2009–10 Colorado Avalanche season

2009–10 Colorado Avalanche
Division	2nd Northwest
Conference	8th Western
2009–10 record	43–30–9
Home record	24–14–3
Road record	19–16–6
Goals for	244
Goals against	233
Team information
General Manager	Greg Sherman
Coach	Joe Sacco
Captain	Adam Foote
Alternate captains	Milan Hejduk Paul Stastny
Arena	Pepsi Center
Average attendance	13,948 (77.4%) Total: 571,849
Team leaders
Goals	Chris Stewart (28)
Assists	Paul Stastny (59)
Points	Stastny (79)
Penalties in minutes	Cody McLeod (138)
Plus/minus	Ryan Wilson (+13)
Wins	Craig Anderson (38)
Goals against average	Anderson, Peter Budaj (2.64)
<2008–09	2010–11>

The 2009–10 Colorado Avalanche season was the franchise's 38th season, 31st in the National Hockey League, and 15th as the Colorado Avalanche.

Off season

On June 3, 2009, the Avalanche began a complete overhaul of the coaching staff by firing Head Coach Tony Granato, along with Assistants Coaches Jacques Cloutier and Dave Barr, Goaltending Coach Jeff Hackett, Assistant to the General Manager Michel Goulet and Video Coordinator PJ DeLuca. Also on June 3, the Avalanche hired Greg Sherman as their new general manager, replacing Francois Giguere, who had been fired in April. On June 4, Joe Sacco was hired to be the new head coach. Before Sacco's hiring, an offer had been made to former Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy to become head coach, which Roy declined.

Defenceman Adam Foote was named team captain following the retirement of long-time captain Joe Sakic.

Pre-season

2009 Pre-season Game Log: 3–3–0 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 0–3–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Record	Recap
1	September 17	Dallas Stars	1 - 3	Colorado Avalanche		Anderson	1-0-0	[1]
2	September 18	Colorado Avalanche	2 - 6	St. Louis Blues		Weiman	1-1-0	[2]
3	September 20	St. Louis Blues	1 - 2	Colorado Avalanche	OT	Budaj	2-1-0	[3]
4	September 23	Los Angeles Kings	2 - 3	Colorado Avalanche		Anderson	3-1-0	[4]
5	September 24	Colorado Avalanche	2 - 3	Dallas Stars		Budaj	3-2-0	[5]
6	September 26 (in Las Vegas)	Colorado Avalanche	3 - 5	Los Angeles Kings		Anderson	3-3-0	[6]

Regular season

On July 9, 2009, Avalanche captain Joe Sakic announced his retirement from the NHL after 20 seasons. The Avalanche retired Sakic's jersey #19 in a ceremony before the October 1, 2009 home opener of the 2009-10 season. On November 12, 2009, the Avalanche unveiled a new third jersey.

On February 10, 2010, Kyle Cumiskey scored just 9 seconds into the overtime period to give the Avalanche a 4-3 home win over the Atlanta Thrashers. It would prove to be the fastest overtime goal scored during the 2009-10 NHL regular season.

Divisional standings

Northwest Division

		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	y – Vancouver Canucks	82	49	28	5	272	222	103
2	Colorado Avalanche	82	43	30	9	244	233	95
3	Calgary Flames	82	40	32	10	204	210	90
4	Minnesota Wild	82	38	36	8	219	246	84
5	Edmonton Oilers	82	27	47	8	214	284	62

Conference standings

Western Conference

R		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	z – San Jose Sharks	82	51	20	11	264	215	113
2	y – Chicago Blackhawks	82	52	22	8	271	209	112
3	y – Vancouver Canucks	82	49	28	5	272	222	103
4	Phoenix Coyotes	82	50	25	7	225	202	107
5	Detroit Red Wings	82	44	24	14	229	216	102
6	Los Angeles Kings	82	46	27	9	241	219	101
7	Nashville Predators	82	47	29	6	225	225	100
8	Colorado Avalanche	82	43	30	9	244	233	95
8.5
9	St. Louis Blues	82	40	32	10	225	223	90
10	Calgary Flames	82	40	32	10	204	210	90
11	Anaheim Ducks	82	39	32	11	238	251	89
12	Dallas Stars	82	37	31	14	237	254	88
13	Minnesota Wild	82	38	36	8	219	246	84
14	Columbus Blue Jackets	82	32	35	15	216	259	79
15	Edmonton Oilers	82	27	47	8	214	284	62

bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; z – Won conference (and division)

Game log

      Win (2 points)       Loss (0 points)       Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

Main article: 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Key:      Win      Loss

2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Western Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (1) San Jose Sharks - Sharks win series 4-2 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 14 Colorado Avalanche 2 - 1 San Jose Sharks Anderson 17,562 Avalanche lead 1-0 [89] 2 April 16 Colorado Avalanche 5 - 6 San Jose Sharks OT Anderson 17,562 Series tied 1-1 [90] 3 April 18 San Jose Sharks 0 - 1 Colorado Avalanche OT Anderson 18,007 Avalanche lead 2-1 [91] 4 April 20 San Jose Sharks 2 - 1 Colorado Avalanche OT Anderson 18,007 Series tied 2-2 [92] 5 April 22 Colorado Avalanche 0 - 5 San Jose Sharks Anderson 17,562 Sharks lead 3-2 [93] 6 April 24 San Jose Sharks 5 - 2 Colorado Avalanche Anderson 18,007 Sharks win series 4-2 [94]

Player statistics

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes

Regular season

Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Paul Stastny 81 20 59 79 2 50 Chris Stewart 77 28 36 64 4 73 Matt Duchene 81 24 31 55 1 16 Wojtek Wolski‡ 62 17 30 47 15 21 Milan Hejduk 56 23 21 44 6 10 TJ Galiardi 70 15 24 39 6 28 John-Michael Liles 59 6 25 31 -2 30 Kyle Quincey 79 6 23 29 9 76 Ryan O'Reilly 81 8 18 26 4 18 Darcy Tucker 71 10 14 24 -3 47 Ryan Wilson 61 3 18 21 13 36 Brett Clark 64 3 17 20 6 28 Kyle Cumiskey 61 7 13 20 0 20 Peter Mueller† 15 9 11 20 4 8 Brandon Yip 32 11 8 19 5 22 Cody McLeod 74 7 11 18 -13 138 Scott Hannan 81 2 14 16 2 40 David Jones 23 10 6 16 1 2 Matt Hendricks 56 9 7 16 1 74 Marek Svatos 54 7 4 11 -13 35 Adam Foote 67 0 9 9 8 64 Chris Durno 41 4 4 8 3 47 Ruslan Salei 14 1 5 6 -1 10 T. J. Hensick 7 1 2 3 0 0 Ryan Stoa 12 2 1 3 -3 0 Kevin Porter† 16 2 1 3 -4 0 Justin Mercier 9 1 1 2 2 0 Philippe Dupuis 4 0 1 1 1 2 David Koci 43 1 0 1 -2 84 Tom Preissing 4 0 1 1 -6 0 Stephane Yelle† 11 0 1 1 0 4 Wes O'Neill 2 0 0 0 1 2 Darren Haydar 1 0 0 0 0 0 Derek Peltier 3 0 0 0 0 0 Brian Willsie 4 0 0 0 -1 0

Playoffs

Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Paul Stastny 6 1 4 5 -2 4 Brandon Yip 6 2 2 4 -3 6 Chris Stewart 6 3 0 3 -1 4 Matt Duchene 6 0 3 3 -2 0 John-Michael Liles 6 1 1 2 -2 4 Kyle Cumiskey 6 1 1 2 -7 2 TJ Galiardi 6 0 2 2 -1 6 Adam Foote 6 0 1 1 -4 10 Milan Hejduk 3 1 0 1 0 0 Marek Svatos 3 1 0 1 -1 2 Ryan Wilson 4 0 1 1 -1 0 Ryan O'Reilly 6 1 0 1 0 2 Stephane Yelle 6 0 0 0 -1 2 Darcy Tucker 6 0 0 0 -1 2 Ruslan Salei 1 0 0 0 0 0 Brett Clark 1 0 0 0 0 0 Scott Hannan 6 0 0 0 3 4 Matt Hendricks 6 0 0 0 -2 0 Kyle Quincey 6 0 0 0 2 8 Kevin Porter 4 0 0 0 -2 0 Cody McLeod 6 0 0 0 -2 5 Ryan Stoa 1 0 0 0 0 2 Chris Durno 1 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime Losses; GA = Goals Against; GAA= Goals Against Average; SA= Shots Against; Sv% = Save Percentage; SO= Shutouts; G= Goals; A= Assists; PIM= Penalties in Minutes

Regular season
Player GP TOI W L OT GA GAA SA Sv% SO G A PIM Craig Anderson 71 4235 38 25 7 186 2.64 2233 .917 7 0 3 16 Peter Budaj 15 728 5 5 2 32 2.64 386 .917 1 0 1 0

Playoffs
Player GP TOI W L GA GAA SA Sv% SO G A PIM Craig Anderson 6 366 2 4 16 2.62 239 .933 1 0 1 0 Peter Budaj 1 9 0 0 1 6.67 4 .750 0 0 0 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
Matt Duchene	1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point	October 1, 2009
Ryan O'Reilly	1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point	October 1, 2009
John-Michael Liles	200th Career NHL Point	October 1, 2009
Matt Hendricks	1st Career NHL Goal 1st Career NHL Point	October 10, 2009
Ryan O'Reilly	1st Career NHL Goal	October 15, 2009
Ryan Wilson	1st Career NHL Game	October 15, 2009
Paul Stastny	200th Career NHL Game	October 15, 2009
Matt Duchene	1st Career NHL Goal	October 17, 2009
Ryan Wilson	1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point	October 23, 2009
Kyle Quincey	100th Career NHL Game	November 1, 2009
Paul Stastny	200th Career NHL Point	November 4, 2009
Philippe Dupuis	1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point	November 4, 2009
Milan Hejduk	800th Career NHL Game	November 6, 2009
Ryan Wilson	1st Career NHL Goal	November 17, 2009
Chris Durno	1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point	November 18, 2009
Wojtek Wolski	100th Career NHL Assist	November 20, 2009
John-Michael Liles	400th Career NHL Game	November 23, 2009
Scott Hannan	700th Career NHL Game	December 2, 2009
Darcy Tucker	900th Career NHL Game	December 7, 2009
Justin Mercier	1st Career NHL Game	December 9, 2009
Ryan Stoa	1st Career NHL Game	December 13, 2009
Brandon Yip	1st Career NHL Game	December 19, 2009
Brandon Yip	1st Career NHL Goal 1st Career NHL Point	December 22, 2009
Matt Hendricks	1st Career NHL Assist	December 22, 2009
Brett Clark	100th Career NHL Assist	December 26, 2009
Chris Durno	1st Career NHL Goal	December 26, 2009
Brandon Yip	1st Career NHL Assist	December 30, 2009
David Koci	100th Career NHL Game	January 18, 2010
Ryan Stoa	1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point	January 22, 2010
Chris Stewart	100th Career NHL Game	January 28, 2010
Brett Clark	500th Career NHL Game	January 29, 2010
Justin Mercier	1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point	January 31, 2010
Justin Mercier	1st Career NHL Goal	February 4, 2010
Marek Svatos	300th Career NHL Game	February 4, 2010
Wojtek Wolski	300th Career NHL Game	February 12, 2010
Chris Stewart	1st Career NHL Hat Trick	March 6, 2010
Kyle Cumiskey	100th Career NHL Game	March 14, 2010
Adam Foote	300th Career NHL Point	April 4, 2010
Milan Hejduk	700th Career NHL Point	April 4, 2010
Ryan Stoa	1st Career NHL Goal	April 9, 2010

Playoffs
Player	Milestone	Reached
Chris Stewart	1st Career NHL Playoff Game 1st Career NHL Playoff Goal 1st Career NHL Playoff Point	April 14, 2010
Matt Duchene	1st Career NHL Playoff Game 1st Career NHL Playoff Assist 1st Career NHL Playoff Point	April 14, 2010
TJ Galiardi	1st Career NHL Playoff Game 1st Career NHL Playoff Assist 1st Career NHL Playoff Point	April 14, 2010
Brandon Yip	1st Career NHL Playoff Game	April 14, 2010
Kyle Cumiskey	1st Career NHL Playoff Game	April 14, 2010
Ryan Wilson	1st Career NHL Playoff Game	April 14, 2010
Ryan O'Reilly	1st Career NHL Playoff Game	April 14, 2010
Matt Hendricks	1st Career NHL Playoff Game	April 14, 2010
Kevin Porter	1st Career NHL Playoff Game	April 14, 2010
Craig Anderson	1st Career NHL Playoff Game 1st Career NHL Playoff Win	April 14, 2010
Brandon Yip	1st Career NHL Playoff Goal 1st Career NHL Playoff Assist 1st Career NHL Playoff Point	April 16, 2010
Kyle Cumiskey	1st Career NHL Playoff Goal 1st Career NHL Playoff Point	April 16, 2010
Ryan Wilson	1st Career NHL Playoff Assist 1st Career NHL Playoff Point	April 16, 2010
Ryan O'Reilly	1st Career NHL Playoff Goal 1st Career NHL Playoff Point	April 18, 2010
Ryan Stoa	1st Career NHL Playoff Game	April 18, 2010
Craig Anderson	1st Career NHL Playoff Shutout	April 18, 2010
Chris Durno	1st Career NHL Playoff Game	April 20, 2010

Awards

Regular Season
Player	Award	Awarded
Craig Anderson	NHL Second Star of the Week	October 5, 2009
Craig Anderson	NHL Second Star of the Week	October 19, 2009
Craig Anderson	NHL First Star of the Month	October 2009
Matt Duchene	NHL Third Star of the Week	December 7, 2009
Matt Duchene	NHL Rookie of the Month	December 2009
Craig Anderson	NHL Second Star of the Week	January 25, 2010
Chris Stewart	NHL First Star of the Week	March 8, 2010

Transactions

The Avalanche were involved in the following transactions during the 2009–10 season.

Trades

Date	Details
July 3, 2009	To Los Angeles Kings----Ryan Smyth	To Colorado Avalanche----Kyle Quincey Tom Preissing 5th-round draft pick in 2010
July 16, 2009	To New York Rangers----Nigel Williams	To Colorado Avalanche----Brian Fahey
March 3, 2010	To Phoenix Coyotes----Wojtek Wolski	To Colorado Avalanche----Peter Mueller Kevin Porter
March 3, 2010	To Carolina Hurricanes----Cedric Lalonde-McNicoll 6th-round draft pick in 2010	To Colorado Avalanche----Stephane Yelle Harrison Reed

Free agents acquired

Player	Former team	Contract terms
Craig Anderson	Florida Panthers	2 years, $3.6 million
David Koci	Tampa Bay Lightning	1 year, $575,000
Darren Haydar	Grand Rapids Griffins	undisclosed
Brett Skinner	Chicago Wolves	undisclosed
Zach Cohen	Boston University	entry-level contract

Free agents lost

Player	New team	Contract terms
Ian Laperriere	Philadelphia Flyers	3 years, $3.5 million
Lawrence Nycholat	Vancouver Canucks	1 year, $500,000
Tyler Arnason	New York Rangers	2-way contract
Andrew Raycroft	Vancouver Canucks	1 year, $500,000
Ben Guite	Nashville Predators	1 year, $550,000
Michael Vernace	Atlanta Thrashers	undisclosed
Cody McCormick	Buffalo Sabres	1 year, $522,500

Lost via retirement

Player

Joe Sakic

Player signings

Player	Contract terms
Cameron Gaunce	undisclosed
Trevor Cann	undisclosed
Cody McLeod	3 years, $3.1 million
Peter Budaj	1 year, $1.25 million
David Jones	undisclosed
Chris Durno	undisclosed
Matt Hendricks	undisclosed
Brian Willsie	undisclosed
Tyler Weiman	undisclosed
Philippe Dupuis	undisclosed
Kyle Cumiskey	undisclosed
Justin Mercier	undisclosed
Matt Duchene	3 year entry-level contract
Brandon Yip	entry-level contract
Ryan O'Reilly	3 year entry-level contract
Milan Hejduk	1 year contract extension
Mike Carman	entry-level contract
Mark Olver	entry-level contract
Kevin Shattenkirk	entry-level contract
Colby Cohen	entry-level contract

Final roster

Updated April 21, 2010.

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
41		Craig Anderson	G	L	43	2009	Park Ridge, Illinois
31		Peter Budaj	G	L	42	2001	Banská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia
5		Brett Clark	D	L	47	2002	Wapella, Saskatchewan
10		Kyle Cumiskey	D	L	38	2006	Abbotsford, British Columbia
9		Matt Duchene	C	L	33	2009	Haliburton, Ontario
45		Chris Durno	LW	L	44	2008	Scarborough, Ontario
52		Adam Foote (C)	D	R	53	2008	Whitby, Ontario
39		TJ Galiardi	LW	R	36	2007	Calgary, Alberta
22		Scott Hannan	D	L	45	2007	Richmond, British Columbia
23		Milan Hejduk (A)	RW	R	48	1994	Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia
15		Matt Hendricks	C	L	43	2008	Blaine, Minnesota
54		David Jones	RW	R	40	2003	Guelph, Ontario
28		David Koci	LW	L	43	2009	Prague, Czechoslovakia
4		John-Michael Liles	D	L	43	2000	Zionsville, Indiana
55		Cody McLeod	LW	L	40	2007	Binscarth, Manitoba
88		Peter Mueller	C	R	36	2010	Bloomington, Minnesota
37		Ryan O'Reilly	C	L	33	2009	Clinton, Ontario
32		Kevin Porter	C	L	38	2010	Detroit, Michigan
27		Kyle Quincey	D	L	39	2009	Kitchener, Ontario
24		Ruslan Salei	D	L	50	2008	Minsk, Soviet Union
26		Paul Stastny (A)	C	L	38	2005	Quebec City, Quebec
25		Chris Stewart	RW	R	37	2006	Toronto, Ontario
29		Ryan Stoa	C	L	37	2005	Bloomington, Minnesota
40		Marek Svatos	RW	R	42	2001	Košice, Czechoslovakia
16		Darcy Tucker	RW	L	49	2008	Castor, Alberta
44		Ryan Wilson	D	L	37	2009	Windsor, Ontario
18		Stephane Yelle	C	L	50	2010	Ottawa, Ontario
59		Brandon Yip	RW	R	39	2004	Vancouver, British Columbia

Draft picks

Colorado had 7 picks at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, Quebec.

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	3	Matt Duchene	Center	Canada	Brampton Battalion (Ontario Hockey League)
2	33	Ryan O'Reilly	Center	Canada	Erie Otters (Ontario Hockey League)
2	49 (from Montreal via Calgary)	Stefan Elliott	Defense	Canada	Saskatoon Blades (Western Hockey League)
3	64	Tyson Barrie	Defense	Canada	Kelowna Rockets (Western Hockey League)
5	124	Kieran Millan	Goaltender	Canada	Boston University Terriers (Hockey East)
6	154	Brandon Maxwell	Goaltender	United States	U-18 (United States Development Program)
7	184	Gus Young	Defense	United States	Noble and Greenough School (Massachusetts High School)

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.

See also

• 2009–10 NHL season

External links

• Colorado Avalanche home page

References