2018–19 Colorado Avalanche season

2018–19 Colorado Avalanche
Division	5th Central
Conference	8th Western
2018–19 record	38–30–14
Home record	21–14–6
Road record	17–16–8
Goals for	260
Goals against	246
Team information
General manager	Joe Sakic
Coach	Jared Bednar
Captain	Gabriel Landeskog
Alternate captains	Erik Johnson Nathan MacKinnon
Arena	Pepsi Center
Average attendance	17,132 (95.1%)
Minor league affiliate(s)	Colorado Eagles (AHL) Utah Grizzlies (ECHL)
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)
Goals against average	Pavel Francouz (1.96)

The 2018–19 Colorado Avalanche season was the 40th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 22, 1979, and 23rd season since the franchise relocated from Quebec prior to the start of the 1995–96 NHL season. On April 4, 2019, the Avalanche clinched a playoff spot after a 3–2 overtime win against the Winnipeg Jets. In the playoffs, the Avalanche defeated the Calgary Flames 4–1 in the First Round to secure their first playoff series win since 2008. Their season, however, would come to an end after losing to the San Jose Sharks in seven games in the second round.

Standings

Divisional standings

Team	GP	W	L	OL	ROW	GF	GA	Pts
Nashville Predators	82	47	29	6	43	240	214	100
Winnipeg Jets	82	47	30	5	45	272	244	99
St. Louis Blues	82	45	28	9	42	247	223	99
Dallas Stars	82	43	32	7	42	210	202	93
Arizona Coyotes	82	39	35	8	35	213	223	86
Chicago Blackhawks	82	36	34	12	33	270	292	84
Minnesota Wild	82	37	36	9	36	211	237	83

Conference standings

Central Division Division

Team	GP	W	L	OL	ROW	GF	GA	Pts
Nashville Predators	82	47	29	6	43	240	214	100
Winnipeg Jets	82	47	30	5	45	272	244	99
St. Louis Blues	82	45	28	9	42	247	223	99

Pacific Division

Team	GP	W	L	OL	ROW	GF	GA	Pts
Calgary Flames	82	50	25	7	50	289	227	107
San Jose Sharks	82	46	27	9	46	289	261	101
Vegas Golden Knights	82	43	32	7	40	249	230	93

Western Conference Wild Card

Team	GP	W	L	OL	ROW	GF	GA	Pts
Dallas Stars	82	43	32	7	42	210	202	93
Colorado Avalanche	82	38	30	14	36	260	246	90
Arizona Coyotes	82	39	35	8	35	213	223	86
Chicago Blackhawks	82	36	34	12	33	270	292	84
Minnesota Wild	82	37	36	9	36	211	237	83
Vancouver Canucks	82	35	36	11	29	225	254	81
Anaheim Ducks	82	35	37	10	32	199	251	80
Edmonton Oilers	82	35	38	9	32	232	274	79
Los Angeles Kings	82	31	42	9	28	202	263	71

Schedule and results

Preseason

The preseason schedule was published on June 13, 2018.

2018 preseason game log: 3–3–0 (Home: 2–1–0 ; Road: 1–2–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 18	Vegas	5–1	Colorado		Varlamov	—	0–1–0	Recap
2	September 22	Colorado	0–7	Minnesota		Grubauer	18,410	0–2–0	Recap
3	September 24	Colorado	5–3	Vegas		Francouz	17,880	1–2–0	Recap
4	September 26	Dallas	3–1	Colorado		Varlamov	—	1–3–0	Recap
5	September 28	Minnesota	3–4	Colorado	OT	Grubauer	—	2–3–0	Recap
6	September 30	Colorado	6–5	Dallas		Varlamov	12,211	3–3–0	Recap

Regular season

The regular season schedule was released on June 21, 2018.

2018–19 game log
October: 7–3–2 (Home: 3–1–1 ; Road: 4–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 4 Minnesota 1–4 Colorado Varlamov 18,086 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 October 6 Philadelphia 2–5 Colorado Varlamov 16,768 2–0–0 4 Recap 3 October 9 Colorado 2–5 Columbus Grubauer 11,694 2–1–0 4 Recap 4 October 11 Colorado 6–1 Buffalo Varlamov 15,396 3–1–0 6 Recap 5 October 13 Calgary 3–2 Colorado OT Varlamov 17,334 3–1–1 7 Recap 6 October 16 Colorado 2–3 NY Rangers SO Varlamov 17,251 3–1–2 8 Recap 7 October 18 Colorado 5–3 New Jersey Grubauer 13,374 4–1–2 10 Recap 8 October 20 Colorado 3–1 Carolina Grubauer 11,753 5–1–2 12 Recap 9 October 22 Colorado 4–1 Philadelphia Varlamov 19,326 6–1–2 14 Recap 10 October 24 Tampa Bay 1–0 Colorado Varlamov 16,753 6–2–2 14 Recap 11 October 26 Ottawa 3–6 Colorado Grubauer 16,851 7–2–2 16 Recap 12 October 27 Colorado 2–3 Minnesota Varlamov 19,093 7–3–2 16 Recap
November: 8–3–3 (Home: 3–1–2 ; Road: 5–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 13 November 1 Colorado 5–6 Calgary Varlamov 17,317 7–4–2 16 Recap 14 November 2 Colorado 6–7 Vancouver OT Grubauer 18,334 7–4–3 17 Recap 15 November 7 Nashville 4–1 Colorado Varlamov 16,923 7–5–3 17 Recap 16 November 9 Colorado 2–5 Winnipeg Varlamov 15,321 7–6–3 17 Recap 17 November 11 Colorado 4–1 Edmonton Varlamov 18,347 8–6–3 19 Recap 18 November 14 Boston 3–6 Colorado Varlamov 16,124 9–6–3 21 Recap 19 November 16 Washington 3–2 Colorado OT Grubauer 18,050 9–6–4 22 Recap 20 November 18 Colorado 4–3 Anaheim OT Grubauer 16,502 10–6–4 24 Recap 21 November 21 Colorado 7–3 Los Angeles Varlamov 17,840 11–6–4 26 Recap 22 November 23 Colorado 5–1 Arizona Grubauer 12,029 12–6–4 28 Recap 23 November 24 Dallas 2–3 Colorado Varlamov 18,010 13–6–4 30 Recap 24 November 27 Colorado 3–2 Nashville Varlamov 17,163 14–6–4 32 Recap 25 November 28 Pittsburgh 3–6 Colorado Grubauer 17,348 15–6–4 34 Recap 26 November 30 St. Louis 3–2 Colorado OT Varlamov 18,021 15–6–5 35 Recap
December: 4–7–3 (Home: 2–3–2 ; Road: 2–4–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 27 December 2 Colorado 2–0 Detroit Varlamov 18,248 16–6–5 37 Recap 28 December 4 Colorado 3–6 Pittsburgh Varlamov 18,415 16–7–5 37 Recap 29 December 6 Colorado 5–2 Florida Grubauer 10,077 17–7–5 39 Recap 30 December 8 Colorado 1–7 Tampa Bay Varlamov 19,092 17–8–5 39 Recap 31 December 11 Edmonton 6–4 Colorado Grubauer 15,809 17–9–5 39 Recap 32 December 14 Colorado 3–4 St. Louis OT Grubauer 16,366 17–9–6 40 Recap 33 December 15 Dallas 4–6 Colorado Varlamov 17,646 18–9–6 42 Recap 34 December 17 NY Islanders 4–1 Colorado Varlamov 15,066 18–10–6 42 Recap 35 December 19 Montreal 1–2 Colorado Grubauer 15,469 19–10–6 44 Recap 36 December 21 Chicago 2–1 Colorado Grubauer 17,850 19–11–6 44 Recap 37 December 22 Colorado 4–6 Arizona Francouz 13,896 19–12–6 44 Recap 38 December 27 Colorado 1–2 Vegas Grubauer 18,505 19–13–6 44 Recap 39 December 29 Chicago 3–2 Colorado OT Varlamov 18,028 19–13–7 45 Recap 40 December 31 Los Angeles 3–2 Colorado OT Varlamov 18,017 19–13–8 46 Recap
January: 3–7–0 (Home: 2–3–0 ; Road: 1–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 41 January 2 San Jose 5–4 Colorado Francouz 17,891 19–14–8 46 Recap 42 January 4 NY Rangers 1–6 Colorado Grubauer 17,287 20–14–8 48 Recap 43 January 8 Colorado 4–7 Winnipeg Grubauer 15,321 20–15–8 48 Recap 44 January 9 Colorado 3–5 Calgary Varlamov 18,220 20–16–8 48 Recap 45 January 12 Colorado 0–3 Montreal Varlamov 21,302 20–17–8 48 Recap 46 January 14 Colorado 6–3 Toronto Varlamov 19,248 21–17–8 50 Recap 47 January 16 Colorado 2–5 Ottawa Varlamov 14,468 21–18–8 50 Recap 48 January 19 Los Angeles 1–7 Colorado Varlamov 18,043 22–18–8 52 Recap 49 January 21 Nashville 4–1 Colorado Varlamov 18,018 22–19–8 52 Recap 50 January 23 Minnesota 5–2 Colorado Grubauer 17,310 22–20–8 52 Recap
February: 6–4–4 (Home: 3–4–1 ; Road: 3–0–3) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 51 February 2 Vancouver 5–1 Colorado Varlamov 18,027 22–21–8 52 Recap 52 February 5 Columbus 6–3 Colorado Grubauer 15,398 22–22–8 52 Recap 53 February 7 Colorado 3–4 Washington OT Varlamov 18,506 22–22–9 53 Recap 54 February 9 Colorado 3–4 NY Islanders OT Varlamov 14,216 22–22–10 54 Recap 55 February 10 Colorado 1–2 Boston OT Varlamov 17,565 22–22–11 55 Recap 56 February 12 Toronto 5–2 Colorado Varlamov 16,426 22–23–11 55 Recap 57 February 14 Colorado 4–1 Winnipeg Varlamov 15,321 23–23–11 57 Recap 58 February 16 St. Louis 3–0 Colorado Varlamov 18,076 23–24–11 57 Recap 59 February 18 Vegas 0–3 Colorado Varlamov 17,808 24–24–11 59 Recap 60 February 20 Winnipeg 1–7 Colorado Varlamov 15,021 25–24–11 61 Recap 61 February 22 Colorado 5–3 Chicago Varlamov 21,653 26–24–11 63 Recap 62 February 23 Colorado 5–0 Nashville Grubauer 17,760 27–24–11 65 Recap 63 February 25 Florida 4–3 Colorado OT Varlamov 14,338 27–24–12 66 Recap 64 February 27 Vancouver 2–3 Colorado SO Varlamov 14,867 28–24–12 68 Recap
March: 8–5–1 (Home: 6–2–0 ; Road: 2–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 65 March 1 Colorado 3–4 San Jose Varlamov 17,351 28–25–12 68 Recap 66 March 3 Colorado 1–2 Anaheim Grubauer 16,690 28–26–12 68 Recap 67 March 5 Detroit 3–4 Colorado OT Varlamov 18,011 29–26–12 70 Recap 68 March 7 Colorado 0–4 Dallas Varlamov 18,011 29–27–12 70 Recap 69 March 9 Buffalo 0–3 Colorado Grubauer 18,052 30–27–12 72 Recap 70 March 11 Carolina 3–0 Colorado Grubauer 16,711 30–28–12 72 Recap 71 March 15 Anaheim 5–3 Colorado Varlamov 18,025 30–29–12 72 Recap 72 March 17 New Jersey 0–3 Colorado Grubauer 18,037 31–29–12 74 Recap 73 March 19 Colorado 3–1 Minnesota Grubauer 18,785 32–29–12 76 Recap 74 March 21 Colorado 3–1 Dallas Grubauer 17,543 33–29–12 78 Recap 75 March 23 Chicago 2–4 Colorado Grubauer 17,099 34–29–12 80 Recap 76 March 24 Colorado 1–2 Chicago OT Grubauer 21,410 34–29–13 81 Recap 77 March 27 Vegas 3–4 Colorado Grubauer 16,799 35–29–13 83 Recap 78 March 29 Arizona 2–3 Colorado SO Grubauer 18,045 36–29–13 85 Recap
April: 2–1–1 (Home: 2–0–0 ; Road: 0–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 79 April 1 Colorado 2–3 St. Louis SO Grubauer 17,767 36–29–14 86 Recap 80 April 2 Edmonton 2–6 Colorado Varlamov 17,021 37–29–14 88 Recap 81 April 4 Winnipeg 2–3 Colorado OT Grubauer 18,003 38–29–14 90 Recap 82 April 6 Colorado 2–5 San Jose Varlamov 17,562 38–30–14 90 Recap
Legend:       Win (2 points)       Loss (0 points)       Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

The Avalanche faced the Calgary Flames in the First Round of the playoffs, and defeated them in five games.

The Avalanche faced the San Jose Sharks in the Second Round of the playoffs, and were defeated in seven games.

Player statistics

Final Stats

Skaters

Regular season Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM MacKinnon, NathanNathan MacKinnon 82 41 58 99 +20 34 Rantanen, MikkoMikko Rantanen 74 31 56 87 +13 54 Landeskog, GabrielGabriel Landeskog 73 34 41 75 +17 51 Barrie, TysonTyson Barrie 78 14 45 59 –3 36 Soderberg, CarlCarl Soderberg 82 23 26 49 –5 26 Kerfoot, AlexanderAlexander Kerfoot 78 15 27 42 –9 38 Compher, J. T.J. T. Compher 66 16 16 32 –8 31 Wilson, ColinColin Wilson 65 12 15 27 –6 8 Girard, SamuelSamuel Girard 82 4 23 27 +8 6 Calvert, MattMatt Calvert 82 11 15 26 –10 58 Jost, TysonTyson Jost 70 11 15 26 –2 14 Johnson, ErikErik Johnson 80 7 18 25 +8 38 Nieto, MattMatt Nieto 64 4 19 23 +2 8 Andrighetto, SvenSven Andrighetto 64 7 10 17 +10 14 Cole, IanIan Cole 71 2 13 15 –1 115 Zadorov, NikitaNikita Zadorov 70 7 7 14 +19 75 Nemeth, PatrikPatrik Nemeth 74 1 9 10 +5 53 Bourque, GabrielGabriel Bourque 55 2 6 8 +3 10 Dries, SheldonSheldon Dries 40 3 3 6 –7 26 Graves, RyanRyan Graves 26 3 2 5 +4 2 Kamenev, VladislavVladislav Kamenev 23 2 3 5 –2 10 Brassard, DerickDerick Brassard † || 20 || 4 || 0 || 4 || –7 || 8 Greer, A.J.A.J. Greer 15 1 1 2 –2 14 Agozzino, AndrewAndrew Agozzino 11 1 1 2 +2 0 Barberio, MarkMark Barberio 12 1 0 1 –6 4 Toninato, DominicDominic Toninato 2 1 0 1 0 0 Dano, MarkoMarko Dano ‡ || 8 || 0 || 0 || 0 || –1 || 7 O'Connor, LoganLogan O'Connor 5 0 0 0 –2 0 Alt, MarkMark Alt 2 0 0 0 0 0 Lindholm, AntonAnton Lindholm 2 0 0 0 –1 0

Playoffs Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Rantanen, MikkoMikko Rantanen 12 6 8 14 –1 4 MacKinnon, NathanNathan MacKinnon 12 6 7 13 –4 2 Wilson, ColinColin Wilson 12 4 4 8 0 2 Landeskog, GabrielGabriel Landeskog 12 3 5 8 –2 10 Barrie, TysonTyson Barrie 12 1 7 8 +1 4 Nieto, MattMatt Nieto 12 4 3 7 +6 2 Compher, J. T.J. T. Compher 12 4 2 6 +1 0 Makar, CaleCale Makar 10 1 5 6 +3 0 Cole, IanIan Cole 12 0 5 5 +6 16 Jost, TysonTyson Jost 12 3 1 4 +3 0 Calvert, MattMatt Calvert 8 0 4 4 +3 18 Johnson, ErikErik Johnson 12 2 1 3 –1 4 Kerfoot, AlexanderAlexander Kerfoot 12 0 3 3 –1 6 Soderberg, CarlCarl Soderberg 12 0 2 2 +4 8 Girard, SamuelSamuel Girard 9 0 2 2 +3 0 Bourque, GabrielGabriel Bourque 12 1 0 1 0 2 Brassard, DerickDerick Brassard 9 0 1 1 –2 8 Zadorov, NikitaNikita Zadorov 12 0 0 0 –5 24 Nemeth, PatrikPatrik Nemeth 7 0 0 0 +4 4 Andrighetto, SvenSven Andrighetto 5 0 0 0 –2 2

Goaltenders

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Francouz, PavelPavel Francouz	2	0	61:11	0	2	0	2	1.96	35	.943	0	0	0	0
Grubauer, PhilippPhilipp Grubauer	37	33	2020:44	18	9	5	89	2.64	1071	.917	3	0	0	0
Varlamov, SemyonSemyon Varlamov	49	49	2839:12	20	19	9	136	2.87	1496	.909	2	0	0	2

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Grubauer, PhilippPhilipp Grubauer	12	12	731:47	7	5	28	2.30	373	.925	1	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

The Avalanche have been involved in the following transactions during the 2018–19 season.

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 22, 2018 (2018-06-22)	To Washington Capitals 2nd-round pick in 2018	To Colorado Avalanche Philipp Grubauer Brooks Orpik
June 23, 2018 (2018-06-23)	To Pittsburgh Penguins NSH's 2nd-round pick in 2018	To Colorado Avalanche OTT's 3rd-round pick in 2018 5th-round pick in 2018
February 6, 2019 (2019-02-06)	To Ottawa Senators J. C. Beaudin	To Colorado Avalanche Max McCormick
February 25, 2019 (2019-02-25)	To Florida Panthers 3rd-round pick in 2020	To Colorado Avalanche Derick Brassard Conditional 6th-round pick in 2020

Free agents

Date	Player	Team	Contract term	Ref
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Jonathan Bernier	to Detroit Red Wings	3-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Matt Calvert	from Columbus Blue Jackets	3-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Ian Cole	from Columbus Blue Jackets	3-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Blake Comeau	to Dallas Stars	3-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Rocco Grimaldi	to Nashville Predators	1-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Andrew Hammond	to Minnesota Wild	1-year
July 2, 2018 (2018-07-02)	Sheldon Dries	from Texas Stars (AHL)	1-year
July 2, 2018 (2018-07-02)	Scott Kosmachuk	from Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL)	1-year
July 3, 2018 (2018-07-03)	Nail Yakupov	to SKA Saint Petersburg (KHL)	1-year
July 4, 2018 (2018-07-04)	Felix Girard	to Manitoba Moose (AHL)	1-year
July 23, 2018 (2018-07-23)	Logan O'Connor	from Denver Pioneers (NCHC)	2-year
July 24, 2018 (2018-07-24)	Brooks Orpik	to Washington Capitals	1-year
August 30, 2018 (2018-08-30)	Jesse Graham	to Utica Comets (AHL)	1-year

Waivers

Date	Player	Team	Ref
October 15, 2018 (2018-10-15)	Marko Dano	from Winnipeg Jets
November 23, 2018 (2018-11-23)	Marko Dano	to Winnipeg Jets

Contract terminations Date Player Via Ref June 24, 2018 (2018-06-24) Brooks Orpik Buyout

Retirement Date Player Ref

Signings

Date	Player	Contract term	Ref
June 23, 2018 (2018-06-23)	Philipp Grubauer	3-year
July 2, 2018 (2018-07-02)	Joe Cannata	1-year
July 5, 2018 (2018-07-05)	Martin Kaut	3-year
July 6, 2018 (2018-07-06)	Matt Nieto	2-year
July 16, 2018 (2018-07-16)	Mason Geertsen	1-year
July 16, 2018 (2018-07-16)	Ryan Graves	1-year
July 16, 2018 (2018-07-16)	Spencer Martin	1-year
August 2, 2018 (2018-08-02)	Patrik Nemeth	1-year
March 1, 2019 (2019-03-01)	Nick Henry	3-year
March 29, 2019 (2019-03-29)	Shane Bowers	3-year
April 14, 2019 (2019-04-14)	Cale Makar	3-year
May 13, 2019 (2019-05-13)	Adam Werner	2-year
May 24, 2019 (2019-05-24)	Pavel Francouz	1-year

Draft picks

See also: List of Colorado Avalanche draft picks

Below are the Colorado Avalanche's selections at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 22 and 23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	16	Martin Kaut	RW	Czech Republic	Dynamo Pardubice (ELH)
3	641	Justus Annunen	G	Finland	Karpat U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga)
3	78	Sampo Ranta	LW	Finland	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)
4	109	Tyler Weiss	LW	United States	U.S. NTDP (USHL)
5	140	Brandon Saigeon	C	Canada	Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL)
5	1462	Danila Zhuravlyov	D	Russia	Irbis Kazan (MHL)
6	171	Nikolai Kovalenko	RW	Russia	Loko Yaroslavl (MHL)
7	202	Shamil Shmakov	G	Russia	Sibirskie Snaypery (MHL)

Notes:

1. The Ottawa Senators' third-round pick went to the Colorado Avalanche as the result of a trade on June 23, 2018, that sent Nashville's second-round pick in 2018 (58th overall) to Pittsburgh in exchange for a fifth-round pick in 2018 (146th overall) and this pick.
2. The Pittsburgh Penguins' fifth-round pick went to the Colorado Avalanche as the result of a trade on June 23, 2018, that sent Nashville's second-round pick in 2018 (58th overall) to Pittsburgh in exchange for Ottawa's third-round pick in 2018 (64th overall) and this pick.