Playing Career
McLeod was a fourth round WHL Bantam Draft pick for the Portland Winterhawks in 1999. He enjoyed a break out season in his fourth and final year with the Winterhawks in the 2004–05 season, scoring 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 re-assigned 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. Recognized by fans for his charismatic grit, he's become one of the Avs' main fighters on the ice. McLeod became the first Avalanche rookie in history to record over 100 penalty minutes. McLeod has yet to be sent back to the minor league.
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 play off 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 Milan Hejduk and 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.
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