The Game of Numbers is an exclusive THW series looking at upcoming milestones around the NHL. Each team will be looked at individually in three parts – individual player milestones, franchise player milestones, and players that rank in the top 100 in NHL history in any big statistical category.
The Colorado Avalanche have a fairly young team in the works – with guys like Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog leading the way and Semyon Varlamov in net. While the team has certainly found a way to build a young core, the front office decided this offseason to incorporate a strong veteran presence in the locker room adding Jarome Iginla and Daniel Briere to work alongside Alex Tanguay.
Now, like every team this season, the Avalanche players are in search of milestones. Both veterans and the young core players are on their way to reaching both individual and milestone marks that will set them apart from their colleagues.
Colorado Avalanche Individual Milestones
With Jarome Iginla playing for his fourth team in the past three seasons, the long-time NHLer continues to improve his individual numbers. While he approaches some of his own benchmarks, the young players on the Colorado Avalanche are looking to increase their own career numbers game in and game out.
Games Played:
- 1,400 games played: Jarome Iginla (1,392)
- 1,100 games played: Brad Stuart (1,050)
- 500 games played: Erik Johnson (456)
- 300 games played: Gabriel Landeskog (281), Semyon Varlamov (267)
- 200 games played: Tyson Barrie (186), Nate Guenin (176), Marc-Andre Cliche (151)
- 100 games played: Zach Redmond (77), Stefan Elliott (63), Dennis Everberg (55), Reto Berra (50)
Goals:
- 600 goals: Jarome Iginla (589)
- 300 goals: Alex Tanguay (275)
- 100 goals: Maxime Talbot (86), Gabriel Landeskog (80), Brad Stuart (80), John Mitchell (57), Cody McLeod (57)
Assists:
- 600 assists: Alex Tanguay (553)
- 300 assists: Brad Stuart (255)
- 200 assists: Matt Duchene (192)
- 100 assists: John Mitchell (92), Tyson Barrie (77), Nathan MacKinnon (63)
Points:
- 200 points: Gabriel Landeskog (193), Erik Johnson (193), Maxime Talbot (187)
Colorado Avalanche Franchise Milestones
It was 1995 when the Quebec Nordiques became the Colorado Avalanche – winning the Cup twice in their first six years. The Avs early years included names like Adam Foote, Joe Sakic, and Peter Forsberg. They were backstopped by legendary goaltender Patrick Roy who now resides behind the bench in Colorado. While their current active leader in franchise marks might surprise you, it won’t take long for Nathan MacKinnon to take climb the ladder in franchise stats.
Games Played:
- Cody McLeod (549) needs 17 games played to pass Alexei Gusarov (565) for 11th on the team’s all-time list.
- Alex Tanguay (546) needs 4 games played to pass Cody McLeod (549) for 12th on the team’s all-time list.
- Semyon Varlamov (208) needs 18 games played to pass Daniel Bouchard (225) for 3rd on the team’s all-time goalie list.
Goals:
- Alex Tanguay (163) needs 4 goals to pass Valeri Kamensky (166) for 7th on the team’s all-time list.
- Matt Duchene (126) needs 10 goals to pass Mats Sundin (135) for 12th on the team’s all-time list.
Assists:
- Alex Tanguay (303) needs 20 assists to pass Dale Hunter (322) for 7th on the team’s all-time list.
- Matt Duchene (192) needs 8 assists to pass Mats Sundin (199) for 13th on the team’s all-time list.
Points:
- Alex Tanguay (466) needs 171 points to pass Anton Stastny (636) for 6th on the team’s all-time list.
- Matt Duchene (318) needs 17 points to pass Mats Sundin (334) for 11th on the team’s all-time list.
Powerplay Goals:
- Alex Tanguay (39) needs 4 powerplay goals to pass Mike Ricci (42) for 11th on the team’s all-time list.
Game-Winning Goals:
- Alex Tanguay (28) needs 4 game-winning goals to pass Anton Stastny (31) for 6th on the team’s all-time list.
- Matt Duchene (19) needs 2 game-winning goals to pass Marek Svatos (20) for 13th on the team’s all-time list.
Wins:
- Semyon Varlamov (106) needs 2 wins to pass Daniel Bouchard (107) for 2nd on the team’s all-time list.
Shutouts:
- Semyon Varlamov (14) needs 24 shutouts to pass Patrick Roy (37) for 1st on the team’s all-time list.
‘Top 100’ Milestones
Jarome Iginla spent 15 full seasons with the Calgary Flames before he was moved to the Penguins in 2012-13. He’s recorded 15 seasons of 20 or more goals including 52 in 2001-02 and 50 in 2007-08. At 37, Iginla might not be the fastest or most dominant player on the Avalanche roster, but he still finds a way to be an impact player on a team that can use his veteran presence.
- Iginla (1,392) needs 3 games played to pass Shane Doan and Stan Mikita (1,394) for 35th on the NHL’s all-time list.
- Iginla (589) needs 13 goals to pass Jari Kurri (601) for 18th on the NHL’s all-time list.
- Iginla (637) needs 2 assists to pass Dave Taylor (638) for 65th on the NHL’s all-time list.
- Iginla (1,226) needs 4 points to pass Norm Ullman (1,229) for 39th on the NHL’s all-time list.
- Iginla (177) needs 2 powerplay goals to pass Michel Goulet (178) for 26th on the NHL’s all-time list.
- Iginla (94) needs 1 game-winning goal to pass Steve Yzerman (94) for 8th on the NHL’s all-time list.
More from the ‘Game of Numbers’ series:
Eastern Conference: BOS | BUF | CAR | CLB | DET | FLA | MTL | NJD | NYI | NYR | OTT | PHI | PIT | TBL | TOR | WSH
Western Conference: ANA | ARZ | CAL | CHI | COL | DAL | EDM | LAK | MIN | NSH | SJS | STL | VAN | WPG
NOTE: The ‘Game of Numbers’ series is subject to updates as the 2014-15 season progresses. Individual marks will only appear if the player is within 50 of the specific statistical milestone, while franchise marks only recognize the top 20 in club history.
For more, follow Andrew on Twitter at @AndrewGForbes or his THW column at @Tape2TapeTHW.