Colorado Avalanche Decade in Review: 20 Memorable Moments

DENVER, COLORADO - OCTOBER 30: Joonas Donskoi #72 of the Colorado Avalanche celebrates a goal against the Florida Panthers with his bench at the Pepsi Center on October 30, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. The Panthers defeated the Avalanche 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - OCTOBER 30: Joonas Donskoi #72 of the Colorado Avalanche celebrates a goal against the Florida Panthers with his bench at the Pepsi Center on October 30, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. The Panthers defeated the Avalanche 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)
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DENVER, CO – DECEMBER 18: Tyson Barrie #4 of the Colorado Avalanche celebrates a goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins with teammates Mikko Rantanen #96 and Nathan MacKinnon #29 at the Pepsi Center on December 18, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)

2016-17 Basics

GM: Joe Sakic
Coach: Jared Bednar
Captain: Gabriel Landeskog
Alternate Captains: Francois Beauchemin, Matt Duchene, Nathan MacKinnon
Record: 22–56–4

The 2016-17 season sucked for the Colorado Avalanche. They had the worst season in the salary cap era. They only won 22 games. That means they lost 60 games.

They lost every way imaginable. They got blown out of the water. They blew leads. They tried to come back, just to come short. They played close games. They lost in regulation, overtime, and the shootout. They own goaled.

And they did this:

That’s right, Blake Comeau passed on a breakaway. That’s how bad the season was — players didn’t want the puck on their sticks, not even on the breakaway.

They even sometimes forgot how to play hockey, or so it seemed. I mean, they were colliding with each other left and right. At one point, Mikko Rantanen even fell out of the bench. (He did score after.)

This is the Dreaded 48-Point Season we’re talking about. And if you were there for it, you deserve a badge. We all do.

Team leaders

Goals: Mikko Rantanen (20)
Assists: Nathan MacKinnon (37)
Points: Nathan MacKinnon (53)
Penalty minutes: Nikita Zadorov (73)
Plus/minus: Sven Andrighetto, J. T. Compher (0)
Wins: Calvin Pickard (15)