The Avalanche team that will begin the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Dallas Stars looks drastically different from the squad that opened the season against the Vegas Golden Knights. Eight players in the Avs’ lineup on October 9th—two goalies, five forwards and a defenseman—are not on Colorado’s current roster as the Stanley Cup Playoffs are approaching.
From the opening night of the 2024-25 regular season that saw the Avs go 49-29-4, the team made eight trades—including a deal that shocked the world—and rebuilt their roster on the fly.
After reshaping their team, the Avs are built different entering the playoffs.
A Change in Net
Entering December, the Avalanche were 13-12-0 and on the outside of the playoffs. However, when they left Denver for a five-game road trip, the Avs had a new goaltender on the team. On November 30th, they acquired Scott Wedgewood from the Nashville Predators for Justus Annunen and a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Just over 72 hours after he was acquired by Colorado, Wedgewood had his first signature moment in an Avs sweater. With the Avs trailing the Buffalo Sabres 4-0 midway through the first period, Wedgewood entered the game and stopped all 22 shots he faced. On the other side of the ice, the Avs scored five unanswered goals to win the game in regulation. Colorado went on to win two of its next three games on the road trip, including a 4-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils where Wedgewood posted a 25-save shutout.
On December 9th, while the Avs had a day off in Pittsburgh, the team completed the transformation of its goaltending tandem. The Avalanche acquired goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, forward Givani Smith and a fifth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft from the San Jose Sharks. In return, the Avs traded goaltender Alexandar Georgiev and forward Nikolai Kovalenko along with a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
In his Avs debut against the Predators on December 14th, Blackwood stopped 37 of the 39 shots he faced in a 5-2 Colorado victory.
Blackwood posted a 22-12-3 record with the Avs along with a .913 save percentage and a 2.33 goals-against average while Wedgewood went 13-4-1 with a .917 save percentage and a 1.99 goals-against average.
From Wedgewood's Avs debut to the end of the season, the team went 36-17-4 and 32-15-4 after Blackwood’s first game with the Burgundy and Blue.
The Trade That Shocked the Hockey World
On the eve of January 24th and the start of a three-game road trip, the Avs traded Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes for forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury along with a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. This trade saw the Avs say goodbye to a key member of their 2022 Stanley Cup team and a player who spent his entire career in Colorado, but also a pending unrestricted free agent. This deal was made to add the depth necessary to compete for a championship. After a tough loss in Boston that featured the debuts of Necas and Drury, the Avs defeated the Rangers 5-4 in part due to Drury’s goal and Necas’ two assists.
In 30 games with Colorado, Necas has posted 28 points (11g/17a) while Drury has won a team-leading 56.6% of his faceoffs. In the 33 games from this trade to the end of the regular season, the Avs went 21-10-2 and jumped from the top wild card spot to the No. 3 seed in the Central Division.
Deadline Week
On March 1st, six days before the NHL trade deadline, the Avs bolstered their defensive corps and forward depth. The Avalanche acquired blueliner Ryan Lindgren and forward Jimmy Vesey along with prospect Hank Kempf from the New York Rangers for forward Juuso Parssinen, and defenseman Calvin de Haan along with conditional second-and-fourth-round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft. Vesey has given the Avs depth on the wing and Lindgren provides a steady presence in Colorado’s own zone while being third on the team in shorthanded time on ice since the trade (33:18).
On the eve of the March 7th NHL trade deadline, the Avs made a splash during their game against the Sharks. They acquired center Brock Nelson and prospect William Dufour from the New York Islanders for prospect Calum Ritchie, Oliver Kylington, a conditional first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a conditional third-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft.
Nelson slotted in seamlessly into the second-line center spot for Colorado and has posted 13 points (6g/7a) in 19 games with the Avs while winning 50.4% of his faceoffs.
Deadline Day
The Avs’ acquisition of Nelson was a big boost for the team, but they weren’t done yet. On March 8th, deadline day, the Avs continued to strengthen their team down the middle by acquiring center Charlie Coyle and a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft from the Boston Bruins. In return, the Avs traded Casey Mittelstadt, prospect William Zellers and a conditional second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Coyle has been strong defensively for Colorado while also leading Avs forwards in shorthanded time on ice (29:50) since arriving in Denver. He’s also chipped in on offense, posting 13 points (2g/11a) in 19 contests while ending the regular season on a six-game point streak.
Nelson and Coyle both bring a wealth of experience to this Avs lineup, as the two have played a combined 197 playoff games (119 for Coyle, 78 for Nelson).
Speaking of a wealth experience, the Avs made one last trade before the deadline when they acquired defenseman Erik Johnson from the Philadelphia Flyers, bringing back a key player on the 2022 Stanley Cup team. In return, they traded forward Givani Smith.
Johnson has played in 1,023 regular-season games, 731 of them with Colorado, along with 55 playoff games. He’s been a solid depth piece for Colorado as he’s had to step up due to other defensemen being sidelined with injuries.
From the trade deadline to the end of the season, the Avs went 12-5-2.
The Elite of the Elite
While the roster turnover is a huge part of this season, it’s impossible to tell the story about the 2024-25 Avalanche without highlighting the exceptional performances of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.
MacKinnon led the charge with 116 points (32g/84a) in 79 games, building a case to win his second-consecutive league MVP. The reigning Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award winner was tied for first in the league with 84 assists while his 116 points were second in the NHL.
On defense, Cale Makar could be on his way to winning the second Norris Trophy of his illustrious career. He leads NHL blueliners in points (92), goals (30) and assists (62) while becoming the first defenseman since Mike Green in 2008-09 to reach the 30-goal mark in a single season.
It’s Playoff Time
Combined with elite players and impactful additions via trade, the Avs are built different heading into a battle against their division rivals, the Dallas Stars.
