2016–17 Colorado Avalanche season

The 2016–17 Colorado Avalanche season was the 22nd operational season and 21st playing season for the Colorado Avalanche since the franchise relocated from Quebec prior to the start of the 1995–96 NHL season, as well as the franchise's 38th season in the National Hockey League and 45th season overall.

2016–17 Colorado Avalanche
Division	7th Central
Conference	14th Western
2016–17 record	22–56–4
Home record	13–26–2
Road record	9–30–2
Goals for	166
Goals against	278
Team information
General manager	Joe Sakic
Coach	Jared Bednar
Captain	Gabriel Landeskog
Alternate captains	Francois Beauchemin Matt Duchene Nathan MacKinnon
Arena	Pepsi Center
Average attendance	14,835 (82.4%)
Minor league affiliate(s)	San Antonio Rampage (AHL) Colorado Eagles (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Mikko Rantanen (20)
Assists	Nathan MacKinnon (37)
Points	Nathan MacKinnon (53)
Penalty minutes	Nikita Zadorov (73)
Plus/minus	Sven Andrighetto J. T. Compher (0)
Wins	Calvin Pickard (15)
Goals against average	Calvin Pickard (2.98)

Under first-year head coach Jared Bednar, the Avalanche got off to a respectable start, and were only two games below .500 by December 1. However, they only won a total of four games in December and January combined. By the All-Star Break, they were 13-31-2, and their season was all but finished. They would only win nine more games after that to finish 22-56-4, the worst record in the NHL. They missed the playoffs for the third consecutive year having missed the playoffs by 46 points in the standings and also finished 21 points behind the 29th-place Vancouver Canucks. They finished the season with their fewest points since moving to Denver in 1995, and their fewest since 1990–91, which was also the last time the franchise finished in last place overall. The Avalanche's 48 points were among the fewest for a non-expansion team since 1967, and the second fewest for any team playing an 82-game season where one point is earned for losing in overtime or a shootout, only ahead of the 2023–24 San Jose Sharks (who finished with 47 points). As of the 2023–24 NHL season, this is the most recent time the Avalanche have missed the playoffs.

Off-season

On August 11, 2016, Patrick Roy resigned as head coach and vice president of hockey operations. On August 25, the Avalanche hired Jared Bednar of the American Hockey League's Cleveland Monsters as Roy's replacement. He had led the Monsters to winning the AHL championship in the previous season. Bednar was hired less than a month before the start of training camp. With nowhere near enough time to assemble his own staff, he was forced to retain Roy's assistants. He was also unable to install his own system.

Standings

Central Division

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	z – Chicago Blackhawks	82	50	23	9	46	244	213	+31	109
2	x – Minnesota Wild	82	49	25	8	46	266	208	+58	106
3	x – St. Louis Blues	82	46	29	7	44	235	218	+17	99
4	x – Nashville Predators	82	41	29	12	39	240	224	+16	94
5	Winnipeg Jets	82	40	35	7	37	249	256	−7	87
6	Dallas Stars	82	34	37	11	33	223	262	−39	79
7	Colorado Avalanche	82	22	56	4	21	166	278	−112	48

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot; z – Clinched conference

Western Conference Wild Card

Pos	Div	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	PA	x – Calgary Flames	82	45	33	4	41	226	221	+5	94
2	CE	x – Nashville Predators	82	41	29	12	39	240	224	+16	94
3	CE	Winnipeg Jets	82	40	35	7	37	249	256	−7	87
4	PA	Los Angeles Kings	82	39	35	8	37	201	205	−4	86
5	CE	Dallas Stars	82	34	37	11	33	223	262	−39	79
6	PA	Arizona Coyotes	82	30	42	10	24	197	260	−63	70
7	PA	Vancouver Canucks	82	30	43	9	26	182	243	−61	69
8	CE	Colorado Avalanche	82	22	56	4	21	166	278	−112	48

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot

Schedule and results

Pre-season

Pre-season Game Log: 6–0–0 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 3–0–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 27	Colorado	4–1	Minnesota		Smith	16,920	1–0–0	Recap
2	September 28	Dallas	2–4	Colorado		Simpson	—	2–0–0	Recap
3	September 30	Los Angeles	1–3	Colorado		Varlamov	—	3–0–0	Recap
4	October 4	Minnesota	0–2	Colorado		Varlamov	—	4–0–0	Recap
5	October 5	Colorado	1–0	Dallas		Pickard	14,120	5–0–0	Recap
6[a]	October 8	Colorado	2–1	Los Angeles	OT	—	—	6–0–0	Recap
Notes: a Game played at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.

Regular season

Game Log
October: 4–3–0 (Home: 1–1–0 ; Road: 3–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 15 Dallas 5–6 Colorado Varlamov 18,007 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 October 17 Colorado 4–3 Pittsburgh OT Pickard 18,431 2–0–0 4 Recap 3 October 18 Colorado 0–3 Washington Varlamov 18,506 2–1–0 4 Recap 4 October 20 Colorado 4–0 Tampa Bay Varlamov 19,092 3–1–0 6 Recap 5 October 22 Colorado 2–5 Florida Varlamov 14,326 3–2–0 6 Recap 6 October 28 Winnipeg 1–0 Colorado Varlamov 16,135 3–3–0 6 Recap 7 October 29 Colorado 3–2 Arizona Pickard 13,533 4–3–0 8 Recap
November: 5–8–1 (Home: 3–5–1 ; Road: 2–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 8 November 1 Nashville 5–1 Colorado Varlamov 12,142 4–4–0 8 Recap 9 November 3 Colorado 0–4 Chicago Varlamov 21,580 4–5–0 8 Recap 10 November 5 Minnesota 0–1 Colorado Pickard 16,256 5–5–0 10 Recap 11 November 6 Colorado 1–5 St. Louis Varlamov 17,220 5–6–0 10 Recap 12 November 8 Arizona 4–2 Colorado Pickard 13,858 5–7–0 10 Recap 13 November 11 Winnipeg 2–3 Colorado OT Varlamov 16,517 6–7–0 12 Recap 14 November 13 Boston 2–0 Colorado Varlamov 15,808 6–8–0 12 Recap 15 November 15 Los Angeles 1–4 Colorado Varlamov 14,805 7–8–0 14 Recap 16 November 17 Colorado 2–3 Dallas Varlamov 18,237 7–9–0 14 Recap 17 November 19 Colorado 3–2 Minnesota Pickard 19,238 8–9–0 16 Recap 18 November 21 Colorado 3–2 Columbus OT Varlamov 10,063 9–9–0 18 Recap 19 November 23 Edmonton 6–3 Colorado Varlamov 15,185 9–10–0 18 Recap 20 November 26 Vancouver 3–2 Colorado SO Pickard 15,511 9–10–1 19 Recap 21 November 29 Nashville 5–3 Colorado Pickard 12,082 9–11–1 19 Recap
December: 3–12–0 (Home: 0–7–0 ; Road: 3–5–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 22 December 1 Columbus 3–2 Colorado Varlamov 12,141 9–12–1 19 Recap 23 December 3 Dallas 3–0 Colorado Varlamov 16,725 9–13–1 19 Recap 24 December 6 Colorado 3–4 Nashville Varlamov 17,113 9–14–1 19 Recap 25 December 8 Colorado 4–2 Boston Pickard 17,565 10–14–1 21 Recap 26 December 10 Colorado 1–10 Montreal Pickard 21,288 10–15–1 21 Recap 27 December 11 Colorado 3–1 Toronto Varlamov 18,875 11–15–1 23 Recap 28 December 14 Philadelphia 4–3 Colorado Pickard 14,456 11–16–1 23 Recap 29 December 16 Florida 3–1 Colorado Pickard 14,679 11–17–1 23 Recap 30 December 18 Colorado 1–4 Winnipeg Pickard 15,294 11–18–1 23 Recap 31 December 20 Colorado 0–2 Minnesota Varlamov 19,018 11–19–1 23 Recap 32 December 22 Toronto 6–0 Colorado Varlamov 15,502 11–20–1 23 Recap 33 December 23 Colorado 2–1 Chicago OT Pickard 21,918 12–20–1 25 Recap 34 December 27 Calgary 6–3 Colorado Pickard 14,634 12–21–1 25 Recap 35 December 29 Colorado 2–4 Dallas Pickard 18,532 12–22–1 25 Recap 36 December 31 NY Rangers 6–2 Colorado Pickard 17,609 12–23–1 25 Recap
January: 1–9–1 (Home: 1–5–0 ; Road: 0–4–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 37 January 2 Colorado 2–3 Vancouver Pickard 18,865 12–24–1 25 Recap 38 January 4 Colorado 1–4 Calgary Pickard 18,388 12–25–1 25 Recap 39 January 6 NY Islanders 1–2 Colorado OT Pickard 14,788 13–25–1 27 Recap 40 January 12 Anaheim 4–1 Colorado Varlamov 14,589 13–26–1 27 Recap 41 January 14 Nashville 3–2 Colorado Varlamov 16,096 13–27–1 27 Recap 42 January 17 Chicago 6–4 Colorado Varlamov 18,007 13–28–1 27 Recap 43 January 19 Colorado 1–2 Anaheim Pickard 15,414 13–29–1 27 Recap 44 January 21 Colorado 2–3 San Jose OT Martin 17,562 13–29–2 28 Recap 45 January 23 San Jose 5–2 Colorado Martin 13,803 13–30–2 28 Recap 46 January 25 Vancouver 3–2 Colorado Pickard 12,819 13–31–2 28 Recap January 27–29 All-Star Break in Los Angeles 47 January 31 Colorado 1–5 Anaheim Pickard 15,963 13–32–2 28 Recap
February: 4–9–1 (Home: 3–2–1 ; Road: 1–7–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 48 February 1 Colorado 0–5 Los Angeles Martin 18,230 13–33–2 28 Recap 49 February 4 Winnipeg 2–5 Colorado Pickard 13,930 14–33–2 30 Recap 50 February 7 Montreal 0–4 Colorado Pickard 12,667 15–33–2 32 Recap 51 February 9 Pittsburgh 4–1 Colorado Pickard 16,777 15–34–2 32 Recap 52 February 11 Colorado 2–4 NY Rangers Pickard 18,006 15–35–2 32 Recap 53 February 12 Colorado 1–5 NY Islanders Pickard 14,107 15–36–2 32 Recap 54 February 14 Colorado 2–3 New Jersey Smith 12,462 15–37–2 32 Recap 55 February 16 Colorado 0–2 Buffalo Pickard 18,335 15–38–2 32 Recap 56 February 17 Colorado 2–1 Carolina OT Pickard 11,456 16–38–2 34 Recap 57 February 19 Tampa Bay 3–2 Colorado OT Pickard 17,270 16–38–3 35 Recap 58 February 21 Los Angeles 2–1 Colorado Pickard 13,768 16–39–3 35 Recap 59 February 23 Colorado 2–4 Nashville Smith 17,243 16–40–3 35 Recap 60 February 25 Buffalo 3–5 Colorado Smith 15,362 17–40–3 37 Recap 61 February 28 Colorado 0–4 Philadelphia Smith 19,564 17–41–3 37 Recap
March: 4–12–0 (Home: 4–5–0 ; Road: 0–7–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 62 March 2 Colorado 1–2 Ottawa Pickard 16,932 17–42–3 37 Recap 63 March 4 Colorado 1–6 Winnipeg Pickard 15,294 17–43–3 37 Recap 64 March 5 St. Louis 3–0 Colorado Smith 14,477 17–44–3 37 Recap 65 March 7 Carolina 1–3 Colorado Pickard 11,700 18–44–3 39 Recap 66 March 9 New Jersey 2–3 Colorado Pickard 11,886 19–44–3 41 Recap 67 March 11 Ottawa 4–2 Colorado Pickard 15,317 19–45–3 41 Recap 68 March 13 Colorado 0–1 Arizona Pickard 11,521 19–46–3 41 Recap 69 March 15 Detroit 1–3 Colorado Pickard 16,764 20–46–3 43 Recap 70 March 18 Colorado 1–5 Detroit Pickard 20,027 20–47–3 43 Recap 71 March 19 Colorado 3–6 Chicago Smith 22,070 20–48–3 43 Recap 72 March 21 St. Louis 4–2 Colorado Pickard 11,687 20–49–3 43 Recap 73 March 23 Edmonton 7–4 Colorado Smith 14,142 20–50–3 43 Recap 74 March 25 Colorado 1–4 Edmonton Pickard 18,347 20–51–3 43 Recap 75 March 27 Colorado 2–4 Calgary Pickard 17,785 20–52–3 43 Recap 76 March 29 Washington 5–3 Colorado Pickard 13,820 20–53–3 43 Recap 77 March 31 St. Louis 1–2 Colorado SO Pickard 14,763 21–53–3 45 Recap
April: 1–3–1 (Home: 1–1–0 ; Road: 0–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 78 April 2 Colorado 2–5 Minnesota Pickard 19,164 21–54–3 45 Recap 79 April 4 Chicago 3–4 Colorado OT Pickard 16,203 22–54–3 47 Recap 80 April 6 Minnesota 4–3 Colorado Pickard 15,565 22–55–3 47 Recap 81 April 8 Colorado 3–4 Dallas SO Smith 18,532 22–55–4 48 Recap 82 April 9 Colorado 2–3 St. Louis Pickard 18,971 22–56–4 48 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Player stats

Skaters

Regular season

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Nathan MacKinnon	82	16	37	53	−14	16
Matt Duchene	77	18	23	41	−34	12
Mikko Rantanen	75	20	18	38	−25	22
Tyson Barrie	74	7	31	38	−34	18
Gabriel Landeskog	72	18	15	33	−25	62
Mikhail Grigorenko	75	10	13	23	−14	18
Blake Comeau	77	8	12	20	−19	58
Rene Bourque	65	12	6	18	−19	56
Jarome Iginla‡	61	8	10	18	−21	54
Francois Beauchemin	81	5	13	18	−14	32
Erik Johnson	46	2	15	17	−6	9
Sven Andrighetto†	19	5	11	16	0	8
Carl Soderberg	80	6	8	14	−26	22
Fedor Tyutin	69	1	12	13	−25	38
Patrick Wiercioch	57	4	8	12	−18	23
Matt Nieto†	43	7	4	11	−9	4
Nikita Zadorov	56	0	10	10	−20	73
Mark Barberio†	34	2	7	9	−6	4
Joe Colborne	62	4	4	8	−21	34
Andreas Martinsen‡	55	3	4	7	−10	32
John Mitchell	65	3	4	7	−12	45
J. T. Compher	21	3	2	5	0	4
Cody Goloubef	33	0	5	5	−10	25
Samuel Henley	1	1	0	1	+1	2
Tyson Jost	6	1	0	1	−5	0
Cody McLeod‡	28	1	0	1	−2	52
Rocco Grimaldi	4	0	1	1	−3	2
A. J. Greer	5	0	1	1	−2	4
Eric Gelinas	27	0	1	1	−4	12
Anton Lindholm	12	0	0	0	−8	2
Gabriel Bourque	6	0	0	0	0	0
Ben Smith‡	4	0	0	0	−2	0
Duncan Siemens	3	0	0	0	−2	2

Goaltenders

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Calvin Pickard	50	48	2820:16	15	31	2	140	2.98	1461	.904	2	0	2	0
Semyon Varlamov	24	23	1347:47	6	17	0	76	3.38	745	.898	1	0	0	0
Jeremy Smith	10	8	542:43	1	6	1	32	3.54	286	.888	0	0	0	0
Spencer Martin	3	3	179:26	0	2	1	13	4.35	96	.865	0	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Avalanche. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only.
^‡Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Transactions

The Colorado Avalanche were involved in the following transactions during the 2016–17 NHL season.

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 25, 2016 (2016-06-25)	To New York Rangers Nick Holden	To Colorado Avalanche 4th-round pick in 2017
November 28, 2016 (2016-11-28)	To Columbus Blue Jackets Ryan Stanton	To Colorado Avalanche Cody Goloubef
January 13, 2017 (2017-01-13)	To Nashville Predators Cody McLeod	To Colorado Avalanche Felix Girard
March 1, 2017 (2017-03-01)	To Los Angeles Kings Jarome Iginla	To Colorado Avalanche conditional 4th-round pick in 2018
March 1, 2017 (2017-03-01)	To Montreal Canadiens Andreas Martinsen	To Colorado Avalanche Sven Andrighetto

Free agents acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01)	Patrick Wiercioch	Ottawa Senators	1 year, $800,000
July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01)	Joe Colborne	Calgary Flames	2 years, $5 million
July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01)	Fedor Tyutin	Columbus Blue Jackets	1 year, $2 million
July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01)	Turner Elson	Stockton Heat	1 year, $575,000
July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01)	Jim O'Brien	Albany Devils	1 year, $600,000
July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01)	Reid Petryk	San Antonio Rampage	1 year
July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01)	Mike Sislo	New Jersey Devils	1 year, $600,000
July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01)	Jeremy Smith	Providence Bruins	1 year
July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01)	Ryan Stanton	Hershey Bears	1 year, $600,000
July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01)	Trent Vogelhuber	Lake Erie Monsters	2 years, $1.225 million
July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01)	Joe Whitney	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	1 year, $600,000
August 16, 2016 (2016-08-16)	Ben Smith	Toronto Maple Leafs	1 year, $675,000
October 10, 2016 (2016-10-10)	Gabriel Bourque	Nashville Predators	1 year, $800,000
October 10, 2016 (2016-10-10)	Rene Bourque	Columbus Blue Jackets	1 year, $650,000

Free agents lost

Date	Player	New team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 2, 2016 (2016-07-02)	Nate Guenin	Anaheim Ducks	1 year, $600,000
July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01)	Mikkel Boedker	San Jose Sharks	4 years, $16 million
July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01)	Borna Rendulic	Vancouver Canucks	1 year, $575,000
July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01)	Andrew Bodnarchuk	Dallas Stars	2 years, $1.45 million
July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01)	Shawn Matthias	Winnipeg Jets	2 years, $4.25 million
July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01)	Zach Redmond	Montreal Canadiens	2 years, $1.225 million
July 2, 2016 (2016-07-02)	Andrew Agozzino	St. Louis Blues	1 year, $600,000
July 28, 2016 (2016-07-28)	Brandon Gormley	New Jersey Devils	1 year, $650,000
October 13, 2016 (2016-10-13)	Jack Skille	Vancouver Canucks	1 year, $700,000

Claimed via waivers

Player	Former team	Date claimed off waivers	Ref
Matt Nieto	San Jose Sharks	January 5, 2017
Mark Barberio	Montreal Canadiens	February 2, 2017

Lost via waivers

Player	New team	Date claimed off waivers	Ref
Ben Smith	Toronto Maple Leafs	October 24, 2016 (2016-10-24)

Lost via retirement

Date

Player

Ref

Player signings

Date	Player	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
June 24, 2016 (2016-06-24)	Andreas Martinsen	1 year, $640,000
July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01)	A. J. Greer	3 years, entry-level contract
July 5, 2016 (2016-07-05)	Calvin Pickard	2 years, $2 million
July 8, 2016 (2016-07-08)	Nathan MacKinnon	7 years, $44.1 million contract extension
July 20, 2016 (2016-07-20)	Mikhail Grigorenko	1 year, $1.3 million
July 31, 2016 (2016-07-31)	Tyson Barrie	4 years, $22 million
March 6, 2016 (2016-03-06)	J. C. Beaudin	3 years, $2.45 million entry-level contract
March 6, 2016 (2016-03-06)	Nicholas Meloche	3 years, $2.775 million entry-level contract
March 29, 2017 (2017-03-29)	Tyson Jost	3 years, $5.1125 million entry-level contract
May 12, 2017 (2017-05-12)	Andrei Mironov	2 years, $1.85 million entry-level

Draft picks

See also: List of Colorado Avalanche draft picks

Below are the Colorado Avalanche's selections at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, to be held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	10	Tyson Jost	C	Canada	Penticton Vees (BCHL)
2	40[a]	Cameron Morrison	LW	Canada	Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)
3	71	Josh Anderson	D	Canada	Prince George Cougars (WHL)
5	131	Adam Werner	G	Sweden	Farjestad BK (SHL)
6	161	Nathan Clurman	D	United States	Culver Eagles (US-IN HS)
7	191	Travis Barron	LW	Canada	Ottawa 67's (OHL)

Draft notes

• ^[a] The Colorado Avalanche's second-round pick was re-acquired as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015 that sent Buffalo's second-round pick in 2015 to San Jose in exchange for a second-round pick in 2015, Colorado's sixth-round pick in 2017 and this pick.

San Jose previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on July 1, 2014 that sent Brad Stuart to Colorado in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2017 and this pick.

• The Colorado Avalanche's fourth-round pick went to the Toronto Maple Leafs as the result of a trade on February 21, 2016 that sent Shawn Matthias to Colorado in exchange for Colin Smith and this pick.