Top 3 highest-paid players in Colorado Avalanche history

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DENVER, CO – FEBRUARY 26: Joe Sakic #19 of the Colorado Avalanche skates against the Detroit Red Wings during the 2016 Coors Light Stadium Series Alumni Game at Coors Field on February 26, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche defeated the Red Wings 5-2. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

Who are the highest-paid players in the history of the Colorado Avalanche?

The Colorado Avalanche can say that they have had some of the NHL’s best players throughout their history. Who are the top-3 highest-paid players in franchise history?

Currently, Colorado’s top-3 highest-paid players are Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog, and Nathan MacKinnon. MacKinnon will be receiving a contract extension at some point, and he should be in line to be paid as one of the best players in the entire NHL.

As the Avalanche continue to try and sign centerman Nazem Kadri and will soon look to MacKinnon’s contract, let’s take a look at the top-3 highest-paid players in Avalanche history.

There are some great names, and we’ll start off with perhaps the biggest of them all.

#1 Highest-Paid Colorado Avalanche: Joe Sakic: 1-year, $17 million in 1997

The Colorado Avalanche were on the verge of losing Joe Sakic to the New York Rangers. He was a restricted free agent at the time, and teams who wanted to take on his services had to offer him an offer sheet. The Colorado Avalanche would need to match that offer sheet in order to keep Sakic.

That offer was $17 million… For one season.

Prior to the 2005-06 season, the NHL did not have a salary cap.

The Rangers could have had Sakic with a 37-year old Wayne Gretzky but the Avalanche were smart to match the offer. Not only were they smart, but it was thanks to Harrison Ford. The Avalanche’s ownership at the time had something to do with the movie Air Force One, which you might know of a famous actor who starred in it: Harrison Ford.

Thankfully, that movie went on to become a huge success, providing a lot of money, enough money to be able to make up for that $17 million for Sakic.

So, at the end of the day, that contract was not over an extended period of time, but it was a crucial test toward keeping Sakic a member of the Colorado Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques for his entire career.

Apr 29, 2008; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Avalanche forward (21) Peter Forsberg against the Detroit Red Wings in the first period of game 3 of the Western Conference semi-finals at the Pepsi Center in Denver, CO. Mandatory Credit: Photo By Byron Hetzler-USA TODAY Sports /

#2 Highest-Paid Colorado Avalanche: Peter Forsberg: $11 million in 2001: $11 million in 2003

As stated in the slide prior to this one, the NHL did not have a salary cap up until the 2005-06.

Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic were like the Kobe Bryant/Shaquille O’Neal of the NHL back in the day. They fed off each other’s energy and performed their best alongside each other.

During the 2001 season, Forsberg, the team’s 6-foot, 205-pound center, played in 73 games, snatching 27 goals and 62 assists for a total of 89 points. Forsberg finished the year with five game-winning goals, which tied his second-most amount in that category for his career.

Forsberg earned every penny of his contract. He was a two-time 30-goal scorer for the Colorado Avalanche and during the 2001 season, he had 27 goals and 62 assists in 73 games.

Forsberg had two game-winning goals during the team’s playoff and Stanley Cup run in 2001.

For his career, he played an incredible 708 games, scoring 249 goals, assisting on 636 goals for a total of 885 points. He finished his illustrious career with a plus-minus of 238.

Forsberg was named a First-Team All-Star Team in 1998, 1999 and 2003.

The money that the Colorado Avalanche spent on him went to good use.

He was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014.

DENVER – JANUARY 17: Jason Allison #41 of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Rob Blake #4 of the Colorado Avalanche battle for the puck as Nik Antropov #80 of the Leafs loses his stick on January 17, 2006 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

#3 Highest-Paid Colorado Avalanche: Rob Blake: $9,326,519 in 2003-04

On February 21, 2001, the Colorado acquired defenseman Rob Blake and center Steven Reinprecht from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for forward Adam Deadmarsh and defenseman Aaron Miller.

The Avalanche gave up a first-round pick in 2001, as well as a first-round pick in 2003, and February 21, 2001: Colorado acquires defenseman Rob Blake and center Steven Reinprecht from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for forward Adam Deadmarsh, defenseman Aaron Miller, a first-round pick in 2001, a first-round pick in 2003, and Jared Aylin, who was sent to the team at a later date.

Rob Blake’s first year as a member of the Avalanche was a great one. He had the fourth-highest amount of points of his career, which included 16 goals and 40 assists in 75 games.

During the team’s Stanley Cup run in 2001, the Avalanche scored 270 goals while allowing 192. He led all Avalanche defensemen with 19 points and time on ice of 29:25 in 23 games. He also led the Avalanche defense in game-winning goals with five and power play points with 11.

Blake was a part of the greatest Avalanche team in history. In a salary cap-less era, this was a great investment for the team.

In 2001, Blake played in just 13 games for the Avalanche but that was because he played 54 games for the Los Angeles Kings the same year prior to the trade. He had two goals and eight assists in 2001 for the Avalanche, which shows that he made a fairly instant and frequent impact.

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