A Lesson From a Loss for a Team Built for June – The Avs stumble, but still look historic

“Failure is when you don’t try to do something as well as you can. When you try to do your best, you have a clear conscience, and that’s never a failure, not just in sport but in life.”
-Carlo Ancelotti

Funny enough, this article started out the evening as a piece on success, comparing the 2025-26 Colorado Avalanche to their unconquerable namesakes. There were bits about forces of nature, inevitability, and things that are simply unstoppable.

But the New York Islanders had other ideas on Thursday night.

And while it changed the nature of the piece I had in mind, adding their second loss in 27 contests surely isn’t something that ought to be regarded as much of a failure, either. The Avs are currently on pace to lose six games this season, which would beat the current record of eight (out of 80 games played) by the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens. What the Avalanche have done so far this year on the ice could only be considered a success. So far. Right? The ultimate goal being to win this year’s Stanley Cup. Which they did just a few years ago… so THAT was a success. Right? Of course. Right up until the next season started, and reset the clock on what success was all over again. So, a success of sorts. A success of a moment. The other season since were… failures?

Part of the sacrifice of winning that Cup was the strain team Captain Gabe Landeskog put on a knee to a point of probably/possibly never playing the sport professionally again. When Landy was able to step back onto the ice and meaningfully contribute last season at playoff time, it was an emotional and physical triumph. A complete success. But then they didn’t win the Stanley Cup… so… Maybe Gabe had success, but his teammates didn’t? That doesn’t feel quite right either. It surely couldn’t be labeled as a failure. Just as with Thursday night’s Avs loss, some nights aren’t your nights. Some moments aren’t your moments. But being in the moment, having the courage to step up and bring your best to it… surely that is something of the true success, no?

Being a basketball nut, I often remember a response from Giannis Antetokounmpo the summer following the Avs Stanley Cup win, the same year the Denver Nuggets finally captured their first ring. Giannis and the Milwaukee Bucks had just been bounced by that season’s eventual winner from the East, the Miami Heat. Giannis had had a frustrating series, with injury keeping him out of most of the contests, which many Bucks fans saw as the primary cause of the loss. In his postgame interview with reporters, one asked him if he viewed the season as a failure. His answer touched a nerve for many about the temporary nature of what we see as successes, and the very binary way we tend to see anything but ultimate success as failure:

“Every year you work, you work towards something, towards a goal, right? Which is to get a promotion, be able to take care of your family, to be able to provide the house for them or take care of your parents,” he said. “You work towards a goal. It’s not a failure; it’s steps to success.”

Steps to success. These same Colorado Avalanche appeared to have a juggernaut with the team they had when they first came to Denver, winning a Cup the very first year they hit town. With names like Sakic, Roy, Forsberg, Foote, and Ozolinch on the ice, they appeared to be the next dynastic team in the NHL, like the Oilers or Canadiens. Instead, it would be five more seasons before they captured another championship, with only some of those names still with the team, a new coach, and a retooled supporting cast to bring it all home. Those four seasons between, when the Avs had some of their most memorable postseason battles were so much failures as lessons in how to get back to where they wanted to be. More of how Giannis said it in his reponse:

“There’s always steps to it. Michael Jordan played 15 years, won six championships; the other nine years was a failure? That’s what you’re telling me? (shaking his head) There’s no failure in sports. You know, there’s good days, bad days. Some days you are able to be successful, some days you’re not. Some days it’s your turn, some days it’s not your turn. And that’s what sports is about. You don’t always win; some other team’s gonna win. And this year, somebody else is gonna win. Simple as that.”

Funny to evoke Mike, who would probably ABSOLUTELY tell you the other nine seasons were failures. And yet Giannis’ point not lost on anyone who sees the efforts being put forth by so many to be amongst the so few standing on top at the end. A slippery measure, success.

A tough loss for the Avs last night, hopefully on their way to a still-torrid season. Hopefully on their way to their fourth championship. Are there lessons to be learned from Thursday night’s 6-3 shelling? Absolutely. Is there a Cup in their future this year? Only time will tell, but their start sure portends good things. Bottom line, as long as they keep bringing all they have to the table, there is no way this season is a failure.