Avalanche have five guys crack ESPN’s top 100 players for 2026-27 season

The Colorado Avalanche are off to a hot start in the 2026-27 regular season.

They beat the Kings in the opener, 8-4, highlighted by an epic Nathan MacKinnon fight on a night in which he scored two goals. For an encore, the Avalanche blasted the Blues 6-1 on Saturday evening.

But with the NHL regular season starting so early this year, everyone is still getting back into hockey mode.

ESPN released its list of the top 100 NHL players heading into this campaign on Tuesday, and not surprisingly five members of the Avalanche made the cut.

To gather the rankings, ESPN asked “broadcasters, analysts, reporters and editors to rate players based on how good they will be this season as compared with their peers.”

Edmonton’s Connor McDavid is No. 1 on the list (again), followed by MacKinnon at No. 2, a one spot leap from where he was entering last year.

“MacKinnon’s pace, power and ability to frequently generate scoring chances has made him one of the best players of his generation,” ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark wrote.

After that, superstar defenseman Cale Makar checked in at No. 5 overall, a three spot drop from last October. He was passed by MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov of the Lightning (No. 3) and Macklin Celebrini (No. 4) of the Sharks.

“Makar is everything that teams are seeking in today’s game as it relates to a defenseman. He can log heavy minutes in every sequence. He can create for himself and others while doing it with the sort of skating that few throughout the game can rival,” Clark wrote.

Martin Necas checks in at No. 24, a 39-spot leap from last season. Goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood is No. 97 and defenseman Devon Toews is No. 98, dropping 25 rungs on the ladder.

Notably absent, and not even honorable mention, are Artturi Lehkonen, Brock Nelson, Nazem Kadri, Gabriel Landeskog and Scott Wedgewood. A case could be made for all of them — but the league is loaded with talent.

At the end of the day, the Avalanche have two guys in the top-5 and three in the top-25. That should hopefully be enough to win the Stanley Cup with the supporting cast around MacKinnon, Makar and Necas.

To see ESPN’s full rankings, click here.

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