2020–21 Colorado Avalanche season

The 2020–21 Colorado Avalanche season was the 26th operational season and 25th playing season since the franchise relocated from Quebec prior to the start of the 1995–96 NHL season.[1] As well as the franchise's 42nd season in the National Hockey League and 49th season overall. The Avalanche commemorated their 25th anniversary this season.

2020–21 Colorado Avalanche
West Division champions
Division1st West
2020–21 record39–13–4
Home record22–4–2
Road record17–9–2
Goals for197
Goals against133
Team information
General managerJoe Sakic
CoachJared Bednar
CaptainGabriel Landeskog
Alternate captainsErik Johnson
Nathan MacKinnon
ArenaBall Arena
Minor league affiliate(s)Colorado Eagles (AHL)
Utah Grizzlies (ECHL)
Team leaders
GoalsMikko Rantanen (30)
AssistsNathan MacKinnon (45)
PointsMikko Rantanen (66)
Penalty minutesRyan Graves (55)
Plus/minusMikko Rantanen (+30)
WinsPhilipp Grubauer (30)
Goals against averagePhilipp Grubauer (1.95)

On December 20, 2020, the league temporarily realigned into four divisions with no conferences due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing closure of the Canada–United States border. As a result of this realignment, the Avalanche played this season in the West Division and only played against the other teams in their new division during the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs.

On April 22, the Avalanche clinched a playoff berth following a 4–2 win over the St. Louis Blues.[2] They clinched their third Presidents' Trophy, as well as their tenth division championship, with a 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in their last game of the season on May 13.[3] The Avalanche swept the St. Louis Blues in the First Round, with a 5–2 win in game four.[4] In their Second Round series against the Vegas Golden Knights, the Avalanche initially led the series 2–0, but were later eliminated from the playoffs after they lost the next four games.[5]

Standings

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Divisional standings

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West Division
Pos Team GP W L OTL RW GF GA GD Pts
1 p – Colorado Avalanche 56 39 13 4 35 197 133 +64 82
2 x – Vegas Golden Knights 56 40 14 2 30 191 124 +67 82
3 x – Minnesota Wild 56 35 16 5 27 181 160 +21 75
4 x – St. Louis Blues 56 27 20 9 19 169 170 −1 63
5 e – Arizona Coyotes 56 24 26 6 19 153 176 −23 54
6 e – Los Angeles Kings 56 21 28 7 19 143 170 −27 49
7 e – San Jose Sharks 56 21 28 7 15 151 199 −48 49
8 e – Anaheim Ducks 56 17 30 9 11 126 179 −53 43
Source: National Hockey League[6]
Rules for classification: 1) Fewer number of games played (GP, only during regular season); 2) Greater number of regulation wins (RW); 3) Greater number of wins in regulation and overtime, excluding shootout wins (ROW); 4) Greater number of total wins, including shootouts (W); 5) Greater number of points earned in head-to-head play; if teams played an uneven number of head-to-head games, the result of the first game on the home ice of the team with the extra home game is discarded; 6) Greater goal differential (GD); 7) Greater number of goals scored (GF)
e – Eliminated from playoff contention; p – Clinched Presidents' Trophy; x – Clinched playoff spot

Schedule and results

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Regular season

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The regular season schedule was published on December 23, 2020.[7]

2020–21 game log

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)   Postponement

Playoffs

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2021 Stanley Cup playoffs

Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

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Final stats[80]

Skaters
Goaltenders
Regular season
Player GP GS TOI W L OT GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Philipp Grubauer 40 39 2366:07 30 9 1 77 1.95 993 .922 7 0 0 0
Jonas Johansson 8 7 436:57 5 1 1 15 2.06 173 .913 1 0 0 0
Devan Dubnyk 5 5 294:38 3 2 0 16 3.26 140 .886 0 0 0 0
Hunter Miska 5 5 259:48 1 1 2 18 4.16 111 .838 0 0 0 0
Playoffs
Player GP GS TOI W L GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Philipp Grubauer 10 10 597:54 6 4 26 2.61 301 .914 0 0 1 0

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Avalanche. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only.
Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Transactions

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The Avalanche have been involved in the following transactions during the 2020–21 season

Trades

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Date Details Ref
October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) To Chicago Blackhawks
Nikita Zadorov
Anton Lindholm
To Colorado Avalanche
Brandon Saad
Dennis Gilbert
[81]
October 10, 2020 (2020-10-10) To New York Islanders
A. J. Greer
To Colorado Avalanche
Kyle Burroughs
[82]
October 11, 2020 (2020-10-11) To New York Islanders
2nd-round pick in 2021
2nd-round pick in 2022
To Colorado Avalanche
Devon Toews
[83]
January 19, 2021 (2021-01-19) To Minnesota Wild
Ian Cole
To Colorado Avalanche
Greg Pateryn
[84]
March 20, 2021 (2021-03-20) To Buffalo Sabres
6th-round pick in 2021
To Colorado Avalanche
Jonas Johansson
[85]
April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09) To Detroit Red Wings
4th-round pick in 2022
To Colorado Avalanche
Patrik Nemeth
[86]
April 10, 2021 (2021-04-10) To San Jose Sharks
Greg Pateryn
5th-round pick in 2021
To Colorado Avalanche
Devan Dubnyk
[87]

Free agents

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Date Player Team Contract term Ref
September 1, 2020 (2020-09-01) Vladislav Kamenev to SKA Saint Petersburg (KHL) 2-year [88]
September 10, 2020 (2020-09-10) Mark Barberio to Lausanne HC (NL) 3-year [89]
October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) Miikka Salomaki from Toronto Maple Leafs 1-year [90]
October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) Kiefer Sherwood from Anaheim Ducks 1-year [90]
October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) Mike Vecchione from St. Louis Blues 1-year [90]
October 10, 2020 (2020-10-10) Mark Alt to Los Angeles Kings 1-year [91]
October 11, 2020 (2020-10-11) Vladislav Namestnikov to Detroit Red Wings 2-year [92]
October 13, 2020 (2020-10-13) Matt Nieto to San Jose Sharks 1-year [93]
October 22, 2020 (2020-10-22) Antoine Bibeau to Carolina Hurricanes 1-year [94]
October 30, 2020 (2020-10-30) Michael Hutchinson to Toronto Maple Leafs 2-year [95]
January 14, 2021 (2021-01-14) Kevin Connauton to Florida Panthers 1-year [96]

Retirement

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Date Player Ref
January 4, 2021 (2021-01-04) Colin Wilson [97]

Signings

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Date Player Contract term Ref
September 18, 2020 (2020-09-18) Logan O'Connor 2-year [98]
October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) Sheldon Dries 1-year [90]
October 10, 2020 (2020-10-10) Andre Burakovsky 2-year [99]
October 10, 2020 (2020-10-10) Valeri Nichushkin 2-year [100]
October 11, 2020 (2020-10-11) Jayson Megna 1-year [101]
October 12, 2020 (2020-10-12) Ryan Graves 3-year [102]
October 19, 2020 (2020-10-19) Tyson Jost 1-year [103]
October 19, 2020 (2020-10-19) Hunter Miska 2-year [104]
October 27, 2020 (2020-10-27) Devon Toews 4-year [105]
October 30, 2020 (2020-10-30) Kyle Burroughs 1-year [106]
March 31, 2021 (2021-03-31) Alex Newhook 3-year [107]

Draft picks

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Below are the Colorado Avalanches' selection at the 2020 NHL Draft that was held on October 6–7 at NHL Network Studios.

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club team (league)
1 25 Justin Barron D   Canada Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
3 75 Jean-Luc Foudy C   Canada Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
4 118 Colby Ambrosio C   Canada Tri-City Storm (USHL)
5 139 Ryder Rolston RW   United States Waterloo Blackhawks (USHL)
6 167 Nils Aman C   Sweden New Hampshire Wildcats (H-East)

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d Spectators were in attendance, but the exact number was not reported.
  1. ^ a b The following games have been rescheduled:[20]
    • Colorado at Arizona originally scheduled for February 25, is now scheduled for February 26.
    • Anaheim at Colorado originally scheduled for March 31, is now scheduled for March 16.
  2. ^ The following game has been rescheduled:[22]
    • St. Louis at Colorado originally scheduled for April 20, is now scheduled for April 2.
  3. ^ The following game has been rescheduled:[56]
    • Colorado at Vegas originally scheduled for April 26, is now scheduled for May 10.

References

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  1. ^ National Hockey League (2013). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2014. Diamond Sports Data, Inc. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-894801-26-3.
  2. ^ "Avalanche clinch playoff berth in return with win against Blues". NHL.com. April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  3. ^ "Colorado Avalanche clinch Presidents' Trophy, West Division title". SportsNet.ca. May 13, 2021.
  4. ^ "Avalanche defeat Blues in Game 4, sweep Stanley Cup First Round series". NHL.com. May 23, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  5. ^ "Golden Knights eliminate Avalanche with Game 6 victory". NHL.com. June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  6. ^ "NHL Hockey Standings". www.nhl.com. National Hockey League.
  7. ^ "2020-21 NHL schedule announced". NHL.com. December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
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  10. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - Los Angeles Kings - January 19th, 2021". NHL.com.
  11. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - Los Angeles Kings - January 21st, 2021". NHL.com.
  12. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - Anaheim Ducks - January 22nd, 2021". NHL.com.
  13. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - Anaheim Ducks - January 24th, 2021". NHL.com.
  14. ^ "San Jose Sharks - Colorado Avalanche - January 26th, 2021". NHL.com.
  15. ^ "San Jose Sharks - Colorado Avalanche - January 28th, 2021". NHL.com.
  16. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - Minnesota Wild - January 30th, 2021". NHL.com.
  17. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - Minnesota Wild - January 31st, 2021". NHL.com.
  18. ^ "Minnesota Wild - Colorado Avalanche - February 2nd, 2021". NHL.com.
  19. ^ "Wild have four games postponed; players added to NHL COVID-19 protocol". NHL.com. February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  20. ^ a b c d e "NHL announces updates to regular-season schedule". NHL.com. February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
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  22. ^ a b "NHL announces updates to regular-season schedule". NHL.com. February 23, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
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  35. ^ "Arizona Coyotes - Colorado Avalanche - March 10th, 2021". NHL.com.
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  39. ^ "Minnesota Wild - Colorado Avalanche - March 18th, 2021". NHL.com.
  40. ^ "Minnesota Wild - Colorado Avalanche - March 20th, 2021". NHL.com.
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  48. ^ "St. Louis Blues - Colorado Avalanche - April 3rd, 2021". NHL.com.
  49. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - Minnesota Wild - April 5th, 2021". NHL.com.
  50. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - Minnesota Wild - April 7th, 2021". NHL.com.
  51. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - Anaheim Ducks - April 9th, 2021". NHL.com.
  52. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - Anaheim Ducks - April 11th, 2021". NHL.com.
  53. ^ "Arizona Coyotes - Colorado Avalanche - April 12th, 2021". NHL.com.
  54. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - St. Louis Blues - April 14th, 2021". NHL.com.
  55. ^ a b c "Avalanche have three games postponed due to COVID-19 protocol". NHL.com. April 16, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  56. ^ a b c d "NHL extends West Division schedule to May 13". NHL.com. April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  57. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - St. Louis Blues - April 22nd, 2021". NHL.com.
  58. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - St. Louis Blues - April 24th, 2021". NHL.com.
  59. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - St. Louis Blues - April 26th, 2021". NHL.com.
  60. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - Vegas Golden Knights - April 28th, 2021". NHL.com.
  61. ^ "San Jose Sharks - Colorado Avalanche - April 30th, 2021". NHL.com.
  62. ^ "San Jose Sharks - Colorado Avalanche - May 1st, 2021". NHL.com.
  63. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - San Jose Sharks - May 3rd, 2021". NHL.com.
  64. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - San Jose Sharks - May 5th, 2021". NHL.com.
  65. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - Los Angeles Kings - May 7th, 2021". NHL.com.
  66. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - Los Angeles Kings - May 8th, 2021". NHL.com.
  67. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - Vegas Golden Knights - May 10th, 2021". NHL.com.
  68. ^ "Los Angeles Kings - Colorado Avalanche - May 12th, 2021". NHL.com.
  69. ^ "Los Angeles Kings - Colorado Avalanche - May 13th, 2021". NHL.com.
  70. ^ "St. Louis Blues - Colorado Avalanche - May 17th, 2021". NHL.com.
  71. ^ "St. Louis Blues - Colorado Avalanche - May 19th, 2021". NHL.com.
  72. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - St. Louis Blues - May 21st, 2021". NHL.com.
  73. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - St. Louis Blues - May 23rd, 2021". NHL.com.
  74. ^ "Vegas Golden Knights - Colorado Avalanche - May 30th, 2021". NHL.com.
  75. ^ "Vegas Golden Knights - Colorado Avalanche - June 2nd, 2021". NHL.com.
  76. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - Vegas Golden Knights - June 4th, 2021". NHL.com.
  77. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - Vegas Golden Knights - June 6th, 2021". NHL.com.
  78. ^ "Vegas Golden Knights - Colorado Avalanche - June 8th, 2021". NHL.com.
  79. ^ "Colorado Avalanche - Vegas Golden Knights - June 10th, 2021". NHL.com.
  80. ^ "Colorado Avalanche Stats - 2020-2021". NHL.com. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  81. ^ "Saad traded to Avalanche by Blackhawks for Zadorov". NHL.com. October 12, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  82. ^ "Islanders Acquire Greer From Colorado". NHL.com. October 11, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  83. ^ "Toews traded to Avalanche by Islanders". NHL.com. October 12, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  84. ^ "Cole traded to Wild by Avalanche for Pateryn". NHL.com. January 19, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  85. ^ "Avalanche Acquires Jonas Johansson". NHL.com. March 20, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  86. ^ "Avalanche Acquires Patrik Nemeth". NHL.com. April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  87. ^ "Avalanche Acquires Devan Dubnyk". NHL.com. April 10, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  88. ^ SKA Saint Petersburg (September 1, 2020). "SKA sign forward Vladislav Kamenev" (in Russian). Instagram. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  89. ^ "Mark Barberio at Lausanne HC" (in French). Lausanne HC. September 10, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  90. ^ a b c d "Avalanche Re-Signs Dries, Adds Three Forwards". ColoradoAvalanche.com. October 9, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  91. ^ "LA Kings Sign Defenseman Mark Alt and Goaltender Troy Grosenick". LAKings.com. October 10, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  92. ^ "Namestnikov agrees to two-year contract with Red Wings". NHL.com. October 11, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  93. ^ "Sharks Sign Forward Matt Nieto". sjsharks.com. October 13, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  94. ^ "Hurricanes Sign Goaltender Antoine Bibeau". NHL.com. October 22, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  95. ^ "Maple Leafs Sign Michael Hutchinson". MapleLeafs.com. October 30, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  96. ^ "Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Defenseman Kevin Connauton". NHL.com. January 14, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  97. ^ "Colin Wilson Announces Retirement After 11 NHL Seasons". NHLPA.com. January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  98. ^ "Avalanche Re-Signs Logan O'Connor". ColoradoAvalanche.com. September 18, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  99. ^ "Avalanche re-sign Andre Burakovsky to two-year deal". ESPN.com. October 10, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  100. ^ "Avalanche Re-Signs Valeri Nichushkin". ColoradoAvalanche.com. October 10, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  101. ^ "Colorado Re-Signs Forward Jayson Megna". ColoradoEagles.com. October 11, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  102. ^ "Graves signs three-year contract to stay with Avalanche". NHL.com. October 12, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  103. ^ "Jost signs one-year contract to stay with Avalanche". NHL.com. October 19, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  104. ^ "Avalanche reach new contracts with Tyson Jost, Hunter Miska". ESPN.com. Associated Press. October 19, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  105. ^ "Avalanche Signs Devon Toews to Four-Year Deal". ColoradoAvalanche.com. October 27, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  106. ^ "BURROUGHS SIGNS WITH COLORADO". ColoradoEagles.com. October 30, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  107. ^ "Avalanche Signs Alex Newhook". NHL.com. March 31, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2021.