening night. I find that hard to believe, but if that is the intention, the Avalanche need another 4C since we know how little they promote from within. That said, I agree with the fans who say that Jack Drury is your elite 4C, and 3C is still the most glaring missing piece to the puzzle.

Some familiar names have been brought to the table, and if you know me at all, you know my favorite of those names is J.T. Compher. The man who was momentarily but affectionately dubbed Jimothy Timothy took his talents to Detroit, but just hasn’t fit as well as he did here in Colorado. The part I love most about J.T.’s game? He has the innate ability to get under people’s skin while staying frustratingly even-keeled. Every team needs a pest, and J.T. is a hard-working one.

Let us know what you think in the comments!