On Thursday, January 16, the Colorado Avalanche took on the Edmonton Oilers on ESPN's Hockey Night matchup. Early into the broadcast, play-by-play broadcaster John Buccigross joked with color analyst Ray Ferraro that the Avs this season are holding "open auditions" for roster spots, and there's some truth to that comment.
So far this season, the Avs have dressed 40 different players. Out of context, that may not seem like a lot, so here's a look at the number of players dressed, as of January 18, 2025, by each team this season:
Team | Players Utilized |
|---|---|
Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers | 25 |
Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning | 26 |
Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets | 27 |
Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Philadelphia Flyers, Seattle Kraken, St. Louis Blues | 28 |
Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, Montréal Canadiens | 29 |
Columbus Blue Jackets, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Utah HC | 30 |
New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights | 31 |
Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks | 32 |
Boston Bruins | 33 |
Colorado Avalanche | 40 |
The average number of players dressed by the rest of the NHL is 29. This wide variance for the Avs can be attributed to a handful of factors. First are the continued injury woes that have riddled the Avs once again this year. The Avs have more man-games lost (MGL) than any other team in the league, currently positioned at 208 as of January 18, 2025. Apart from the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have 200, the next closest is the San Jose Sharks, who have 171.
A look at the man-games lost for each NHL team, as of January 19, 2025. pic.twitter.com/VhQuoSZn1s
— Andrew S @ Mile High Sticking (@ajs_MHS) January 20, 2025
The other, main reason for such a breadth of player utilization is the Colorado Avalanche's struggles to find reliable, consistent, secondary scoring. While the six different goalies used by the Avs this year is the highest number in the league, the majority of the players dressed this year are forwards: 62.5% of the 40 players rostered by the Avs this year are forwards, and more than 68% of those forwards have been primarily played on the bottom two lines.
As a result of the lineup experimentation, 45.7% of the Colorado Eagles roster has played at least one game for the Avalanche this season. Across a full season last year, that number only reached 32%. In the months since the Avs traded both Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen, they have found consistent success, and this is a testament to players stepping up and filling voids at the offensive, defensive, and goaltending positions since the season began. This lack of consistent chemistry-building, however, is historically and fundamentally unsound.
Ranking All-Time
While the Avs aren't there yet, they are already encroaching on some of the teams that dressed the most players in a single season, all-time. With the trade deadline on the not-too-distant horizon, Tucker Poolman out indefinitely with migraines, a number of AHL prospects vying for their "open audition" and the potential return of Gabriel Landeskog still very much up in the air, it's not unreasonable to think this number could increase before season's end.
Team | Number of Players Dressed |
|---|---|
Boston Bruins (1991-92)* | 55 |
Tampa Bay Lightning (1999-00) | 53 |
Washington Capitals (2003-04) | 51 |
Tampa Bay Lightning (2008-09) | 50 |
New York Rangers (2003-04) | 50 |
Minnesota North Stars (1987-88) | 50 |
Anaheim Ducks (2018-19) | 49 |
New York Islanders (1995-96)* | 49 |
Quebec Nordiques (1989-90) | 49 |
Pittsburgh Penguins (1983-84) | 48 |
Apart from the 1991-92 Bruins and the 1995-96 New York Islanders teams, each team to utilize 48-or-more roster players has missed the playoffs entirely. It's very unlikely that the Avs enter the conversation for most players dressed in a single season, but it is not impossible, especially if players continue to underperform on the Avalanche or prospects shine on the Colorado Eagles. As the season progresses, it's certainly something to keep an eye on.
(Statistics and analytics provided by NHL Stats, NHL Records, and HockeyDB)