Fair warning to the rest of the league: As fast and young as the Colorado Avalanche were this season Derwin James Chargers Jersey , general manager Joe Sakic vows to make them even faster and younger. It’s become a full-speed-ahead priority. That blend of quickness, youth and skill boosted the Avalanche from the bottom of the league a year ago to a playoff contender this season. Having an MVP candidate like Nathan MacKinnon leading the charge certainly didn’t hurt, either. ”We love the way we play the game,” Sakic said a day after the Avs were eliminated from the first round of the postseason by top-seeded Nashville in six games. ”It’s fast. It’s entertaining. It’s exciting.” Few expected this kind of run from a Colorado team that had just 48 points in 2016-17. But youthful energy kept the Avalanche in the playoff chase until the end, where they earned the final postseason spot on the last day of the regular season. Their 47-point turnaround from a season ago matches the fourth-highest year-to-year improvement over a full season in NHL history, according to the team. That bodes well. That is, once the sting of losing to the Predators fades. ”We’re going to stay the course and let this team grow because they deserve it,” said Sakic, whose squad was one of the league’s youngest with an average age of 25.8. ”We’re going to stay young and in the next couple of years may even get younger. If we can, even try to get a little bit quicker and faster out there.” The Avalanche fully bought into the message of even-keeled coach Jared Bednar, who will be around two more seasons after Sakic announced Monday he recently agreed to a one-year extension with the former American Hockey League coach. ”It’s a cool story that we went from last to the playoffs, but we’re trying to win a Cup,” said the 22-year-old MacKinnon Dallas Goedert Eagles Jersey , who had 39 goals and 58 assists in the regular season. ”We showed a lot of fight this season. … Hopefully we can use some of that next season.” Things to know about a season in which the Avalanche returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2014: HOME COOKIN’ The Avalanche returned the aura back to the Pepsi Center. They won 28 games at home in the regular season, which tied the franchise record held by the 2000-01 squad that captured the Stanley Cup crown. ”To see the way this Colorado crowd and the city responded to us was great,” defenseman Erik Johnson said. YOUTHFUL SPIRIT The future is certainly bright with a total of 11 rookies dressing this season. Even more, nine players got their first taste of the postseason. ”It was great to get into the playoffs just to feel the different level, where you’ve got to go emotionally and intensity goes up,” Sakic said. ”We can’t take it for granted.” MAC’S OFFENSIVE ATTACK MacKinnon had a season worthy of consideration for the Hart Trophy as league MVP. He led the league in home scoring this season with 67 points (27 goals, 40 assists). That’s tied with Sakic (2000-01) for most in Avalanche history. In addition, MacKinnon’s 284 shots were also the most by an Avalanche player since Sakic (332, `00-01). He was frequently paired with captain Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen, giving them one of the league’s most potent lines. ”If you want to bring someone to their first hockey game, you want to bring them to watch Nathan MacKinnon,” Sakic said. HANGIN’ TEN Colorado had a 10-game winning streak that began with an overtime win over Toronto on Dec. 29 and ended Jan. 23 with a loss at Montreal. It was the second-longest streak in team history. ”Great group, fun to coach Lamar Jackson Youth Jersey ,” Bednar said. ”It was a good season, a fun season – especially for a lot of our guys who went through probably their worst season, myself included, last year to respond and have a season like this.” INJURIES Colorado dealt with its fair share of injuries, including the loss of starting goaltender Semyon Varlamov and Johnson to knee injuries before the playoffs. In the postseason, backup Jonathan Bernier went down. The Avs had to rely on third-stringer Andrew Hammond, who was acquired as part of the three-team trade in November that sent Matt Duchene to Ottawa. ”I know we’ll come back stronger,” Landeskog said. ”I’m proud of this team.” — The Indiana Pacers were full of surprises this season. They won more games than expected. They proved more competitive than projected. Heck, they even forced the three-time defending Eastern Conference champs into a decisive seventh game all while receiving the stamp of approval from the world’s best player. Not bad for a team that was supposed to be sitting home and plotting draft strategy long ago. ”This was one of the most amazing seasons of my career,” forward Thaddeus Young said. ”We played for one another, not as individuals. It’s tough (being eliminated), but this is a great group of guys. We all gave our blood and sweat to the game and each other.” And it could be just the start. The Pacers’ future looks far brighter now than it did 12 months ago after they were swept out of the playoffs by LeBron James and the Cavaliers. Back then, there questions about Paul George’s future in Indiana loomed heavily over the franchise. By late June Da'Ron Payne Youth Jersey , new general manager Kevin Pritchard was forced into a difficult choice when George’s camp made his plans public: Take one more shot at winning a title with George and risk losing him in free agency or start rebuilding immediately. Pritchard opted for a widely panned trade that netted Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. It all turned out just fine for Pritchard and the Pacers. Oladipo emerged as the leader of this young group, earned his first All-Star trip, won the league’s steals title and eventually figured out how to deal with constant double teams, a familiar treatment for superstars. ”They obviously have the snake in Vic, unbelievable jump from last year to this year,” LeBron James said after scoring 45 points in a Game 7 victory. ”I mean, we all saw the improvement and why he is a franchise-caliber player and everybody on down, they just got a well-rounded team and they definitely pushed us, pushed us to the brink.” Sabonis, a lottery pick in 2016, became a key contributor off the bench. Point guard Darren Collison was the NBA’s most accurate 3-point shooter, and Young and Bojan Bogdanovic thrived in their roles, too. Four of the starting five and Sabonis are already under contract for next season with Young being the lone exception. He and backup point guard Cory Joseph have player options and Pritchard likely will exercise the team option on Lance Stephenson. If Young and Joseph opt in Cheap Tremaine Edmunds Jersey , the Pacers would have their top eight players back from a team that won 48 games, fell just short of finishing in the top four in the Eastern Conference and was within four points late in their final playoff game at Cleveland. ”We did an amazing job this year sticking together,” Stephenson said. ”This is one of the funnest teams I’ve been on. We left it on the floor every night, every game. Each and every one of us had a goal. Now, everyone in the world knows who we are.” Now, they’re out to prove they can be dramatically better next season. The key may be the continued development of Myles Turner, Indiana’s 22-year-old center and one of the league’s leaders in blocks. The Pacers need him to get stronger and become a better rebounder. At times this season, he showed just how dominant he could be. Now, the Pacers are asking him to stay healthy, become a more consistent scorer and help Oladipo lead this team to greater successes. ”I wouldn’t trade this year or the men in that locker room for anyone. It’s been phenomenal,” Oladipo said. ”It’s the best locker room I’ve been a part of. It’s been an honor playing with those men and I look forward to growing with them in the future.” — .
