Colorado Avalanche
Avalanche Season In Review: Compher Hits New Highs, Plummets Post-Deadline

With the season for the Colorado Avalanche complete, it’s time to take a look back at the individual players and how they performed.
Next up is J.T. Compher.
Let’s take a look at his numbers from this season.
Games: 82
Goals: 17
Assists: 35 (career high)
Points: 52 (career high)
CF%: 51.04%
Face-offs Taken: 1,665 (fourth most in NHL)
Everything lined up perfectly this season for Compher, and he took advantage of it.
The Avalanche did not go outside the organization to acquire a second line center in the summer. Instead, they banked on some internal guys taking the job. Alex Newhook got the first crack, but the slow start cut away any rope he had. Evan Rodrigues was briefly tried at center, but that didn’t last long at all. While Compher wasn’t getting the linemates to start, he was getting the minutes, as the trio of Compher, O’Connor, and Cogliano was used frequently.
Come December, Compher was entrenched as the second line center. When Nathan MacKinnon got hurt, he was used as the #1. Not exactly an ideal situation, but the team managed to stay afloat (mostly thanks to Mikko Rantanen). When MacKinnon returned, it pushed Compher down to line two, and he stayed there the rest of the season. For a long time, it was really working, as he was producing at the pace you’d expect from a second line center. For a brief time, maybe you wondered if he could be that guy.
It turns out…he’s not, as many figured.
At the trade deadline, the Avalanche only picked up depth, leaving Compher to carry the second line. After that March 3 deadline, his numbers plummeted. His production before (.71 PPG) and after (.43 PPG) the deadline was a sign of things to come. Another key component after the deadline is that Rantanen and MacKinnon were more consistently reunited, leaving Compher to carry the second line. He’s not built for that. His production after the deadline is pretty much on par with what he’s done his entire career, so it’s not terribly surprising that it happened. He’s a solid third line player, but was just asked to do a lot.
He’s also not someone who drives the play. If you look at his individual shot attempts at even strength per-60, he’s way down the list for the Avalanche. The only regular forward to generate less shot attempts than him was Andrew Cogliano. He’s not a guy who creates a ton of chances.
Compher’s defensive metrics were solid this year, and he took a ton of face-offs. And I mean a ton. He’s not a particularly great face-off guy at 48.8%, but the Avalanche just kept throwing him out there for every big draw the team had. The addition of Lars Eller helped ease him out of that role just a little bit, but he was still relied on heavily.
Come playoff time, the wheels fell off. He was a non-factor 5-on-5 against the Kraken, picking up zero points, and generating just seven shots on goal. Depth and performance of the forward core was probably the biggest reason why the Avalanche didn’t advance.
Colorado forwards ranked by scoring chances created per 60 in the first round.
(Data from AllThreeZones)#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/wzUYqXJZiC
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) May 5, 2023
Season Grade: B-
This was a really difficult one to grade. Through most of the year, Compher was huge for the Avalanche. He shattered most of his career highs, helping Colorado get into position to take the Central Division. But after the deadline, he reverted back to the player he’s been his entire career. Is that really his fault? He was leaned on too much, and naturally, it didn’t work. He still did a lot of the things that made him successful through his career, but sometimes, you get asked to do too much.
Now, he heads into the offseason on the brink of getting paid. Coming off his best year in the NHL, he’ll likely get an offer well above what the Avalanche can match. The absolute low-bar seems to be Pavel Zacha’s four-year, $4.75 million per season deal.
Compher has been a real solid role player for Colorado since entering the NHL, but he’s likely to get paid like a second liner this summer. The team paying him that second line money should not be the Avalanche, but you can still appreciate everything he’s done for the organization over the years.
A nit picking point but I believe you weigh the regular season more than the playoffs – – which is too much of a discrepancy in my opinion. A solid “B” for Compher during the “Ice Capades” regular season but a “F” for the playoffs. A definite improvement during the regular season but an abject failure in the playoffs. And the problem with re-signing Compher is that he is not a “2C” and he’s not a goal scorer, either. Really a 2nd line and better yet, 3rd line player that does a lot of things above average but nothing stellar.… Read more »
See, I would argue the regular season from him deserves an A. He shattered his career high numbers, and was asked to do a ton of heavy lifting. What more could you ask for?
Compher had done everything asked of him by the Avs. He was a very good defensively minded 3C and filled in on the top 6 when needed. During the cup run, it was Compher that filled in for Kadri when he was out. He had a big GWG during the playoffs. Yes, this year’s one playoff series did not shine on Compher, but we cannot forget what he contributed the year before. Most Avs did not shine this year. This year he was the 3rd choice to be the 2C. He finally settled into the job, as Newhook and Rodrigues… Read more »
Evan, the Avs did not give a comprehensive injury update at the end of the season. They only talked about surgeries. Do you think that Compher may have been injured at the end of the season, going into the playoffs? Compher, Nichushkin, and Makar all seemed to be a bit off in the playoffs.
Avs don’t give anything. MacFarland mentioned a few surgeries, but everything else is a guess. Makar pretty much confirmed he wasn’t 100% before the playoffs started, but doesn’t sound like he needed surgery.
How long will the news blackout on Nichushkin last? I suspect that he went to a rehab center but that’s just my guess. At some point, doesn’t Val and the Avs have to answer to the fans? Only in hockey is this allowed. I can’t think of any other major sport where this would happen – – a continued stonewalling of any questions.