Colorado Avalanche Mount Rushmore of Centers
*This is an ongoing series chronicling "Mount Rushmore" of Colorado Avalanche position groups.*
Mount Rushmore is one of the iconic landmarks of the United States. Nestled in the Black Hills of South Dakota, it’s a mountain with sculptures carved into the side depicting previous influential United States Presidents. It’s comprised of four people, Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt and Jefferson.
Since its creation, the faces depicted on the mural have been debated in multiple ways like their impact on the country, if others should have been sculpted, or their merit for being on the mountain at all.
In the sports world, a “Mount Rushmore” of a team, or positional area, or city, has been debated for years, and Mile High Sticking will take their turn. As the Avalanche have been in Denver since 1996, there’s plenty of players up for selection, and the franchise’s time in Quebec won’t be taken into consideration.
This series has already discussed several positions on Mount Rushmore to include goalies, left wing, and the blue line. The next installment of this series will be the Centers. There are plenty to choose from over the course of 28 years in Denver, and four stood out above the others. Without further ado, here are the Centers.
4.) Joe Sakic
Mr. Avalanche himself starts this list. He’s clearly the most obvious choice here. He played 20 years for the organization both in Quebec and Colorado, and is the franchise all-time leader in games played, goals, assists, points, even strength goals, power play goals, short handed goals, game winning goals and shots.
Sakic was voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012. He’s a three-time NHL All Star, a two-time Stanley Cup winner, won the Conn Smythe trophy as the NHL playoff MVP in 1995-96, won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s regular season MVP and the Lady Byng trophy for gentlemanly play in 2000-01. In 2017-18 Sakic was named as one of the NHL’s 100 greatest players.
Sakic retired in 2009. His number 19 jersey was retired prior to the 2009-10 season. He joined the Avalanche in an executive capacity, starting in 2011 as an executive governor. He was named executive vice president of hockey operations in 2013 and named general manager in 2014. He, along with others, built the team that won Colorado’s third Stanley Cup in 2022.
He’s about as firmly on Mount Rushmore as any Avalanche player could be.
3.) Peter Forsberg
Usually when an Avalanche fan thinks of Joe Sakic, they also think of Peter Forsberg. Forsberg and Sakic were a tandem duo and helped Colorado win their first two cups as an organization. The 6’0”, 205 lb Swede was drafted in 1991 by the Philadelphia Flyers, sixth overall, and traded to the Quebec Nordiques as part of the Eric Lindros deal and debuted in the NHL in 1995.
Forsberg, like Sakic, had a fantastic career while wearing the burgundy and black, a career that was unfortunately cut short due to injury. He’s also a two-time Stanley Cup champion, was a member of the All-Rookie team, won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie, was a three-time All Star like Sakic, won the 2002-03 Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top point getter, and won the 2002-03 Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP.
He’s a member of the 100 greatest players in NHL history list that was named in 2017-18 and was voted into the IIHF hockey hall of fame in 2013, and into the hockey hall of fame in 2014.
Forsberg had his best statistical seasons when the team won their first Stanley Cup, which likely is not an anomaly. In 1995-96 Forsberg played all 82 games, scoring 30 goals and adding 86 assists for a whopping 116 points! He continued his stellar play during that season’s playoffs, scoring 21 points in 22 games. During the Avs next Cup run, Forsberg was again excellent. In 2000-01, Forsberg played in only 73 games, but totaled 89 points, with 27 goals and 62 assists. As Forsberg got injured during the playoffs, he played only 11 games, but finished with 14 points. Without Forsberg’s contributions, the team likely wouldn’t have advanced to the later rounds.
Forsberg, like Sakic, is firmly planted on Mount Rushmore.
2.) Nathan MacKinnon
Nathan MacKinnon is the next in line for Mount Rushmore. The Halifax, Nova Scotia native was drafted with the top overall pick in 2013 by the Avalanche and debuted in the NHL as an 18-year-old that season. He’s been excellent ever since, with his most recent two seasons stepping up even more. It seems like MacKinnon is getting old, but he’s only 28. He’s likely got his best hockey still to play. When conversations in 20 years come up about Avalanche royalty, it’s hard to believe he won’t be at the top of the list, if he still wears burgundy and blue for his whole career.
The past two seasons have been MacKinnon’s best by far. He had 111 points in just 71 games in 2022-23, with 42 goals and 69 assists. The Avalanche unfortunately had a premature exit from the playoffs that season. MacKinnon topped that season this past year, with 140 total points on 51 goals and 89 assists. That type of point total was in the Gretzky and Lemieux realm—an astonishing number.
Although he does not wear the C in Colorado, from observation MacKinnon is the clear leader. It was his will to win and dedication to his craft that molded the team to reach great heights in 2021-22, lifting the Stanley Cup trophy. During those playoffs, he led the NHL in goals with 13, and scored 24 points in 20 games.
MacKinnon won the Calder trophy as the league’s top rookie and was named to the All-Rookie team that same season. He won the 2019-20 Lady Byng trophy as the outstanding sportsman in the league and is a two-time All Star.
MacKinnon is another player firmly planted on Mount Rushmore.
1.) Matt Duchene
The final selection for the Avalanche Mount Rushmore of Centers is Matt Duchene, who made his early fame wearing the burgundy and black. Duchene was drafted third overall by the Avalanche in the 2009 draft. The Ontario native played nine seasons in Colorado and his 586 games played rank 15th on the all-time games played list.
Duchene was a serviceable player for the Avalanche throughout his nine years in Denver, scoring over 40 points seven times as an Av. He made the All-Rookie team in 2009-10 as a 19-year-old.
Duchene has 178 goals as a member of the Avalanche, good for tenth all time. His 250 assists and 428 points are enough for 13th all-time as an Av. He has 39 all-time power play goals, and his 29 game-winning goals are tenth on the all-time list. Duchene did not get much playoff exposure while in Colorado, playing in only eight games. He recorded six assists in the playoffs as a member of the Avalanche.
He was traded in 2017 to the Ottawa Senators as part of a three-team trade. The most impactful player that returned on the current roster was defenseman Samuel Girard. Duchene has continued to play at a high level since his departure from Colorado and is currently a member of the Dallas Stars.
The Mount Rushmore of Centers for the Colorado Avalanche franchise did not have as much doubt as previous iterations of Mount Rushmore have, and for good reason. The players on this list excelled as Avs, and two of them are already Hall of Famers. MacKinnon is a sure-fire Hall of Famer when he hangs up his skates, and Duchene has been a desired player his entire career, which isn’t over yet either.
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