The 2022 playoffs saw them bulldoze the Nashville Predators, defeat the St. Louis Blues in six games, dominate the Edmonton Oilers to win in four games, and ended the Tampa Bay Lightning’s chance at a three-peat.

Since then, they lost in seven games to the Seattle Kraken in the 2023 post-season, and saw former Avalanche Matt Duchene end their season in Game 6 of the second round thanks to an overtime goal.

That said, how did their 2024-25 season go? Let’s take a look at their season and what they’ve done so far this off-season!

How the season went

It’s not often a contending team retools in the middle of the season, but the Avalanche did just that. Their goaltending wasn’t up to par early in the season, so they traded for Scott Wedgewood in late November, and then Mackenzie Blackwood on Dec. 9.

Their biggest trade was a shocking one, as they sent one of their best players, Mikko Rantanen, to the Carolina Hurricanes for Martin Nečas, Jack Drury, and picks. Buying at the deadline, the Avalanche also acquired Ryan Lindgren, Jimmy Vesey, Brock Nelson, Charlie Coyle, and Erik Johnson.

First was a match-up against the team that beat them in the 2024 post-season, the Dallas Stars. After splitting the first six games, the series went to a winner-take-all Game 7, with the Avalanche holding a 2-0 lead early in the third period. In the end, the Stars won 4-2.

Why? Well, Rantanen was traded by the Hurricanes to the Stars, and he scored a hat trick in Game 7. The one goal he didn’t score, the game-winning goal, he picked up an assist, as did Duchene.

Captain Nathan MacKinnon had another good season, scoring 32 goals and 116 points in 79 games. Cale Makar, a defenceman, scored 30 goals and 92 points, while Nečas scored 11 goals and 28 points in 30 games, seemingly fitting like a glove with the Avalanche.

Add in players like Artturi Lehkonen, Devon Toews, Valeri Nichushkin, and Josh Manson, and the Avs still have a core that can contend for a Stanley Cup. But what about their future?

Drafted players

Due to the number of trades the Avalanche made before the 2025 trade deadline, they only had three picks in total. Their first pick was with the 77th overall selection, using it to select Francesco Dell’elce from UMass-Lowell, not to be confused with UMass, the school Flames’ prospect Aydar Suniev attended for two seasons.

With their fourth-round pick, the 118th overall pick, the Avalanche drafted defenceman Linus Funck. In the seventh round, they drafted Nolan Roed from the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League.

Trades

The Avalanche weren’t incredibly busy on the trade front. Shortly before the 2025 draft, they traded Coyle and Miles Wood to the Columbus Blue Jackets for prospect Gavin Brindley, a 2025 third-round pick, and a 2027 second-round pick.

In late July, the Avalanche traded Oskar Olausson to the San Jose Sharks for Danil Gushchin.

Free agent signings

On the free agent market, their biggest signing was adding veteran right-shot defenceman Brent Burns, with the two parties agreeing to a one-year deal worth $1 million. Recently, they also signed Victor Olofsson to a one-year deal worth $1.575 million.

The Avalanche re-signed Joel Kiviranta, who scored 16 goals in 2024-25, to a one-year deal worth $1.25 million. They also re-signed Josh Manson, Brock Nelson, and Parker Kelly, on top of an abundance of depth signings.

Departures

After acquiring him before the 2025 trade deadline, Coyle was packaged along with Wood to the Blue Jackets. Also departing the team were Jonathan Drouin and Lindgren, the latter signing with the Seattle Kraken.

Last season, Drouin scored 11 goals and 37 points in 43 games, one of the best seasons of his career. After the season he had, he agreed to a two-year deal with the New York Islanders.

What the team looks like heading into 2025

The Avalanche aren’t as strong as they once were. Down the middle, they have MacKinnon, Nelson, Drury, and Ivan Ivan, the best name in hockey. Nečas can also play centre if need be. On top of Nečas on the wing, they have Lehkonen, Nichuskin, and Gabriel Landeskog to round out their top six, with the latter returning to action for the first time since they won the Cup.

In the bottom six on the wing, they’re expected to have Olofsson, Ross Colton, Zakhar Bardakov, and Matt Stienburg.

The Avalanche’s strong point is on defence, as it features Toews, Makar, Samuel Girard, Burns, Sam Malinski, and Manson. Between the pipes, the Avalanche have Blackwood and Wedgewood.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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