The Colorado Avalanche did not have a horrible 2016. After all, the Stadium Series, with its attendant pomp and circumstance, took place in that calendar year. For me, the Alumni Game will always be a highlight of my Avalanche fandom.
Indeed, the start of the calendar year was just fine. While Colorado fell to the Calgary Flames in the first game of the year, the team went 9-5 in January — and that’s a record we’d all take at this time. In that moment, and all the way up until mid-March, the Colorado Avalanche were in a playoff spot.