When everyone was healthy and available during training camp, the Avalanche forward lines remained exactly the same.

Four games into the 2023-24 season, and Jonathan Drouin has already spent time on three different lines. The Avs won all four games, but that hasn’t stopped Colorado coach Jared Bednar from already doing some tinkering — and that’s been his plan all along.

“I want to have some flexibility with our forward lines as we go throughout the year, depending on who we’re playing and what matchups we might see. So it’s a good time to experiment.”

Drouin spent all of camp next to Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen on the top line, and they looked spectacular together on opening night in Los Angeles. But since then, the trio have looked great in spurts and struggled to keep possession of the puck at other times.

Bednar said after camp that while stability was the thing to that point, he’s always been planning to move everyone in the top-nine forwards around so they all get some familiarity with each other. That top nine includes five new players: Drouin, Ryan Johansen and the entire third line to start the year (Ross Colton, Miles Wood and Tomas Tatar).

Valeri Nichushkin replaced Drouin on the top line for a game. Tatar went up there in the middle of the home opener Thursday night against Chicago. Eventually, the Avs will probably split up MacKinnon and Rantanen if Bednar feels the balance is off, but to this point it’s the third spot that has been a rotation.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at all of the options for that prime real estate next to MacKinnon and Rantanen, two of the best forwards in the world.

Drouin >> The chemistry he had with MacKinnon is still there, and his playmaking/ability to get the puck to the two stars is a plus. When Bednar moved him off the line after the San Jose game, the coach noted that he wanted more of a net-front presence after MacKinnon had 14 shots on goal with little traffic against the Sharks.

“He’s been making some plays,” Bednar said. “It’s a different mix and a different look when you put him on that line. It’s lacking in some areas, but really good in others. That’s the knowledge that we’re trying to get. When can we use that line together and have it look real good, and when do we need to make a change? That’s the information I’m trying to get from doing this.”

Nichushkin >> When he’s rolling, he’s easily the club’s third-best forward. Putting him with MacKinnon and Rantanen feels like a “let’s load up” decision. Nichushkin could also be the top option to flip places with Rantanen when Bednar wants to split up the two big guns.

Tatar >> He and Drouin are relatively similar players, though he might look to shoot it a touch more. The “new guys” third line looked great in the preseason, but that’s the one trio that hasn’t been able to consistently tilt the ice in the Avs’ favor so far. Flipping Drouin and Tatar might help the third line as much or more than the first. Tatar’s biggest moment of the season so far was a pass to MacKinnon for Colorado’s fourth goal on Thursday night.

“You never know until you try it. So I think like last night, we got a spark out of a couple of lines with the change with Tatar going up with Mac and Mikko,” Bednar said. “I thought he was excellent there. And then Drouin fit in nicely with the Wood-Colton line. It doesn’t always work out, but I think early in the year, you don’t know unless you try.”

Artturi Lehkonen >> The jack-of-all-trades guy feels like he could fit in on any line. Placing him next to the two stars would give them a little more defensive support and also probably help win some loose-puck battles in the offensive end to extend possession time.

Patrick Kane? >> Multiple national reporters have at least tangentially linked the Avalanche to Kane, who remains unsigned after having hip resurfacing surgery in June. The reasons why Kane would want to play here are pretty obvious — it’s a Stanley Cup contender, and one of the few with some salary cap wiggle room. As long as Pavel Francouz remains on long-term injured reserve, the Avs have an extra $2 million in space.

Does Kane make sense for Colorado, even on a relatively cheap, one-year contract? Eh, that’s far more debatable. The underlying numbers suggest Kane was one of the worst defensive forwards in the NHL the past couple of seasons with Chicago, though he was a little better after a trade to the N.Y. Rangers.

The offensive upside is probably higher than players like Drouin and Tatar, but the overall value when accounting for his defensive deficiencies might not be at this stage of his career. And it does feel like the Avs could better use the cap space on an extra defenseman or another backup goalie if Ivan Prosvetov or Justus Annunen don’t work out.