DENVER NUGGETS

It’ll be a failure if Nuggets, Avalanche get one title each in this era

Jul 16, 2024, 4:00 AM

It’s going to sound greedy, but the Denver Nuggets winning an NBA title in 2023 made us greedy.

The Colorado Avalanche getting another Stanley Cup in 2022 did as well.

We want more.

While each championship run was special in its own right, they were also very different. The Nuggets did something for the first time in the history of the organization than many of us never thought we’d see in our lives. They won it all.

And the Avs added a new chapter to a franchise that’s only been in Denver for about three decades. Their third Cup cemented them as one of the top franchises in the NHL, while not having nearly the lengthy history as others in their current cities.

But there’s too much talent on each of the two teams to only get one title in these current eras. Unfortunately, that would be a failure.

We can’t watch MVPs Nikola Jokic and Nathan MacKinnon hang it up in the next six to 10 years without at least one more parade for both. One title is special. Two gets you remembered.

Jokic and MacKinnon made history this year when they were the first NBA and NHL MVPs in the same town since Magic Johnson and Wayne Gretzky in Los Angeles. That happened last in the late 1980s. It’s pretty remarkable company to keep.

That’s why the offseasons for the Nuggets and Avalanche have been frustrating to watch for different reasons.

On the hoops side, GM Calvin Booth saw Kentavious Caldwell-Pope depart for Orlando and still hasn’t replaced him. Christian Braun is a good energy guy off the bench, but it’s a massive leap to think he can be an effective starter on a title team.

Rumors of adding Russell Westbrook to the Nuggets continue to fly, but it’s unclear how much he has left in the tank. Or why Denver might be the only team that wants him. Plus, there’s the Jamal Murray contract extension drama.

Is Booth putting too much on the shoulders of Jokic? Only time will tell, but it’s beginning to feel that way.

On the hockey side, we still don’t have much clarity on the futures of Valeri Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog. Nichushkin is in rehab in Russia, while Landeskog continues to try to return after missing two full seasons.

Hopefully, Nichushkin is getting the help he needs, but the Avalanche don’t have much contact with him. For Landeskog, he’d literally be the first NHL player ever to return from a knee cartilage transplant. Here’s to hoping it works out, but hope isn’t a good strategy.

Yes, MacKinnon has help with a great core that includes Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar. But the 2022 team had more than just a great core, they had other stars and depth all around. If Colorado is going to do it again, they’re going to need Nichushkin and Landeskog, or get the salary cap relief from getting off one or both contracts.

Is it a stretch to say both the Nuggets and Avalanche could win championships next year? Absolutely not. But expecting either to go 16-4 in the playoffs like they did on their dominant title runs doesn’t feel realistic.

If either of these squads is going to win it all in the summer of 2025, it’ll come with a dramatic seven-game series that they have to pull out.

Yes, it’s greedy. And yes, it’s a lot of pressure to say we want at least two titles from each team during the Jokic and MacKinnon eras.

But they’re both all-time greats in their respective sports. And the best all-time greats in the history of basketball and hockey have a fistful of championship rings.

This is where we’re at. And you can bet both superstars embrace the pressure and have the same kind of expectations.

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It’ll be a failure if Nuggets, Avalanche get one title each in this era