Avs' Colborne: 'Every single one of us has to be better'

There's no resting on laurels when you play for a last-place team.

Joe Colborne's first season with the Colorado Avalanche was one to forget, as the center followed up an opening night hat trick with one goal over the next 61 games and was often scratched altogether.

As a squad, the Avs earned only 48 points in the standings, finishing with the lowest point percentage in the shootout era.

Quite simply, Colborne knows there is plenty of room for improvement all around.

"The only way you can take anything positive out of that was, it was a learning experience," he told Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. "I don't think any of us had ever been through the hardship that we went through. Part of being a pro is putting that season behind you as much as you can and realize that every single one of us has to be better. There wasn't one guy who can honestly say that was something you can be proud of."

Nathan MacKinnon led the team with 53 points, while only Matt Duchene also eclipsed 40. The lack of offense and porous defense amounted to a league-worst goal differential of minus-112, with Arizona ranking 29th at minus-63.

"It hurt," Colborne added of the embarassment, "and being a professional, being someone who's proud of themselves, none of us are happy with it and it's up to each of us to come back and make sure that we're a lot better."

Unfortunately for Colorado, the arrival of the Vegas Golden Knights means there actually is somewhere else to go but up.

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