2005–06 Colorado Avalanche season

The 2005–06 Colorado Avalanche season was the 11th operational season and 10th 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 27th season in the National Hockey League and 34th season overall.

2005–06 Colorado Avalanche
Division	2nd Northwest
Conference	7th Western
2005–06 record	43–30–9
Home record	25–10–6
Road record	18–20–3
Goals for	283
Goals against	257
Team information
General manager	Pierre Lacroix
Coach	Joel Quenneville
Captain	Joe Sakic
Alternate captains	Rob Blake Steve Konowalchuk
Arena	Pepsi Center
Average attendance	18,007
Minor league affiliate(s)	Lowell Lock Monsters San Diego Gulls
Team leaders
Goals	Joe Sakic (32) Marek Svatos (32)
Assists	Joe Sakic (55)
Points	Joe Sakic (87)
Penalty minutes	Ian Laperriere (116)
Plus/minus	Milan Hejduk (+13)
Wins	David Aebischer (25)
Goals against average	Peter Budaj (2.86)
← 2004–05 2006–07 →

Regular season

Final standings

Northwest Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	3	Calgary Flames	82	46	25	11	218	200	103
2	7	Colorado Avalanche	82	43	30	9	283	257	95
3	8	Edmonton Oilers	82	41	28	13	256	251	95
4	9	Vancouver Canucks	82	42	32	8	256	255	92
5	11	Minnesota Wild	82	38	36	8	231	215	84

^[2] Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Western Conference^[3]

R		Div	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	P- Detroit Red Wings	CE	82	58	16	8	305	209	124
2	Y- Dallas Stars	PA	82	53	23	6	265	218	112
3	Y- Calgary Flames	NW	82	46	25	11	218	200	103
4	X- Nashville Predators	CE	82	49	25	8	259	227	106
5	X- San Jose Sharks	PA	82	44	27	11	266	242	99
6	X- Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PA	82	43	27	12	254	229	98
7	X- Colorado Avalanche	NW	82	43	30	9	283	257	95
8	X- Edmonton Oilers	NW	82	41	28	13	256	251	95
8.5
9	Vancouver Canucks	NW	82	42	32	8	256	255	92
8	Los Angeles Kings	PA	82	42	35	5	249	270	89
11	Minnesota Wild	NW	82	38	36	8	231	215	84
12	Phoenix Coyotes	PA	82	38	39	5	246	271	81
13	Columbus Blue Jackets	CE	82	35	43	4	223	279	74
14	Chicago Blackhawks	CE	82	26	43	13	211	285	65
15	St. Louis Blues	CE	82	21	46	15	197	292	57

Divisions: CE – Central, PA – Pacific, NW – Northwest

P – Clinched Presidents Trophy; Y – Clinched division; X – Clinched playoff spot

Schedule and results

Regular season

2005–06 regular season[4]
October: 6–4–1 (home: 4–2–1; road: 2–2–0) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 October 5, 2005 3–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (2005–06) 0–1–0 L 2 October 8, 2005 3–2 @ Dallas Stars (2005–06) 1–1–0 W 3 October 10, 2005 7–3 Calgary Flames (2005–06) 2–1–0 W 4 October 12, 2005 4–5 Nashville Predators (2005–06) 2–2–0 L 5 October 14, 2005 2–3 SO Chicago Blackhawks (2005–06) 2–2–1 OTL 6 October 19, 2005 4–5 Los Angeles Kings (2005–06) 2–3–1 L 7 October 21, 2005 7–1 @ Edmonton Oilers (2005–06) 3–3–1 W 8 October 22, 2005 4–6 @ Vancouver Canucks (2005–06) 3–4–1 L 9 October 25, 2005 5–3 Edmonton Oilers (2005–06) 4–4–1 W 10 October 27, 2005 6–2 Vancouver Canucks (2005–06) 5–4–1 W 11 October 29, 2005 4–3 OT Vancouver Canucks (2005–06) 6–4–1 W
November: 8–5–2 (home: 3–1–2; road: 5–4–0) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 12 November 3, 2005 4–3 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2005–06) 7–4–1 W 13 November 5, 2005 2–3 SO Dallas Stars (2005–06) 7–4–2 OTL 14 November 8, 2005 5–2 San Jose Sharks (2005–06) 8–4–2 W 15 November 10, 2005 5–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (2005–06) 9–4–2 W 16 November 12, 2005 3–5 @ Calgary Flames (2005–06) 9–5–2 L 17 November 14, 2005 2–5 Edmonton Oilers (2005–06) 9–6–2 L 18 November 16, 2005 3–1 @ Phoenix Coyotes (2005–06) 10–6–2 W 19 November 18, 2005 3–2 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2005–06) 11–6–2 W 20 November 19, 2005 3–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (2005–06) 11–7–2 L 21 November 21, 2005 2–3 SO Calgary Flames (2005–06) 11–7–3 OTL 22 November 23, 2005 3–7 @ Detroit Red Wings (2005–06) 11–8–3 L 23 November 25, 2005 5–0 @ Columbus Blue Jackets (2005–06) 12–8–3 W 24 November 27, 2005 6–2 Vancouver Canucks (2005–06) 13–8–3 W 25 November 29, 2005 3–2 @ Edmonton Oilers (2005–06) 14–8–3 W 26 November 30, 2005 2–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (2005–06) 14–9–3 L
December: 6–8–0 (home: 3–3–0; road: 3–5–0) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 27 December 4, 2005 4–6 Buffalo Sabres (2005–06) 14–10–3 L 28 December 7, 2005 4–1 Boston Bruins (2005–06) 15–10–3 W 29 December 9, 2005 4–3 SO @ New Jersey Devils (2005–06) 16–10–3 W 30 December 10, 2005 3–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06) 16–11–3 L 31 December 12, 2005 2–6 Ottawa Senators (2005–06) 16–12–3 L 32 December 17, 2005 4–5 @ New York Islanders (2005–06) 16–13–3 L 33 December 18, 2005 2–1 @ New York Rangers (2005–06) 17–13–3 W 34 December 20, 2005 2–3 @ Nashville Predators (2005–06) 17–14–3 L 35 December 22, 2005 4–3 Minnesota Wild (2005–06) 18–14–3 W 36 December 23, 2005 3–5 @ Minnesota Wild (2005–06) 18–15–3 L 37 December 26, 2005 7–4 Phoenix Coyotes (2005–06) 19–15–3 W 38 December 28, 2005 3–5 Los Angeles Kings (2005–06) 19–16–3 L 39 December 30, 2005 2–5 @ San Jose Sharks (2005–06) 19–17–3 L 40 December 31, 2005 5–2 @ Phoenix Coyotes (2005–06) 20–17–3 W
January: 9–2–2 (home: 7–1–2; road: 2–1–0) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 41 January 3, 2006 3–0 Nashville Predators (2005–06) 21–17–3 W 42 January 5, 2006 4–2 @ Minnesota Wild (2005–06) 22–17–3 W 43 January 7, 2006 3–2 SO Columbus Blue Jackets (2005–06) 23–17–3 W 44 January 9, 2006 6–1 St. Louis Blues (2005–06) 24–17–3 W 45 January 11, 2006 2–1 Montreal Canadiens (2005–06) 25–17–3 W 46 January 14, 2006 4–3 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06) 26–17–3 W 47 January 17, 2006 5–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06) 27–17–3 W 48 January 19, 2006 2–4 @ Chicago Blackhawks (2005–06) 27–18–3 L 49 January 21, 2006 3–4 Detroit Red Wings (2005–06) 27–19–3 L 50 January 24, 2006 7–4 Calgary Flames (2005–06) 28–19–3 W 51 January 26, 2006 2–3 SO Dallas Stars (2005–06) 28–19–4 OTL 52 January 28, 2006 3–4 SO Vancouver Canucks (2005–06) 28–19–5 OTL 53 January 31, 2006 3–2 Minnesota Wild (2005–06) 29–19–5 W
February: 4–2–1 (home: 2–1–0; road: 2–1–1) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 54 February 2, 2006 3–4 OT @ Nashville Predators (2005–06) 29–19–6 OTL 55 February 4, 2006 0–3 Detroit Red Wings (2005–06) 29–20–6 L 56 February 7, 2006 5–2 Edmonton Oilers (2005–06) 30–20–6 W 57 February 9, 2006 2–1 @ Minnesota Wild (2005–06) 31–20–6 W 58 February 10, 2006 4–1 @ Columbus Blue Jackets (2005–06) 32–20–6 W 59 February 12, 2006 3–6 @ Detroit Red Wings (2005–06) 32–21–6 L 60 February 28, 2006 4–2 Minnesota Wild (2005–06) 33–21–6 W
March: 7–5–2 (home: 3–0–1; road: 4–5–1) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 61 March 2, 2006 1–0 Columbus Blue Jackets (2005–06) 34–21–6 W 62 March 4, 2006 3–5 @ Dallas Stars (2005–06) 34–22–6 L 63 March 5, 2006 3–5 @ Minnesota Wild (2005–06) 34–23–6 L 64 March 7, 2006 2–1 SO @ St. Louis Blues (2005–06) 35–23–6 W 65 March 9, 2006 2–1 @ Chicago Blackhawks (2005–06) 36–23–6 W 66 March 12, 2006 3–0 Calgary Flames (2005–06) 37–23–6 W 67 March 13, 2006 3–4 @ Calgary Flames (2005–06) 37–24–6 L 68 March 19, 2006 5–6 @ San Jose Sharks (2005–06) 37–25–6 L 69 March 20, 2006 5–0 @ Los Angeles Kings (2005–06) 38–25–6 W 70 March 22, 2006 4–5 OT @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2005–06) 38–25–7 OTL 71 March 25, 2006 3–2 OT @ St. Louis Blues (2005–06) 39–25–7 W 72 March 26, 2006 3–4 SO Edmonton Oilers (2005–06) 39–25–8 OTL 73 March 28, 2006 4–3 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2005–06) 40–25–8 W 74 March 31, 2006 3–6 @ Calgary Flames (2005–06) 40–26–8 L
April: 3–4–1 (home: 3–2–0; road: 0–2–1) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 75 April 3, 2006 4–3 Chicago Blackhawks (2005–06) 41–26–8 W 76 April 5, 2006 1–2 San Jose Sharks (2005–06) 41–27–8 L 77 April 8, 2006 4–2 St. Louis Blues (2005–06) 42–27–8 W 78 April 9, 2006 2–5 Minnesota Wild (2005–06) 42–28–8 L 79 April 11, 2006 6–4 Phoenix Coyotes (2005–06) 43–28–8 W 80 April 13, 2006 0–2 @ Calgary Flames (2005–06) 43–29–8 L 81 April 15, 2006 3–4 OT @ Vancouver Canucks (2005–06) 43–29–9 OTL 82 April 17, 2006 2–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (2005–06) 43–30–9 L
Legend: W Win (2 points) L Loss (0 points) OTL Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

2006 Stanley Cup playoffs[4]
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (2) Dallas Stars – Avalanche win 4–1 Game Date Score Opponent Series Recap 1 April 22, 2006 5–2 @ Dallas Stars Avalanche lead 1–0 W 2 April 24, 2006 5–4 OT @ Dallas Stars Avalanche lead 2–0 W 3 April 26, 2006 4–3 OT Dallas Stars Avalanche lead 3–0 W 4 April 28, 2006 1–4 Dallas Stars Avalanche lead 3–1 L 5 April 30, 2006 3–2 OT @ Dallas Stars Avalanche win 4–1 W
Western Conference Semifinals vs. (6) Anaheim Mighty Ducks – Mighty Ducks win 4–0 Game Date Score Opponent Series Recap 1 May 5, 2006 0–5 @ Anaheim Mighty Ducks Mighty Ducks lead 1–0 L 2 May 7, 2006 0–3 @ Anaheim Mighty Ducks Mighty Ducks lead 2–0 L 3 May 9, 2006 3–4 OT Anaheim Mighty Ducks Mighty Ducks lead 3–0 L 4 May 11, 2006 1–4 Anaheim Mighty Ducks Mighty Ducks win 4–0 L
Legend: W Win L Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
19	Joe Sakic	C	82	32	55	87	10	60	9	4	5	9	−1	6
18	Alex Tanguay	LW	71	29	49	78	8	46	9	2	4	6	1	12
15	Andrew Brunette	LW	82	24	39	63	9	48	9	3	6	9	−2	8
23	Milan Hejduk	RW	74	24	34	58	13	24	9	2	6	8	3	2
4	Rob Blake	D	81	14	37	51	2	94	9	3	1	4	1	8
40	Marek Svatos	RW	61	32	18	50	0	60	—	—	—	—	—	—
26	John-Michael Liles	D	82	14	35	49	5	44	9	1	2	3	−1	6
87	Pierre Turgeon	C	62	16	30	46	1	32	5	0	2	2	−3	6
14	Ian Laperriere	RW	82	21	24	45	3	116	9	0	1	1	−6	27
53	Brett McLean	C	82	9	31	40	−7	51	8	0	1	1	−5	4
71	Patrice Brisebois	D	80	10	28	38	1	55	9	0	1	1	−7	4
5	Brett Clark	D	80	9	27	36	3	56	9	2	2	4	−2	2
24	Antti Laaksonen	LW	81	16	18	34	−2	40	9	0	2	2	−3	2
22	Steve Konowalchuk	LW	21	6	9	15	5	14	2	0	0	0	−1	4
3	Karlis Skrastins	D	82	3	11	14	−7	65	9	0	1	1	−3	10
13	Dan Hinote	RW	73	5	8	13	−5	48	9	1	1	2	−2	31
12	Brad Richardson	C	41	3	10	13	0	12	9	1	0	1	−3	6
11	Cody McCormick	C	45	4	4	8	1	29	—	—	—	—	—	—
6	Bob Boughner	D	41	1	6	7	2	54	—	—	—	—	—	—
10	Brad May	LW	54	3	3	6	−14	82	3	0	0	0	−3	0
8	Wojtek Wolski	LW	9	2	4	6	−5	4	8	1	3	4	−3	2
34	Kurt Sauer	D	37	1	4	5	5	24	9	0	0	0	−3	4
27	Ossi Vaananen	D	53	0	4	4	10	56	1	0	0	0	0	0
38	Jim Dowd†	C	18	2	1	3	−6	2	9	2	3	5	3	20
1	David Aebischer‡	G	43	0	3	3		16	—	—	—	—	—	—
31	Peter Budaj	G	34	0	1	1		4	—	—	—	—	—	—
20	Vitali Kolesnik	G	8	0	1	1		2	—	—	—	—	—	—
37	Paul Healey	LW	2	0	0	0	0	14	—	—	—	—	—	—
60	Jose Theodore†	G	5	0	0	0		0	9	0	0	0		0

Goaltending

• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only.

No.	Player	Regular season										Playoffs
		GP	W	L	OT	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
1	David Aebischer‡	43	25	14	2	1233	123	2.98	.900	3	2477	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
31	Peter Budaj	34	14	10	6	864	86	2.86	.900	2	1803	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
20	Vitali Kolesnik	8	3	3	0	178	20	3.24	.888	0	370	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
60	Jose Theodore†	5	1	3	1	133	15	3.04	.887	0	296	9	4	5	296	29	3.04	.902	0	573

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL Defensive Player of the Week	David Aebischer (January 9)[a]	[5]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Wojtek Wolski	October 5, 2005	[6]
	Peter Budaj	October 8, 2005
	Brad Richardson	November 27, 2005
	Vitali Kolesnik	December 7, 2005

Transactions

The Avalanche were involved in the following transactions from February 17, 2005, the day after the 2004–05 NHL season was officially cancelled, through June 19, 2006, the day of the deciding game of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals.^[7]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
July 30, 2005 (2005-07-30)	To Washington Capitals 1st-round pick in 2005	To Colorado Avalanche 2nd-round pick in 2005 Ottawa’s 2nd-round pick in 2005	[8]
August 9, 2005 (2005-08-09)	To Calgary Flames Philippe Sauve	To Colorado Avalanche Conditional 7th-round pick in 2006	[9]
March 8, 2006 (2006-03-08)	To Montreal Canadiens David Aebischer	To Colorado Avalanche Jose Theodore	[10]
March 9, 2006 (2006-03-09)	To Chicago Blackhawks 4th-round pick in 2006	To Colorado Avalanche Jim Dowd	[11]
June 1, 2006 (2006-06-01)	To San Jose Sharks Conditional draft pick	To Colorado Avalanche Rights to Michael Vernace	[12]

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Term	Via	Ref
August 3, 2005 (2005-08-03)	Patrice Brisebois	Montreal Canadiens	2-year	Free agency	[13]
	Pierre Turgeon	Dallas Stars	2-year	Free agency	[14]
August 5, 2005 (2005-08-05)	Brad May	Vancouver Canucks	2-year	Free agency	[15]
August 6, 2005 (2005-08-06)	Andrew Brunette	Minnesota Wild	2-year	Free agency	[16]
August 16, 2005 (2005-08-16)	Paul Healey	Florida Panthers		Free agency	[17]
	Vitali Kolesnik	Kazzinc-Torpedo (VHL)		Free agency	[17]
August 17, 2005 (2005-08-17)	Curtis Leschyshyn	Ottawa Senators		Free agency	[18]
October 11, 2005 (2005-10-11)	Dan DaSilva	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)		Free agency	[19]
	Mitch Love	Everett Silvertips (WHL)		Free agency	[19]

Players lost

Date	Player	New team	Via[b]	Ref
June 14, 2005 (2005-06-14)	D. J. Smith		Retirement (VI)	[21]
July 1, 2005 (2005-07-01)	Mathieu Darche	Fuchse Duisburg (DEL)	Free agency (VI)	[22]
July 9, 2005 (2005-07-09)	Andre Savage	Malmo Redhawks (Allsvenskan)	Free agency (VI)	[23]
July 28, 2005 (2005-07-28)	Chris Gratton	Florida Panthers[c]	Compliance buyout	[25]
August 1, 2005 (2005-08-01)	Sergei Klyazmin[d]		Contract expiration (UFA)	[20]
August 2, 2005 (2005-08-02)	Adam Foote	Columbus Blue Jackets	Free agency (III)	[27]
August 3, 2005 (2005-08-03)	Peter Forsberg	Philadelphia Flyers	Free agency (III)	[28]
August 8, 2005 (2005-08-08)	Dennis Bonvie	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL)	Free agency (UFA)	[29]
September 6, 2005 (2005-09-06)	Jeff Ulmer	Hamburg Freezers (DEL)	Free agency (VI)	[30]
September 7, 2005 (2005-09-07)	Vincent Damphousse		Retirement (III)	[31]
September 16, 2005 (2005-09-16)	Agris Saviels	HK Riga 2000 (BHL)	Free agency (UFA)	[32]
September 21, 2005 (2005-09-21)	Darby Hendrickson	EC Red Bull Salzburg (EBEL)	Free agency (III)	[33]
September 23, 2005 (2005-09-23)	Peter Worrell	Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL)	Free agency (UFA)	[34][35]
September 29, 2005 (2005-09-29)	Chris Bala	Reading Royals (ECHL)	Free agency (VI)	[36]
October 3, 2005 (2005-10-03)	Curtis Leschyshyn		Retirement	[37]
April 10, 2006 (2006-04-10)	Mikko Viitanen	Lukko (Liiga)	Free agency[e]	[38]
June 15, 2006 (2006-06-15)	Bob Boughner		Retirement	[39]

Signings

Date	Player	Term	Contract type	Ref
August 4, 2005 (2005-08-04)	Kurt Sauer	1-year	Re-signing	[40]
	Alex Tanguay	1-year	Re-signing	[40]
August 6, 2005 (2005-08-06)	Milan Hejduk	5-year	Re-signing	[41]
August 9, 2005 (2005-08-09)	Karlis Skrastins		Re-signing	[9]
August 11, 2005 (2005-08-11)	Jeff Finger	1-year	Re-signing	[42]
	Dan Hinote	1-year	Re-signing	[42]
	Marek Svatos	1-year	Re-signing	[42]
August 16, 2005 (2005-08-16)	David Aebischer		Re-signing	[17]
	Peter Budaj		Re-signing	[17]
	Brett Clark		Re-signing	[17]
	Tom Lawson		Re-signing	[17]
August 18, 2005 (2005-08-18)	John-Michael Liles	1-year	Re-signing	[43]
September 15, 2005 (2005-09-15)	Wojtek Wolski		Entry-level	[44]
June 1, 2006 (2006-06-01)	Michael Vernace		Entry-level	[12]

Draft picks

Colorado's draft picks at the 2005 NHL entry draft held at the Westin Hotel in Ottawa, Ontario.^[45]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
2	34	Ryan Stoa	United States	US NTDP (NAHL)
2	44	Paul Stastny	United States	University of Denver (WCHA)
2	47	Tom Fritsche	United States	Ohio State University (CCHA)
2	52	Chris Durand	Canada	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
3	88	T. J. Hensick	United States	University of Michigan (CCHA)
4	124	Ray Macias	United States	Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
6	166	Jason Lynch	Canada	Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
6	168	Justin Mercier	United States	US NTDP (NAHL)
7	222	Kyle Cumiskey	Canada	Kelowna Rockets (WHL)

See also

• 2005–06 NHL season

Notes

1. Co-winner with Antero Niittymaki of the Philadelphia Flyers
2. In parentheses is the player's free agency group on August 1 if applicable.^[20]
3. Gratton signed with Florida on August 12.^[24]
4. Klyazmin retired.^[26]
5. Contract for the 2006–07 season.