# 1995–96 Colorado Avalanche season

The 1995–96 Colorado Avalanche season was the first season of the Nordiques/Avalanche franchise after moving from Quebec City to Denver. As a result, the Avalanche were assigned to the Pacific Division of the NHL's Western Conference.
The season was marked by the bolstered acquisition of ex-Montreal captain Mike Keane and 6-time NHL All-Star and 3-time Vezina Trophy recipient Patrick Roy, who demanded a trade after feeling humiliated for being left in the net after having conceded 9 goals on 26 shots during a Canadiens game against the Red Wings. The acquisition of Keane coupled with the eventual veteran presence of Roy would prove to be a pivotal addition for Colorado in the years to come. The Avalanche finished the regular season as division champions and second overall in the conference, and advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in team history against the Florida Panthers, whom they swept to capture the franchise's Stanley Cup title. The Avalanche were the first sports team to win a major championship since relocation in their first year since the Washington Redskins did so in 1937 after moving from Boston.

## Regular season

The Avalanche played their first game in the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver on October 6, 1995, winning 3–2 against the Detroit Red Wings. With the team led by captain Joe Sakic, forward Peter Forsberg and defenseman Adam Foote on the ice, Pierre Lacroix as the general manager, and Marc Crawford as the head coach. The Avalanche was bolstered by the acquisitions of former Montreal Canadiens goaltender Patrick Roy and ex-Montreal captain Mike Keane on December 6, 1995 in a trade for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko. The acquisition of Roy and Keane together would prove to be a pivotal addition for Colorado in the years to come.
On January 3, 1996, the Avalanche lost at home, 1–0, to the New Jersey Devils. It was the first time in 123 consecutive regular-season games that the team was shut out; the last time the team had been shut out was while they were the Quebec Nordiques. That game took place on January 27, 1994, and the Nordiques lost on the road, 3–0, to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Avalanche finished the regular season with a 47–25–10 record for 104 points, won the Pacific Division and finished second in the Western Conference. They scored 326 goals: an average of nearly 4 per game. Despite allowing the most short-handed goals in the league, with 22, they also scored the most short-handed goals, with 21. Four Avalanche players throughout the course of the season made it past the 30-goal scoring mark.
* December 11, 1995: Patrick Roy earned his first victory in net as a member of the Colorado Avalanche. It was a 5–1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
* February 5, 1996: Patrick Roy played the Canadiens for the first time since he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche. Roy stopped 37 of 39 shots in a 4–2 win. After the game, Roy took the game puck and flipped it to Canadiens head coach Mario Tremblay.

### Season standings

Pacific Division :
| No. | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 47 | 25 | 10 | 326 | 240 | 104 |
| 2 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 241 | 240 | 79 |
| 3 | Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 32 | 35 | 15 | 278 | 278 | 79 |
| 4 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 82 | 35 | 39 | 8 | 234 | 247 | 78 |
| 5 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 30 | 44 | 8 | 240 | 304 | 68 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 24 | 40 | 18 | 256 | 302 | 66 |
| 7 | San Jose Sharks | 82 | 20 | 55 | 7 | 252 | 357 | 47 |
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
Western Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Detroit Red Wings | CEN | 82 | 62 | 13 | 7 | 325 | 181 | 131 |
| 2 | Colorado Avalanche | PAC | 82 | 47 | 25 | 10 | 326 | 240 | 104 |
| 3 | Chicago Blackhawks | CEN | 82 | 40 | 28 | 14 | 273 | 220 | 94 |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | CEN | 82 | 34 | 36 | 12 | 247 | 252 | 80 |
| 5 | St. Louis Blues | CEN | 82 | 32 | 34 | 16 | 219 | 248 | 80 |
| 6 | Calgary Flames | PAC | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 241 | 240 | 79 |
| 7 | Vancouver Canucks | PAC | 82 | 32 | 35 | 15 | 278 | 278 | 79 |
| 8 | Winnipeg Jets | CEN | 82 | 36 | 40 | 6 | 275 | 291 | 78 |
| 9 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PAC | 82 | 35 | 39 | 8 | 234 | 247 | 78 |
| 10 | Edmonton Oilers | PAC | 82 | 30 | 44 | 8 | 240 | 304 | 68 |
| 11 | Dallas Stars | CEN | 82 | 26 | 42 | 14 | 227 | 280 | 66 |
| 12 | Los Angeles Kings | PAC | 82 | 24 | 40 | 18 | 256 | 302 | 66 |
| 13 | San Jose Sharks | PAC | 82 | 20 | 55 | 7 | 252 | 357 | 47 |
Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific
bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

## Playoffs

Colorado progressed to the playoffs and won the series against the Vancouver Canucks, the Chicago Blackhawks and Presidents' Trophy winners Detroit Red Wings. In the Stanley Cup Finals, the Avalanche met the Florida Panthers, who were also in their first Stanley Cup Finals. The Avalanche swept the series 4–0. In Game Four, during the third overtime and after more than 100 minutes of play with no goals, defenseman Uwe Krupp scored to claim the franchise's first Cup. Joe Sakic was the playoff's scoring leader with 34 points (18 goals and 16 assists) and won the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the most valuable player to his team during the playoffs. The 1996 Stanley Cup was the first major professional championship won by a Denver team. With the Stanley Cup win, Russians Alexei Gusarov and Valeri Kamensky and Swede Peter Forsberg became members of the "Triple Gold Club", the exclusive group of ice hockey players who have won Olympic gold, World Championship gold and the Stanley Cup.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1995–96 regular season :
October: 7–3–1 (home: 5–0–1; road: 2–3–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionRecordPointsRecap
1October 6Detroit2 – 3ColoradoFiset1–0–02Recap
2October 7Colorado2 – 4Los AngelesFiset1–1–02Recap
3October 9Pittsburgh6 – 6ColoradoOTFiset1–1–13Recap
4October 11Boston1 – 3ColoradoFiset2–1–15Recap
5October 13Colorado1 – 3WashingtonFiset2–2–15Recap
6October 14Colorado1 – 4St. LouisThibault2–3–15Recap
7October 18Washington2 – 4ColoradoFiset3–3–17Recap
8October 23Anaheim1 – 3ColoradoFiset4–3–19Recap
9October 25Colorado3 – 2CalgaryFiset5–3–111Recap
10October 27Buffalo4 – 5ColoradoFiset6–3–113Recap
11October 30Colorado6 – 1DallasThibault7–3–115Recap :
November: 8–2–3 (home: 3–0–1; road: 5–2–2)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionRecordPointsRecap
12November 1Calgary1 – 6ColoradoThibault8–3–117Recap
13November 3Colorado5 – 2WinnipegFiset9–3–119Recap
14November 5Colorado7 – 3ChicagoFiset10–3–121Recap
15November 9Dallas1 – 1ColoradoOTThibault10–3–222Recap
16November 11Colorado8 – 4VancouverFiset11–3–224Recap
17November 15Colorado3 – 7AnaheimThibault11–4–224Recap
18November 17Colorado5 – 3CalgaryFiset12–4–226Recap
19November 18Calgary2 – 5ColoradoFiset13–4–228Recap
20November 20Colorado3 – 3EdmontonOTFiset13–4–329Recap
21November 22Chicago2 – 6ColoradoFiset14–4–331Recap
22November 25Colorado2 – 2MontrealOTThibault14–4–432Recap
23November 28Colorado7 – 3NY IslandersThibault15–4–434Recap
24November 29Colorado3 – 4New JerseyOTThibault15–5–434Recap :
December: 7–6–1 (home: 3–3–0; road: 4–3–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionRecordPointsRecap
25December 1Colorado3 – 5NY RangersThibault15–6–434Recap
26December 3Dallas7 – 6ColoradoFiset15–7–434Recap
27December 5San Jose2 – 12ColoradoFiset16–7–436Recap
28December 7Edmonton5 – 3ColoradoRoy16–8–436Recap
29December 9Colorado7 – 3OttawaFiset17–8–438Recap
30December 11Colorado5 – 1TorontoRoy18–8–440Recap
31December 13Colorado3 – 4BuffaloRoy18–9–440Recap
32December 15Colorado2 – 4HartfordFiset18–10–440Recap
33December 18Vancouver4 – 2ColoradoRoy18–11–440Recap
34December 20Colorado4 – 1EdmontonRoy19–11–442Recap
35December 22St. Louis1 – 2ColoradoRoy20–11–444Recap
36December 23Colorado2 – 2Los AngelesOTFiset20–11–545Recap
37December 26Colorado5 – 1San JoseRoy21–11–547Recap
38December 29Toronto2 – 3ColoradoRoy22–11–549Recap :
January: 4–4–4 (home: 1–1–4; road: 3–3–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionRecordPointsRecap
39January 3New Jersey1 – 0ColoradoRoy22–12–549Recap
40January 4Philadelphia2 – 2ColoradoOTFiset22–12–650Recap
41January 6Colorado2 – 5TorontoRoy22–13–650Recap
42January 9Colorado3 – 0BostonFiset23–13–652Recap
43January 10Florida4 – 4ColoradoOTRoy23–13–753Recap
44January 14Calgary4 – 4ColoradoOTFiset23–13–854Recap
45January 16Colorado5 – 2PittsburghRoy24–13–856Recap
46January 17Colorado2 – 3DetroitRoy24–14–856Recap
47January 22NY Islanders3 – 4ColoradoRoy25–14–858Recap
48January 25Vancouver2 – 2ColoradoOTFiset25–14–959Recap
49January 27Colorado4 – 3San JoseOTRoy26–14–961Recap
50January 31Colorado1 – 2AnaheimRoy26–15–961Recap :
February: 9–3–1 (home: 7–1–1; road: 2–2–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionRecordPointsRecap
51February 1Winnipeg4 – 6ColoradoFiset27–15–963Recap
52February 3NY Rangers1 – 7ColoradoRoy28–15–965Recap
53February 5Montreal2 – 4ColoradoRoy29–15–967Recap
54February 7Tampa Bay4 – 4ColoradoOTFiset29–15–1068Recap
55February 9Hartford3 – 2ColoradoOTRoy29–16–1068Recap
56February 11Colorado5 – 3PhiladelphiaFiset30–16–1070Recap
57February 15Colorado2 – 4Tampa BayRoy30–17–1070Recap
58February 16Colorado5 – 4FloridaOTFiset31–17–1072Recap
59February 19Edmonton5 – 7ColoradoRoy32–17–1074Recap
60February 23Los Angeles2 – 6ColoradoFiset33–17–1076Recap
61February 25Ottawa2 – 4ColoradoRoy34–17–1078Recap
62February 26Anaheim2 – 3ColoradoRoy35–17–1080Recap
63February 29Colorado3 – 4ChicagoRoy35–18–1080Recap :
March: 8–5–0 (home: 3–3–0; road: 5–2–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionRecordPointsRecap
64March 1Chicago3 – 5ColoradoRoy36–18–1082Recap
65March 3Toronto0 – 4ColoradoRoy37–18–1084Recap
66March 5San Jose5 – 3ColoradoFiset37–19–1084Recap
67March 8Detroit4 – 2ColoradoRoy37–20–1084Recap
68March 9Colorado7 – 5VancouverFiset38–20–1086Recap
69March 13Colorado0 – 4AnaheimRoy38–21–1086Recap
70March 17Edmonton1 – 8ColoradoRoy39–21–1088Recap
71March 19Colorado4 – 3VancouverRoy40–21–1090Recap
72March 20Colorado5 – 2Los AngelesFiset41–21–1092Recap
73March 22Colorado0 – 7DetroitRoy41–22–1092Recap
74March 24Colorado5 – 2WinnipegRoy42–22–1094Recap
75March 27Winnipeg3 – 1ColoradoFiset42–23–1094Recap
76March 28Colorado8 – 3San JoseRoy43–23–1096Recap :
April: 4–2–0 (home: 2–2–0; road: 2–0–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionRecordPointsRecap
77April 3St. Louis6 – 3ColoradoRoy43–24–1096Recap
78April 6San Jose1 – 5ColoradoRoy44–24–1098Recap
79April 7Colorado4 – 1DallasRoy45–24–10100Recap
80April 10Anaheim3 – 7ColoradoRoy46–24–10102Recap
81April 11Colorado3 – 2St. LouisFiset47–24–10104Recap
82April 14Los Angeles5 – 4ColoradoOTRoy47–25–10104Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1996 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (7) Vancouver Canucks – Avalanche win 4–2
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTAttendanceDecisionSeriesRecap
1April 16Vancouver2 – 5Colorado16,061Roy1 – 0Recap
2April 18Vancouver5 – 4Colorado16,061Roy1 – 1Recap
3April 20Colorado4 – 0Vancouver18,422Roy2 – 1Recap
4April 22Colorado3 – 4Vancouver18,422Roy2 – 2Recap
5April 25Vancouver4 – 5ColoradoOT16,061Roy3 – 2Recap
6April 27Colorado3 – 2Vancouver18,422Roy4 – 2Recap :
Western Conference Semifinals vs. (3) Chicago Blackhawks – Avalanche win 4–2
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTAttendanceDecisionSeriesRecap
1May 2Chicago3 – 2ColoradoOT16,061Roy0 – 1Recap
2May 4Chicago1 – 5Colorado16,061Roy1 – 1Recap
3May 6Colorado3 – 4ChicagoOT20,797Roy1 – 2Recap
4May 8Colorado3 – 2Chicago3OT22,454Roy2 – 2Recap
5May 11Chicago1 – 4Colorado16,061Roy3 – 2Recap
6May 13Colorado4 – 3Chicago2OT21,356Roy4 – 2Recap :
Western Conference Finals vs. (1) Detroit Red Wings – Avalanche win 4–2
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTAttendanceDecisionSeriesRecap
1May 19Colorado3 – 2DetroitOT19,957Roy1 – 0Recap
2May 21Colorado3 – 0Detroit19,983Roy2 – 0Recap
3May 23Detroit6 – 4Colorado16,061Roy2 – 1Recap
4May 25Detroit2 – 4Colorado16,061Roy3 – 1Recap
5May 27Colorado2 – 5Detroit19,983Roy3 – 2Recap
6May 29Detroit1 – 4Colorado16,061Roy4 – 2Recap :
Stanley Cup Finals vs. (E4) Florida Panthers – Avalanche win 4–0
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTAttendanceDecisionSeriesRecap
1June 4Florida1 – 3Colorado16,061Roy1 – 0Recap
2June 6Florida1 – 8Colorado16,061Roy2 – 0Recap
3June 8Colorado3 – 2Florida14,703Roy3 – 0Recap
4June 10Colorado1 – 0Florida3OT14,703Roy4 – 0Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 19 | Joe Sakic | C | 82 | 51 | 69 | 120 | 14 | 44 | 22 | 18 | 16 | 34 | 10 | 14 |
| 21 | Peter Forsberg | C | 82 | 30 | 86 | 116 | 26 | 47 | 22 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 10 | 18 |
| 13 | Valeri Kamensky | LW | 81 | 38 | 47 | 85 | 14 | 85 | 22 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 11 | 28 |
| 22 | Claude Lemieux | RW | 79 | 39 | 32 | 71 | 14 | 117 | 19 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 5 | 55 |
| 48 | Scott Young | RW | 81 | 21 | 39 | 60 | 2 | 50 | 22 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 6 | 10 |
| 8 | Sandis Ozolinsh† | D | 66 | 13 | 37 | 50 | 0 | 50 | 22 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 5 | 16 |
| 18 | Adam Deadmarsh | RW | 78 | 21 | 27 | 48 | 20 | 142 | 22 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 8 | 25 |
| 12 | Chris Simon | LW | 64 | 16 | 18 | 34 | 10 | 250 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −2 | 11 |
| 26 | Stephane Yelle | LW | 71 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 15 | 30 | 22 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 8 |
| 6 | Craig Wolanin | D | 75 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 25 | 50 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| 9 | Mike Ricci | C | 62 | 6 | 21 | 27 | 1 | 52 | 22 | 6 | 11 | 17 | −1 | 18 |
| 51 | Andrei Kovalenko‡ | LW | 26 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 11 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | Troy Murray | C | 63 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 15 | 22 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 19 |
| 25 | Mike Keane† | RW | 55 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 1 | 40 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 16 |
| 5 | Alexei Gusarov | D | 65 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 29 | 56 | 21 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 12 |
| 7 | Curtis Leschyshyn | D | 77 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 32 | 73 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| 52 | Adam Foote | D | 73 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 88 | 22 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 36 |
| 2 | Sylvain Lefebvre | D | 75 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 26 | 49 | 22 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 12 |
| 25 | Martin Rucinsky‡ | LW | 22 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 10 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 24 | Jon Klemm | D | 56 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 20 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| 20 | Rene Corbet | LW | 33 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 33 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 16 | Warren Rychel | LW | 52 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 147 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 23 |
| 11 | Owen Nolan‡ | RW | 9 | 4 | 4 | 8 | −3 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | Uwe Krupp | D | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 22 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 5 | 33 |
| 27 | John Slaney‡ | D | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 38 | Paul Brousseau | RW | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 14 | Dave Hannan† | LW | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 23 | Janne Laukkanen‡ | D | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 14 | Landon Wilson | RW | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Stephane Fiset | G | 37 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 15 | Josef Marha | C | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 55 | Anders Myrvold | D | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 47 | Claude Lapointe‡ | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Aaron Miller | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | Patrick Roy† | G | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 4 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 41 | Jocelyn Thibault‡ | G | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### Goaltending

* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only.
| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | GP | GS | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | GS | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 35 | Stephane Fiset | 37 | 35 | 22 | 6 | 7 | 1,012 | 103 | 2.93 | .898 | 1 | 2,106:38 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | | 0 | 0:40 |
| 33 | Patrick Roy† | 39 | 38 | 22 | 15 | 1 | 1,130 | 103 | 2.68 | .909 | 1 | 2,305:15 | 22 | 22 | 16 | 6 | 649 | 51 | 2.10 | .921 | 3 | 1,453:53 |
| 41 | Jocelyn Thibault‡ | 10 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 222 | 28 | 3.01 | .874 | 0 | 558:22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Conn Smythe Trophy | Joe Sakic |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Marc Crawford (coach) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Peter Forsberg |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Joe Sakic |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Anders Myrvold | October 6, 1995 |
| First game | Stephane Yelle | October 6, 1995 |
| First game | Landon Wilson | November 29, 1995 |
| First game | Paul Brousseau | January 10, 1996 |
| First game | Josef Marha | March 17, 1996 |

## Transactions
### Trades

| July 7, 1995 | To Calgary FlamesDavid Ling 9th round pick in 1995 | To Colorado Avalanche9th round pick in 1995 |
| July 12, 1995 | To Washington Capitals3rd round pick in 1996 | To Colorado AvalancheJohn Slaney |
| July 12, 1995 | To Philadelphia FlyersGarth Snow | To Colorado Avalanche3rd and 6th round picks in 1996 |
| October 2, 1995 | To Washington CapitalsCash | To Colorado AvalancheWarren Rychel |
| October 3, 1995 | To New York IslandersWendel Clark | To Colorado AvalancheClaude Lemieux |
| October 5, 1995 | To Tampa Bay LightningSteven Finn | To Colorado Avalanche4th round pick in 1997 |
| October 26, 1995 | To San Jose SharksOwen Nolan | To Colorado AvalancheSandis Ozolinsh |
| November 1, 1995 | To Calgary FlamesClaude Lapointe | To Colorado Avalanche7th round pick in 1996 |
| December 6, 1995 | To Montreal CanadiensAndrei Kovalenko Jocelyn Thibault Martin Rucinsky | To Colorado AvalanchePatrick Roy Mike Keane |
| December 28, 1995 | To Los Angeles KingsJohn Slaney | To Colorado AvalancheConditional draft pick in 1996 |
| January 26, 1996 | To Ottawa SenatorsJanne Laukkanen | To Colorado AvalancheBrad Larsen |
| March 19, 1996 | To Calgary FlamesPaxton Schulte | To Colorado AvalancheVesa Viitakoski |
| March 20, 1996 | To Buffalo Sabres6th round pick in 1996 | To Colorado AvalancheDave Hannan |
| April 3, 1996 | To Washington CapitalsAnson Carter | To Colorado Avalanche4th round pick in 1996 |

### Other transactions

| Date | Player | Transaction |
| August 8, 1995 | Troy Murray | Signed as a free agent |
| September 8, 1995 | Andrei Kovalenko | Signed as a free agent |
| September 8, 1995 | Curtis Leschyshyn | Signed as a free agent |
| September 9, 1995 | Scott Young | Signed as a free agent |
| October 2, 1995 | Ted Drury | Claimed by Ottawa in the waiver draft |
| October 2, 1995 | Bill Huard | Claimed by Dallas in the waiver draft |

## Draft picks

Colorado's picks at the 1995 NHL entry draft in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/junior/club team (league) |
| 1 | 25 | Marc Denis | G | Canada | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) |
| 2 | 51 | Nic Beaudoin | LW | Canada | Detroit Jr. Red Wings (OHL) |
| 3 | 77 | John Tripp | RW | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OHL) |
| 4$^1$ | 81 | Tomi Kallio | RW | Finland | Kiekko-67 Turku (FinD1) |
| 5 | 129 | Brent Johnson | G | United States | Owen Sound Platers (OHL). |
| 6 | 155 | John Cirjak | RW | Canada | Spokane Chiefs (WHL) |
| 7 | 181 | Dan Smith | D | Canada | University of British Columbia (CIAU) |
| 8 | 207 | Tomi Hirvonen | C | Finland | Ilves Jrs. (Finland) |
| 9$^2$ | 228 | Chris George | RW | Canada | Sarnia Sting (OHL) |

### Notes

* The Avalanche acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 20, 1994 that sent John Tanner to Anaheim in exchange for this pick.
* The Avalanche acquired this pick as the result of a trade on July 7, 1995 that sent David Ling and a ninth-round pick in 1995 (233rd overall) to Calgary in exchange for this pick.
* The Avalanche fourth-round pick went to the Ottawa Senators as the result of a trade on April 7, 1995 that sent Bill Huard to Quebec in exchange for the rights to Mika Stromberg and this pick (103rd overall).
* The Avalanche ninth-round pick went to the Calgary Flames as the result of a trade on July 7, 1995 that sent a ninth-round pick in 1995 (228rd overall) to Quebec in exchange for David Ling and this pick (233rd overall).