2021–22 Colorado Avalanche season

The 2021–22 Colorado Avalanche season was the 43rd season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that joined the league in 1979, 26th playing season since the franchise relocated from Quebec prior to the start of the 1995–96 NHL season, and 50th season overall, including their play in the World Hockey Association (WHA), where the franchise was established in 1972.
On April 5, 2022, the Avalanche clinched a playoff berth after a 6–4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. On April 16, the Avalanche clinched the Central Division along with the top seed in the Western Conference after a 7–4 win against the Carolina Hurricanes. On June 6, the Avalanche swept the Edmonton Oilers to advance to their first Stanley Cup Finals since 2001. On June 26, 2022, the Avalanche won their third Stanley Cup and first since 2001 after they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals, in six games.
==Standings==
===Divisional standings===
===Conference standings===
==Schedule and results==
===Preseason===
2021 preseason game log: 2–4–0 (home: 2–1–0; road: 0–3–0)	2021 preseason game log: 2–4–0 (home: 2–1–0; road: 0–3–0)	2021 preseason game log: 2–4–0 (home: 2–1–0; road: 0–3–0)	2021 preseason game log: 2–4–0 (home: 2–1–0; road: 0–3–0)	2021 preseason game log: 2–4–0 (home: 2–1–0; road: 0–3–0)	2021 preseason game log: 2–4–0 (home: 2–1–0; road: 0–3–0)	2021 preseason game log: 2–4–0 (home: 2–1–0; road: 0–3–0)	2021 preseason game log: 2–4–0 (home: 2–1–0; road: 0–3–0)	2021 preseason game log: 2–4–0 (home: 2–1–0; road: 0–3–0)	2021 preseason game log: 2–4–0 (home: 2–1–0; road: 0–3–0)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Recap
1 	September 28 	Colorado 	3–4 	Vegas 	 	Johansson 	16,867 	0–1–0 	
2 	September 30 	Minnesota 	4–6 	Colorado 	 	Annunen 	11,092 	1–1–0 	
3 	October 4 	Colorado 	1–3 	Minnesota 	 	Kuemper 	13,112 	1–2–0 	
4 	October 5 	Vegas 	7–4 	Colorado 	 	Johansson 	— 	1–3–0 	
5 	October 7 	Colorado 	1–3 	Dallas 	 	Kuemper 	12,022 	1–4–0 	
6 	October 9 	Dallas 	2–4 	Colorado 	 	Johansson 	— 	2–4–0 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
===Regular season===
2021–22 game log 	2021–22 game log 	2021–22 game log 	2021–22 game log 	2021–22 game log 	2021–22 game log 	2021–22 game log 	2021–22 game log 	2021–22 game log 	2021–22 game log 	2021–22 game log
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October: 4–4–0 (home: 2–2–0; road: 2–2–0)	October: 4–4–0 (home: 2–2–0; road: 2–2–0)	October: 4–4–0 (home: 2–2–0; road: 2–2–0)	October: 4–4–0 (home: 2–2–0; road: 2–2–0)	October: 4–4–0 (home: 2–2–0; road: 2–2–0)	October: 4–4–0 (home: 2–2–0; road: 2–2–0)	October: 4–4–0 (home: 2–2–0; road: 2–2–0)	October: 4–4–0 (home: 2–2–0; road: 2–2–0)	October: 4–4–0 (home: 2–2–0; road: 2–2–0)	October: 4–4–0 (home: 2–2–0; road: 2–2–0)	October: 4–4–0 (home: 2–2–0; road: 2–2–0)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Pts 	Recap
1 	October 13 	Chicago 	2–4 	Colorado 	 	Kuemper 	18,037 	1–0–0 	2 	
2 	October 16 	St. Louis 	5–3 	Colorado 	 	Kuemper 	18,022 	1–1–0 	2 	
3 	October 19 	Colorado 	3–6 	Washington 	 	Kuemper 	18,573 	1–2–0 	2 	
4 	October 21 	Colorado 	1–4 	Florida 	 	Johansson 	11,245 	1–3–0 	2 	
5 	October 23 	Colorado 	4–3 	Tampa Bay 	SO 	Kuemper 	19,092 	2–3–0 	4 	
6 	October 26 	Vegas 	3–1 	Colorado 	 	Kuemper 	17,724 	2–4–0 	4 	
7 	October 28 	Colorado 	4–3 	St. Louis 	 	Kuemper 	16,558 	3–4–0 	6 	
8 	October 30 	Minnesota 	1–4 	Colorado 	 	Kuemper 	17,708 	4–4–0 	8 	
===Playoffs===
2022 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2022 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2022 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2022 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2022 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2022 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2022 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2022 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2022 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2022 Stanley Cup playoffs
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Western Conference First Round vs. (WC2) Nashville Predators: Colorado won 4–0	Western Conference First Round vs. (WC2) Nashville Predators: Colorado won 4–0	Western Conference First Round vs. (WC2) Nashville Predators: Colorado won 4–0	Western Conference First Round vs. (WC2) Nashville Predators: Colorado won 4–0	Western Conference First Round vs. (WC2) Nashville Predators: Colorado won 4–0	Western Conference First Round vs. (WC2) Nashville Predators: Colorado won 4–0	Western Conference First Round vs. (WC2) Nashville Predators: Colorado won 4–0	Western Conference First Round vs. (WC2) Nashville Predators: Colorado won 4–0	Western Conference First Round vs. (WC2) Nashville Predators: Colorado won 4–0	Western Conference First Round vs. (WC2) Nashville Predators: Colorado won 4–0
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Series 	Recap
1 	May 3 	Nashville 	2–7 	Colorado 	 	Kuemper 	18,091 	1–0 	
2 	May 5 	Nashville 	1–2 	Colorado 	OT 	Kuemper 	18,115 	2–0 	
3 	May 7 	Colorado 	7–3 	Nashville 	 	Francouz 	17,430 	3–0 	
4 	May 9 	Colorado 	5–3 	Nashville 	 	Francouz 	17,188 	4–0 	
==Player statistics==
Final stats
;Skaters
Regular season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	
 	75	36	56	92	+35	56
 	65	32	56	88	+22	42
 	71	28	59	87	+13	71
 	77	28	58	86	+48	26
 	80	22	39	61	+12	18
 	51	30	29	59	+27	78
 	66	13	44	57	+52	20
 	62	25	27	52	+21	14
 	70	18	15	33	+6 	25
 	71	13	20	33	+11	12
 	67	5 	23	28	−4 	20
 	77	8 	17	25	+22	24
 	81	8 	16	24	+10	38
† 	67	11	11	22	+14	41
 	30	5 	12	17	+7 	12
 	68	7 	8 	15	−5 	14
‡ 	59	6 	8 	14	+1 	30
† 	16	6 	3 	9 	+1 	8
 	74	1 	8 	9 	+5 	42
† 	22	2 	5 	7 	−11	12
 	58	2 	3 	5 	+1 	89
 	37	0 	4 	4 	−3 	2
 	20	0 	3 	3 	−2 	4
† 	21	0 	3 	3 	−2 	6
 	11	1 	1 	2 	+3 	0
 	5 	1 	0 	1 	−2 	0
† 	18	0 	1 	1 	−2 	8
 	3 	0 	1 	1 	+1 	0
 	18	0 	0 	0 	−5 	2
 	10	0 	0 	0 	−4 	2
 	7 	0 	0 	0 	−2 	2
 	6 	0 	0 	0 	+2 	0
 	2 	0 	0 	0 	−1 	0
 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	4
Playoffs
Player	 	 	 	 	 	
 	20	8 	21	29	+7 	10
 	20	5 	20	25	+3 	4
 	20	13	11	24	+11	8
 	20	11	11	22	+15	6
 	20	9 	6 	15	+6 	8
 	16	7 	8 	15	+7 	8
 	20	5 	10	15	+5 	8
 	20	8 	6 	14	+2 	20
 	20	0 	9 	9 	+15	10
 	20	5 	3 	8 	–1 	10
 	12	3 	5 	8 	+3 	2
 	20	3 	5 	8 	+6 	12
 	16	3 	3 	6 	+5 	16
 	20	2 	3 	5 	+3 	12
 	20	1 	4 	5 	+10	4
 	17	1 	3 	4 	+2 	9
 	12	0 	4 	4 	0 	4
 	7 	1 	2 	3 	−1 	0
 	13	0 	2 	2 	+2 	2
 	14	0 	0 	0 	+2 	4
 	13	0 	0 	0 	+1 	10
;Goaltenders
Regular season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	57	57	3,258:07	37	12	4	138	2.52	1,754	.921	5	0	0	2
 	21	18	1,200:09	15	5 	1	51 	2.55	608 	.916	2	0	0	0
‡ 	9 	6 	370:18 	3 	2 	1	23 	3.73	200 	.885	0	0	0	0
 	2 	1 	96:46 	1 	0 	1	7 	4.34	51 	.863	0	0	1	0
Playoffs
Player	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	16	16	886:50	10	4	38	2.57	386	.902	1	0	1	2
 	7 	4 	341:11	6 	0	16	2.81	170	.906	1	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.
=== Suspensions/fines ===
Player 	Explanation 	Length 	Salary 	Date issued
Gabriel Landeskog	Boarding against Chicago Blackhawks forward Kirby Dach during NHL game no. 5 in Colorado on Wednesday, October 13, 2021, at 16:22 of the third period.	2 games	$70,000	October 14, 2021
==Current roster==
==Transactions==
The Avalanche have been involved in the following transactions during the 2021–22 season.
===Trades===
Date	Details 	Details 	Ref
 	To New Jersey DevilsRyan Graves 	To Colorado AvalancheMikhail MaltsevNYI 2nd-round pick in 2021 (Sean Behrens)	
 	To Seattle Kraken4th-round pick in 2023 	To Colorado AvalancheKurtis MacDermid 	
 	To Arizona CoyotesConor Timmins1st-round pick in 2022Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2024	To Colorado AvalancheDarcy Kuemper 	
 	To Anaheim DucksDrew Helleson2nd-round pick in 2023 	To Colorado AvalancheJosh Manson 	
 	To Minnesota WildTyson Jost 	To Colorado AvalancheNico Sturm 	
 	To Montreal CanadiensJustin Barron2nd-round pick in 2024 	To Colorado AvalancheArtturi Lehkonen 	
 	To San Jose Sharks5th-round pick in 2024 	To Colorado AvalancheAndrew Cogliano 	
Notes:
# Arizona will receive a third-round pick in 2024 if Colorado wins the 2022 Stanley Cup and Kuemper in 50% of their playoff games; otherwise no pick will be exchanged.
===Players acquired===
Date	Player 	Former team 	Term 	Via 	Ref
 	Roland McKeown 	Carolina Hurricanes 	2-year	Free agency	
 	Darren Helm 	Detroit Red Wings 	1-year	Free agency	
 	Stefan Matteau 	Columbus Blue Jackets 	1-year	Free agency	
 	Dylan Sikura 	Vegas Golden Knights 	1-year	Free agency	
 	Jordan Gross 	Arizona Coyotes 	1-year	Free agency	
 	Ryan Murray 	New Jersey Devils 	1-year	Free agency	
 	Nicolas Aube-Kubel	Philadelphia Flyers 	 	Waivers 	
 	Callahan Burke 	Colorado Eagles (AHL) 	1-year	Free agency	
 	Wyatt Aamodt 	Minnesota State Mavericks (CCHA)	1-year	Free agency	
 	Ben Meyers 	Minnesota Golden Gophers (B1G) 	2-year	Free agency	
 	Lukas Sedlak 	Traktor Chelyabinsk (KHL) 	1-year	Free agency	
===Players lost===
Date	Player 	New team 	Term 	Via 	Ref
 	Joonas Donskoi 	Seattle Kraken 	 	Expansion draft	
 	Matt Calvert 	 	 	Retirement 	
 	Pierre-Edouard Bellemare	Tampa Bay Lightning 	2-year 	Free agency 	
 	Kyle Burroughs 	Vancouver Canucks 	2-year 	Free agency 	
 	Sheldon Dries 	Vancouver Canucks 	1-year 	Free agency 	
 	Philipp Grubauer 	Seattle Kraken 	6-year 	Free agency 	
 	Patrik Nemeth 	New York Rangers 	3-year 	Free agency 	
 	Liam O'Brien 	Arizona Coyotes 	1-year 	Free agency 	
 	T. J. Tynan 	Los Angeles Kings 	1-year 	Free agency 	
 	Adam Werner 	Calgary Flames 	1-year 	Free agency 	
 	Dan Renouf 	Detroit Red Wings 	1-year 	Free agency 	
 	Brandon Saad 	St. Louis Blues 	5-year 	Free agency 	
 	Mike Vecchione 	Washington Capitals 	1-year 	Free agency 	
 	Jonas Johansson 	Florida Panthers 	 	Waivers 	
 	Andreas Wingerli 	Skellefteå AIK (SHL)	Unknown	Free agency 	
===Signings===
Date	Player 	Term 	Contract type	Ref
 	Kiefer Sherwood 	1-year	Re-signing 	
 	Cale Makar 	6-year	Re-signing 	
 	Gabriel Landeskog	8-year	Re-signing 	
 	Oskar Olausson 	3-year	Entry-level 	
 	Dennis Gilbert 	1-year	Re-signing 	
 	Logan O'Connor 	1-year	Re-signing 	
 	Pavel Francouz 	2-year	Extension 	
 	Kurtis MacDermid 	2-year	Extension 	
 	Danila Zhuravlyov	2-year	Entry-level 	
==Draft picks==
Below are the Colorado Avalanche's selections at the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on July 23 and 24, 2021, virtually via video conference call from the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Round	# 	Player 	Pos.	Nationality	Team (League)
1 	28 	Oskar Olausson 	RW 	 	HV71 (SHL)
2 	61 	Sean Behrens 	D 	 	U.S. NTDP (USHL)
3 	92 	Andrei Buyalsky	C 	 	Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)
7 	220	Taylor Makar 	LW 	 	Brooks Bandits (AJHL)
==References==
Colorado Avalanche
Category:Colorado Avalanche seasons
Category:Western Conference (NHL) championship seasons
Colorado
Category:Stanley Cup championship seasons