2015–16 Colorado Avalanche season

The 2015–16 Colorado Avalanche season was the 37th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 22, 1979, and 20th season since the franchise relocated from Quebec prior to the start of the 1995–96 NHL season. The Avalanche were unable to make the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
==Off-season==
==Standings==
===Divisional standings===
===Conference standings===
== Schedule and results ==
=== Pre-season ===
Pre-Season Game Log: 1–4–1 (Home: 1–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–0)	Pre-Season Game Log: 1–4–1 (Home: 1–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–0)	Pre-Season Game Log: 1–4–1 (Home: 1–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–0)	Pre-Season Game Log: 1–4–1 (Home: 1–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–0)	Pre-Season Game Log: 1–4–1 (Home: 1–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–0)	Pre-Season Game Log: 1–4–1 (Home: 1–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–0)	Pre-Season Game Log: 1–4–1 (Home: 1–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–0)	Pre-Season Game Log: 1–4–1 (Home: 1–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–0)	Pre-Season Game Log: 1–4–1 (Home: 1–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–0)	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 	October 3 	Colorado 	0–4 	Los Angeles 	 	Berra 	–– 	1–4–1 	Recap
Notes:
Game will be played at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada.	
Notes:
Game will be played at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada.	
Notes:
Game will be played at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada.	
Notes:
Game will be played at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada.	
Notes:
Game will be played at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada.	
Notes:
Game will be played at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada.	
Notes:
Game will be played at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada.	
Notes:
Game will be played at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada.	
Notes:
Game will be played at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada.	
Notes:
Game will be played at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
=== Regular season ===
Game Log 	Game Log 	Game Log 	Game Log 	Game Log 	Game Log 	Game Log 	Game Log 	Game Log 	Game Log 	Game Log
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October: 3–6–1 (Home: 1–3–1 ; Road: 2–3–0)	October: 3–6–1 (Home: 1–3–1 ; Road: 2–3–0)	October: 3–6–1 (Home: 1–3–1 ; Road: 2–3–0)	October: 3–6–1 (Home: 1–3–1 ; Road: 2–3–0)	October: 3–6–1 (Home: 1–3–1 ; Road: 2–3–0)	October: 3–6–1 (Home: 1–3–1 ; Road: 2–3–0)	October: 3–6–1 (Home: 1–3–1 ; Road: 2–3–0)	October: 3–6–1 (Home: 1–3–1 ; Road: 2–3–0)	October: 3–6–1 (Home: 1–3–1 ; Road: 2–3–0)	October: 3–6–1 (Home: 1–3–1 ; Road: 2–3–0)	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
==Player statistics==
Final stats
 
;Skaters
 Regular season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	
 	76	30	29	59	–8 	24
 	75	20	33	53	–5 	69
 	72	21	31	52	–4 	20
 	82	12	39	51	–7 	32
 	78	13	36	49	–16	31
 	82	22	25	47	−22	41
 	81	12	24	36	–9 	58
 	82	8 	26	34	–7 	38
 	73	11	16	27	–19	50
 	74	6 	21	27	+2 	8
‡ 	52	4 	18	22	+3 	24
 	82	6 	16	22	–1 	24
 	71	10	11	21	–7 	52
 	74	8 	6 	14	–4 	11
 	82	8 	5 	13	+1 	138
† 	18	4 	8 	12	–5 	2
† 	20	6 	5 	11	–7 	8
 	55	4 	7 	11	–4 	47
 	37	2 	4 	6 	+5 	10
†‡ 	26	4 	0 	4 	–2 	9
 	31	1 	2 	3 	–2 	16
† 	21	0 	2 	2 	–1 	6
 	9 	0 	2 	2 	–1 	0
 	22	0 	2 	2 	−5 	12
 	26	0 	1 	1 	−3 	8
 	6 	0 	0 	0 	−2 	0
 	29	0 	0 	0 	+2 	2
† 	6 	0 	0 	0 	+2 	0
 	7 	0 	0 	0 	−1 	4
 	15	0 	0 	0 	−5 	0
 	3 	0 	0 	0 	−2 	0
 	9 	0 	0 	0 	−7 	2
;Goaltenders
 Regular season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	57	57	3159	27	25	3	148	2.81	1714	.914	2	0	0	6
 	20	13	985 	7 	6 	1	42 	2.56	539 	.922	1	0	1	0
 	14	12	721 	5 	8 	0	29 	2.41	374 	.922	2	0	1	2
 	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
 	NHL First Star of the Week 	November 16, 2015
 	NHL Third Star of the Month	December 1, 2015
 	NHL First Star of the Week 	December 21, 2015
 	NHL All-Star game selection	January 6, 2016
 	NHL Third Star of the Week 	January 11, 2016
 	NHL First Star of the Week 	January 25, 2016
=== Milestones ===
 Regular season
Player 	Milestone 	Reached
 	1st career NHL game 	October 8, 2015
 	1,400th career NHL game 	October 27, 2015
 	200th career NHL point 	October 27, 2015
 	100th career NHL point 	November 1, 2015
 	1st career NHL game 	November 10, 2015
 	200th career NHL point 	November 12, 2015
 	200th career NHL game 	November 14, 2015
A. Martinsen	1st career NHL assist1st career NHL point 	November 14, 2015
 	500th career NHL game200th career NHL point	November 14, 2015
A. Martinsen	1st career NHL goal 	November 21, 2015
 	200th career NHL assist 	November 21, 2015
G. Landeskog	300th career NHL game 	November 23, 2015
 	1st career NHL goal1st career NHL point 	November 25, 2015
 	700th career NHL game 	December 5, 2015
 	100th career NHL game 	December 27, 2015
 	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
 	1st career NHL game 	January 14, 2016
 	1st career NHL shutout 	January 14, 2016
C. Bigras 	1st career NHL assist1st career NHL point 	January 16, 2016
 	100th career NHL game 	January 18, 2016
 	300th career NHL game 	January 20, 2016
T. Barrie 	100th career NHL assist 	January 22, 2015
 	600th career NHL game 	January 26, 2016
 	1st career NHL game 	January 26, 2016
E. Johnson 	500th career NHL game 	February 2, 2016
 	200th career NHL game 	February 4, 2016
 	200th career NHL game 	February 20, 2016
C. Bigras 	1st career NHL goal 	March 1, 2016
 	100th career NHL assist 	March 1, 2016
 	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	Ref
 	To Buffalo Sabres
----
Ryan O'ReillyJamie McGinn	To Colorado Avalanche
----
Nikita ZadorovMikhail GrigorenkoJ. T. Compher2nd-round pick in 2015	
 	To San Jose Sharks
----
BUF's 2nd-round pick in 2015	To Colorado Avalanche
----
2nd-round pick in 2015COL's 2nd-round pick in 2016COL's 6th-round pick in 2017	
 	To Arizona Coyotes
----
Stefan Elliott	To Colorado Avalanche
----
Brandon Gormley	
 	To Calgary Flames
----
Freddie Hamilton	To Colorado Avalanche
----
Conditional 7th-round pick in 2016	
 	To Toronto Maple Leafs
----
Colin Smith4th-round pick in 2016	To Colorado Avalanche
----
Shawn Matthias	
 	To Arizona Coyotes
----
Alex TanguayConner BleackleyKyle Wood	To Colorado Avalanche
----
Mikkel Boedker	
 	To New Jersey Devils
----
3rd-round pick in 2017	To Colorado Avalanche
----
Eric Gelinas	
 	To New York Islanders
----
Marc-Andre Cliche	To Colorado Avalanche
----
Taylor Beck	
 	To Florida Panthers
----
Reto Berra	To Colorado Avalanche
----
Rocco Grimaldi	
=== Free agents acquired ===
Date	Player 	Former team 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars)	Ref
 	Blake Comeau 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	3 years, $7.2 million 	
 	Francois Beauchemin	Anaheim Ducks 	3 years, $13.5 million 	
 	Jack Skille 	Columbus Blue Jackets	1 year 	
=== Free agents lost ===
Date	Player 	New team 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars)	Ref
 	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
 	Carl Soderberg 	5 years, $23.75 million 	
 	Mikko Rantanen 	3 years, entry-level contract 	
 	Mikhail Grigorenko	1 year, $675,000 	
 	Andrew Agozzino 	1 year, $600,000 	
 	Mat Clark 	2 years, $1.2 million 	
 	Joey Hishon 	1 year, $890,000 	
 	Calvin Pickard 	1 year, $850,500 	
 	Sami Aittokallio 	1 year, $735,000 	
 	Erik Johnson 	7 years, $42 million contract extension	
 	Julien Nantel 	3 years, entry-level contract 	
 	J. T. Compher 	3 years, entry-level contract 	
 	Anton Lindholm 	3 years, entry-level contract 	
 	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 	 	TPS (Liiga)
2 	39 	A. J. Greer 	LW 	 	Boston University (Hockey East)
2 	40 	Nicolas Meloche 	D 	 	Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)
3 	71 	Jean-Christophe Beaudin	C 	 	Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL)
4 	101	Andrei Mironov 	D 	 	Dynamo Moscow (KHL)
6 	161	Sergei Boikov 	D 	 	Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
7 	191	Gustav Olhaver 	C 	 	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.
==References==
Category:Colorado Avalanche seasons
Colorado Avalanche season, 2015-16