There was one positive to the Avalanche’s just-completed season. It was short. Only 48 games instead of the usual 82. But by the end Saturday night at the Pepsi Center, it felt like an eternity for what can accurately be termed “long-suffering Avalanche fans.” For the fifth time in seven seasons, the Avs fell short — in this case, well short — of a playoff berth, finishing at the bottom of the Western Conference standings and 29th overall in the NHL.

The franchise that was once the gold standard in the NHL has morphed into cubic zirconia. The Avs lost their season finale 3-1 to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday and finished 16-25-7.

Avalanche coach Joe Sacco, with one year left on his contract, completed his fourth season at the helm and was asked after Saturday’s game if he thinks there will be a fifth.

“I’m going to go about business as usual, just like I always do. I thought that our staff, we (did) everything we can to prepare this team the best way we can,” Sacco said. “I enjoy coaching this team. It’s a young group and it’s certainly headed in the right direction. As far as those decisions that will be made, those are not my decisions, so I’m not really worried about that right now.”

The Avs thought this would be a season in which their young talent would produce a playoff team, but it was anything but.

Consider that:

• The Avs won only four road games all season.

• Their starting goalie, Semyon Varlamov, compiled a 1-14-2 road record.

• Tickets for some recent home games were going for as low as $1 on StubHub.com.

Now the key questions are: What’s going to be done to fix the Avs? And where do they go from here?

Having watched their latest rebuilding plan — letting the young players lead the way — blow up in their faces, speculation has intensified around the franchise in recent days that changes could be coming in the coaching or management ranks, or both. Team president Pierre Lacroix, a former Colorado general manager, was around the Avalanche much more over the past month, including on road trips, to do a full evaluation of all that’s gone wrong.

But after the season finale, the team gave no indication one way or the other if any big changes are imminent. General manager Greg Sherman was at the game in a team suite, joined by executive adviser Joe Sakic and vice president of hockey operations Eric Lacroix.

Sakic, a Hall of Famer, rejoined the franchise in an adviser role a year ago. He could be in line to play a more prominent role in a restructured front office as the Avs, like the Broncos with John Elway, dip into their past to rescue the present. Sakic also declined comment on potential changes and whether he would have an expanded role with the Avs.

Some in the hockey industry believe changes with the Avs are long overdue.

“It’s a very disappointing situation for the fans, the players and the league,” said Kurt Overhardt, a local attorney and agent who represents more than two dozen NHL players and attends most Avalanche home games. “This is a big-time sports town. Unfortunately, the commitment to excellence that the Avalanche came to town with when the franchise moved here and won two Stanley Cups has waned significantly since 2004.”

He places the blame for the franchise’s decline on team ownership, led by Stan Kroenke. Kroenke and his son, Josh, have always maintained that the Avs mean as much to them as any of their team properties, including the NBA’s Nuggets, but Overhardt doesn’t see it.

“There are some great management people currently involved with the organization, but it all starts with ownership,” Overhardt said. “In my opinion, there is not a commitment to excellence by the current owner. The situation nears the dark days in Chicago, when the previous owner (Bill Wirtz) was not committed to winning and wasn’t committed to the fan experience.

“The commitment to the current owner seems only to be to the Nuggets. The Avs seem to be another date on the calendar, to get parking, concessions and to put a couple people in the seats.”

Regardless of any potential changes in Avalanche management, it’s the product on the ice that ultimately needs fixing.

The Avs will get a boost with one of the top three picks in the NHL draft in June, marking the third time in five years they have a top-three pick.

But whomever runs the franchise probably will have to go the trade route to turn over the roster. The Avs already have 22 players signed through next season.

Former NHL coach and general manager Pierre McGuire, now a television analyst, believes the Avs can have a quick turnaround.

“I don’t see them being a team that has something like the Islanders’ long decline after they were great. I still see brilliance at their young forward spots and I see one of the best young leaders in the game right now in Gabe Landeskog. The problem as I see it this year is organizational depth at defense,” McGuire said. “They’re a lot like Edmonton right now. They’ve got some great young talent up front, but a lack of depth on defense. I don’t think their problem is coaching at all.

“I think Joe Sacco has them very well prepared every night and I like their systems of pushing the puck. The coach doesn’t get to pick the players; he has to make do with the players picked for him.”

Avalanche center Matt Duchene, the team’s best player in a bad season, said the players are as impatient as the fans when it comes to bringing the good times back to the Pepsi Center. He doesn’t believe the team is that far from turning things around.

“I still believe in the guys we have here,” Duchene said. “We’re going to have better days ahead.”

Said Landeskog, the team captain, who had trouble getting his game back after an early-season concussion: “From a captain’s standpoint, it’s a learning curve for me. From the captain’s standpoint, it can only get better. From an in- dividual standpoint on the ice, I know I can be a lot better. We’ve got to come back strong next year.”

Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360, adater@denverpost.com or twitter.com/adater