# 2014–15 Colorado Avalanche season

The 2014–15 Colorado Avalanche season was the 20th operational season and 19th playing season since the franchise relocated from Quebec prior to the start of the 1995–96 NHL season. As well as the franchise's 36th season in the National Hockey League and 43rd season overall.
The Avalanche missed the playoffs despite qualifying the previous season.

## Off-season

On May 26, 2014, goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere announced his intention to retire, reportedly saying, "I do not see a reason to remain in the League."

## Standings

Central Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | y – St. Louis Blues | 82 | 51 | 24 | 7 | 42 | 248 | 201 | +47 | 109 |
| 2 | x – Nashville Predators | 82 | 47 | 25 | 10 | 41 | 232 | 208 | +24 | 104 |
| 3 | x – Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 48 | 28 | 6 | 39 | 229 | 189 | +40 | 102 |
| 4 | x – Minnesota Wild | 82 | 46 | 28 | 8 | 42 | 231 | 201 | +30 | 100 |
| 5 | x – Winnipeg Jets | 82 | 43 | 26 | 13 | 36 | 230 | 210 | +20 | 99 |
| 6 | Dallas Stars | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 37 | 261 | 260 | +1 | 92 |
| 7 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 39 | 31 | 12 | 29 | 219 | 227 | −8 | 90 |
Western Conference Wild Card :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | CE | x – Minnesota Wild | 82 | 46 | 28 | 8 | 42 | 231 | 201 | +30 | 100 |
| 2 | CE | x – Winnipeg Jets | 82 | 43 | 26 | 13 | 36 | 230 | 210 | +20 | 99 |
| 3 | PA | Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 40 | 27 | 15 | 38 | 220 | 205 | +15 | 95 |
| 4 | CE | Dallas Stars | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 37 | 261 | 260 | +1 | 92 |
| 5 | CE | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 39 | 31 | 12 | 29 | 219 | 227 | −8 | 90 |
| 6 | PA | San Jose Sharks | 82 | 40 | 33 | 9 | 36 | 228 | 232 | −4 | 89 |
| 7 | PA | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 24 | 44 | 14 | 19 | 198 | 283 | −85 | 62 |
| 8 | PA | Arizona Coyotes | 82 | 24 | 50 | 8 | 19 | 170 | 272 | −102 | 56 |

## Suspensions/fines

| Player | Explanation | Length | Salary | Date issued |
| Gabriel Landeskog | Throwing a punch at Minnesota Wild forward Mikko Koivu while both players were on their respective benches during NHL game No. 930 in Denver on Saturday, February 28, 2015, at 19:57 of the third period. | — | $5,000.00 | March 3, 2015 |
| Cody McLeod | Entering game late with intention of starting an altercation during NHL game No. 930 in Denver on Saturday, February 28, 2015, at 19:52 of the third period. | — | $3,091.40 | March 3, 2015 |

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

Game log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

## Player statistics

Final

### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Jarome Iginla | 82 | 29 | 30 | 59 | 0 | 42 |
| Gabriel Landeskog | 82 | 23 | 36 | 59 | −2 | 79 |
| Alex Tanguay | 80 | 22 | 33 | 55 | −1 | 40 |
| Matt Duchene | 82 | 21 | 34 | 55 | 3 | 16 |
| Ryan O'Reilly | 82 | 17 | 38 | 55 | −5 | 12 |
| Tyson Barrie | 80 | 12 | 41 | 53 | 5 | 26 |
| Nathan MacKinnon | 64 | 14 | 24 | 38 | −7 | 34 |
| John Mitchell | 68 | 11 | 15 | 26 | −9 | 32 |
| Erik Johnson | 47 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 2 | 33 |
| Zach Redmond | 59 | 5 | 15 | 20 | −1 | 24 |
| Maxime Talbot$^‡$ | 63 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 2 | 27 |
| Nate Guenin | 76 | 2 | 13 | 15 | −1 | 32 |
| Nick Holden | 78 | 5 | 9 | 14 | −11 | 28 |
| Brad Stuart | 65 | 3 | 10 | 13 | −4 | 16 |
| Jan Hejda | 81 | 1 | 12 | 13 | −12 | 42 |
| Daniel Briere | 57 | 8 | 4 | 12 | −7 | 18 |
| Cody McLeod | 82 | 7 | 5 | 12 | −2 | 191 |
| Dennis Everberg | 55 | 3 | 9 | 12 | −7 | 10 |
| Marc-Andre Cliche | 74 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 17 |
| Jamie McGinn | 19 | 4 | 2 | 6 | −9 | 6 |
| Joey Hishon | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0 |
| Borna Rendulic | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Freddie Hamilton$^†$ | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0 |
| Tomas Vincour | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 2 |
| Andrew Agozzino | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Paul Carey$^‡$ | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Michael Sgarbossa$^‡$ | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| Patrick Bordeleau | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Wilson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 |
| Jordan Caron$^†$ | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| Stefan Elliott | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| Ben Street | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Duncan Siemens | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Colin Smith | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Karl Stollery$^‡$ | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Semyon Varlamov | 57 | 57 | 3,307 | 28 | 20 | 8 | 141 | 2.56 | 1791 | .921 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Calvin Pickard | 16 | 13 | 895 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 35 | 2.35 | 511 | .932 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reto Berra | 19 | 12 | 748 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 33 | 2.65 | 403 | .918 | 1 | 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

## Notable achievements

Regular season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| E. Johnson | NHL All-Star game selection | January 10, 2015 |
| S. Varlamov | NHL Second Star of the Week | January 12, 2015 |
| S. Varlamov | NHL Second Star of the Week | March 9, 2015 |
| R. O'Reilly | NHL Third Star of the Week | March 30, 2015 |

### Milestones

Regular season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| D. Everberg | 1st career NHL game | October 9, 2014 |
| D. Briere | 300th career NHL goal | October 13, 2014 |
| C. Pickard | 1st career NHL game | October 16, 2014 |
| J. Hejda | 100th career NHL assist | October 24, 2014 |
| C. McLeod | 1000th career NHL PIM | October 24, 2014 |
| D. Everberg | 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point | November 2, 2014 |
| D. Everberg | 1st career NHL assist | November 4, 2014 |
| M. Talbot | 600th career NHL game | November 6, 2014 |
| R. O'Reilly | 200th career NHL point | November 6, 2014 |
| N. MacKinnon | 100th career NHL game | November 13, 2014 |
| A. Agozzino | 1st career NHL game 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | November 22, 2014 |
| C. Pickard | 1st career NHL win | November 22, 2014 |
| M.-A. Cliche | 100th career NHL game | November 29, 2014 |
| C. Smith | 1st career NHL game | December 1, 2014 |
| M. Sgarbossa | 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | December 4, 2014 |
| B. Rendulic | 1st career NHL game | December 9, 2014 |
| B. Stuart | 1,000th career NHL game | December 18, 2014 |
| M. Talbot | 100th career NHL assist | December 20, 2014 |
| C. McLeod | 500th career NHL game | December 21, 2014 |
| B. Rendulic | 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point | December 31, 2014 |
| A. Tanguay | 800th career NHL point | January 8, 2015 |
| B. Rendulic | 1st career NHL assist | January 10, 2015 |
| N. Holden | 100th career NHL game | January 12, 2015 |
| J. Iginla | 1,200th career NHL point | January 30, 2015 |
| J. Hejda | 600th career NHL game | February 8, 2015 |
| R. O'Reilly | 400th career NHL game | February 12, 2015 |
| C. McLeod | 100th career NHL point | February 16, 2015 |
| P. Carey | 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | February 16, 2015 |
| M. Duchene | 300th career NHL point | February 16, 2015 |
| G. Landeskog | 100th career NHL assist | February 22, 2015 |
| N. MacKinnon | 1st career NHL hat-trick | February 22, 2015 |
| N. MacKinnon | 100th career NHL point | February 24, 2015 |
| M. Duchene | 400th career NHL game | February 28, 2015 |
| A. Tanguay | 1,000th career NHL game | March 4, 2015 |
| J. Mitchell | 400th career NHL game | March 19, 2015 |
| F. Hamilton | 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point | March 19, 2015 |
| T. Barrie | 100th career NHL point | March 28, 2015 |
| R. Berra | 1st career NHL shutout | April 9, 2015 |

## Transactions

The following transactions took place during the 2014–15 NHL season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 30, 2014 | To Montreal Canadiens P. A. Parenteau 5th-round pick in 2015 | To Colorado Avalanche Daniel Briere |
| July 1, 2014 | To San Jose Sharks 2nd-round pick in 2016 6th-round pick in 2017 | To Colorado Avalanche Brad Stuart |
| March 2, 2015 | To Boston Bruins Paul Carey Maxime Talbot | To Colorado Avalanche Jordan Caron 6th-round pick in 2016 |
| March 2, 2015 | To San Jose Sharks Karl Stollery | To Colorado Avalanche Freddie Hamilton |
| March 2, 2015 | To Anaheim Ducks Michael Sgarbossa | To Colorado Avalanche Mat Clark |
| June 25, 2015 | To Boston Bruins BOS's 6th-round pick in 2016 | To Colorado Avalanche Carl Soderberg (rights) |

### Lost via retirement

| Date | Player | Ref |
| August 21, 2014 | Jean Sebastien Giguere | |

### Player signings

| Date | Player | Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) |
| July 1, 2014 | Nick Holden | 3 years, $4.95 million contract extension |
| July 23, 2014 | Ryan O'Reilly | 2 years, $12 million contract |
| September 4, 2014 | Tyson Barrie | 2 years, $5.2 million contract |
| September 29, 2014 | Cody McLeod | 3 years, $4 million contract extension |
| September 29, 2014 | Brad Stuart | 2 years, $7.2 million contract extension |
| March 24, 2015 | Mason Geertsen | 3 years, entry-level contract |
| May 15, 2015 | Andreas Martinsen | 1 year, entry-level contract |

## Draft picks

The 2014 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 27–28, 2014, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/junior/club team (league) |
| 1 | 23 | Conner Bleackley | C | Canada | Red Deer Rebels (WHL) |
| 3 | 84 | Kyle Wood | D | Canada | North Bay Battalion (OHL) |
| 4 | 93 | Nicholas Magyar | RW | United States | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 4 | 114 | Alexis Pepin | LW | Canada | Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL) |
| 5 | 144 | Anton Lindholm | D | Sweden | Skelleftea (SHL) |
| 6 | 174 | Maximilian Pajpach | G | Slovakia | Slovakia U18 (Slovakia-2) |
| 7 | 204 | Julien Nantel | LW | Canada | Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL) |

### Draft notes

* Colorado's second-round pick went to the Calgary Flames as the result of a trade on March 5, 2014, that sent Reto Berra to Colorado in exchange for this pick.
* $^a$ Edmonton's fourth-round pick (previously acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs) went to Colorado as the result of a trade on April 3, 2013, that sent Ryan O'Byrne to Toronto in exchange for this pick.