Colorado Avalanche 2025-26 Player Grades: Parker Kelly

As the Colorado Avalanche attempt to rebound from one of their worst losses in history, a sweep in the Western Conference Final at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights, it’s time to look back at the season as a whole. That’s right: player grades are here!

In this series, we will take a closer look at how each member of the Avalanche fared in the 2025-26 season, basing grades on production and intangibles. Next up is a guy who had himself a breakout season: 27-year-old winger Parker Kelly.

Production

Expectations were set low after Kelly tallied just eight goals and 19 points in his first season with the Avalanche. So, it probably came as a surprise when he finished the season with 21 goals – nearly as many as he had scored in his entire career previously (25).

Kelly also added career-highs in assists (14), points (35), and hits (177) while clocking an absurd 20.2 shooting percentage. Things just seemed to click for him offensively, especially given he had nearly identical average ice time from the season before.

Intangibles

While his 21 goals were a nice bonus, his offense is not what got him signed by the Avalanche in the first place. Kelly made a name for himself as a hard-skating, defensively reliable winger who gave it his all every night.

He did that again in 2025-26 while also leading the team in hits this season. That is the kind of skill set that will make you an asset in anyone’s bottom-six. It is even more impressive given how deep the Avalanche were this season.

Overall Grade: A

How could it be anything but? Kelly really broke out offensively this season while still contributing as a physical defensive winger. His game is perfect for a high-powered offensive team that requires a little bit of a defensive conscience lower in the lineup.

Kelly has also been exceptionally durable, missing just two games in the last two seasons. Being able to grow offensively without sacrificing his defensive game or missing time due to his physical nature is something that really cannot be complimented enough.

A Bigger Role Ahead?

The Avalanche won’t be able to take many big swings this offseason, especially needing to sign all-world defenseman Cale Makar to a new contract. With depth thinning at the bottom of the lineup, the Avalanche will be counting on Kelly to play his role as well in the coming season as he did in 2025-26.

Kelly is quickly becoming a fantastic deal, signed through the 2029-30 season at an average annual value (AAV) of $1.7 million. If he can continue to excel playing in Colorado’s bottom six, it will only make the Avalanche more formidable and allow them to focus on shoring up other areas of their lineup that require attention.