Avalanche Clinch Presidents’ Trophy, MacKinnon Powers Historic Season

Written By Gina Anton

The Colorado Avalanche capped off a dominant regular season Thursday night, defeating the Calgary Flames 3–1 to officially secure the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s top team.

Colorado now sits at 52–16–10 with 114 points, the best record in the league, leading the Central Division by a wide margin over Dallas (106 points) and Minnesota (102).

The Avalanche have been elite on both ends of the ice, ranking among the NHL leaders with 3.7 goals per game while allowing just 2.4 goals against per game, underscoring their balanced dominance.

At the center of it all is Nathan MacKinnon, who delivered one of the most explosive seasons in franchise history. The superstar forward scored a career-high 52nd goal in the clinching win and added two assists, finishing the night with three points.

MacKinnon now has 126 points on the season, placing him among the league’s scoring leaders while driving Colorado’s high-powered offense from start to finish.

Colorado’s depth has also played a major role. Martin Nečas has posted a career-best offensive season, while the team’s goaltending, highlighted by one of the NHL’s lowest goals-against averages, has provided consistency behind the attack.

The result is a team that not only leads the standings but has controlled games statistically, outscoring opponents by a significant margin and maintaining one of the league’s best special teams units.

Despite the achievement, Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog made it clear the milestone is only part of the journey.

“Any (time) you set out to do something, it's nice to find a way to accomplish it,” Landeskog said. “But we only know that it's a small step in the right direction.”

“We know it's a little step closer to the fun beginning here in the playoffs… the road's going to be tough… but I feel like our group's ready.”

The Presidents’ Trophy marks the fourth time in franchise history Colorado has finished atop the NHL standings, further cementing this season as one of the most successful in team history.

With home-ice advantage secured throughout the playoffs, the Avalanche now turn their attention to the postseason, where expectations will be just as high as their regular-season standard.