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

## Standings

Central Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | 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 |
Western Conference Wild Card :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | 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 |

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

Game Log :
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 | Details |
| 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 |

### Lost via retirement

| Date | Player | Ref |

### Player signings

| Date | Player | Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) |
| 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

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. 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

* 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.