When Peter Forsberg told his Colorado Avalanche teammates he was going to sit out the season, the news must have caused their jaws to drop because it seemed to come out of the blue.

Being isolated in Sweden with everything going on in the United States, the Avalanche have had a weird training camp. And now with Forsberg's announcement, it must be even harder for them to focus. The team has maintained the best possible attitude, although it will take them a few weeks to get used to pressing on without Forsberg.

With players like Patrick Roy, Joe Sakic and Rob Blake, Colorado still has great leadership. The Avalanche went through extended periods of time last season without many key players, including Forsberg at the beginning because of shoulder surgery and then for the final two rounds of the playoffs, after he ruptured his spleen.

No matter which player was missing from the lineup, the Avalanche were able to make adjustments rather than becoming devastated. They knew they had enough talent and strength to go on and win the Stanley Cup, and they did.

This season will be much different for the Avalanche because they already know they won't have Forsberg, one of the world's best players and one who played 20-25 minutes a game. Losing Forsberg is a major shock to the system. With the first two magical lines no longer set in stone, the coaches will jockey players around to find the best possible line combinations.

Without Ray Bourque and Jon Klemm as well, the Avalanche are also adjusting their defense. Plus, Adam Foote is hurt. No one is quite sure what the Colorado Avalanche will look like for at least the first 10 games, when everything gets more sorted out.

It will help the Avalanche's psyche tremendously that they were able to win the Stanley Cup Finals without Forsberg. On paper the New Jersey Devils should have beaten them without Forsberg, but the Avs were somehow able to replace him. Colorado proved it still has great talent, something the coaches will reinforce as this season begins.

Even without Forsberg, the Avalanche are still an upper-echelon team, more talented than most every team in the NHL. However, they may not be able to dominate every night on talent alone as they could before. Forsberg's absence has knocked the Avalanche down a notch, meaning they will need to be more disciplined to make up for it.

Former NHL defenseman Brian Engblom is a hockey analyst for ESPN.