Colorado Avalanche: Memorable Moments from 2017

The Colorado Avalanche had a lot of ups and downs in 2017. Here are some of the memorable moments from that year.

The year 2017 was a tumultuous one for the Colorado Avalanche, and I think most Avs fans are happy it’s well in our rearview mirror. However, despite how badly south the first half of the calendar year — which corresponds with the second half of the 2016-17 season — went, their were notable moments all year long.

The 2016-17 season was a transitional period. The Colorado Avalanche had been working toward immediate relevancy with big, strong, speedy players and a mix of youth and veterans. At the conclusion of the 2015-16 season, certain factions in the front offices decided to scrap that plan and go in for a full rebuild. Other factions decided to take their leave.

That left the roster for the 2016-17 season in limbo. It was partially built with big, strong, speedy players and well-regarded veterans. However, now the team wanted to move toward a small-and-speedy model. And they wanted to do so with youngsters. What’s more, the team had decided to bring in a rookie NHL coach who’d had success at the lower levels — but one who would have needed the offseason to prepare. And one who was saddled with the old guard in assistants.

Maybe when you look at everything the 2016-17 season had against it, a dismal 48 points and just 22 wins isn’t so surprising. But it sure was painful. And the 2017 portion of it was especially painful because that’s when the wheels truly fell off. The Avs only won 10 games through the first half of 2017.

I’m sure you’ve head by now that, at the halfway point of the season, the Colorado Avalanche have already matched their wins from all of last season. Granted, they’re undefeated in 2018, but that still means they got 19 wins in the second half of 2017. That’s not quite as storybook as the Golden Why Not Us season, but it’s damn good.

So, as the Avalanche start gearing up for a playoff push (after enjoying a little vacation during their bye-week), let’s look at some of the top moments from 2017. Spoiler alert: They’re not all from this season.

Avs Beat Caps, November 16

by Ross Kleppe

My favorite Avalanche moment was the 6-2 win over Washington on November 16. In a year with so few bright spots, this to me was a big one for a few reasons.

To start, it was the first game the Avalanche played where Matt Duchene was not involved. He had been traded prior to this game, but he was traded to the Ottawa Senators and the next two games the Avalanche played were against the Senators in Sweden. The trade rumors had been swirling for so long, it must have been a huge weight lifted off the shoulders of everyone in that organization. They could all move on, focus on nothing but results on the ice.

Secondly, it was a huge 6-2 win at home against the two-time defending President’s Trophy winning Washington Capitals. Wins were so scarce during last year’s season, especially against quality opposition. This game in my mind proved this new Avalanche team could compete with anybody. Of course some teams may have a better roster, but beating the Capitals showed me I can realistically hope for the Avalanche to beat anybody.

Just to top it all off, Gabriel Landeskog got his first hatty! For some reason, I especially love watching Gabe score goals. It’s not as if he’s some fourth line plug who can’t score, but he works so hard on that great line with MacKinnon and Rantanen. I was critical of Gabe in a previous post for “disappearing” in some games prior to this season, but Landy has been great all season and it’s particularly nice to see him get rewarded!

Gabriel Landeskog’s First NHL Hat Trick

This was a popular moment. Here’s another take on it, by Anthony Noga

A great moment for me was when Gabriel Landeskog scored his hat-trick goal against the Washington Capitals on November 16th.

It capped off one of the more exciting games the Avalanche have played in the past few years and was a great display by his teammates to look for him to get him the hat-trick. There was some good patience and puck movement punctuated by Landeskog battling where he battles best – right in front of the net.

With Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen assisting, the undisputed top three forwards all contributed to the captain’s first hat-trick in a bounce back game after a disappointing trip in Sweden. It was also the first game in the Pepsi Center since Duchene was traded. Those three are and will be the go to guys now, and to see all of them bust out and put up 12 points really made a statement, especially in front of their fans. Plus, seeing Landeskog’s old game thrown back in his face – literally – as he skated past the bench was a lot of fun.

Beyond that, this was the game where I personally finished coming around on MacKinnon as a superstar. I was still a little unsure if he was just running hot or if he was having his long awaited breakout. His five point night helped ease the last of my doubts. And he hasn’t slowed down any either.

All in all, that goal perfectly encapsulated the Avalanche team I’d like to see. The big guys carrying the team, showing some great skill, teamwork, resilience and perseverance, and having a tonne of fun while doing it.

One of the best Colorado Avalanche moments of 2017.

Gabriel Landeskog’s Second NHL Hat Trick

I naturally loved Landeskog’s first NHL hat trick, too. However, since Ross and Anthony covered that moment so well, let’s look at Gabriel’s second career hat trick.

A couple seasons ago Landeskog was going through a goal scoring slump. He remarked that he wasn’t worried about it because he tended to “score goals in bunches.” The same must be true of hat tricks because he went through six seasons in the NHL before scoring a single hat trick then proceeded to record a second one exactly one month later.

What’s interesting is that both hat tricks came against a couple of the best teams in the NHL — first the Washington Capitals and then the Tampa Bay Lightning. Unfortunately, the second hat trick wasn’t quite as joyous as the first because the Avalanche lost 6-5 at home. Nonetheless, it was a memorable moment.

The first goal came late in the second period after the Avalanche were already down 4-0. Landeskog received a cross-ice pass from Nail Yakupov. He deked Bolts goalie Peter Budaj then backhanded the puck in.

The second tally came after the Lightning had scored again. This time Landeskog redirected a

Tyson Barrie

shot past Budaj. That also happened to mark Gabe’s 300th career point. That move worked so well, that the pair repeated it a couple minutes later on the power play.

As you can see from Landy’s reaction, the team knows a hat trick isn’t as important as still being down by two goals. Landeskog went on to assist on the two other Avs goals, both credited to Nathan MacKinnon.

That hatty came on December 16, meaning its one-month anniversary is coming up next week. The Colorado Avalanche don’t have a game on January 16, but Gabe could score his next hatty a day early during the Anaheim Ducks game…

Matt Duchene Trade

On November 5, the Colorado Avalanche traded Matt Duchene to the Ottawa Senators for a pretty big haul:

• Colorado Avalanche sent Matt Duchene to Ottawa Senators
• Ottawa Senators sent Shane Bowers, Andrew Hammond, 2018 1st-round draft pick, 2019 3rd-round draft pick to Colorado Avalanche
• Ottawa Senators sent Kyle Turris to Nashville Predators
• Nashville Predators sent Samuel Girard, Vladislav Kamenev, 2nd-round draft pick to Colorado Avalanche

This trade was two years in the making — ever since Duchene had a scoring slump in October 2015, when the trade rumors started. I’m going to repeat what I said at the time — I’m happy for what the Avalanche got in return, and I’m glad that Duchene is getting a fresh start, but I’m sad for myself because I loved having Dutchy on our team.

I’m now going to address some trolls. Matt Duchene has struggled some on the Ottawa Senators, and the team took a nosedive not long after the trade. The two are not totally related. Of course Duchene struggled — he got traded in the most awkward way possible (mid-shift) to go to a new team with a completely different system than he was used to. Duchene has ever been a mental player.

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You know what else Matt Duchene has been? A really good human being. He is an NHL player who started his social media with the expressed reason of reaching fans. He is a player who never turns down fan requests for autographs and pictures — including at the beginning of this season when he was in so much turmoil. He is a man who doesn’t just undertake the team-mandated charity but goes out of his way to better people’s lives, such as Haven Anderson’s.

Therefore, I see no reason whatsoever to be petty about what’s going on with the Senators and Duchene. Yes, in his first interview as a Senator, he remarked that he’d requested the trade because he wanted to play playoff hockey, and now his former team is in a better spot to achieve that than his current team.

Anyone who thinks that was Duchene’s sole reason for requesting a trade has no understanding of human nature. Humans are complicated beings, and Matt has shown he’s a particularly complicated one (read mental comment above — he’s ever been a Byronic hero). I’m willing to bet there was a part of him that was crushed when his onetime idol, Joe Sakic, was willing to dangle him as trade bait for literal years. I also think he didn’t get along too well with coach Jared Bednar (see picture above). And maybe he just felt a new team, one that he didn’t have such a weighted backstory with, would give him a fresh start.

And while Matt Duchene did go through a scoring slump with Ottawa, he’s not “locker room cancer” that’s dragging the team down. Captain and franchise player Erik Karlsson underwent surgery to remove part of his ankle bone and replace it with an artificial tendon. He has said that it feels different and it’s affecting his play — and Karlsson is having some career low numbers.

We’re also looking at a captain and franchise player that’s been the center of some virulent trade rumors, partially sparked by his adamant refusal to take a “hometown discount.” (I’m not suggesting he should, but just that it’s creating a distraction with the team.) I’ve also noticed that Karlsson doesn’t seem to be stepping up as a leader during these trying Sens times — when Duchene scored a game-winner in OT, Karlsson doesn’t even skate over to congratulate him.

Then there’s Eugene Melnyk’s bizarre rants about selling the team and/or moving it. Oh, and there was that whole “Is the NHL going to force Melnyk to sell the Senators” debacle that happened right before the Outdoor Game in Ottawa.  None of it Matt Duchene’s fault.

In conclusion, don’t slander Duchene’s name. What does it really say about a person that points at a good man like Matt and delights in his hardships? Nothing flattering, I assure you.

Rant over. Now on to the puppy dog of the Colorado Avalanche.

Tyson Jost Firsts

The Colorado Avalanche drafted center Tyson Jost with their #10 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. That move was unexpected by me — and a little unpopular. I didn’t think he was the right pick, and I didn’t think he’d add much to the team.

I was wrong. And now, he’s one of my favorite players. I love to point out that he’s a bulldog on the forecheck and a puppy dog of a person. He’s the new Matt Duchene in my fandom, and I’m looking forward to watching Jost grow from a kid to a man like I did with Dutchy.

As with Duchene, I was at Tyson Jost’s first NHL game. He started late in the season because he spent a year playing for the University of North Dakota. After UND’s season ended, he spent a week or two deciding if he wanted to go pro or play another season of collegiate hockey. But when your draft team comes calling to let you know they need you in the NHL…

Tyson Jost made his NHL debut on March 31 against the St. Louis Blues. It was a relatively uneventful hockey game for him — he played 13:26 of ice time and recorded a couple shots on goal. Of course, what was more memorable about that game was his crying grandpa:

According to Tyson, Grandpa Jost is a big softy. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, eh? However, that was the game that made me label Jost as a bulldog on the forecheck. I was watching the rookie play, and I asked myself, “Why is he getting up in that Blues player’s face in the offensive zone…. oh, it’s forechecking.” I’d forgotten what forechecking looked like in burgundy and blue.

That was a great moment. You know what else was a great moment? Tyson Jost’s first NHL goal. Not only is that a hallmark for any NHL player, and not only did it bring Grandpa Jost to tears again, but Tyson scored it against my most hated of teams, the Minnesota Wild:

Confession: One of my worries when Colorado drafted Jost was the fact that he’s red-green color blind. I was worried that when they played the Wild in Minnesota that Tyson would just see gray on gray jerseys on one team and gray on white jerseys on the other team. Well, Jost decided to address that by just scoring goals on the Wild. His first-ever NHL goal came against Minnesota in the Pepsi Center.

As if I needed a reason to like Josty more, he seems to be making a habit of scoring on the Wild — he just did it again a couple days ago during the Milan Hejduk jersey retirement game.

Next: Avs Future Defined by 2017 Moves

For being a tough year for the Colorado Avalanche, 2017 had a lot of memorable moments. Besides the ones above, there was the signing of Harvard graduate Alexander Kerfoot in lieu of that DU guy (a move I obviously support), Semyon Varlamov’s 57-save game against the Carolina Hurricanes, and Nathan MacKinnon’s being named First Star of the NHL for November. Indeed, it would be easy to write a post just about memorable MacK moments.

Which Avs moments would you include as most memorable from 2017?