# 2022–23 Colorado Avalanche season

The 2022–23 Colorado Avalanche season was the 44th season for the Avalanche as the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that joined the league in 1979, the 27th playing season since the franchise relocated from Quebec prior to the start of the 1995–96 NHL season, and the 51st season overall, including their play in the World Hockey Association (WHA), where the franchise was established in 1972. They entered the season as the defending Stanley Cup champions.
On April 4, 2023, the Avalanche clinched a playoff spot after an overtime win against the San Jose Sharks. They were upset in the first round by the Seattle Kraken, losing in seven games.

## Standings
### Divisional standings

Central Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 51 | 24 | 7 | 36 | 280 | 226 | +54 | 109 |
| 2 | Dallas Stars | 82 | 47 | 21 | 14 | 39 | 285 | 218 | +67 | 108 |
| 3 | Minnesota Wild | 82 | 46 | 25 | 11 | 34 | 246 | 225 | +21 | 103 |
| 4 | Winnipeg Jets | 82 | 46 | 33 | 3 | 36 | 247 | 225 | +22 | 95 |
| 5 | Nashville Predators | 82 | 42 | 32 | 8 | 29 | 229 | 238 | −9 | 92 |
| 6 | St. Louis Blues | 82 | 37 | 38 | 7 | 27 | 263 | 301 | −38 | 81 |
| 7 | Arizona Coyotes | 82 | 28 | 40 | 14 | 20 | 228 | 299 | −71 | 70 |
| 8 | Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 26 | 49 | 7 | 18 | 204 | 301 | −97 | 59 |

### Conference standings

Western Conference Wild Card :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | PA | x – Seattle Kraken | 82 | 46 | 28 | 8 | 37 | 289 | 256 | +33 | 100 |
| 2 | CE | x – Winnipeg Jets | 82 | 46 | 33 | 3 | 36 | 247 | 225 | +22 | 95 |
| 3 | PA | e – Calgary Flames | 82 | 38 | 27 | 17 | 31 | 260 | 252 | +8 | 93 |
| 4 | CE | e – Nashville Predators | 82 | 42 | 32 | 8 | 29 | 229 | 238 | −9 | 92 |
| 5 | PA | e – Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 38 | 37 | 7 | 24 | 276 | 298 | −22 | 83 |
| 6 | CE | e – St. Louis Blues | 82 | 37 | 38 | 7 | 27 | 263 | 301 | −38 | 81 |
| 7 | CE | e – Arizona Coyotes | 82 | 28 | 40 | 14 | 20 | 228 | 299 | −71 | 70 |
| 8 | PA | e – San Jose Sharks | 82 | 22 | 44 | 16 | 16 | 234 | 321 | −87 | 60 |
| 9 | CE | e – Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 26 | 49 | 7 | 18 | 204 | 301 | −97 | 59 |
| 10 | PA | e – Anaheim Ducks | 82 | 23 | 47 | 12 | 13 | 209 | 338 | −129 | 58 |

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2022–23 game log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)
Notes:
$^a$ Game was played at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland. :

### Playoffs

2023 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics

Final stats

### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
| Nathan MacKinnon | 71 | 42 | 69 | 111 | +29 | 30 |
| Mikko Rantanen | 82 | 55 | 50 | 105 | +15 | 82 |
| Cale Makar | 60 | 17 | 49 | 66 | +16 | 30 |
| J. T. Compher | 82 | 17 | 35 | 52 | +8 | 33 |
| Artturi Lehkonen | 64 | 21 | 30 | 51 | +8 | 28 |
| Devon Toews | 80 | 7 | 43 | 50 | +39 | 26 |
| Valeri Nichushkin | 53 | 17 | 30 | 47 | +15 | 2 |
| Evan Rodrigues | 69 | 16 | 23 | 39 | +7 | 30 |
| Sam Girard | 76 | 6 | 31 | 37 | −10 | 16 |
| Alex Newhook | 82 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 0 | 22 |
| Logan O'Connor | 82 | 9 | 17 | 26 | +11 | 37 |
| Bowen Byram | 42 | 10 | 14 | 24 | +7 | 38 |
| Andrew Cogliano | 79 | 10 | 9 | 19 | +6 | 44 |
| Denis Malgin$^†$ | 42 | 11 | 6 | 17 | +5 | 4 |
| Brad Hunt | 47 | 4 | 6 | 10 | +4 | 12 |
| Josh Manson | 27 | 2 | 8 | 10 | +13 | 42 |
| Matt Nieto$^†$ | 36 | 4 | 5 | 9 | +7 | 8 |
| Erik Johnson | 63 | 0 | 8 | 8 | +8 | 12 |
| Lars Eller$^†$ | 24 | 3 | 4 | 7 | +4 | 10 |
| Kurtis MacDermid | 44 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 55 |
| Ben Meyers | 39 | 4 | 0 | 4 | −6 | 6 |
| Jack Johnson$^†$ | 25 | 2 | 2 | 4 | +10 | 12 |
| Martin Kaut$^‡$ | 27 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −2 | 4 |
| Andreas Englund$^‡$ | 36 | 0 | 3 | 3 | +1 | 26 |
| Jacob MacDonald$^‡$ | 33 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −3 | 11 |
| Dryden Hunt$^‡$ | 25 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −7 | 13 |
| Anton Blidh$^‡$ | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 4 |
| Shane Bowers$^‡$ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Callahan Burke | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| Jean-Luc Foudy | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 6 |
| Alex Galchenyuk | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −8 | 4 |
| Darren Helm | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 4 |
| Charles Hudon | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| Mikhail Maltsev | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jayson Megna$^‡$ | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| Oskar Olausson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sampo Ranta | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Lukas Sedlak$^‡$ | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Mikko Rantanen | 7 | 7 | 3 | 10 | +4 | 2 |
| Devon Toews | 7 | 1 | 8 | 9 | +5 | 0 |
| Nathan MacKinnon | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | +8 | 4 |
| Artturi Lehkonen | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | +3 | 6 |
| Cale Makar | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | +5 | 6 |
| Evan Rodrigues | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | +4 | 2 |
| Bowen Byram | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | +1 | 0 |
| J. T. Compher | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | –2 | 0 |
| Sam Girard | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | –4 | 2 |
| Erik Johnson | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Valeri Nichushkin | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | –2 | 0 |
| Alex Newhook | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | –3 | 4 |
| Andrew Cogliano | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lars Eller | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 | 0 |
| Darren Helm | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 | 0 |
| Brad Hunt | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Johnson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Denis Malgin | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –3 | 2 |
| Josh Manson | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –3 | 8 |
| Ben Meyers | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –2 | 2 |
| Matt Nieto | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Logan O'Connor | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Alexandar Georgiev | 62 | 62 | 3700 | 40 | 16 | 6 | 156 | 2.53 | 1904 | .918 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Pavel Francouz | 16 | 16 | 965 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 42 | 2.61 | 493 | .915 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jonas Johansson$^†$ | 3 | 2 | 143 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2.10 | 73 | .932 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justus Annunen | 2 | 2 | 117 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3.58 | 48 | .854 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Keith Kinkaid$^†$ | 1 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2.15 | 9 | .889 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Alexandar Georgiev | 7 | 7 | 415 | 3 | 4 | 18 | 2.60 | 210 | .914 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Avalanche. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only. $^‡$Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only. Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

## Transactions

The Avalanche have been involved in the following transactions during the 2022–23 season.
Key:
† Contract is entry-level.  ‡ Contract initially takes effect in the 2023–24 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| July 7, 2022 (2022-07-07) | To New York Rangers3rd-round pick in 2022 3rd-round pick in 2023 5th-round pick in 2022 | To Colorado AvalancheAlexandar Georgiev |
| December 19, 2022 (2022-12-19) | To Toronto Maple LeafsDryden Hunt | To Colorado AvalancheDenis Malgin |
| January 25, 2023 (2023-01-25) | To San Jose SharksMartin Kaut Jacob MacDonald | To Colorado AvalancheRyan Merkley Matt Nieto |
| February 25, 2023 (2023-02-25) | To Boston BruinsShane Bowers | To Colorado AvalancheKeith Kinkaid |
| February 26, 2023 (2023-02-26) | To Chicago BlackhawksAndreas Englund | To Colorado AvalancheJack Johnson |
| March 1, 2023 (2023-03-01) | To Washington Capitals2nd-round pick in 2025 | To Colorado AvalancheLars Eller |
| March 3, 2023 (2023-03-03) | To New York RangersAnton Blidh | To Colorado AvalancheGustav Rydahl |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Andreas Englund | Colorado Eagles (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Charles Hudon | Tampa Bay Lightning | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Josh Jacobs | Carolina Hurricanes | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Jonas Johansson | Florida Panthers | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Spencer Smallman | Carolina Hurricanes | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 15, 2022 (2022-07-15) | Brad Hunt | Vancouver Canucks | 2-year | Free agency |
| August 5, 2022 (2022-08-05) | Anton Blidh | Boston Bruins | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 12, 2022 (2022-09-12) | Evan Rodrigues | Pittsburgh Penguins | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 12, 2022 (2022-09-12) | Jonas Johansson | Arizona Coyotes | | Waivers |
| October 20, 2022 (2022-10-20) | Dryden Hunt | New York Rangers | | Waivers |
| November 28, 2022 (2022-11-28) | Alex Galchenyuk | Colorado Eagles (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| March 30, 2023 (2023-03-30) | Jason Polin | Western Michigan Broncos (NCHC) | 1-year†‡ | Free agency |
| March 30, 2023 (2023-03-30) | Sam Malinski | Cornell Big Red (ECAC) | 2-year†‡ | Free agency |
| March 30, 2023 (2023-03-30) | Ondřej Pavel | Minnesota State Mavericks (CCHA) | 2-year†‡ | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Term | Via |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Nicolas Aube-Kubel | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Andre Burakovsky | Seattle Kraken | 5-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Dennis Gilbert | Calgary Flames | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Darcy Kuemper | Washington Capitals | 5-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Nico Sturm | San Jose Sharks | 3-year | Free agency |
| July 14, 2022 (2022-07-14) | Jordan Gross | Nashville Predators | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 14, 2022 (2022-07-14) | Roland McKeown | Nashville Predators | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 14, 2022 (2022-07-14) | Kiefer Sherwood | Nashville Predators | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 14, 2022 (2022-07-14) | Dylan Sikura | Chicago Blackhawks | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 29, 2022 (2022-07-29) | Stefan Matteau | Linköping HC (SHL) | 2-year | Free agency |
| August 17, 2022 (2022-08-17) | Jack Johnson | Chicago Blackhawks | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 18, 2022 (2022-08-18) | Nazem Kadri | Calgary Flames | 7-year | Free agency |
| September 2, 2022 (2022-09-02) | Ryan Murray | Edmonton Oilers | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 30, 2022 (2022-09-30) | Jonas Johansson | Arizona Coyotes | | Waivers |
| October 19, 2022 (2022-10-19) | Lukas Sedlak | Philadelphia Flyers | | Waivers |
| December 6, 2022 (2022-12-06) | Jayson Megna | Anaheim Ducks | | Waivers |
| December 19, 2022 (2022-12-19) | Danila Zhuravlyov | | | Contract termination |
| December 20, 2022 (2022-12-20) | Danila Zhuravlyov | Ak Bars Kazan (KHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| May 11, 2023 (2023-05-11) | Gustav Rydahl | Frölunda HC (SHL) | 5-year‡ | Free agency |
| May 25, 2023 (2023-05-25) | Sampo Ranta | Modo Hockey (SHL) | 2-year‡ | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term |
| July 10, 2022 (2022-07-10) | Alexandar Georgiev | 3-year |
| July 10, 2022 (2022-07-10) | Jacob MacDonald | 2-year |
| July 11, 2022 (2022-07-11) | Valeri Nichushkin | 8-year |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Darren Helm | 1-year |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Josh Manson | 4-year |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Artturi Lehkonen | 5-year |
| July 19, 2022 (2022-07-19) | Callahan Burke | 1-year |
| July 21, 2022 (2022-07-21) | Keaton Middleton | 1-year |
| July 27, 2022 (2022-07-27) | Mikhail Maltsev | 1-year |
| September 20, 2022 (2022-09-20) | Nathan MacKinnon | 8-year‡ |
| February 25, 2023 (2023-02-25) | Keaton Middleton | 2-year‡ |
| April 12, 2023 (2023-04-12) | Callahan Burke | 1-year‡ |
| May 30, 2023 (2023-05-30) | Nate Clurman | 1-year‡ |
| June 6, 2023 (2023-06-06) | Wyatt Aamodt | 1-year‡ |
| June 15, 2023 (2023-06-15) | Fredrik Olofsson | 1-year‡ |

## Draft picks

Below are the Colorado Avalanche's selections at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on July 7 to 8, 2022, at Bell Centre in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Pos. | Nationality | Team (League) |
| 6 | 193 | Chris Romaine | D | USA | Milton Academy (USHS-Prep) |
| 7 | 225 | Ivan Zhigalov | G | Belarus | Sherbrooke Phoenix (QMJHL) |