# 2007–08 Colorado Avalanche season

The 2007–08 Colorado Avalanche season began on October 3, 2007, and ended on May 3, 2008. It was the franchise's 36th season, 29th in the National Hockey League, and 13th as the Colorado Avalanche.

## Regular season

The Avalanche were the most disciplined team during the regular season, with only 301 power-play opportunities against. They also scored the fewest shorthanded goals of all 30 teams, with 2.

### Divisional standings

Northwest Division :
| | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | y – Minnesota Wild | 82 | 44 | 28 | 10 | 223 | 218 | 98 |
| 2 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 44 | 31 | 7 | 231 | 219 | 95 |
| 3 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 42 | 30 | 10 | 229 | 227 | 94 |
| 4 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 41 | 35 | 6 | 235 | 251 | 88 |
| 5 | Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 39 | 33 | 10 | 213 | 215 | 88 |

### Conference standings

Western Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Detroit Red Wings | CE | 82 | 54 | 21 | 7 | 257 | 184 | 115 |
| 2 | y – San Jose Sharks | PA | 82 | 49 | 23 | 10 | 222 | 193 | 108 |
| 3 | y – Minnesota Wild | NW | 82 | 44 | 28 | 10 | 223 | 218 | 98 |
| 4 | Anaheim Ducks | PA | 82 | 47 | 27 | 8 | 205 | 191 | 102 |
| 5 | Dallas Stars | PA | 82 | 45 | 30 | 7 | 242 | 207 | 97 |
| 6 | Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 44 | 31 | 7 | 231 | 219 | 95 |
| 7 | Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 42 | 30 | 10 | 229 | 227 | 94 |
| 8 | Nashville Predators | CE | 82 | 41 | 32 | 9 | 230 | 229 | 91 |
| 8.5 ||||||||||
| 9 | Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 41 | 35 | 6 | 235 | 251 | 88 |
| 10 | Chicago Blackhawks | CE | 82 | 40 | 34 | 8 | 239 | 235 | 88 |
| 11 | Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 39 | 33 | 10 | 213 | 215 | 88 |
| 12 | Phoenix Coyotes | PA | 82 | 38 | 37 | 7 | 214 | 231 | 83 |
| 13 | Columbus Blue Jackets | CE | 82 | 34 | 36 | 12 | 193 | 218 | 80 |
| 14 | St. Louis Blues | CE | 82 | 33 | 36 | 13 | 205 | 237 | 79 |
| 15 | Los Angeles Kings | PA | 82 | 32 | 43 | 7 | 231 | 266 | 71 |
Divisions: PA – Pacific, CE – Central, NW – Northwest bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, p – Presidents' Trophy winner

## Schedule and results

2007–08 Game log :
Preseason: 4–2–0 (home: 2–1–0; road: 2–1–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecord
1September 17Colorado4 – 3PhoenixOTWeiman8,3921–0
2September 19Los Angeles3 – 6ColoradoBudaj2–0
3September 20Colorado6 – 3DallasWall14,8953–0
4September 22Colorado2 – 3Los Angeles†SOWeiman3–1
5September 25Dallas5 – 4ColoradoOTBudaj3–2
6September 29Phoenix2 – 3ColoradoBudaj4–2
† In Las Vegas :
October: 7–4–0 (home: 5–0–0; road: 2–4–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
1October 3Dallas3 – 4ColoradoBudaj17,4871–0–02
2October 4Colorado0 – 4NashvilleBudaj16,3631–1–02
3October 7San Jose2 – 6ColoradoBudaj15,8762–1–04
4October 12Colorado1 – 4St. LouisTheodore19,1502–2–04
5October 13Columbus1 – 5ColoradoBudaj16,1533–2–06
6October 16Calgary4 – 5ColoradoSOTheodore16,7224–2–08
7October 19Colorado3 – 5ChicagoTheodore13,5194–3–08
8October 21Colorado2 – 3MinnesotaBudaj18,5684–4–08
9October 23Colorado4 – 2EdmontonBudaj16,8395–4–010
10October 26Colorado3 – 2CalgaryOTTheodore19,2896–4–012
11October 28Minnesota1 – 3ColoradoBudaj17,0417–4–014 :
November: 6–6–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 1–4–1)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
12November 1Pittsburgh2 – 3ColoradoTheodore18,0078–4–016
13November 3Vancouver4 – 3ColoradoBudaj18,0078–5–016
14November 5Calgary1 – 4ColoradoTheodore15,6559–5–018
15November 7Edmonton3 – 4ColoradoSOBudaj15,87710–5–020
16November 9Colorado1 – 2VancouverOTTheodore18,63010–5–121
17November 11Minnesota2 – 4ColoradoBudaj15,43411–5–123
18November 16Colorado1 – 6DallasTheodore18,01911–6–123
19November 18Colorado1 – 4MinnesotaBudaj18,56811–7–123
20November 20Colorado1 – 4CalgaryTheodore19,28911–8–123
21November 22Colorado3 – 2EdmontonBudaj16,83912–8–125
22November 24Calgary5 – 2ColoradoTheodore18,00712–9–125
23November 28Edmonton2 – 4ColoradoBudaj15,12813–9–127
24November 30Colorado2 – 3San JoseBudaj17,49613–10–127 :
December: 8–5–2 (home: 5–3–0; road: 3–2–2)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
25December 1Colorado5 – 2Los AngelesTheodore17,29714–10–129
26December 3San Jose3 – 2ColoradoTheodore15,21314–11–129
27December 5Colorado4 – 5ColumbusBudaj12,85114–12–129
28December 7Philadelphia1 – 2ColoradoTheodore16,31215–12–131
29December 9St. Louis5 – 9ColoradoTheodore15,47616–12–133
30December 12Colorado1 – 4ColumbusTheodore13,15016–13–133
31December 13Colorado2 – 1NashvilleBudaj12,45617–13–135
32December 15Nashville1 – 3ColoradoBudaj16,58218–13–137
33December 17Colorado4 – 2Los AngelesBudaj16,64719–13–139
34December 19Colorado1 – 2AnaheimOTBudaj17,19719–13–240
35December 21NY Rangers3 – 4ColoradoOTBudaj16,61220–13–242
36December 23Vancouver1 – 3ColoradoBudaj17,18621–13–244
37December 27Detroit4 – 2ColoradoBudaj18,00721–14–244
38December 29Los Angeles3 – 1ColoradoTheodore17,25621–15–244
39December 31Colorado3 – 4PhoenixSOBudaj12,97321–15–345 :
January: 6–5–1 (home: 3–3–1; road: 3–2–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
40January 2Phoenix5 – 2ColoradoBudaj15,23221–16–345
41January 5NY Islanders1 – 2ColoradoOTTheodore17,15422–16–347
42January 8Colorado0 – 1DetroitTheodore19,16022–17–347
43January 9Colorado1 – 2WashingtonTheodore16,16822–18–347
44January 12Colorado5 – 4CarolinaTheodore18,68023–18–349
45January 13Colorado4 – 3FloridaSOTheodore13,85424–18–351
46January 15Colorado3 – 0Tampa BayTheodore17,22225–18–353
47January 18Chicago2 – 1ColoradoSOTheodore18,00725–18–454
48January 20Columbus1 – 3ColoradoTheodore17,19726–18–456
49January 22Nashville4 – 0ColoradoTheodore15,23526–19–456
50January 24Minnesota3 – 2ColoradoTheodore15,32126–20–456
51January 30Chicago3 – 6ColoradoTheodore15,34827–20–458 :
February: 6–6–2 (home: 0–3–1; road: 6–3–1)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
52February 1Colorado0 – 2DetroitBudaj20,06627–21–458
53February 2Colorado6 – 4St. LouisBudaj19,15028–21–460
55February 4Phoenix4 – 3ColoradoOTBudaj14,38128–21–561
55February 6Colorado3 – 1San JoseTheodore17,08729–21–563
56February 9Colorado6 – 2VancouverTheodore18,63030–21–565
57February 12Anaheim2 – 1ColoradoTheodore16,25730–22–565
58February 14St. Louis4 – 1ColoradoTheodore17,13130–23–565
59February 17Colorado1 – 2ChicagoTheodore21,71530–24–565
60February 18Detroit4 – 0ColoradoTheodore18,00730–25–565
61February 20Colorado2 – 3AnaheimSOBudaj17,17430–25–666
62February 22Colorado3 – 2PhoenixSOTheodore15,88231–25–668
63February 24Colorado2 – 3EdmontonTheodore16,83931–26–668
64February 26Colorado3 – 2CalgaryOTTheodore19,28932–26–670
65February 27Colorado3 – 2VancouverSOTheodore18,63033–26–672 :
March: 9–5–1 (home: 8–1–0; road: 1–4–1)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
66March 1Los Angeles2 – 5ColoradoTheodore18,00734–26–674
67March 4Vancouver1 – 2ColoradoTheodore17,62135–26–676
68March 6Anaheim0 – 1ColoradoTheodore18,00736–26–678
69March 8Dallas1 – 3ColoradoTheodore18,00737–26–680
70March 9Colorado0 – 3DallasTheodore18,53237–27–680
71March 11Colorado5 – 2AtlantaTheodore14,08938–27–682
72March 13Edmonton1 – 5ColoradoBudaj18,00739–27–684
73March 15New Jersey4 – 2ColoradoTheodore18,00739–28–684
74March 17Colorado1 – 3MinnesotaTheodore18,56839–29–684
75March 20Colorado1 – 2CalgaryTheodore19,28939–30–684
76March 22Colorado5 – 7EdmontonBudaj16,83939–31–684
77March 24Calgary0 – 2ColoradoTheodore18,00740–31–686
78March 26Vancouver3 – 6ColoradoTheodore17,72841–31–688
79March 28Edmonton4 – 5ColoradoSOTheodore17,84642–31–690
80March 30Colorado2 – 3MinnesotaOTTheodore18,56842–31–791 :
April: 2–0–0 (home: 1–0–0; road: 1–0–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
81April 1Colorado4 – 2VancouverTheodore18,63043–31–793
82April 6Minnesota3 – 4ColoradoSOTheodore18,00744–31–795 :

## Playoffs

The Avalanche clinched the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs after missing the playoffs last season for the first time since relocating to Denver in 1995.
2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs :
Quarter-finals: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1April 9Colorado3 – 2Minnesota1OTTheodore19,3521–0
2April 11Colorado2 – 3Minnesota1OTTheodore19,3601–1
3April 14Minnesota3 – 2Colorado1OTTheodore18,0071–2
4April 15Minnesota1 – 5ColoradoTheodore18,0072–2
5April 17Colorado3 – 2MinnesotaTheodore19,3643–2
6April 19Minnesota1 – 2ColoradoTheodore18,0074–2 :
Semi-finals: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1April 24Colorado3 – 4DetroitTheodore20,0660–1
2April 26Colorado1 – 5DetroitTheodore20,0660–2
3April 29Detroit4 – 3ColoradoTheodore18,0070–3
4May 1Detroit8 - 2ColoradoTheodore18,0070-4 :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes As of 6 April 2008
| | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Paul Stastny | 66 | 24 | 47 | 71 | 24 |
| Andrew Brunette | 82 | 19 | 40 | 59 | 14 |
| Milan Hejduk | 77 | 29 | 25 | 54 | 36 |
| Wojtek Wolski | 77 | 18 | 30 | 48 | 14 |
| Joe Sakic | 44 | 13 | 27 | 40 | 20 |
| Ryan Smyth | 55 | 14 | 23 | 37 | 50 |
| Marek Svatos | 62 | 26 | 11 | 37 | 32 |
| John-Michael Liles | 81 | 6 | 26 | 32 | 26 |
| Tyler Arnason | 70 | 10 | 21 | 31 | 16 |
| Ruslan Salei | 82 | 6 | 24 | 30 | 98 |
| Jaroslav Hlinka | 63 | 8 | 20 | 28 | 16 |

### Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | SO | SV% | GAA | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
| Peter Budaj | 35 | 1912 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 82 | 0 | .903 | 2.57 |
| Jose Theodore | 53 | 3028 | 28 | 21 | 3 | 123 | 3 | .910 | 2.44 |
| Tyler Weiman | 1 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.00 |

## Records and milestones
### Milestones

* On October 7, Joe Sakic scored twice to move past Phil Esposito into 8th place all-time in scoring.
* On October 26, Joel Quenneville won his 400th game as a head coach, to move him into 7th place on the all-time list. Joe Sakic also picked up his 1,600th career point by providing the primary assist to Ryan Smyth's OT winner against the Flames, and Andrew Brunette picked up his 500th career point with a secondary assist to Joe Sakic's goal that put the Avs up 1–0 in the first period.
* With a 4–2 win over the Edmonton Oilers at the Pepsi Center on November 28, the Avalanche won their 500th regular season game since their move from Quebec in 1995.
* With a 9–5 win over St. Louis on December 9, the Avalanche reached 1,000 wins in their franchise history.
* In a game against the Edmonton Oilers on March 22, Joe Sakic assisted on a Tyler Arnason goal for his 1,000th career assist, becoming just the 11th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 assists.

## Transactions

The Avalanche were involved in the following transactions during the season:

### Trades

| November 8, 2007 | To Colorado Avalanche ----Jason Bacashihua | To St. Louis Blues ----7th round pick in 2008 Entry Draft |
| January 22, 2008 | To Colorado Avalanche ---- Darcy Campbell Philippe Dupuis | To Columbus Blue Jackets ---- Mark Rycroft |
| February 26, 2008 | To Colorado Avalanche ---- Ruslan Salei | To Florida Panthers ---- Karlis Skrastins 3rd round pick in 2008 |
| February 26, 2008 | To Colorado Avalanche ---- Adam Foote | To Columbus Blue Jackets ---- conditional 1st round pick in 2008 or 2009 |

### Free agents

| Player | Former team | Contract terms |
| Scott Hannan | San Jose Sharks | 4 years, $18 million |
| Ryan Smyth | New York Islanders | 5 years, $31.25 million |
| Matt Hussey | Detroit Red Wings | 1 year, $475,000 |
| Wyatt Smith | Minnesota Wild | 1 year, $500,000 |
| Peter Forsberg | Nashville Predators | 1 year, $1.1 million |
| Player | New team |
| Brett McLean | Florida Panthers |
| Ken Klee | Atlanta Thrashers |
| Patrice Brisebois | Montreal Canadiens |

## Draft picks

Colorado had nine picks at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft in Columbus, Ohio. The Avalanche picked 14th overall.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/junior/club team (league) |
| 1 | 14 | Kevin Shattenkirk | Defenseman | United States | US National Team Development Program (NAHL) |
| 2 | 45 | Colby Cohen | Defenseman | United States | Lincoln Stars (USHL) |
| 2 | 49 | Trevor Cann | Goalie | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 2 | 55 | TJ Galiardi | Wing | Canada | Dartmouth College (ECAC) |
| 4 | 105 | Brad Malone | Center/Left Wing | Canada | Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL) |
| 4 | 113 | Kent Patterson | Goalie | United States | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL) |
| 5 | 135 | Paul Carey | Center | United States | Boston College Eagles (Hockey East) |
| 6 | 155 | Jens Hellgren | Defenseman | Sweden | Frölunda Jr. (SEL) |
| 7 | 195 | Johan Alcen | Wing | Sweden | Brynäs IF (SEL) |

## Farm teams
### Lake Erie Monsters

The Avalanche had a new American Hockey League affiliate in the Lake Erie Monsters, based in Cleveland, Ohio. The team is a revival of the Utah Grizzlies franchise that had been dormant since 2005.

### Johnstown Chiefs

The Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL were the Avalanche's second-tier affiliate.