# 2008–09 Colorado Avalanche season

The 2008–09 Colorado Avalanche season was the franchise's 37th season, 30th in the National Hockey League, and 14th as the Colorado Avalanche.
The team finished last place in its division and conference for the first time since 1991–92 when they were still the Quebec Nordiques, and did not qualify for the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs.

## Regular season

The Avalanche struggled offensively, finishing 30th overall in scoring with just 192 goals (excluding 7 shootout-winning goals). They were also shut out a league-high 12 times, tied with the Los Angeles Kings.

### Divisional standings

Northwest Division :
| | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | y – Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 246 | 220 | 100 |
| 2 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 46 | 30 | 6 | 254 | 248 | 98 |
| 3 | Minnesota Wild | 82 | 40 | 33 | 9 | 219 | 200 | 89 |
| 4 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 38 | 35 | 9 | 234 | 248 | 85 |
| 5 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 32 | 45 | 5 | 199 | 257 | 69 |

### Conference standings

Western Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – San Jose Sharks | PA | 82 | 53 | 18 | 11 | 257 | 204 | 117 |
| 2 | y – Detroit Red Wings | CE | 82 | 51 | 21 | 10 | 295 | 244 | 112 |
| 3 | y – Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 246 | 220 | 100 |
| 4 | Chicago Blackhawks | CE | 82 | 46 | 24 | 12 | 264 | 216 | 104 |
| 5 | Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 46 | 30 | 6 | 254 | 248 | 98 |
| 6 | St. Louis Blues | CE | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 233 | 233 | 92 |
| 7 | Columbus Blue Jackets | CE | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 226 | 230 | 92 |
| 8 | Anaheim Ducks | PA | 82 | 42 | 33 | 7 | 245 | 238 | 91 |
| 8.5 ||||||||||
| 9 | Minnesota Wild | NW | 82 | 40 | 33 | 9 | 219 | 200 | 89 |
| 10 | Nashville Predators | CE | 82 | 40 | 34 | 8 | 213 | 233 | 88 |
| 11 | Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 38 | 35 | 9 | 234 | 248 | 85 |
| 12 | Dallas Stars | PA | 82 | 36 | 35 | 11 | 230 | 257 | 83 |
| 13 | Phoenix Coyotes | PA | 82 | 36 | 39 | 7 | 208 | 252 | 79 |
| 14 | Los Angeles Kings | PA | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 207 | 234 | 79 |
| 15 | Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 32 | 45 | 5 | 199 | 257 | 69 |
bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, p – Presidents' Trophy winner CE – Central Division, NW – Northwest Division, PA – Pacific Division

## Schedule and results

* Green background indicates win (2 points).
* Red background indicates regulation loss (0 points).
* White background indicates overtime/shootout loss (1 point).
2008–09 Game log :
October: 5–5–0 (Home: 3–2–0; Road: 2–3–0)
#DateOpponentScoreOT/SODecisionAttendanceRecordPts
1October 9Boston Bruins5 - 4Budaj18,0070-1-00
2October 12@ Edmonton Oilers3 - 2Budaj16,8390-2-00
3October 14@ Calgary Flames5 - 4Budaj19,2890-3-00
4October 16Philadelphia Flyers5 - 2Raycroft18,0071-3-02
5October 18@ Dallas Stars5 - 4Raycroft17,1512-3-04
6October 20@ Los Angeles Kings4 - 3Budaj13,8913-3-06
7October 23Edmonton Oilers4 - 1Budaj14,8984-3-08
8October 25Buffalo Sabres2 - 1SO (3-2)Budaj18,0075-3-010
9October 28@ Calgary Flames3 - 0Budaj19,2895-4-010
10October 30Columbus Blue Jackets4 - 2Raycroft14,9455-5-010 :
November: 6–7–0 (Home: 3–5–0; Road: 3–2–0)
#DateOpponentScoreOT/SODecisionAttendanceRecordPts
11November 2San Jose Sharks5 - 3Budaj15,4525-6-010
12November 3@ Chicago Blackhawks6 - 2Budaj21,1425-7-010
13November 6Minnesota Wild3 - 1Budaj14,5625-8-010
14November 8Nashville Predators1 - 0Budaj18,0076-8-012
15November 12@ Vancouver Canucks2 - 1SO (2-1)Budaj18,6307-8-014
16November 15@ Edmonton Oilers3 - 2SO (2-1)Budaj16,8398-8-016
17November 18@ Calgary Flames4 - 1Budaj19,2898-9-016
18November 20Calgary Flames1 - 0Budaj14,5368-10-016
19November 22@ Los Angeles Kings4 - 3SO (2-0)Budaj18,1189-10-018
20November 24Anaheim Ducks4 - 1Budaj16,6329-11-018
21November 26St. Louis Blues3 - 1Budaj14,56810-11-020
22November 28Phoenix Coyotes2 - 1Budaj14,03110-12-020
23November 29Tampa Bay Lightning4 - 3Raycroft18,00711-12-022 :
December: 8–5–1 (Home: 5–1–0; Road: 3–4–1)
#DateOpponentScoreOT/SODecisionAttendanceRecordPts
24December 1@ Minnesota Wild6 - 5Budaj18,56812-12-024
25December 4@ Nashville Predators3 - 2Budaj12,71712-13-024
26December 5@ Dallas Stars2 - 1SO (2-1)Budaj16,65112-13-125
27December 7Vancouver Canucks5 - 4SO (3-1)Budaj13,41113-13-127
28December 9Los Angeles Kings6 - 1Budaj14,12214-13-129
29December 12Chicago Blackhawks4 - 3Budaj17,56914-14-129
30December 15@ Detroit Red Wings3 - 2Raycroft19,15415-14-131
31December 16@ Philadelphia Flyers5 - 2Budaj19,21915-15-131
32December 18@ Tampa Bay Lightning2 - 1SO (1-0)Raycroft16,33316-15-133
33December 21@ Florida Panthers3 - 0Budaj16,13216-16-133
34December 23Phoenix Coyotes5 - 4OTRaycroft14,62517-16-135
35December 27Detroit Red Wings4 - 3SO (1-0)Budaj18,00718-16-137
36December 29Nashville Predators5 - 1Budaj15,64319-16-139
37December 31@ Phoenix Coyotes3 - 1Budaj15,00819-17-139 :
January: 4–9–0 (Home: 3–7–0; Road: 1–2–0)
#DateOpponentScoreOT/SODecisionAttendanceRecordPts
38January 2Columbus Blue Jackets6 - 1Budaj14,48219-18-139
39January 4Minnesota Wild2 - 0Budaj14,12519-19-139
40January 6@ Nashville Predators2 - 1Raycroft13,59820-19-141
41January 8Chicago Blackhawks2 - 1Raycroft15,17421-19-143
42January 10Pittsburgh Penguins5 - 3Raycroft17,90822-19-145
43January 13@ Columbus Blue Jackets4 - 3Raycroft15,34322-20-145
44January 15@ St. Louis Blues5 - 2Budaj17,54522-21-145
45January 16Edmonton Oilers3 - 2Raycroft15,68122-22-145
46January 18Calgary Flames6 - 2Budaj16,11323-22-147
47January 21Los Angeles Kings6 - 5Raycroft13,28923-23-147
48January 27San Jose Sharks3 - 0Raycroft14,59223-24-147
49January 29Toronto Maple Leafs7 - 4Raycroft15,21623-25-147
50January 31Anaheim Ducks4 - 3Budaj17,65223-26-147 :
February: 5–8–0 (Home: 3–1–0; Road: 2–7–0)
#DateOpponentScoreOT/SODecisionAttendanceRecordPts
51February 2Calgary Flames4 - 3Budaj13,40924-26-149
52February 5Dallas Stars3 - 2Budaj13,62425-26-151
53February 7@ St. Louis Blues4 - 1Budaj19,25025-27-151
54February 10@ Columbus Blue Jackets3 - 0Budaj14,50625-28-151
55February 11@ Minnesota Wild3 - 2Raycroft18,56825-29-151
56February 13Montreal Canadiens4 - 2Budaj17,51425-30-151
57February 15@ Detroit Red Wings6 - 5SO (2-1)Raycroft20,06626-30-153
58February 17Ottawa Senators3 - 2OTRaycroft15,23727-30-155
59February 20@ Washington Capitals4 - 1Raycroft18,27728-30-157
60February 22@ Carolina Hurricanes5 - 2Raycroft18,68028-31-157
61February 24@ Atlanta Thrashers4 - 3Budaj12,10128-32-157
62February 26@ New Jersey Devils4 - 0Raycroft16,10728-33-157
63February 28@ New York Rangers6 - 1Budaj18,20028-34-157 :
March: 3–9–1 (Home: 1–5–0; Road: 2–4–1)
#DateOpponentScoreOT/SODecisionAttendanceRecordPts
64March 2@ New York Islanders4 - 2Raycroft11,29828-35-157
65March 4Detroit Red Wings3 - 2Raycroft18,00728-36-157
66March 8@ Chicago Blackhawks5 - 1Budaj22,12129-36-159
67March 10Atlanta Thrashers3 - 0Budaj13,60829-37-159
68March 12Minnesota Wild2 - 1SO (2-0)Budaj14,21330-37-161
69March 14@ Edmonton Oilers3 - 2OTBudaj16,83931-37-163
70March 15@ Vancouver Canucks4 - 2Raycroft18,63031-38-163
71March 17@ Minnesota Wild3 - 2SO (2-1)Budaj18,56831-38-264
72March 19Edmonton Oilers8 - 1Budaj13,61231-39-264
73March 22@ San Jose Sharks3 - 1Raycroft17,49631-40-264
74March 25Anaheim Ducks7 - 2Budaj16,27931-41-264
75March 27Vancouver Canucks4 - 1Raycroft16,17731-42-264
76March 29@ Anaheim Ducks4 - 1Budaj17,18231-43-264 :
April: 1–2–3 (Home: 0–2–2; Road: 1–0–1)
#DateOpponentScoreOT/SODecisionAttendanceRecordPts
77April 1Phoenix Coyotes3 - 0Raycroft13,43731-44-264
78April 5@ Vancouver Canucks4 - 1Budaj18,63032-44-266
79April 7@ San Jose Sharks1 - 0SO (1-0)Budaj17,49632-44-367
80April 9Dallas Stars3 - 2SO (3-2)Budaj13,82232-44-468
81April 11Vancouver Canucks1 - 0OTBudaj13,39732-44-569
82April 12St. Louis Blues1 - 0Raycroft13,66132-45-569 :

## Playoffs

The Colorado Avalanche failed to qualify for the 2009 NHL Playoffs.

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Milan Hejduk | 82 | 27 | 32 | 59 | -19 | 16 |
| Ryan Smyth | 77 | 26 | 33 | 59 | -15 | 62 |
| Wojtek Wolski | 78 | 14 | 28 | 42 | -13 | 28 |
| John-Michael Liles | 75 | 12 | 27 | 39 | -19 | 31 |
| Paul Stastny | 45 | 11 | 25 | 36 | -9 | 22 |
| Marek Svatos | 69 | 14 | 20 | 34 | -6 | 34 |
| Tyler Arnason | 71 | 5 | 17 | 22 | -16 | 14 |
| Ruslan Salei | 70 | 4 | 17 | 21 | -4 | 72 |
| T. J. Hensick | 61 | 4 | 17 | 21 | -7 | 14 |
| Jordan Leopold$^‡$ | 64 | 6 | 14 | 20 | -10 | 18 |
| Cody McLeod | 79 | 15 | 5 | 20 | -11 | 162 |
| Ian Laperrière | 74 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 0 | 163 |
| Chris Stewart | 53 | 11 | 8 | 19 | -18 | 54 |
| Darcy Tucker | 63 | 8 | 8 | 16 | -13 | 67 |
| David Jones | 40 | 8 | 5 | 13 | -8 | 8 |
| Brett Clark | 76 | 2 | 10 | 12 | -16 | 32 |
| Joe Sakic | 15 | 2 | 10 | 12 | -6 | 6 |
| Cody McCormick | 55 | 1 | 11 | 12 | -5 | 92 |
| Ben Guite | 50 | 5 | 7 | 12 | +2 | 30 |
| Scott Hannan | 81 | 1 | 9 | 10 | -21 | 26 |
| Adam Foote | 42 | 1 | 6 | 7 | -12 | 30 |
| Brian Willsie | 42 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -6 | 14 |
| Daniel Tjarnqvist | 37 | 2 | 2 | 4 | +1 | 8 |
| TJ Galiardi | 11 | 3 | 1 | 4 | -4 | 6 |
| Raymond Macias | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lawrence Nycholat$^†$ | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 |
| Philippe Dupuis | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 4 |
| Aaron MacKenzie | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 0 |
| Michael Vernace | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 8 |
| Kyle Cumiskey | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 |
| Chris Durno | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Hendricks | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 13 |
| Wes O'Neill | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 4 |
| Derek Peltier | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 2 |
| Per Ledin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | Min | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV | Sv% | SO |
| Peter Budaj | 56 | 3231 | 20 | 29 | 5 | 154 | 2.86 | 1531 | 1377 | .899 | 2 |
| Andrew Raycroft | 31 | 1722 | 12 | 16 | 0 | 90 | 3.14 | 836 | 746 | .892 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Avalanche. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only. $^‡$Traded mid-season

## Awards and records
### Milestones

Regular season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Milan Hejduk | 600th NHL point | October 9, 2008 |
| Adam Foote | 1,000th NHL game | October 12, 2008 |
| Paul Stastny | 100th NHL assist | October 14, 2008 |
| Andrew Raycroft | 200th NHL appearance | October 16, 2008 |
| Marek Svatos | 200th NHL game | October 25, 2008 |
| Scott Hannan | 600th NHL game | October 30, 2008 |
| Darcy Tucker | 200th NHL goal | November 8, 2008 |
| Ryan Smyth | 300th NHL goal | January 18, 2009 |
| Milan Hejduk | 300th NHL goal | January 18, 2009 |
| Ian aperrière | 1000th NHL game | April 10, 2009 |

## Transactions
### Trades

| March 4, 2009 | To Colorado Avalanche----Lawrence Nycholat Ryan Wilson Montreal's second-round pick (previously acquired) in 2009 draft | To Calgary Flames ----Jordan Leopold |

### Free agents

| Player | Former team | Contract terms |
| Andrew Raycroft | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1 year, $800,000 |
| Darcy Tucker | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2 year, $4.5 million |
| Player | New team |
| Jeff Finger | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Jose Theodore | Washington Capitals |
| Kurt Sauer | Phoenix Coyotes |
| Andrew Brunette | Minnesota Wild |

### Claimed from waivers

| Player | Former team | Date claimed off waivers |
| Jesse Boulerice | Edmonton Oilers | November 21, 2008 |

## Draft picks

Colorado's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa • Ontario.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/junior/club team (league) |
| 2 | 50 | Cameron Gaunce | Defenseman | Canada | Mississauga St. Michael's Majors (OHL) |
| 2 | 61 | Peter Delmas | Goalie | Canada | Lewiston Maineiacs (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 110 | Kelsey Tessier | Center | Canada | Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) |
| 5 | 140 | Mark Olver | Center | Canada | Northern Michigan U. (CCHA) |
| 6 | 167 | Joel Chouinard | Defenseman | Canada | Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 170 | Jonas Holos | Defenseman | Norway | Sparta Warriors (GET-ligaen) |
| 7 | 200 | Nathan Condon | Center | United States | Wausau (HIGH-WI) |