How the 2016-17 Colorado Avalanche stacks up

In early August, the Avalanche was preparing to unveil virtually the same team that played uninspired hockey much of the past two seasons. Coach Patrick Roy was going to begin his fourth season and the hope was that Colorado’s core players — goalie Semyon Varlamov, defensemen Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie, and forwards Matt Duchene, Gabe Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon — would find ways to win under Roy like they did in 2013-14, Roy’s rookie season.
Roy, however, surprised