The Colorado Avalanche have been consistently among NHL leaders in various crucial metrics. That comes with the territory. The Avalanche, as last season’s best regular-season team, led the NHL in goals per game with 3.63, while also leading the league in goals against per game with 2.40.
Those numbers made it clear why the Avalanche were the cover-to-cover Presidents’ Trophy winners. But along the way, there was one overlooked metric in which Colorado slumped to the bottom of the league: The Aggression Index.
A study published by the folks at Casino Guru looked at the NHL’s most aggressive teams in 2025-26. The metric included key stats such as hits, penalty minutes, major penalties, fights, and suspensions/fines to determine an “aggression” score.
The top team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, accrued a score of 87.89 out of 100. And really, anyone watching the Lightning play last season would find the score justified.
But what about the Avalanche? Colorado ranked 31st in the ranking with a 10.71 score. In other words, the Avalanche were pretty much the league’s least aggressive team last season. The only other club with a lower aggression score was the Detroit Red Wings with 6.80.
Now, this isn’t to say that the Avalanche are a weak team. It just goes to show that the Avalanche don’t engage in some of the antics that other teams like the Bolts, the Boston Bruins, or even the Philadelphia Flyers generally get into.
Low Aggression Score in line with Avalanche style of play
The low aggression score actually makes sense for the Avalanche. Colorado does not rely on a hard-hitting approach. The club has far more speed and skill to unleash on opponents.
Yes, the Avalanche do have a freight train in Nathan MacKinnon. But overall, the Avalanche don’t rely on pounding opponents into submission. The Avalanche beat teams with skill and puck possession.
But there’s another thing this index brings to mind. In the postseason, we saw the LA Kings and Minnesota Wild try to use physicality to grind the Avalanche down. It didn’t really work. But by the time Colorado got to the Western Conference Final, the Vegas Golden Knights used a more grinding style to slow the team down.
And it worked.
The Golden Knights ranked ninth in the Aggression Index, pinpointing one of the reasons why they were able to get past the Avalanche when they did.
Of course, this insight does not mean the Avalanche will depart from the style of play that’s made them successful. The team has some hard hitters in the lineup. But fans shouldn’t expect the team to suddenly turn into a goon squad.
The data, nonetheless, should be a warning for the organization. Perhaps we might see the Avalanche become a little more ornery, particularly during the postseason.
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