Colorado Avalanche Decade in Review: 20 Memorable Moments

The Colorado Avalanche’s memorable decade has come to a close. As we embark on a new decade, let’s look at some defining moments.

The Colorado Avalanche have had a memorable decade between 2010 and 2020. Memorable in a good way because the team is trending up.

So much has happened in this decade, which I suppose is to be expected. We’ve seen players, coaches, and general managers come and go. We’ve seen the ebb and flow not just of a single season, but of a whole set of seasons.

This decade represented a turning point for the Colorado Avalanche. We saw one era end and a new age begin. As happens any time you’re a sports fan, you have laughter, tears, and moments of pure frustration. You’re in it with your heroes while everyone else is the enemy.

For this post, I curated a list of the team’s memorable moments. They’re by no means the only memorable moments — there are millions of those. And they’re not even necessarily the most important moments. Rather, what follows is a series of moments that basically define the ebbs and flows of the decade for the team.

I hope you enjoy the ride.

2009-10 Basics

GM: Greg Sherman
Coach: Joe Sacco
Captain: Adam Foote
Alternate Captains: Milan Hejduk, Paul Stastny
Record: 43–30–9

The 2009 NHL Draft saw the Colorado Avalanche select two players who would be very important to the decade both as Avs and in trade — Matt Duchene and Ryan O’Reilly.

This was the first season without our Hall of Fame forward, Joe Sakic. He had announced his retirement over the summer. In his stead was his trusty stalwart on defense, Adam Foote. He was backed up by Milan Hejduk and Paul Stastny.

The Colorado Avalanche made the playoffs that season. However, they lost 4-2 to the San Jose Sharks in the first round.

Team leaders

Goals: Chris Stewart (28)
Assists: Paul Stastny (59)
Points: Stastny (79)
Penalty minutes: Cody McLeod (138)
Plus/minus: Ryan Wilson (+13)
Wins: Craig Anderson (38)

1. Memorable Moment: Matt Duchene Shootout Goal Clinches Playoffs

The Colorado Avalanche had missed the playoffs for the first time since moving to Colorado in 2006-07. They missed it again in 2008-09, by a long mark. Which is why they were able to draft Matt Duchene at third overall.

And Duchene paid them back right away, his first season with Colorado. In his rookie year, he recorded 55 points (24 goals, 31 assists). And though this memorable moment isn’t reflected in his points totals, it’s special just the same.

On April 6, 2010, the Avs were playing the Vancouver Canucks. They had 91 points, and they were sniffing around a playoff spot. Well, at the end or regulation the game was tied, and it remained tied through the overtime.

The game went to the shootout, and Matt Duchene made the game-winning shootout goal:

That win clinched a playoff berth for the Avalanche. So, as a rookie, Duchene got the Avs back into the playoffs.

2010-11 Basics

GM: Greg Sherman
Coach: Joe Sacco
Captain: Adam Foote
Alternate Captains: Milan Hejduk, Paul Stastny
Record: 30-44-8

The Colorado Avalanche made two impactful draft picks in the summer — Joey Hishon at #17 and Calvin Pickard at #49.

The previous season had seen the beginnings of the changing of the guard with the retirement of superstar Joe Sakic and the draft of Duchene and O’Reilly. This 2010-11 indicated almost a complete turnover.

In fact, the 2010-11 season was the transition between the dying days of the Golden Era and the real beginning of the Avs New Age — we wish it began in 2013, but the dip before the rise set the stage for what the Colorado Avalanche are today.

Team leaders

Goals: Matt Duchene, David Jones (27)
Assists: Matt Duchene, John-Michael Liles (40)
Points: Matt Duchene (67)
Penalty minutes: Cody McLeod (189)
Plus/minus: Greg Mauldin (+5)
Wins: Peter Budaj (15)

2. Memorable Moment: Peter Forsberg Announces Retirement

We tried to hold on to our superstars and the Golden Era for as long as possible. After dallying elsewhere, including in his home country of Sweden, Peter Forsberg signed to play with the Colorado Avalanche for the 2010-11 season.

He started training with the team in January 2011. He made his debut that season on February 11 in Columbus. He didn’t record any points. He played what turned out to be his final NHL game the following night in Nashville.

Forsberg was slated to make his first home appearance two nights later, fittingly on Valentine’s Day. Instead, he announced his retirement that afternoon, citing the same (cursed) foot problems that plagued him his whole career and an inability to defend himself on the ice.

Here’s the announcement they showed in Pepsi Center:

Side note: I was at that game. We were all sitting around in anticipation of Forsberg’s return — in those pre-social media days, the news of his retirement hadn’t spread. So, when they showed the retirement announcement on Pepsi Vision, we were all in shock.

And when Foppa teared up, many of us started bawling. I’m not ashamed to admit I still tear up watching that video.

3. Memorable Moment: Adam Foote’s Last Shift

In the summer, one of the final greats of the Golden Era — and the last remaining member of that original team that came over from Quebec — Adam Foote announced his retirement.

The announcement didn’t carry as much fanfare as the Forsberg one did. Indeed, Foote made the announcement on April 8, 2011 and still played one more game for the Avs — the final game of the season.

The Avs weren’t making the playoffs — we all knew that. Adam Foote knew it was his last-ever game, and it was a meaningless one.

And yet in his final shift, he played the same hard-nosed hockey he had for the past 1,153 games:

Look at him backchecking, hassling the Canucks players, and even getting tantalizingly close to earning a penalty with some of his physicality. He went out the way he came in — rough and ready.

4. Memorable Moment: Erik Johnson Traded to Avs

As I said, the 2010-11 season was a big one of transition. So, as we saw our greats exiting the stage, we saw some other players coming in who would make lasting impacts on the team. Two of them I mentioned already — Duchene and O’Reilly.

Erik Johnson was another one. Late in the evening of February 18, the Colorado Avalanche traded Kevin Shattenkirk, Chris Stewart, and a second rounder for Erik Johnson, Jay McClement, and a first-rounder.

It was a shocking trade that shook the core of both teams. At 1:40 am MT, Johnson texted his reaction to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

“I obviously was not expecting this. It is tough to leave St. Louis, where I made so many great friends on and off the ice and played for a first-class organization. I am thrilled to be joining the Avalanche organization that has a terrific young team that I can’t wait to be a part of.”

In his first-ever game as an Avalanche, ironically playing against the Blues, he scored a goal:

It just so happened to be the game-winner.

That was far from Johnson’s last contribution. In fact, he’s the longest-tenured member of the Avalanche, and he’s integral to the team culture that we have today. Indeed, he was our current captain’s first mentor. He was a leader long before he wore a letter, and he’s the current captain of the blueline.

No question EJ has made his mark on the team, and it started with that late-night trade.

2011-12 Basics

GM: Greg Sherman
Coach: Joe Sacco
Captain: Vacant (Oct-Nov), Milan Hejduk (Nov-Apr)
Alternate Captains: Milan Hejduk (Oct-Nov), Paul Stastny, Rotating 
Record: 41–35–6

The Colorado Avalanche made a very important draft pick that summer — Gabriel Landeskog with the second-overall selection. It was the highest they’d ever chosen in a draft.

In the summer, they also made two important trades — they sent over a first rounder in return for goalie Semyon Varlamov. They also sent John-Michael Liles to Toronto in return for a draft pick.

Colorado started the year off without a captain. On November 14, the final holdout of the old guard, Milan Hejduk, took over as captain. It would be his only year as captain.

For the second time in as many seasons, the team didn’t make the playoffs. It was the first time since the franchise moved to Colorado that they’d missed the playoffs twice in a row.

Team leaders

Goals: Gabriel Landeskog (22)
Assists: Ryan O’Reilly (37)
Points: Ryan O’Reilly (55)
Penalty minutes: Cody McLeod (164)
Plus/minus: Gabriel Landeskog (+20)
Wins: Semyon Varlamov (26)

5. Memorable Moment: Gabriel Landeskog Wins Calder Trophy

The 2011-12 season itself was forgettable. However, in the midst of an 88-point season that saw them finish three slots down from a playoff spot, the rookie left wing made good. Gabriel Landeskog won the Calder Trophy.

Landeskog played all 82 games for the Avalanche that season. He recorded 22 goals and 30 assists for 52 points. He also recorded 51 penalty minutes because he’s a power forward. But it’s the former that won him rookie of the year honors.

Here’s his rookie of the year speech:

Even as a 19-year-old, he was so dapper and well-spoken.

2012-13 Basics

GM: Greg Sherman
Coach: Joe Sacco
Captain: Gabriel Landeskog
Alternate Captains: Milan Hejduk, Paul Stastny
Record:16–25–7

The 2012-13 season was truncated because of the lockout. The teams only played 48 games. The NHL draft was completely unremarkable for the Avalanche as they didn’t have a first rounder and didn’t pick anyone of note.

On September 4, 2012, the Colorado Avalanche named Gabriel Landeskog as the team’s captain, at the behest of Hejduk. He felt he couldn’t be the on-ice leader he needed to be anymore, so late in his career, and he recognized Landeskog as the up-and-coming leader. Gabriel was the youngest ever player to be named captain at the time.

The Avs finished dead last in the Western Conference and second-to-last in the entire NHL. (Oh, if only that had been the words the Avalanche ever did.) They missed the playoffs for the third time in a row.

Team leaders

Goals: P. A. Parenteau (18)
Assists: Matt Duchene (26)
Points: Matt Duchene, P. A. Parenteau (43)
Penalty minutes: Cody McLeod (83)
Plus/minus: Chuck Kobasew (+6)
Wins: Semyon Varlamov (11)

6. Memorable Moment: Duchene Scores While Offside

It’s ironic that the most memorable moment from that awful season was an even more terrible one. Matt Duchene scored a goal against the Nashville Predators while being way offside.

In an of itself, the play was funny more than anything. There’s not even an iota of a question that Duchene is offside:

This moment is especially notable because it essentially ruined modern hockey. The official didn’t call offside because he thought another call was going to be made. When Duchene scored, no one had any recourse to overturn the goal. And so the coach’s challenge was born for offiside reviews, and no goal seems to be safe anymore.

Duchene talked this last fall about that infamous goal. He remarked that he knew it was offside, so he almost didn’t pick up the puck. But he did, and he scored. He explained his reaction:

“After I scored, I thought I was going to get jumped. I kind of half-celebrated [thinking] someone’s going to come… like, is [Shea] Weber on the ice? I hope not.”

When teased that he’s the reason for offside reviews now, he good-naturedly laughed that he was at least “known for something.”

All well and good because it was no longer his team that got railroaded by an offside review. But that’s for a little later.

7. Memorable Moment: Ryan O’Reilly Signs Offer Sheet

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• Colorado Avalanche rookie face-off tournament roster

When a player is a restricted free agent, opponent teams have the right to make him an offer. If he signs the offer sheet, his team can either match the offer or let him go with some recompense. This event rarely happens because the parent team usually matches the offer, and all that comes about is animosity.

Well, when the lockout started, restricted free agent Ryan O’Reilly eschewed the short-term contract most other NHLers were signing with European teams and signed on for two years with the KHL. He was in protracted negotiations for a new contract.

The negotiations eventually became contentious as O’Reilly stayed in Russia even when the NHL season started. He eventually returned to North America, only to sign an offer sheet from the Calgary Flames.

The Colorado Avalanche matched the offer sheet, which was good for two years. However, relations between the player and the team were never easy again, which exacerbated the next round of negotiations just two years later.

2013-14 Basics

GM: Greg Sherman (Joe Sakic performed GM duties, but under the title of Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations.)
Coach: Patrick Roy (Shared GM duties with Sakic)
Captain: Gabriel Landeskog
Alternate Captains: Paul Stastny, Cody McLeod
Record: 52–22–8

The summer of 2013 was momentous. First, our player hero, Joe Sakic, took over the duties of general manager. One of his first acts was to hire another player hero, Patrick Roy, as head coach.

And then those two worthies went out and did a thing. A really good thing. They drafted Nathan MacKinnon.

Because of their bad 2012-13 season, Colorado was in the draft lottery. And they won! For the first time ever, Colorado selected first-overall. Sakic flirted with drafting Seth Jones, but Roy insisted on Nathan MacKinnon.

That Golden 2013-14 Season was a time of wonder for longtime Avs fans. We were so sure that we were going to see our team return to the greatness they deserved, especially with two Hockey Hall of Famers at the helm.

Sure enough, we seemed destined to returned to glory as the Why Not Us season saw the Avs return to the playoffs for the first time in four years. They not only returned to the playoffs, they won the Central Division!

Team leaders

Goals: Ryan O’Reilly (28)
Assists: Matt Duchene (47)
Points: Matt Duchene (70)
Penalty minutes: Cody McLeod (122)
Plus/minus: Gabriel Landeskog (+21)
Wins: Semyon Varlamov (41)

8. Memorable Moment: Patrick Roy Overturns the Partition

If there is one moment that encapsulates what Patrick Roy’s tenure as coach was like, it was his regular season debut. It was his coaching the team to a 6-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks.

And it was the flare-up of his infamous temper at the end of the game.

With just seconds left in regulation, and with Colorado up 6-1, coach Roy sent out Patrick Bordeleau and Cody McLeod, two known heavyweights. It was a bold move, another trademark of Roy’s. And the Ducks didn’t like it. They started a scrum right in front of the Avalanche bench.

Ducks agitator Corey Perry started running his mouth, so coach Roy snapped at him. Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau involved himself, and all hell broke loose:

This was the iconic moment of the entire season. With that fight, Roy secured his place as the player’s coach. He would have been far too intimidating a figure otherwise, and he knew that.

It also set the stage for a scrappy team fighting back every single game for the respect they felt they deserved. It really was such a golden season.

I was at that game, by the way. When the announcers announced the coach, the screams for him were louder than for any player.

9. Memorable Moment: Colorado Avalanche Lose Game 7

Those of us who were caught up in the heady atmosphere of the Golden Why Not Us season — and what Avs fan wasn’t — was sure the Avalanche would make a deep playoff run. Heck, the Avs could win the Stanley Cup! Our Hockey Hall of Famers were at the helm, and we were back in the glory days.

And then there was the ping that was heard ’round Avs Nation. Colorado was hosting the lowly Minnesota Wild, an upstart team that just wouldn’t go away. They even forced a Game 7, though that was in Pepsi Center, of course.

The bad ping, worst of all pings really:

The fact that the game even got to overtime was stressful enough. Then, to have our triumphant return to the glory days ended in such an unceremonious way… well, it’s created a hate for the Minnesota Wild that persists in many of us to this day.

This hate is nothing like the spirited rivalry with Detroit Red Wings. This is a hate born of hot rage and disappointment. We can remember the Wings rivalry with fondness. But that single ping, followed by a couple seasons of being raked over the coals by the Wild, has left so many of us with a persistent bitter taste in our mouths.

Personally, I will always celebrate any misfortune that falls about that hated Minnesota team.

10. Memorable Moment: NHL Showers Avs with Awards

The 2013-14 season was such a good one that three players and our then-coach were up for awards.

Semyon Varlamov had a career season as our goalie. He was up for the Vezina Trophy. Unfortunately, he was the lone Avalanche nominated who didn’t win his award.

Ryan O’Reilly had only two penalty minutes all season, the lone call coming when he unknowingly played with a broken stick. He won the Lady Byng Award for that and other gentlemanly reasons.

Nathan MacKinnon had a stellar year. He played all 82 games, recording 63 points (24 goals, 39 assists). Those totals would remain his career best for the next three seasons. He won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. (Fun fact: When asked what he’d say if he won, he declared he’d have his mom write something up ahead of time.)

Coach Patrick Roy took a team that had finished dead last in the conference and second to last in the entire NHL and not only coached them to the playoffs, but to winning the Central Division! And he wasn’t the one who’d coached them into the preceding loser season. He won the Jack Adams as coach of the year his rookie season as a coach.

2014-15 Season

GM: Joe Sakic
Coach: Patrick Roy
Captain: Gabriel Landeskog
Alternate Captains: Jarome Iginla, Cody McLeod
Record:39–31–12

The Colorado Avalanche didn’t really make any notable draft picks in 2014 — the best was Anton Lindholm, who’s still with the team, albeit mostly with the Eagles. They chose him in the fifth round.

The Avs took restricted free agent Ryan O’Reilly to salary arbitration. On July 23, 2014, on the threshold of the arbitration office, the two sides agreed to another two-year contract, after which O’Reilly would be an unrestricted free agent. Obviously, that event didn’t improve relations between the two sides.

After ups and downs at the end of the season about whether Paul Stastny would sign with the team, at a hometown discount, he left for big money in St. Louis. However, the Avs did acquire an aging legend, Jarome Iginla, whom they promptly named an alternate captain.

The season itself was one plagued with injuries. The Avalanche were second only to the Columbus Blue Jackets in man games lost. With just 90 points to their names, they missed the playoffs again.

Team leaders

Goals: Jarome Iginla (29)
Assists: Tyson Barrie (41)
Points: Gabriel Landeskog, Jarome Iginla (59)
Penalty minutes: Cody McLeod (191)
Plus/minus: Tyson Barrie (+5)
Wins: Semyon Varlamov (28)

11. Memorable Moment: Gabriel Landeskog Throws Punch at Mikko Koivu

Remember what I said about the hot rage so many of us feel toward the Minnesota Wild? Well, we waited all off season for a rematch, which was going to come in the form of a season opener in Minnesota and a home opener in Colorado.

Yeah, well, the Avalanche were shut out in both of those games. They actually didn’t beat Minnesota all season. Well, in the game on February 28, our captain had finally had enough.

It was the final meeting of the season between the two teams. Colorado, the home team, was down 3-1 late in the third. Wild captain Mikko Koivu mouthed off the Landeskog, and our frustrated captain reached across the partition and punched him in the face:

He was fined $5,000 for that act of aggression. Even a lot of Avs fans didn’t think it was a good look for Landeskog. However, after all we’d been through at their hands… yeah, for me it felt good to see someone letting go of his frustrations.

By the way, Cody McLeod fought Charlie Coyle and also got a game misconduct and fine.

12. Memorable Moment: Tyson Barrie Cracks 50-Point Mark

Throughout his tenure as an Avs player, I liked to call Tyson Barrie a rover. He’s not much of a wizard at defense. He’s an offensive defenseman, and he made that the calling card of his game.

The 2014-15 season was the first full one with the NHL club. He had over 100 NHL games to his name, but that year was his first full season. He played in 80 games.

And he made his presence known. He recorded his first 50-point season, earning 53 points (12 goals, 41 assists). He was the quarterback of the power play, and 21 of those points came with the man-advantage.

2015-16 Basics

GM: Joe Sakic
Coach: Patrick Roy
Captain: Gabriel Landeskog
Alternate Captains: Jarome Iginla, Cody McLeod
Record: 39–39–4

The 2015-16 season was not a successful one. The team just played so inconsistently for most of the season. They really lacked what I was calling at the time a Stanley Cup attitude — and what we now lament as a lack of killer instinct.

The team seemed to be trying to plug up holes in a roster that eventually proved to be limited. They missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

On the bright side, the team absolutely stole Mikko Rantanen with the #10 pick. He only played nine games because he needed to learn the North American game in the AHL.

Team leaders

Goals: Matt Duchene (30)
Assists: Carl Soderberg (39)
Points: Matt Duchene (59)
Penalty minutes: Cody McLeod (138)
Plus/minus: Zach Redmond (+5)
Wins: Semyon Varlamov (27)

13. Memorable Moment: Colorado Avalanche Trade Ryan O’Reilly

Ryan O’Reilly spent the entire 2014-15 season with his name on the trade block. Relations were so contentious on both sides. O’Reilly was set to become a UFA after one more season, and the Avs didn’t hold out a lot of hope for signing him.

So, on June 26, 2015, on the trade floor, GM Joe Sakic pulled the trigger on what was to then the biggest trade of his career. He traded Ryan O’Reilly to the Buffalo Sabres. He also sent over Jamie McGinn. In return, he got Nikita Zadorov, Mikhail Grigorenko, J.T. Compher, and a second rounder.

Zadorov and Compher are still with the team. Buffalo initially signed O’Reilly to a contract extension (after which time he crashed his truck into a Tim Horton’s). However, they eventually traded him to St. Louis.

I’d say we won the trade.

14. Memorable Moment: Colorado Avalanche Host Stadium Series Game

The 2015-16 season marked the team’s 20th year in Colorado. Partially as a celebration, the NHL awarded Colorado a Stadium Series Game. They hosted the Detroit Red Wings at Coors Field on February 27, preceded by an alumni game on February 26.

What an incredible weekend! For me, the alumni game was the best part of the weekend. You know the adage — you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Well, in the Glory Days, I didn’t know how special our Avs were. At the alumni game, I know I was watching our greats for the last time, and I savored every moment.

The actual game was anti-climactic as Colorado dropped the decision to Detroit. It was so frustrating to watch them fall apart at various points in the game. The most entertaining part was the winds that picked up and whipped around the fake cotton snow like a weird blizzard.

Ah, well, all the festivities surrounding the game had been fun at least.

15. Memorable Moment: Patrick Roy Resigns as Head Coach

On August 11, 2016, Patrick Roy announced his resignation from the position of head coach with the Colorado Avalanche. He left the team six weeks to find a new coach, and they settled on Jared Bednar.

If you were reading posts on Mile High Sticking that summer or the following one, you’ll know it was a very difficult moment for me. I’m not even going to pretend to be objective on this topic. Patrick Roy is my hero, and I saw him not only leave on his own terms, but get vilified for his decision. And that hurt.

Hurts still, to be honest.

Moving on.

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)

15. Memorable Moment: Colorado Avalanche Make Tyson Jost’s Grandpa Cry

Besides the hilarious moments that were also painful, nothing we want to remember happened in that Dreaded 48-Point Season. So, let’s remember something heart-warming that happened before the season started.

The Colorado Avalanche had the #10 draft pick again in 2016. They weren’t going to get as lucky as they did in 2015, when a top-5 player inexplicably dropped to the #10 position.

What they did do, though, was signal the change in direction they wanted to take. They were willing to sacrifice speed for size, and they wanted high-end puck skills along with leadership abilities.

To get that package, they picked a player a little lower down the scouting reports than their #10 position — Tyson Jost. And in doing so, they made his grandpa cry.

Jim Jost is known for being a softy. So, when he saw his grandson get drafted, he couldn’t hold back his emotions:

That hug from Mamma Jost is pretty epic, too.

It made for one of the most memorable drafts in Avalanche history.

16. Memorable Moment: Colorado Avalanche Lose the Draft Lottery

So, after the worst season in the salary cap era, you’d think you get to at least pick first in the following draft. Yeah, no, not when you’re the Colorado Avalanche.

The Avalanche saw three teams with much better records take the first three spots in the draft order. They dropped as low as they could go — #4.

Yes, in the end we were well-compensated for that pick, choosing defenseman Cale Makar. And, to be honest, I wouldn’t trade him for any of the three players who went 1-3. I honestly believe he’s better and will have a bigger impact on the team long-term.

But we didn’t know that at the time. We just knew the pain of the 48-point season was capped with the ignominious fall to the fourth draft position.

2017-18 Basics

GM: Joe Sakic
Coach: Jared Bednar
Captain: Gabriel Landeskog
Alternate Captains: Erik Johnson, Nathan MacKinnon
Record: 43–30–9

The Colorado Avalanche bounced back nicely from the 48-point season. In addition to future superstud Cale Makar, they drafted Conor Timmins, who was scouted to go in the first round but dropped to the second.

The 2017-18 season was a breath of fresh air. After that dreadful season, we knew we were in a rebuild. The Avs were one of the youngest teams in the NHL. On any given night, they were dressing up to four rookies.

And Nathan MacKinnon finally started to come into his own. I, for one, was beginning to think of him as a good but not great players. Well, this was his breakout season that saw him crush his rookie numbers — he earned 97 points (39 goals, 58 assists). Both Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog recorded career years, too.

And they made the playoffs. An injured team, they exited first round. But it was the first time in four years they’d made the postseason.

Team leaders

Goals: Nathan MacKinnon (39)
Assists: Nathan MacKinnon (58)
Points: Nathan MacKinnon (97)
Penalty minutes: Nikita Zadorov (103)
Plus/minus: Patrik Nemeth (+27)
Wins: Semyon Varlamov (24)

18. Memorable Moment: Nathan MacKinnon Loses Hart Trophy

The Colorado Avalanche went from being a 48-point team to one that made the playoffs. Granted, they were never as bad as that 48-point season led us to believe. And, granted, they didn’t clinch until Game 82, but that’s still an amazing turnaround.

Hockey is a team sport, and, like I said, both Rantanen and Landeskog had career seasons. But it’s no secret that MacKinnon put the team on his shoulders and carried them to a winning record.

I mean, you only have to look at his stats from the season. He led the team in goals, assists, and points. He scored 15.1% of the Avalanche’s goals, and 12 of them were game-winners — the most in the NHL.

And he lost out to Taylor Hall. He scored two more points than Hall in fewer games, but Hall still walked away with the Hart Trophy.

We don’t need the Hart to know how much Nate means to this team. It’s his team. The Colorado Avalanche go as Nathan MacKinnon goes.

And when MacKinnon caught fire, he carried the Avs to success. But, yes, it would have been nice for the NHL to acknowledge that.

2018-19 Basics

GM: Joe Sakic
Coach: Jared Bednar
Captain: Gabriel Landeskog
Alternate Captains: Erik Johnson, Nathan MacKinnon
Record: 38–30–14

The 2018-19 season was a good one. It was also a very important season because we wanted to know making the playoffs wasn’t another fluke.

The Colorado Avalanche drafted Martin Kaut with the #16 draft selection. They acquired goalie Philipp Grubauer from the Washington Capitals, and it was an open secret that the two were battling for the starting position. Grubauer eventually won.

And, not only did the Colorado Avalanche make the playoffs, they won the first round! And but for one misplaced Gabriel Landeskog toenail, they might have won the second round two — I am, of course, referring to the Game 7 disallowed goal because Landeskog was apparently too slow getting off the ice.

Well, I guess it’s water under the bridge, though most Avs fans will probably never get over it. Nonetheless, it was a good run.

Team leaders

Goals: Nathan MacKinnon (41)
Assists: Nathan MacKinnon (58)
Points: Nathan MacKinnon (99)
Penalty minutes: Ian Cole (115)
Plus/minus: Nathan MacKinnon (+20)
Wins: Semyon Varlamov (20)

19. Memorable Moment: Colorado Avalanche Trade Tyson Barrie

With the Ottawa Senators’ first-round draft pick, the Colorado Avalanche selected another offensive defenseman, Bowen Byram. They now had four similar sort of players in their system — four in addition to Tyson Barrie.

The drafting of Byram pretty much meant the trade was going to happen. And we didn’t have to wait too long. On free agency day, Sakic made a couple moderate signings, then he pulled the trigger on trading everyone’s favorite rover.

The trade sent Barrie and Alexander Kerfoot to Toronto in exchange for Nazem Kadri and Calle Rosen. Colorado got the second-line center they hadn’t had since the Duchene trade.

Tyson Barrie was a fan favorite, and for good reason. Not only did he put up three 50-point season, and one other that was just a point shy, he was labeled a gentleman by sports writers and fans alike.

Barrie returned to Pepsi Center with his new teams, the Leafs, to probably the longest tribute video I’ve ever seen.

He left us so many memories. Best of luck to him.

20. Memorable Moment: Cale Makar Scores in NHL Debut — in the Playoffs!

This is a little out of order, but I wanted to end on a high note. Before the Tyson Barrie trade, Cale Makar took the UMass Minutemen to their first-ever Frozen Four and championship game, won the Hobey Baker Award for best collegiate player, and signed his first NHL contract.

This all happened in the span of about 72 hours. So, you could have forgiven the then-20-year-old if he needed a minute to get his NHL legs. Especially since he was making his debut in the playoffs. (Against his childhood favorite team no less!)

Well, he did need a minute — a literal minute. In the first period of his first NHL game, he scored on his first shot:

Nathan MacKinnon says the cheeky kid (my words) was hollering for the puck, so he sailed it his way to see what he’d do. And that do was score! I was at the game that night, and the noise in Pepsi Center was deafening.

2019-20 Season

GM: Joe Sakic
Coach: Jared Bednar
Captain: Gabriel Landeskog
Alternate Captains: Erik Johnson, Nathan MacKinnon
Record: 23–13–4

Well, Avs Nation, we’re almost to the halfway mark of the season, and that takes us to the close of the decade. And what a memorable decade it was!

We made a lot of moves in the offseason. We lost longtime goalie Semyon Varlamov to free agency. We gained Joonas Donskoi and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare in the same. We traded for Andre Burakovsky and, of course, Nazem Kadri. All have had an impact on the team already.

Right now the Colorado Avalanche are gunning for first in the whole Western Conference. They’re not just expected to slink into the playoffs last minute — they’re expected to make a deep run.

They’re widely accounted as one of the most dangerous teams in the NHL.

I don’t want to say the exact glory days are back. You never replicate magic. But we have our own magic now. We have the magic of having watched so many players who were integral to the team’s success get drafted by the team and grow up on Pepsi Center ice.

We’ve gotten to see the team enter a successful rebuild and now reap the rewards.

And we get to see some truly electrifying hockey every night.

So, don’t be afraid to weight in, Colorado Avalanche fans. What memorable moments would you have included in this list? And aren’t we all excited for the upcoming decade?