Avalanche on pace to be among worst teams in recent history
It's never a good day when you're being compared to the Atlanta Thrashers.
If the Colorado Avalanche lose to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, it will mark their third straight defeat, and continue a historically bad season.
Just how gruesome have things gotten in Colorado?
With 27 points through 41 games, the Avs are on pace for 54 points - a number that would drop to 53 with a loss to the Blackhawks. Last year, the Toronto Maple Leafs finished in the NHL's basement while still managing to put up 69.
In fact, only 14 teams have finished with less than 60 points since the Thrashers joined the NHL in 1999-00 - a stretch of 16 full seasons.
| Season | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | Sabres | 54 |
| 2014-15 | Coyotes | 56 |
| 2013-14 | Sabres | 52 |
| 2006-07 | Flyers | 56 |
| 2005-06 | Blues | 57 |
| 2005-06 | Penguins | 58 |
| 2003-04 | Penguins | 59 |
| 2003-04 | Blackhawks | 59 |
| 2003-04 | Capitals | 59 |
| 2001-02 | Thrashers | 54 |
| 2001-02 | Blue Jackets | 57 |
| 2000-01 | Islanders | 52 |
| 2000-01 | Lightning | 59 |
| 1999-00 | Thrashers | 39 |
Meanwhile, just three clubs - the 2013-14 Buffalo Sabres, the 2000-01 New York Islanders, and those same Thrashers - were worse than Colorado's current pace.
If life in Denver is bad now, how ugly will things get if Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog are wearing different colors following the March 1 trade deadline?
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