The 2012–13 Colorado Avalanche season was the 41st overall season for the franchise, 34th season in the National Hockey League (NHL), since June 22, 1979, and 18th season since the franchise relocated to Colorado to start the 1995–96 NHL season. The regular season was reduced from its usual 82 games to 48 due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout.
Off-season
On September 4, 2012, the Avalanche named Gabriel Landeskog as the fourth team captain in Avalanche history, after Milan Hejduk resigned from the role. Landeskog became the youngest captain in NHL history, being 11 days younger than Sidney Crosby was when Crosby was named captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2007.
Regular season
The Avalanche finished the season with the worst record in the Western Conference and second-worst record in the league. As a result, head coach Joe Sacco was fired the day after Colorado's regular season ended. Former Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy was hired as the new head coach on May 23, 2013.
Standings
Schedule and results
Regular season
|- align="center" bgcolor=#FFBBBB
| 1 || January 19 || Colorado Avalanche || 2–4 || Minnesota Wild || || Varlamov || 0–1–0 || 0 || Recap |- align="center" bgcolor=#CCFFCC | 2 || January 22 || Los Angeles Kings || 1–3 || Colorado Avalanche || || Varlamov || 1–1–0 || 2 || Recap |- align="center" bgcolor=CCFFCC | 3 || January 24 || Columbus Blue Jackets || 0–4 || Colorado Avalanche || || Varlamov || 2–1–0 || 4 || Recap |- align="center" bgcolor=#FFBBBB | 4 || January 26 || Colorado Avalanche || 0–4 || San Jose Sharks || || Varlamov || 2–2–0 || 4 || Recap |- align="center" bgcolor=#FFBBBB | 5 || January 28 || Colorado Avalanche || 1–4 || Edmonton Oilers || || Varlamov || 2–3–0 || 4 || Recap |- align="center" bgcolor=#FFBBBB | 6 || January 30 || Colorado Avalanche || 0–3 || Vancouver Canucks || || Varlamov || 2–4–0 || 4 || Recap |- align="center" bgcolor=CCFFCC | 7 || January 31 || Colorado Avalanche || 6–3 || Calgary Flames || || Giguere || 3–4–0 || 6 || Recap |-
|- align="center" bgcolor="#cfc" | 8 || February 2 || Edmonton Oilers || 1–3 || Colorado Avalanche || || Varlamov || 4–4–0 || 8 || Recap |- align="center" bgcolor=FFBBBB | 9 || February 4 || Dallas Stars || 3–2 || Colorado Avalanche || || Varlamov || 4–5–0 || 8 || Recap |- align="center" bgcolor=FFBBBB | 10 || February 6 || Anaheim Ducks || 3–0 || Colorado Avalanche || || Varlamov || 4–6–0 || 8 || Recap |- align="center" bgcolor=white | 11 || February 11 || Phoenix Coyotes || 3–2 || Colorado Avalanche || OT || Varlamov || 4–6–1 || 9 || Recap |- align="center" bgcolor="#cfc" | 12 || February 14 || Colorado Avalanche || 4–3 || Minnesota Wild || SO || Giguere || 5–6–1 || 11 || Recap |- align="center" bgcolor=FFBBBB | 13 || February 16 || Colorado Avalanche || 4–6 || Edmonton Oilers || || Varlamov || 5–7–1 || 11 || Recap |- align="center" bgcolor="#cfc" | 14 || February 18 || Nashville Predators || 5–6 || Colorado Avalanche || || Varlamov || 6–7–1 || 13 || Recap |- align="center" bgcolor="#cfc" | 15 || February 20 || St. Louis Blues || 0–1 || Colorado Avalanche || OT || Varlamov || 7–7–1 || 15 || Recap |- align="center" bgcolor=FFBBBB | 16 || February 23 || Colorado Avalanche || 1–4 || Los Angeles Kings || || Varlamov || 7–8–1 || 15 || Recap |- align="center" bgcolor=white | 17 || February 24 || Colorado Avalanche || 3–4 || Anaheim Ducks || OT || Giguere || 7–8–2 || 16 || Recap |- align="center" bgcolor=white | 18 || February 26 || Colorado Avalanche || 2–3 || San Jose Sharks || SO || Varlamov || 7–8–3 || 17 || Recap |- align="center" bgcolor="#cfc" | 19 || February 28 || Calgary Flames || 4–5 || Colorado Avalanche || || Varlamov || 8–8–3 || 19 || Recap |-