Five Current Colorado Avalanche Players Most Likely To Be Hall of Famers

Being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame is no easy task, with only 259 players earning the highest honor a hockey player can receive to date. Located in Toronto, Canada, the Hall of Fame is where players are immortalized, and take their place as legends of the game’s past.

Colorado Avalanche fans have had the privilege of watching current Hall of Famers, Joe Sakic, Patrick Roy, and Raymond Bourque don the burgundy and blue. Tonight, Peter Forsberg and Rob Blake will join the ranks of former Avalanche greats, who are permanently featured in the cathedral of hockey.

The crazy thing is, all five of these guys played for the SAME TEAM during the Avalanche’s 2001 Stanley Cup championship run. You just don’t see five Hall of Famers on the same roster very often.

It is possible that we will never see an Avalanche roster as loaded with talent as that 2001 team in our lifetimes. Adam Foote rounded out a defensive trio with Blake and Bourque, rivaled by nobody at the time. Throw in youngsters Alex Tanguay, Chris Drury, and Milan Hejduk, and the checking and defensive prowess of Dan Hinote, Shjon Podein, Eric Messier, and Stephane Yelle. My heart-rate is racing just thinking about it! But, I digress.

Is it possible that this Colorado Avalanche roster has a few future future Hall of Famers of its own? Lets rank the five Avalanche players on this year’s team, who have the best chance of someday being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

1. Jarome Iginla

Oct 30, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Avalanche right wing Jarome Iginla (12) during the game against the New York Islanders at Pepsi Center. The Avalanche won 5-0. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

I’ll be honest, when I was brainstorming the list of guys I wanted to include, it took me an embarrassing amount of time to remember Jarome Iginla. In my defense, Iginla is still new to the Avalanche, and I will still always remember him as a Calgary Flame. Much like Ray Bourque is remembered as a Boston Bruin.

Iginla is a lock to be inducted into the Hall of Fame at this point. He is a prototypical power forward, and has also redefined the position in some aspects over his career. You often hear young power forwards entering the NHL say they model parts of their game after Iginla.

Iggy is also a rare breed, a scorer who is known to drop the gloves. When you are in the 500 goal club, as Iginla is, you would expect those silky mitts to be valuable commodities, not to be risked in fisticuffs. However, Iginla has racked up his fair share of fighting majors over his career.

Iginla Career Stats

Goals: 562

Assists: 615

Points: 1,177

Games Played: 1,329

Notable Career Accomplishments

• Olympic gold medals with team Canada in 2002 and 2010
• Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy (NHL leading goal scorer) in 2002 and 2004
• Art Ross Trophy (NHL points leader) in 2002
• Captain of the Calgary Flames for nine seasons

2. Nathan MacKinnon

Nov 4, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) before the game against the Vancouver Canucks at Pepsi Center. The Canucks won 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Nathan MacKinnon is still a relative baby in the NHL, with only one full season under his belt. MacKinnon comes with a lot of hype and expectation, as the number one overall pick in his 2013 draft class.

His first season lived up to the hype, with Mackinnon leading all first-year players in scoring, and a shiny Calder Memorial Trophy as a reward for his efforts.

MacKinnon finds the number two spot on this list, mostly due to his prodigal talent level. He still has a lot of career left, and will have to deliver on the promise he has shown to earn a Hall of Fame nod. Of the forwards on the Avalanche, to me, he seems like the best bet to deliver.

MacKinnon will be 22 when the next Winter Olympics role around. It will be interesting to see how his career evolves, and if he is ready to join the Canadian roster, which is currently loaded at Center. As of today, teammate Matt Duchene would probably get the nod over MacKinnon.

It is also a possibility that NHL athletes will soon no longer compete in the Olympics, which will create an interesting dynamic in evaluating Hall of Fame credentials going forward. Sakic was a no-doubt Hall of Famer regardless, and Forsberg probably as well. However, there is no denying, that both players supplemented their resumes with heroic performances for their countries at the Olympics. Both played integral roles, and had iconic moments, in gold medal runs.

MacKinnon Career Stats

Goals: 29

Assists: 45

Points: 74

Games Played: 101

Notable Career Accomplishments

• MVP and champion of the 2013 Memorial Cup
• Calder Memorial Trophy (NHL rookie of the year) in 2014
• 1st overall selection in 2013 NHL Entry Draft
• Beat Charles Hamelin in acceleration skating duel (Ha, jokes!)

3. Matt Duchene

Oct 30, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Matt Duchene (9) during the game against the New York Islanders at Pepsi Center. The Avalanche won 5-0. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Matt Duchene might be the most identifiable Avalanche player at the moment. He was a fan of the team growing up, and has been a fan favorite since arriving in Denver. Duchene’s passion for the franchise and city he plays for, make him one of the more endearing athletes in the Mile High City today.

Dutchy has had a fine career so far, but he will need to step it up if he wants to acquire credentials worthy of the Hall of Fame. Duchene’s goal scoring and point per game averages, will need to take an upward spike. He will also need to put in some big performances in the playoffs or in international play to really cement his reputation. If he does end up playing his entire career with the Avalanche, and helps bring a Stanley Cup or two to Denver, it will be hard for the voters to ignore him. You just don’t see those type of guys who define a franchise very often.

Duchene is still very young, at 23 years old, and has the majority of his career still ahead of him. I flip-flipped a couple of times on whether I thought MacKinnon or Duchene would be more likely to have a Hall of Fame career, but in the end decided to go with MacKinnon, by a hair. I think MacKinnon’s long term upside is just too tantalizing to ignore, and he just seems to have that “it” factor. Honestly though, Duchene is my favorite player, so I’m pulling for him.

Make it easy, and both have Hall of Fame careers, eh. I’m sure Avalanche fans wouldn’t complain.

Duchene Career Stats

Goals: 111

Assists: 165

Points: 276

Games Played: 356

Notable Career Accomplishments

• 2014 Olympic gold medal with team Canada
• 2011 NHL All-Star
• 2009 Calder Memorial Trophy finalist (NHL rookie of the year)

5. Erik Johnson

Nov 1, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson (6) skates with the puck during the second period against the St. Louis Blues at Scottrade Center. The Blues defeated the Avalanche 3-2 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports

At this point, it became a difficult decision. The Avalanche have a lot of quality players, and a lot of guys I really enjoy watching. We are talking Hall of Fame career though. As much as I like Gabriel Landeskog and Ryan O’Reilly, I have a hard time seeing either of those guys turning into more than just a really solid hockey player.

The other player I really considered was Tyson Barrie. Barrie has shown exceptional offensive talents, but he will need to really rack up the points to earn HoF consideration.

This left me with Erik Johnson. A bit of a longshot, I’ll admit. Feel free to disagree with me on this choice, or any of my list in the comments!

EJ is being counted on as the number one defenseman for the Avalanche, and is quietly having himself an outstanding season. At 26 years of age, EJ is just entering the prime of his career as a defenseman, and if the Avalanche defense as a whole improves, he is the type of d-man who could garner Norris Trophy consideration as the game’s most prolific defender. You have to figure, he’d have to win that award once to get into the HoF conversation.

Johnson was a first overall selection in 2006 by the St. Louis Blues. Since then he is often labeled as a bust, since he hasn’t had the impact many expected. Perhaps EJ is just a late bloomer. He still has a significant chunk of his career story left to be written, and if the Avalanche turn into a strong contender with EJ as their cornerstone defenseman, he just may be able to put together a Hall of Fame worthy career. He would need to string together a number of all-star worthy seasons, and make an impact in postseason play. He certainly has the talent to make it happen.

Johnson Career Stats

Goals: 39

Assists: 142

Points: 181

Games Played: 428

Notable Career Accomplishments

• 1st overall selection in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft
• 2010 Olympic Silver Medal with team USA