Colorado Avalanche Release Decade in Review: 10 Moments

The Colorado Avalanche recognize the importance of the 2010-20 decade and celebrate 10 moments within that time span.

The Colorado Avalanche celebrated the new year by releasing their own set of videos on Twitter. The videos talk about the decade in review according to the team social crew.

I did my own decade in review from a gestalt perspective:

I’m glad to see that, for the most part, we hit on the same moments. Just sometimes we approached them from different angles. The social media crew also ranked their moments while I simply cataloged them in chronological order.

Let’s look at the Colorado Avalanche’s top 10 moments from the team’s perspective.

Team Moment #10: Landeskog and MacKinnon Win Calder Trophies

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Gabriel Landeskog won the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year in 2012, while Nathan MacKinnon won it two years later in 2014. Landeskog had 52 points (22 goals, 30 assists) that year, while MacKinnon had 63 points (24 goals, 39 assists) his rookie year.

Nate was also the youngest winner in Calder history. What’s more, he was the fifth player in franchise history to win the trophy, joining Peter Stastny, Peter Forsberg, Chris Drury, and Landeskog.

These moments made it into my list, too, but separately.

Team Moment #9: Outdoor Game

As part of the team’s 20th anniversary, the Avalanche hosted an outdoor game at Coors Field. They played the Red Wings as homage to their old rivalry.

The Alumni Game was on February 25, while the actual game was the following day. The alumni won their game, but the Avs dropped their game 5-3.

I covered this, too, in my list.

Team Moment #8: Guts All Over the Place

The most iconic radio call happened on April 20, 2018. The Colorado Avalanche were in Nashville for Game 5 of their first round series with the Predators.

The Avs, heavy underdogs and injured, were not supposed to win even one game. They did, though, forcing a Game 5. They won that, too, on a last minute goal that sent then-radio announcer Marc Moser into conniptions.

I didn’t cover this moment — it’s a good one, though.

Team Moment #7: Adam Foote’s Last Game

On April 8, 2011, Adam Foote announced his retirement. He was the last member of the roster that came over from Quebec. He was then the captain. On April 10, he played his last game. And he played as rough and tumble as he had his entire career.

I covered this moment only as the last shift, in which he absolutely hounded every Oilers player on the ice.

Team Moment #6: Avs Lose Draft Lottery

The 2016-17 season was dismal. The Colorado Avalanche earned only 48 points, which was the worst in the salary cap era. They therefore had the best odds to win a top-three draft pick.

And they didn’t. They dropped all the way to #4. When you watch the video below, look at the expression on Joe Sakic‘s face. You can almost see him thinking “We’re on TV. Don’t lose your cool” while really wanting to lose his cool.

As the video points out, we were more than well compensated by picking defenseman Cale Makar. The only thin the video got wrong — it’s not “The Avs might have gotten the best player in the draft.” They absolutely did. As I said in my own review, I wouldn’t trade Makar for any of the three players who came before him.

Team Moment #5: Landeskog Named Captain

The Colorado Avalanche drafted Landeskog in 2011. He won the Calder Trophy in 2012, and shortly thereafter he was named the captain of the team. He’s the fourth captain in Avalanche history, and he was the youngest-ever captain at the time.

I didn’t cover this moment individually. However, my admiration for Landeskog’s captaincy is well-documented.

Team Moment #4: Forsberg, Foote, Hejduk Have Numbers Retired

The Colorado Avalanche have six retired numbers. Three of them happened before this last decade — Ray Bourque in 2001, Patrick Roy in 2003, and Joe Sakic in 2009. Between 2010 and 2020, the Avs retired three more numbers. First came Forsberg in 2011. Next was Adam Foote in 2013. Finally, Hejduk in 2018.

That last retirement was so memorable. We had waited so long to see if the Avalanche would retire Hejduk’s number. So, when it happened, the moment was special.

Team Moment #3: Colorado Wins Central 2013-14

The Colorado Avalanche finished dead last in the West and second to last in the NHL in 2013. They won the draft lottery that season and used it to pick Nathan MacKinnon. In the offseason, they also promoted Joe Sakic to leadership positioning and hired Patrick Roy as coach.

That season started with coach Roy pushing over the partition and continued with the Avs pushing around the opposition. They won the Central Division and were just a couple points shy of winning the Western Conference.

You bet your booty I covered this season, from a couple different angles. I was also a little shocked that the Avs social has finally come around to acknowledging Roy’s coaching — they’ve only recently started celebrating his playing career.

Team Moment #2: 2019 Playoffs

The Colorado Avalanche made the playoffs in Game 81 last year. They came into the playoffs like gangbusters and caught the Calgary Flames absolutely flat footed. The Avs were the underdogs in the series, yet they beat the Flames in five games. Of course, they unleashed the secret weapon of Cale Makar, who scored on his first-ever NHL shot.

They won their first playoff series since 2008. They dropped Game 7 thanks to Gabriel Landeskog’s dominant left foot (If only he’d stepped onto the bench with his right foot!). However, that series feels like the beginning for the Avs.

I covered Cale’s amazing goal.

Team Moment #1: Game 82 vs St. Louis

On April 7, 2018, the Colorado Avalanche entered their final game of the regular season on the cusp. Both teams were on the cusp, actually. Whomever won the game would be heading to the playoffs.

In other words, they were essentially playing a Game 7 before the playoffs even began.

Well, you know by now that the Avs won that game and went to the post season for the first time in four years. What a thrilling game, though, filled with so much emotion!

I didn’t specifically cover this moment, but I came close.

The Colorado Avalanche are already one game into their new decade, and so far they’ve started it off with a bang.