The core group is largely the same, but the Colorado Avalanche have added several players since their last playoff exit. Here are the relatively new faces on the team and a glance at their regular seasons.

ANDREW COGLIANO, D

A veteran of 15 NHL seasons, Cogliano has registered an assist since joining the Avalanche at the trade deadline. He’s slid into the role a grinder – known instead for his checking, penalty killing, energy and locker room presence.

Jack Johnson, who has known Cogliano since their shared days at Michigan, called him “a steady guy in the room.”

“On the bench, on the ice, all those things are valuable,” Johnson said. “I think he’s a guy that’s going to help the team not get too high, not get too low…you can never have too many guys like that.”

NICO STURM, C

Sturm was swapped for fellow forward Tyson Jost shortly before the trade deadline and slid into Jost’s penalty-killing role.

He has a 54.6% faceoff win percentage since joining Colorado, barely behind Gabriel Landeskog among players that regularly take draws for the Avalanche. He has three assists but is waiting on his first goal.

JOSH MANSON, D

Manson became another option on the blue line when he arrived via trade after spending his entire career with the Anaheim Ducks.

Though more of a stay-at-home defenseman, Manson had a goal and an assist in the last three games of the regular season. Manson said trouble in his own end comes when he gets “too antsy.”

“I want to see him sort of relax and let the game come to him a little bit,” coach Jared Bednar said. “He can get himself in trouble when he gets too overaggressive.”

DARCY KUEMPER, G

The Avalanche were only without a starting goaltender for a matter of hours last summer after Philipp Grubauer signed with the Seattle Kraken. Kuemper came over in a trade and assumed that role, looking comfortable in net by mid-November.

He had a franchise-record, 12-game home winning streak from late October to late January. He wasn’t in net for a regulation loss (16-0-2) from Dec. 8 to Feb. 19 on his way to another franchise record.

JACK JOHNSON, D

The veteran defenseman came to training camp on a professional tryout and appeared in 74 games. He memorably scored the Avalanche’s first goal of the regular season on a breakaway, and that turned out to be his only conversion of the year.

“It’s not like he’s trying to reinvent the wheel coming here this year and playing for us,” fellow blueliner Devon Toews said. “He’s just doing what he does and having a lot of success doing it.

“He’s such a calming presence for us. I think a lot of us have learned little things from him.”

NICOLAS AUBE-KUBEL, RW

Aube-Kubel was placed on waivers by the Philadelphia Flyers in November and claimed by Colorado. He’s grown in a lower-line role over the 67 games since and contributed 11 goals.

DARREN HELM, C

Helm was and remains known  for his days in Detroit, where he won the Stanley Cup as a rookie in 2008 and spent 14 seasons. He signed with Colorado as a free agent and has centered the fourth line with a rotating cast of characters.

At 35, he appeared in 68 games. He put up seven goals and eight assists.

ARTTURI LEHKONEN, LW

Acquired just before the trade deadline – and as a pending restricted free agent, more than a rental – Lehkonen’s role has steadily grown since he joined the Avalanche. He has six goals in 16 games with Colorado and can often be found sneaking around the crease.

“I really like what he’s been doing for us. Tenacious, goes to the net hard,” Bednar said.

KURTIS MACDERMID, D/F

MacDermid was brought in to police and has done that from multiple angles. A career defenseman, he moved up to forward multiple times.

Six-foot-5, 233-point MacDermid added six bouts to his hockeyfights.com page in 2021-22.

RYAN MURRAY, D

He appeared in 37 games (four assists) and has been out since March 21. He has a fracture, Bednar clarified, after blocking a shot during a game.

BOWEN BYRAM, D

Byram did not appear in a postseason contest last season and the injury concerns stretched into 2021-22. He returned after a three-month personal leave April 5 and has registered 6 assists since then, averaging about 17 minutes of ice time per night. He’s earned praise from his coach and a playoff debut seems imminent.