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Colorado Avalanche: The Storied Past Shows Glimmering Hope For Future

By Ryan Dyrud

10 Jun 1996: Colorado Avalanche leftwinger Valeri Kamensky and defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh pose with the Stanley Cup after defeating the Florida Panthers in Game Four of the Stanley Cup Finals at Miami Arena in Miami, Florida. The Avalanche won the game,
10 Jun 1996: Colorado Avalanche leftwinger Valeri Kamensky and defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh pose with the Stanley Cup after defeating the Florida Panthers in Game Four of the Stanley Cup Finals at Miami Arena in Miami, Florida. The Avalanche won the game, /
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Colorado Avalanche fans must look to the past in order to feel hopeful about the future.

These past few seasons have been frustrating for Colorado Avalanche fans, no doubt. The confusion of the Patrick Roy resignation, the mishandling of trades and player contracts, and the calling for Joe Sakic’s head (who at one point could do no wrong in Denver). Sports are a fickle business, and things can flip 180 in the blink of an eye.

The Avalanche are just four seasons removed from winning their division and entering the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the one seed in the west, remember. Now they sit as arguably the worst team in the NHL, aside from possibly the brand new expansion, Las Vegas Golden Knights.

But in order to be confident in our future, let us look back to our storied past.

When the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver and became the Colorado Avalanche, they were a budding team on the rise. A team with a young corps of talent that was on the verge of breaking out. Players such as Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Adam Deadmarsh, Valeri Kamensky, Mike Ricci, and Adam Foote led the team from Quebec City to the Rocky Mountains of Denver where they were greeted with praise and affection.

This backbone of the team was not too fractured, it was not to be messed with. However, there were some missing pieces needed to fulfill a dream of Lord Stanley’s Cup. The GM at the time, Pierre Lacroix, was a mastermind in putting together trades that greatly benefited the Colorado Avalanche. He knew that his team was good, but in order to be great, he needed to make a few moves.

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In order to add depth and strengthen the blue line, Lacroix added Sandis Ozolinsh, a tremendous two-way defenseman that was an added threat on the power play.

To get tougher, and meaner on offense, he added Claude Lemieux, who became one of the most passionate Avalanche players in the decorated Detroit-Colorado rivalry.

And, finally, in arguably one of the greatest trades in sports history, Lacroix traded Andrei Kovalenko, Jocelyn Thibault, and Martin Rucinsky for Mike Keane and, of course, the Stanley-Cup seasoned Patrick Roy.

Coupled with homegrown young talent, and a few midseason acquisitions, the Colorado Avalanche brought the first professional championship to the City of Denver in its first season.

The Avs followed this season with nine division championships and another Stanley Cup victory in 2001. Those were the good ole’ days.

The Avalanche have missed the playoffs the last three seasons, finishing with under 90 points all three years, and a dismal 48 points in the last campaign.

So how can we look at history to brighten our future outlook? Of the six seasons the Nordiques played in the 90s, they missed the playoffs four times, finishing 5th in their division all four times. In two of those seasons, they finished with 12 wins and 16 wins, respectively. I bring this up because this was the time that they were building and grooming their young corps.

Marc Crawford was brought in as a young head coach in 1994, after the success he had had at the minor level. With a young talented team, he garnered success almost immediately.

Enter Jared Bednar. Bednar was not so fortunate in his first year but he will aim to build something special.

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The question now remains, is this the young corps that the Avalanche want to move forward with? With so many different trade scenarios swirling involving Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog one would say no. However, this corps can be salvaged with a few new young faces.

What will Joe Sakic do? Add pieces and trust the corps that they have created over the past few seasons? Or blow the whole thing up and start from scratch? One thing is certain, the Hall of Fame player will have his work cut out for him as the season quickly approaches.

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