from Mike Chambers of the Denver Post,

A team-record number of injuries, poor possession time and an ineffective power play turned the up-and-coming Avalanche into a playoff wannabe last season. Colorado went from a Cinderella story in 2013-14 to a team searching for itself in the second year of the Joe Sakic- and Patrick Roy-led front office and coaching staff.

So what will it be this season? Will the Avs return to their Central Division-winning formula of 2013-14, when they finished 52-22-8 (112 points)? Or will they again be territorially dominated and struggle with the basics of the game as they did last season, when they went 39-31-12 (90 points)?

Here are eight concerns heading into rookie camp and training camp:

Blue-line improvement. It appears the Avs didn't adequately improve their defensive corps by acquiring Nikita Zadorov via trade and Francois Beauchemin through free agency. Zadorov, 20, might be too young and Beachemin, 35, too old. But what the Avs didn't do on the blue line says a lot about what they have in the system, particularly Chris Bigras, 20. The recent trade for former first-round draft pick Brandon Gormley, 23, supports the youth movement on defense, and might explain why the Avs didn't offer a long-term contract to a prized free agent.

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