Sakic says internally it’s Stanley Cup or bust for Avs, but also about having ‘great year’

Colorado Avalanche president and GM Joe Sakic met with the media on Wednesday night to discuss a variety of topics.

The press conference came about an hour before the Avs kicked off the 2026-27 season, a wild 8-4 win over the Kings that also had an epic Nathan MacKinnon fight.

And while most questions to Sakic were about the extension given out to head coach Jared Bednar, there were some big picture items as well.

Specifically, is it Stanley Cup or bust for the Avalanche heading into another year with championship expectations?

“We’re one of the favorites, for sure. And that’s where we want to be. It’s a goal of ours. Is it Stanley Cup or bust? I guess you can say internally, but it’s also about having a great year,” Sakic said.

The Avs did everything right in the regular season during the 2025-26 campaign, earning 121 points which was the most in franchise history. Colorado also captured the Presidents’ Trophy, given to the team with the highest point total in the NHL.

It landed them the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, which was great through two rounds, going 8-1. But a shocking sweep to Vegas in the Western Conference Final erased a lot of that hard work.

For Sakic, it’s all about the Avalanche putting themselves in position again to make another run at the Cup.

“Like last year we had a great year and this year we’re hoping to have another regular good regular season, put up a lot of wins, try and get as many points as we can and put ourselves in a good position seeding wise to make a good run in the playoffs,” Sakic said.

Seeding is just step one — then comes playoff execution.

But at the end of the day, that’s all the Avs can do over the next 83 games. They have two points under their belt, but still a long ways to go before the second season begins in April, May and June.

Sakic said internally it’s Stanley Cup or bust, but in the meantime the Avalanche are focused on what they can control right now.

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