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.

2008–09 Colorado Avalanche
Division	5th Northwest
Conference	15th Western
2008–09 record	32-45-5
Home record	18-21-2
Road record	14-24-3
Goals for	199
Goals against	257
Team information
General manager	François Giguère
Coach	Tony Granato
Captain	Joe Sakic
Alternate captains	Adam Foote Ian Laperrière Milan Hejduk Ryan Smyth
Arena	Pepsi Center
Average attendance	15,429
Team leaders
Goals	Milan Hejduk (27)
Assists	Ryan Smyth (33)
Points	Milan Hejduk and Ryan Smyth (59)
Penalty minutes	Ian Laperrière (163)
Plus/minus	Ben Guite (+2)
Wins	Peter Budaj (20)
Goals against average	Peter Budaj (2.86)
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

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.

Pre-season

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.^[1][2][3]

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) # Date Opponent Score OT/SO Decision Attendance Record Pts 1 October 9 Boston Bruins 5 - 4 Budaj 18,007 0-1-0 0 2 October 12 @ Edmonton Oilers 3 - 2 Budaj 16,839 0-2-0 0 3 October 14 @ Calgary Flames 5 - 4 Budaj 19,289 0-3-0 0 4 October 16 Philadelphia Flyers 5 - 2 Raycroft 18,007 1-3-0 2 5 October 18 @ Dallas Stars 5 - 4 Raycroft 17,151 2-3-0 4 6 October 20 @ Los Angeles Kings 4 - 3 Budaj 13,891 3-3-0 6 7 October 23 Edmonton Oilers 4 - 1 Budaj 14,898 4-3-0 8 8 October 25 Buffalo Sabres 2 - 1 SO (3-2) Budaj 18,007 5-3-0 10 9 October 28 @ Calgary Flames 3 - 0 Budaj 19,289 5-4-0 10 10 October 30 Columbus Blue Jackets 4 - 2 Raycroft 14,945 5-5-0 10
November: 6–7–0 (Home: 3–5–0; Road: 3–2–0) # Date Opponent Score OT/SO Decision Attendance Record Pts 11 November 2 San Jose Sharks 5 - 3 Budaj 15,452 5-6-0 10 12 November 3 @ Chicago Blackhawks 6 - 2 Budaj 21,142 5-7-0 10 13 November 6 Minnesota Wild 3 - 1 Budaj 14,562 5-8-0 10 14 November 8 Nashville Predators 1 - 0 Budaj 18,007 6-8-0 12 15 November 12 @ Vancouver Canucks 2 - 1 SO (2-1) Budaj 18,630 7-8-0 14 16 November 15 @ Edmonton Oilers 3 - 2 SO (2-1) Budaj 16,839 8-8-0 16 17 November 18 @ Calgary Flames 4 - 1 Budaj 19,289 8-9-0 16 18 November 20 Calgary Flames 1 - 0 Budaj 14,536 8-10-0 16 19 November 22 @ Los Angeles Kings 4 - 3 SO (2-0) Budaj 18,118 9-10-0 18 20 November 24 Anaheim Ducks 4 - 1 Budaj 16,632 9-11-0 18 21 November 26 St. Louis Blues 3 - 1 Budaj 14,568 10-11-0 20 22 November 28 Phoenix Coyotes 2 - 1 Budaj 14,031 10-12-0 20 23 November 29 Tampa Bay Lightning 4 - 3 Raycroft 18,007 11-12-0 22
December: 8–5–1 (Home: 5–1–0; Road: 3–4–1) # Date Opponent Score OT/SO Decision Attendance Record Pts 24 December 1 @ Minnesota Wild 6 - 5 Budaj 18,568 12-12-0 24 25 December 4 @ Nashville Predators 3 - 2 Budaj 12,717 12-13-0 24 26 December 5 @ Dallas Stars 2 - 1 SO (2-1) Budaj 16,651 12-13-1 25 27 December 7 Vancouver Canucks 5 - 4 SO (3-1) Budaj 13,411 13-13-1 27 28 December 9 Los Angeles Kings 6 - 1 Budaj 14,122 14-13-1 29 29 December 12 Chicago Blackhawks 4 - 3 Budaj 17,569 14-14-1 29 30 December 15 @ Detroit Red Wings 3 - 2 Raycroft 19,154 15-14-1 31 31 December 16 @ Philadelphia Flyers 5 - 2 Budaj 19,219 15-15-1 31 32 December 18 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 2 - 1 SO (1-0) Raycroft 16,333 16-15-1 33 33 December 21 @ Florida Panthers 3 - 0 Budaj 16,132 16-16-1 33 34 December 23 Phoenix Coyotes 5 - 4 OT Raycroft 14,625 17-16-1 35 35 December 27 Detroit Red Wings 4 - 3 SO (1-0) Budaj 18,007 18-16-1 37 36 December 29 Nashville Predators 5 - 1 Budaj 15,643 19-16-1 39 37 December 31 @ Phoenix Coyotes 3 - 1 Budaj 15,008 19-17-1 39
January: 4–9–0 (Home: 3–7–0; Road: 1–2–0) # Date Opponent Score OT/SO Decision Attendance Record Pts 38 January 2 Columbus Blue Jackets 6 - 1 Budaj 14,482 19-18-1 39 39 January 4 Minnesota Wild 2 - 0 Budaj 14,125 19-19-1 39 40 January 6 @ Nashville Predators 2 - 1 Raycroft 13,598 20-19-1 41 41 January 8 Chicago Blackhawks 2 - 1 Raycroft 15,174 21-19-1 43 42 January 10 Pittsburgh Penguins 5 - 3 Raycroft 17,908 22-19-1 45 43 January 13 @ Columbus Blue Jackets 4 - 3 Raycroft 15,343 22-20-1 45 44 January 15 @ St. Louis Blues 5 - 2 Budaj 17,545 22-21-1 45 45 January 16 Edmonton Oilers 3 - 2 Raycroft 15,681 22-22-1 45 46 January 18 Calgary Flames 6 - 2 Budaj 16,113 23-22-1 47 47 January 21 Los Angeles Kings 6 - 5 Raycroft 13,289 23-23-1 47 48 January 27 San Jose Sharks 3 - 0 Raycroft 14,592 23-24-1 47 49 January 29 Toronto Maple Leafs 7 - 4 Raycroft 15,216 23-25-1 47 50 January 31 Anaheim Ducks 4 - 3 Budaj 17,652 23-26-1 47
February: 5–8–0 (Home: 3–1–0; Road: 2–7–0) # Date Opponent Score OT/SO Decision Attendance Record Pts 51 February 2 Calgary Flames 4 - 3 Budaj 13,409 24-26-1 49 52 February 5 Dallas Stars 3 - 2 Budaj 13,624 25-26-1 51 53 February 7 @ St. Louis Blues 4 - 1 Budaj 19,250 25-27-1 51 54 February 10 @ Columbus Blue Jackets 3 - 0 Budaj 14,506 25-28-1 51 55 February 11 @ Minnesota Wild 3 - 2 Raycroft 18,568 25-29-1 51 56 February 13 Montreal Canadiens 4 - 2 Budaj 17,514 25-30-1 51 57 February 15 @ Detroit Red Wings 6 - 5 SO (2-1) Raycroft 20,066 26-30-1 53 58 February 17 Ottawa Senators 3 - 2 OT Raycroft 15,237 27-30-1 55 59 February 20 @ Washington Capitals 4 - 1 Raycroft 18,277 28-30-1 57 60 February 22 @ Carolina Hurricanes 5 - 2 Raycroft 18,680 28-31-1 57 61 February 24 @ Atlanta Thrashers 4 - 3 Budaj 12,101 28-32-1 57 62 February 26 @ New Jersey Devils 4 - 0 Raycroft 16,107 28-33-1 57 63 February 28 @ New York Rangers 6 - 1 Budaj 18,200 28-34-1 57
March: 3–9–1 (Home: 1–5–0; Road: 2–4–1) # Date Opponent Score OT/SO Decision Attendance Record Pts 64 March 2 @ New York Islanders 4 - 2 Raycroft 11,298 28-35-1 57 65 March 4 Detroit Red Wings 3 - 2 Raycroft 18,007 28-36-1 57 66 March 8 @ Chicago Blackhawks 5 - 1 Budaj 22,121 29-36-1 59 67 March 10 Atlanta Thrashers 3 - 0 Budaj 13,608 29-37-1 59 68 March 12 Minnesota Wild 2 - 1 SO (2-0) Budaj 14,213 30-37-1 61 69 March 14 @ Edmonton Oilers 3 - 2 OT Budaj 16,839 31-37-1 63 70 March 15 @ Vancouver Canucks 4 - 2 Raycroft 18,630 31-38-1 63 71 March 17 @ Minnesota Wild 3 - 2 SO (2-1) Budaj 18,568 31-38-2 64 72 March 19 Edmonton Oilers 8 - 1 Budaj 13,612 31-39-2 64 73 March 22 @ San Jose Sharks 3 - 1 Raycroft 17,496 31-40-2 64 74 March 25 Anaheim Ducks 7 - 2 Budaj 16,279 31-41-2 64 75 March 27 Vancouver Canucks 4 - 1 Raycroft 16,177 31-42-2 64 76 March 29 @ Anaheim Ducks 4 - 1 Budaj 17,182 31-43-2 64
April: 1–2–3 (Home: 0–2–2; Road: 1–0–1) # Date Opponent Score OT/SO Decision Attendance Record Pts 77 April 1 Phoenix Coyotes 3 - 0 Raycroft 13,437 31-44-2 64 78 April 5 @ Vancouver Canucks 4 - 1 Budaj 18,630 32-44-2 66 79 April 7 @ San Jose Sharks 1 - 0 SO (1-0) Budaj 17,496 32-44-3 67 80 April 9 Dallas Stars 3 - 2 SO (3-2) Budaj 13,822 32-44-4 68 81 April 11 Vancouver Canucks 1 - 0 OT Budaj 13,397 32-44-5 69 82 April 12 St. Louis Blues 1 - 0 Raycroft 13,661 32-45-5 69

Playoffs

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

Player statistics

Skaters

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals 

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

Note:  Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

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

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[4] Toronto Maple Leafs 1 year, $800,000 Darcy Tucker[4] 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)

See also

• 2008–09 NHL season

Farm teams

Lake Erie Monsters

The Avalanche's American Hockey League affiliate was the Lake Erie Monsters, based in Cleveland, Ohio.

Johnstown Chiefs

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