2016–17 Colorado Avalanche season

The 2016–17 Colorado Avalanche season was the 38th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 22, 1979, and 21st season since the franchise relocated from Quebec prior to the start of the 1995–96 NHL season. Colorado did not make the playoffs for the third consecutive year and also finished the season with their fewest points since moving to Denver in 1995, and their fewest since 1990–91. Their 22 wins were easily the fewest in the Colorado portion of franchise history, and their fewest since 1991–92. The team also became the first team since the 2004–05 NHL lockout (and the subsequent start of the salary cap era) to finish with a sub-.300 points percentage.

Off-season
On August 11, 2016, Patrick Roy resigned as head coach and vice president of hockey operations. On August 25, the Avalanche hired Jared Bednar of the American Hockey League's Cleveland Monsters as Roy's replacement. He had led the Monsters to winning the AHL championship in the previous season.

Goaltenders
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Avalanche. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only.

‡Traded mid-season

Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Transactions
The Colorado Avalanche were involved in the following transactions during the 2016–17 NHL season.

Draft picks
Below are the Colorado Avalanche's selections at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, to be held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo.


 * Draft notes


 * The Colorado Avalanche's second-round pick was re-acquired as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015 that sent Buffalo's second-round pick in 2015 to San Jose in exchange for a second-round pick in 2015, Colorado's sixth-round pick in 2017 and this pick.
 * San Jose previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on July 1, 2014 that sent Brad Stuart to Colorado in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2017 and this pick.


 * The Colorado Avalanche's fourth-round pick went to the Toronto Maple Leafs as the result of a trade on February 21, 2016 that sent Shawn Matthias to Colorado in exchange for Colin Smith and this pick.