Cody McLeod

Playing career

McLeod was a fourth round WHL Bantam Draft pick for the Portland Winterhawks in 1999. In the 2004–05 season, his fourth and final year with the Winterhawks, he scored 31 goals and 60 points.

Undrafted and looking to turn pro, McLeod attended the Boston Bruins training camp in the summer of 2005. McLeod was then reassigned to affiliate, the Providence Bruins training camp on September 17, 2005, before ultimately leaving without a contract. McLeod was signed by the Lowell Lock Monsters of the AHL for the 2005–06. He Spent his first full professional season with the Monsters and their ECHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls.

The Colorado Avalanche, as the parent club of the Monsters, signed McLeod to his first NHL contract with the Avalanche on July 6, 2006. After the Avalanche training camp for the 2006–07 season, Mcleod was assigned to new affiliate the Albany River Rats on September 19, 2006.

In the 2007–08 season, McLeod received his first NHL recall on December 16, 2007. He made his NHL debut with the Avalanche on December 19, 2007, in a 2–1 loss against the Anaheim Ducks. A week later, on December 27, he scored his first NHL goal against Dominik Hašek of the Detroit Red Wings in a 4–2 loss. McLeod dressed and played for every remaining Avalanche game after he was called up from the Lake Erie Monsters. McLeod became the first Avalanche rookie in history to record over 100 penalty minutes.

McLeod gained notoriety on April 27, 2008, the second game of the second round of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Detroit Red Wings by picking up the traditional octopus thrown onto the ice in the Joe Louis Arena and throwing it into the stands. McLeod scored his first playoff goal also against the Red Wings in game three on April 29, 2008. With an impressive debut season with Colorado, McLeod was re-signed by the Avalanche to a one-year deal on July 14, 2008.

In the 2008–09 season, McLeod sustained a shoulder injury in a 3–2 home loss against Detroit on March 4, 2009, causing him to miss three straight games. He ended the season third in goals on the Avs with 15, behind only Ryan Smyth and Milan Hejduk. McLeod's 162 penalty minutes were just one minute shy of team leading Ian Laperrière. McLeod was then re-signed by the Avalanche to a 3-year deal on June 19, 2009.

The 2011–12 season saw McLeod set a franchise record becoming the only player in Quebec/Colorado history to register at least 100 PIMs in five consecutive seasons. Behind only Paul Stastny in terms of tenure currently with the club, the Avs signed the pending unrestricted free agent to another three-year contract on June 4, 2012. He was suspended five games in 2013–14 for a hit-from-behind on Detroit Red Wings defenceman Niklas Kronwall in which Kronwall received a concussion.

With Paul Stastny signing with the Blues prior to the 2014–15 season, McLeod became the current longest-tenured member of the Avalanche also serving as the club's alternate captain between 2012 to 2016. On September 30, 2014, McLeod agreed to three-year contract extension to remain with Colorado.

In the 2016–17 season, his 10th with the Avalanche, McLeod saw limited playing time and was reduced to a depth role amongst the forwards. With the Avalanche suffering as the league's worst team through the mid-point of the season, McLeod's tenure with the club ended as he was traded to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Félix Girard on January 13, 2017. He left having played in 659 games, leading the Avalanche franchise with 1359 penalty minutes. McLeod remained in Denver, making his Predators debut the following day against his previous club. He scored his first goal with the Predators and fought against former teammate Jarome Iginla, sparking a 3–2 victory over the Avalanche on January 14, 2017.