Evan Rawal, Avalanche reporter

Answer: Yes

The window is closing. They’re still contenders heading into next season, and they should still be pretty competitive in 2027-28, but it starts to get tricky after that.

It’s just the reality of the situation and why they’ve tried to go “all-in” with their moves over the last 18 months. Just look at the age of some of the most important players on the roster.

Gabriel Landeskog turns 34 in November, Brock Nelson turns 35 in October, and Nazem Kadri turns 36. Josh Manson is 35, and Devon Toews is 32.

Father Time waits for no one, and at any point, some of these guys could hit a wall. The Avalanche don’t have the prospect pool to immediately fill those holes when the decline eventually does happen.

That’s not to say this team will ever bottom out.

When you have Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar on the roster, it’s hard to imagine this team ever being truly bad, but they will have to figure out a way to retool on the fly over the next few years to stay in or return to contention.

It’s not impossible to do, and the presence of MacKinnon and Makar should make Colorado a desirable location for players, but Joe Sakic (or whoever is GM at the time) has his work cut out for him to make it happen.

Chris Schmaedeke, digital sports editor

Answer: No

It’s tough to say a title window is closed for a team that has one of the best players in the league.

And the Avalanche have two of the best.

Much like the Nuggets with Nikola Jokic, the Avs have Nathan MacKinnon. Colorado, hopefully, has Cale Makar for the next few years as well. That duo should keep the team in title contention alone.

Now, it will take some work to keep the Avalanche in the Stanley Cup hunt. A lot of Colorado’s best players are over the age of 30, and the prospect cupboard is rather empty due to plenty of “win now” trades.

This is where the front office needs to step up and get this team ready for the present and the future. That is easier said than done as the Nuggets are dealing with the same thing in the NBA.

It’s a balancing act that general manager Joe Sakic is more than capable of handling. The Avs do not have a first-round pick for the next couple of years, so Sakic will need to find late-round gems.

Also, while the cap is not great right now, Sakic could make moves to free up more space and hope free agents would take a discount to play with Makar and MacKinnon.

It won’t be easy, but having MacKinnon and Makar should make it more manageable. Leagues are all about stars, and MacKinnon and Makar are here for the long haul.