2015–16 Colorado Avalanche season

The 2015–16 Colorado Avalanche season was the 21st operational season and 20th playing season since the franchise relocated from Quebec prior to the start of the 1995–96 NHL season. As well as the franchise's 37th season in the National Hockey League and 44th season overall. The Avalanche celebrated their 20th anniversary this season.

2015–16 Colorado Avalanche
Division	6th Central
Conference	9th Western
2015–16 record	39–39–4
Home record	17–20–4
Road record	22–19–0
Goals for	216
Goals against	240
Team information
General manager	Joe Sakic
Coach	Patrick Roy
Captain	Gabriel Landeskog
Alternate captains	Jarome Iginla Cody McLeod
Arena	Pepsi Center
Average attendance	17,032
Minor league affiliate(s)	San Antonio Rampage (AHL) Fort Wayne Komets (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Matt Duchene (30)
Assists	Carl Soderberg (39)
Points	Matt Duchene (59)
Penalty minutes	Cody McLeod (138)
Plus/minus	Zach Redmond (+5)
Wins	Semyon Varlamov (27)
Goals against average	Reto Berra (2.41)

The Avalanche were unable to make the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

Standings

Central Division

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	z – Dallas Stars	82	50	23	9	48	267	230	+37	109
2	x – St. Louis Blues	82	49	24	9	44	224	201	+23	107
3	x – Chicago Blackhawks	82	47	26	9	46	235	209	+26	103
4	x – Nashville Predators	82	41	27	14	37	228	215	+13	96
5	x – Minnesota Wild	82	38	33	11	35	216	206	+10	87
6	Colorado Avalanche	82	39	39	4	35	216	240	−24	82
7	Winnipeg Jets	82	35	39	8	32	215	239	−24	78

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	CE	x – Nashville Predators	82	41	27	14	37	228	215	+13	96
2	CE	x – Minnesota Wild	82	38	33	11	35	216	206	+10	87
3	CE	Colorado Avalanche	82	39	39	4	35	216	240	−24	82
4	PA	Arizona Coyotes	82	35	39	8	34	209	245	−36	78
5	CE	Winnipeg Jets	82	35	39	8	32	215	239	−24	78
6	PA	Calgary Flames	82	35	40	7	33	231	260	−29	77
7	PA	Vancouver Canucks	82	31	38	13	26	191	243	−52	75
8	PA	Edmonton Oilers	82	31	43	8	27	203	245	−42	70

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot

Schedule and results

Pre-season

Pre-Season Game Log: 1–4–1 (Home: 1–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 22	Anaheim	4–5	Colorado	OT	Will	––	1–0–0	Recap
2	September 24	Calgary	1–0	Colorado		Berra	––	1–1–0	Recap
3	September 27	Los Angeles	2–1	Colorado	SO	Varlamov	––	1–1–1	Recap
4	September 29	Colorado	0–2	Calgary		Pickard	18,806	1–2–1	Recap
5	October 1	Colorado	0–3	Anaheim		Varlamov	13,756	1–3–1	Recap
6[a]	October 3	Colorado	0–4	Los Angeles		Berra	––	1–4–1	Recap
Notes: a Game will be played at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada.

Regular season

Game Log
October: 3–6–1 (Home: 1–3–1 ; Road: 2–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 8 Minnesota 5–4 Colorado Varlamov 18,007 0–1–0 0 Recap 2 October 10 Dallas 3–6 Colorado Varlamov 16,024 1–1–0 2 Recap 3 October 14 Boston 6–2 Colorado Varlamov 15,082 1–2–0 2 Recap 4 October 16 Colorado 3–0 Anaheim Berra 17,174 2–2–0 4 Recap 5 October 18 Colorado 1–2 Los Angeles Berra 18,230 2–3–0 4 Recap 6 October 21 Carolina 1–0 Colorado OT Varlamov 12,826 2–3–1 5 Recap 7 October 24 Columbus 4–3 Colorado Varlamov 18,007 2–4–1 5 Recap 8 October 27 Colorado 1–4 Florida Berra 11,694 2–5–1 5 Recap 9 October 29 Colorado 2–1 Tampa Bay Varlamov 19,092 3–5–1 7 Recap 10 October 30 Colorado 2–3 Carolina Varlamov 9,345 3–6–1 7 Recap
November: 6–8–0 (Home: 2–3–0 ; Road: 4–5–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 11 November 1 San Jose 4–3 Colorado Varlamov 17,128 3–7–1 7 Recap 12 November 3 Calgary 3–6 Colorado Varlamov 14,408 4–7–1 9 Recap 13 November 5 Colorado 2–4 Arizona Varlamov 10,270 4–8–1 9 Recap 14 November 6 NY Rangers 2–1 Colorado Berra 17,818 4–9–1 9 Recap 15 November 10 Colorado 4–0 Philadelphia Berra 18,587 5–9–1 11 Recap 16 November 12 Colorado 3–2 Boston Berra 17,565 6–9–1 13 Recap 17 November 14 Colorado 6–1 Montreal Berra 21,288 7–9–1 15 Recap 18 November 17 Colorado 1–5 Toronto Berra 19,238 7–10–1 15 Recap 19 November 19 Colorado 3–4 Pittsburgh Berra 18,430 7–11–1 15 Recap 20 November 21 Colorado 3–7 Washington Berra 18,506 7–12–1 15 Recap 21 November 23 Colorado 4–1 Winnipeg Varlamov 15,294 8–12–1 17 Recap 22 November 25 Ottawa 5–3 Colorado Berra 16,570 8–13–1 17 Recap 23 November 28 Winnipeg 3–5 Colorado Varlamov 16,311 9–13–1 19 Recap 24 November 30 Colorado 3–5 NY Islanders Varlamov 11,585 9–14–1 19 Recap
December: 9–3–2 (Home: 3–2–2 ; Road: 6–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 25 December 1 Colorado 2–1 New Jersey Berra 14,019 10–14–1 21 Recap 26 December 3 Colorado 2–1 NY Rangers Varlamov 18,006 11–14–1 23 Recap 27 December 5 Colorado 0–3 Minnesota Varlamov 19,173 11–15–1 23 Recap 28 December 7 Minnesota 1–2 Colorado OT Varlamov 16,589 12–15–1 25 Recap 29 December 9 Pittsburgh 4–2 Colorado Berra 15,838 12–16–1 25 Recap 30 December 12 Colorado 3–2 Nashville Varlamov 17,113 13–16–1 27 Recap 31 December 13 Colorado 3–1 St. Louis Varlamov 17,961 14–16–1 29 Recap 32 December 15 Colorado 3–0 Chicago Varlamov 21,473 15–16–1 31 Recap 33 December 17 NY Islanders 1–2 Colorado Varlamov 15,811 16–16–1 33 Recap 34 December 19 Edmonton 1–5 Colorado Varlamov 17,570 17–16–1 35 Recap 35 December 21 Toronto 7–4 Colorado Varlamov 16,084 17–17–1 35 Recap 36 December 27 Arizona 2–1 Colorado OT Varlamov 18,064 17–17–2 36 Recap 37 December 28 Colorado 6–3 San Jose Pickard 17,562 18–17–2 38 Recap 38 December 31 Chicago 4–3 Colorado OT Varlamov 18,048 18–17–3 39 Recap
January: 9–5–0 (Home: 6–2–0 ; Road: 3–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 39 January 2 Calgary 4–0 Colorado Varlamov 18,087 18–18–3 39 Recap 40 January 4 Los Angeles 1–4 Colorado Varlamov 15,202 19–18–3 41 Recap 41 January 6 St. Louis 3–4 Colorado OT Varlamov 13,359 20–18–3 43 Recap 42 January 8 Nashville 3–5 Colorado Varlamov 17,680 21–18–3 45 Recap 43 January 10 Colorado 3–6 Chicago Varlamov 22,007 21–19–3 45 Recap 44 January 12 Tampa Bay 4–0 Colorado Varlamov 14,227 21–20–3 45 Recap 45 January 14 New Jersey 0–3 Colorado Pickard 15,636 22–20–3 47 Recap 46 January 16 Colorado 1–2 Columbus Pickard 17,776 22–21–3 47 Recap 47 January 18 Colorado 2–1 Winnipeg Varlamov 15,294 23–21–3 49 Recap 48 January 20 Buffalo 1–2 Colorado Varlamov 13,274 24–21–3 51 Recap 49 January 22 St. Louis 1–2 Colorado SO Varlamov 16,366 25–21–3 53 Recap 50 January 23 Colorado 3–1 Dallas Varlamov 18,532 26–21–3 55 Recap 51 January 26 Colorado 1–6 San Jose Pickard 17,424 26–22–3 55 Recap 52 January 27 Colorado 4–3 Los Angeles Pickard 18,230 27–22–3 57 Recap
February: 5–6–1 (Home: 2–4–1 ; Road: 3–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 53 February 2 Chicago 2–1 Colorado Pickard 18,007 27–23–3 57 Recap 54 February 4 Dallas 4–3 Colorado OT Pickard 14,351 27–23–4 58 Recap 55 February 6 Winnipeg 4–2 Colorado Varlamov 14,983 27–24–4 58 Recap 56 February 9 Vancouver 3–1 Colorado Varlamov 14,436 27–25–4 58 Recap 57 February 11 Colorado 4–3 Ottawa Varlamov 17,632 28–25–4 60 Recap 58 February 12 Colorado 3–2 Detroit SO Varlamov 20,027 29–25–4 62 Recap 59 February 14 Colorado 1–4 Buffalo Varlamov 19,070 29–26–4 62 Recap 60 February 17 Montreal 2–3 Colorado Varlamov 16,271 30–26–4 64 Recap 61 February 20 Colorado 3–2 Edmonton Pickard 16,939 31–26–4 66 Recap 62 February 21 Colorado 1–5 Vancouver Varlamov 18,431 31–27–4 66 Recap 63 February 24 San Jose 3–4 Colorado SO Pickard 15,564 32–27–4 68 Recap 64 February 27 (outdoor game) Detroit 5–3 Colorado Varlamov 50,095 (at Coors Field) 32–28–4 68 Recap
March: 7–6–0 (Home: 3–3–0 ; Road: 4–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 65 March 1 Colorado 3–6 Minnesota Pickard 19,107 32–29–4 68 Recap 66 March 3 Florida 2–3 Colorado Pickard 16,194 33–29–4 70 Recap 67 March 5 Nashville 5–2 Colorado Pickard 17,165 33–30–4 70 Recap 68 March 7 Arizona 1–3 Colorado Varlamov 15,393 34–30–4 72 Recap 69 March 9 Anaheim 0–3 Colorado Varlamov 14,292 35–30–4 74 Recap 70 March 12 Colorado 2–3 Winnipeg Varlamov 15,294 35–31–4 74 Recap 71 March 16 Colorado 3–1 Vancouver Varlamov 18,426 36–31–4 76 Recap 72 March 18 Colorado 4–3 Calgary SO Varlamov 19,289 37–31–4 78 Recap 73 March 20 Colorado 3–2 Edmonton Pickard 16,839 38–31–4 80 Recap 74 March 24 Philadelphia 4–2 Colorado Varlamov 18,087 38–32–4 80 Recap 75 March 26 Minnesota 4–0 Colorado Varlamov 18,007 38–33–4 80 Recap 76 March 28 Colorado 4–3 Nashville Varlamov 16,443 39–33–4 82 Recap 77 March 29 Colorado 1–3 St. Louis Varlamov 19,263 39–34–4 82 Recap
April: 0–5–0 (Home: 0–3–0 ; Road: 0–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 78 April 1 Washington 4–2 Colorado Varlamov 18,049 39–35–4 82 Recap 79 April 3 St. Louis 5–1 Colorado Varlamov 15,485 39–36–4 82 Recap 80 April 5 Colorado 3–4 Nashville Varlamov 17,113 39–37–4 82 Recap 81 April 7 Colorado 2–4 Dallas Pickard 18,532 39–38–4 82 Recap 82 April 9 Anaheim 5–3 Colorado Varlamov 17,932 39–39–4 82 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Player statistics

Final stats

Skaters

Regular season

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Matt Duchene	76	30	29	59	−8	24
Gabriel Landeskog	75	20	33	53	−5	69
Nathan MacKinnon	72	21	31	52	−4	20
Carl Soderberg	82	12	39	51	−7	32
Tyson Barrie	78	13	36	49	−16	31
Jarome Iginla	82	22	25	47	−22	41
Blake Comeau	81	12	24	36	−9	58
Francois Beauchemin	82	8	26	34	−7	38
Erik Johnson	73	11	16	27	−19	50
Mikhail Grigorenko	74	6	21	27	+2	8
Nick Holden	82	6	16	22	−1	24
Alex Tanguay‡	52	4	18	22	+3	24
John Mitchell	71	10	11	21	−7	52
Jack Skille	74	8	6	14	−4	11
Cody McLeod	82	8	5	13	+1	138
Mikkel Boedker†	18	4	8	12	−5	2
Shawn Matthias†	20	6	5	11	−7	8
Andreas Martinsen	55	4	7	11	−4	47
Zach Redmond	37	2	4	6	+5	10
Chris Wagner†‡	26	4	0	4	−2	9
Chris Bigras	31	1	2	3	−2	16
Andrew Bodnarchuk†	21	0	2	2	−1	6
Andrew Agozzino	9	0	2	2	−1	0
Nikita Zadorov	22	0	2	2	−5	12
Brandon Gormley	26	0	1	1	−3	8
Brad Stuart	6	0	0	0	−2	0
Nate Guenin	29	0	0	0	+2	2
Eric Gelinas†	6	0	0	0	+2	0
Ben Street	7	0	0	0	−1	4
Dennis Everberg	15	0	0	0	−5	0
Borna Rendulic	3	0	0	0	−2	0
Mikko Rantanen	9	0	0	0	−7	2

Goaltenders

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Semyon Varlamov	57	57	3159	27	25	3	148	2.81	1714	.914	2	0	0	6
Calvin Pickard	20	13	985	7	6	1	42	2.56	539	.922	1	0	1	0
Reto Berra	14	12	721	5	8	0	29	2.41	374	.922	2	0	1	2
Roman Will	1	0	18	0	0	0	1	3.33	3	.667	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

Suspensions/fines

Player	Explanation	Length	Salary	Date issued
Tyson Barrie	Charging and interference against Anaheim Ducks defenseman Simon Despres during NHL Game No. 63 in Anaheim on Friday, October 16, 2015, at 11:30 of the second period.	3 games	$41,935.47	October 17, 2015
Gabriel Landeskog	Illegal check to the head of Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand during NHL Game No. 230 in Boston on Thursday, November 12, 2015, at 5:46 of the second period.	2 games	$59,907.84	November 13, 2015
Gabriel Landeskog	Cross–check against Anaheim Ducks defenseman Simon Despres during NHL Game No. 1004 in Colorado on Wednesday, March 9, 2016 at 11:29 of the third period.	3 games	$203,832.75	March 10, 2016

Notable achievements

Awards

Regular season

Player	Award	Awarded
M. Duchene	NHL First Star of the Week	November 16, 2015
M. Duchene	NHL Third Star of the Month	December 1, 2015
S. Varlamov	NHL First Star of the Week	December 21, 2015
M. Duchene	NHL All-Star game selection	January 6, 2016
T. Barrie	NHL Third Star of the Week	January 11, 2016
S. Varlamov	NHL First Star of the Week	January 25, 2016

Milestones

Regular season

Player	Milestone	Reached
M. Rantanen	1st career NHL game	October 8, 2015
J. Iginla	1,400th career NHL game	October 27, 2015
G. Landeskog	200th career NHL point	October 27, 2015
C. Soderberg	100th career NHL point	November 1, 2015
A. Martinsen	1st career NHL game	November 10, 2015
E. Johnson	200th career NHL point	November 12, 2015
T. Barrie	200th career NHL game	November 14, 2015
A. Martinsen	1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point	November 14, 2015
B. Comeau	500th career NHL game 200th career NHL point	November 14, 2015
A. Martinsen	1st career NHL goal	November 21, 2015
M. Duchene	200th career NHL assist	November 21, 2015
G. Landeskog	300th career NHL game	November 23, 2015
C. Wagner	1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point	November 25, 2015
F. Beauchemin	700th career NHL game	December 5, 2015
M. Grigorenko	100th career NHL game	December 27, 2015
N. Guenin	200th career NHL game	December 31, 2015
C. Soderberg	200th career NHL game	January 2, 2016
J. Iginla	600th career NHL goal	January 4, 2016
C. Bigras	1st career NHL game	January 14, 2016
C. Pickard	1st career NHL shutout	January 14, 2016
C. Bigras	1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point	January 16, 2016
Z. Redmond	100th career NHL game	January 18, 2016
S. Varlamov	300th career NHL game	January 20, 2016
T. Barrie	100th career NHL assist	January 22, 2015
C. McLeod	600th career NHL game	January 26, 2016
R. Will	1st career NHL game	January 26, 2016
E. Johnson	500th career NHL game	February 2, 2016
N. MacKinnon	200th career NHL game	February 4, 2016
N. Holden	200th career NHL game	February 20, 2016
C. Bigras	1st career NHL goal	March 1, 2016
J. Mitchell	100th career NHL assist	March 1, 2016
J. Skille	300th career NHL game	March 3, 2016
C. Soderberg	100th career NHL assist	March 20, 2016
B. Comeau	100th career NHL goal	March 28, 2016
G. Landeskog	100th career NHL goal	April 1, 2016

Transactions

The Colorado Avalanche were involved in the following transactions during the 2015–16 NHL season.

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 26, 2015 (2015-06-26)	To Buffalo Sabres Ryan O'Reilly Jamie McGinn	To Colorado Avalanche Nikita Zadorov Mikhail Grigorenko J. T. Compher 2nd-round pick in 2015
June 27, 2015 (2015-06-27)	To San Jose Sharks BUF's 2nd-round pick in 2015	To Colorado Avalanche 2nd-round pick in 2015 COL's 2nd-round pick in 2016 COL's 6th-round pick in 2017
September 9, 2015 (2015-09-09)	To Arizona Coyotes Stefan Elliott	To Colorado Avalanche Brandon Gormley
October 4, 2015 (2015-10-04)	To Calgary Flames Freddie Hamilton	To Colorado Avalanche Conditional 7th-round pick in 2016
February 21, 2016 (2016-02-21)	To Toronto Maple Leafs Colin Smith 4th-round pick in 2016	To Colorado Avalanche Shawn Matthias
February 29, 2016 (2016-02-29)	To Arizona Coyotes Alex Tanguay Conner Bleackley Kyle Wood	To Colorado Avalanche Mikkel Boedker
February 29, 2016 (2016-02-29)	To New Jersey Devils 3rd-round pick in 2017	To Colorado Avalanche Eric Gelinas
February 29, 2016 (2016-02-29)	To New York Islanders Marc-Andre Cliche	To Colorado Avalanche Taylor Beck
June 23, 2016 (2016-06-23)	To Florida Panthers Reto Berra	To Colorado Avalanche Rocco Grimaldi

Free agents acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Blake Comeau	Pittsburgh Penguins	3 years, $7.2 million
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Francois Beauchemin	Anaheim Ducks	3 years, $13.5 million
October 6, 2015 (2015-10-06)	Jack Skille	Columbus Blue Jackets	1 year

Free agents lost

Date	Player	New team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 2, 2015 (2015-07-02)	Jordan Caron	St. Louis Blues	1 year, $600,000

Claimed via waivers

Player	Former team	Date claimed off waivers	Ref
Chris Wagner	Anaheim Ducks	November 15, 2015
Andrew Bodnarchuk	Columbus Blue Jackets	January 5, 2016

Lost via waivers

Player	New team	Date claimed off waivers	Ref
Chris Wagner	Anaheim Ducks	February 25, 2016

Lost via retirement

Date

Player

Ref

Player signings

Date	Player	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
June 26, 2015 (2015-06-26)	Carl Soderberg	5 years, $23.75 million
July 13, 2015 (2015-07-13)	Mikko Rantanen	3 years, entry-level contract
July 16, 2015 (2015-07-16)	Mikhail Grigorenko	1 year, $675,000
July 16, 2015 (2015-07-16)	Andrew Agozzino	1 year, $600,000
July 16, 2015 (2015-07-16)	Mat Clark	2 years, $1.2 million
July 27, 2015 (2015-07-27)	Joey Hishon	1 year, $890,000
August 6, 2015 (2015-08-06)	Calvin Pickard	1 year, $850,500
August 21, 2015 (2015-08-21)	Sami Aittokallio	1 year, $735,000
September 22, 2015 (2015-09-22)	Erik Johnson	7 years, $42 million contract extension
March 9, 2016 (2016-03-09)	Julien Nantel	3 years, entry-level contract
April 25, 2016 (2016-04-25)	J. T. Compher	3 years, entry-level contract
May 24, 2016 (2016-05-24)	Anton Lindholm	3 years, entry-level contract
May 27, 2016 (2016-05-27)	Sergei Boikov	3 years, entry-level contract

Draft picks

See also: List of Colorado Avalanche draft picks

Below are the Colorado Avalanche's selections at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, to be held on June 26–27, 2015 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	10	Mikko Rantanen	RW	Finland	TPS (Liiga)
2	39[a]	A. J. Greer	LW	Canada	Boston University (Hockey East)
2	40	Nicolas Meloche	D	Canada	Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)
3	71	Jean-Christophe Beaudin	C	Canada	Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL)
4	101	Andrei Mironov	D	Russia	Dynamo Moscow (KHL)
6	161	Sergei Boikov	D	Russia	Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
7	191	Gustav Olhaver	C	Sweden	Rogle BK Jr. (Sweden-Jr.)

Draft notes

• ^[a] The San Jose Sharks' second-round pick went to the Colorado Avalanche as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015 that sent Buffalo's second-round pick in 2015 (31st overall) to San Jose in exchange for Colorado's second-round pick in 2016, Colorado's sixth-round pick in 2017 and this pick.
• The Colorado Avalanche's fifth-round pick will go to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on June 30, 2014 that sent Daniel Briere to Colorado in exchange for P. A. Parenteau and this pick.