Avalanche finish with lowest point percentage in shootout era

In an age where NHL teams earn points for losing, the 2016-17 Colorado Avalanche have proven to be the most inept.

Since the adoption of the shootout coming out of the 2004-05 lockout, no team has finished with fewer than the 48 points amassed over 82 games by the Avalanche this season.

If we include the lockout-shortened 2013 season, Colorado's .296 point percentage also ranks dead last, a feat sealed by Sunday's loss to St. Louis that dropped their record to 22-56-4.

The next worst seasons were recorded by the Buffalo Sabres in 2013-14 and 2014-15, and it's no secret those rosters were not built to succeed, with a view to securing the best available talent through the draft.

Colorado, however, appeared to have aspirations of at least challenging for a playoff spot this year, even after head coach Patrick Roy decided to walk away and was replaced with Jared Bednar, who had won an AHL championship with the Lake Erie Monsters last season.

Now, the long-term futures of core players like Gabriel Landeskog and Matt Duchene are up in the air after much trade talk prior to this year's deadline, while president and general manager Joe Sakic will look to build around Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Jost, and Mikko Rantanen, with the latter's 21 goals as a rookie serving as a lone bright spot.

The Avalanche did score more goals than those Buffalo teams, but also allowed more, meaning there's much to be done in the offseason to bring this team back to competitiveness.