Mm

... as a point of emphasis, and then goaltending kind of at the top of it.

And it's tough because I'm sure a lot of teams who go through difficult stretches can point to the very same things, but just seeing the inconsistencies in the Avs power play and seeing that that would've really helped to change the tide in this game.

And an otherwise PK that was top of the league last year really struggled in this game, certainly gives a little bit of cause for concern.

But then right at the center of it is a question around goaltending.

'Cause I think the issue that has plagued the Avs with goaltending has been question marks around goaltending.

Obviously, Georgiev was not the guy to get it done for them, and that's why they completely overhaul goaltending and bring in Mackenzie Blackwood with the intention of making him a starter.

Exactly

Megan, the question is, what's next? Can he be a consistent 100-point threat after 38 goals? 40 seems realistic, but could he get all the way up to 50? What are you expecting from Martin Natchez here?

Yeah, I have hope for somewhere around 40, 45 goals for Marty Neches and to continue to build upon what was his first 100-point season.

And some of it is the Colorado bump, just getting to play in the Avs' top six.

I think in Carolina, his role... fluctuated a little bit by the end of his time there that marty netches has a clean slate and has been able to more so continuously play on the top line certainly in the top six with plenty of power play opportunity so i think that the ability to get back to a hundred point season thereabouts or at least around 40 45 goals is completely within reach in part because it's He continues to take incremental steps forward in his game too.

I think in Carolina, there was concern around consistency and playoffs performance specifically.

And in Colorado, he's been working on it.

There's still a little bit of a question mark around his playoffs, but Where he took a step forward is after the Olympics and in the Olympics, I think that he really stepped into being more of a driver, especially in his Olympic performance.

So I'm wondering if you can help us with that and just what do we expect from these goalies this season?

Uh, did that come as a shock in, in Denver, and, and what'd you make of that move by MacFarland and then Sakic go, going back into the GM's role?

It's tough because I have so much respect for Joe Sakic going back to his original stint as the GM, but so much of it was a collaboration with Chris MacFarland before he was promoted to GM.

And they're both just such good people, so it's hard to see Chris MacFarland go.

And there were murmurs of this in the playoffs, and I was quick to even dismiss it.

That felt like a, an unnecessary distraction that I didn't think there would be much legs behind it then.

But because of the upgrade in position wherein Chris MacFarland gets to have so much more control hands-on, um, and really take ownership of what he'll be doing in Nashville, I kind of understand him wanting to put his own stamp on something, especially because of the state of the organization for Nashville.

So I see why the opportunity made sense for Chris Ma- MacFarland and his family, and I'm excited to see then what Joe Sakic does stepping back into this role.

Oh, what's the outlook for the Avs, and it's a tough Central division.