These Right Wings make up "Mount Rushmore" for the Colorado Avalanche
Who are the best right wings in Colorado Avalanche history?
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 each position group on Mount Rushmore to include goalies, defensemen, centers and left wings. The next installment of this series will be the Right Wings. There are plenty to choose from over the course of 28 years in Denver, and although there was some debate, four stood out above the others. Here is the final positional group, the Right Wings.
4.) Milan Hejduk
Milan Hejduk leads the list and he’s likely the greatest right wing in Avalanche history. An obvious other name comes to mind who can surpass Hejduk and we’ll discuss him later. The Czech native was drafted by Quebec in the fourth round in the 1994 draft and spent his entire 14-year NHL career with Colorado, playing 1,020 games, second all time for the franchise.
In Hejduk’s third year with the franchise, he had an excellent season en route to a Stanley Cup championship, scoring 41 goals and adding 38 assists. He continued that momentum into the playoffs, leading the NHL with 16 assists. He added seven goals as well for 23 points in 23 games.
Hejduk was a stalwart with the franchise. He’s third all-time with 14 seasons with the franchise. He’s second all-time in games played, fourth all-time in goals, sixth all-time in assists and fifth all-time in points. He’s third all-time in power play goals and shots on net.
Hejduk was productive, reliable, and bled burgundy and blue for his entire career. He leads Mount Rushmore.
3.) Mikko Rantanen
Remember how it was stated that there’s a right wing that could surpass Hejduk as the all-time best to wear burgundy and blue? Well, here he is, Mikko Rantanen. Aptly nicknamed, “the moose” was drafted tenth overall in 2015 by Colorado and made his NHL impact a year later.
The hulking 6’4”, 215-pound Rantanen scored 20 goals his rookie season and hasn’t looked back, scoring more than 25 every season but once since. The only season he didn’t hit 20 goals was during the lockout shortened season in 2019-20 when he scored 19 in 42 games.
In 2021-22 Rantanen was a major part of the team that lifted the Stanley Cup. During that season he played 75 games and totaled 92 points on 36 goals and 56 assists, with 16 of those goals coming on the power play. During the playoffs he was even better, with 25 points in 20 games. He averaged an assist per game and added five goals to go with that. Without Rantanen’s play, the Avalanche likely don’t win the Cup.
The past two seasons have statistically been Rantanen’s best. In 2022-23 he poured in 55 goals and added 50 helpers for 105 points. He had 24 power play goals that season. In 2023-24 Rantanen took a slight step back putting the puck in the net, with 42 goals scored, but added more apples, with 62, for 104 points on the season. Over two seasons he’s accrued nearly 33 percent of his entire NHL point total and at only 27 years old, his best years are still ahead of him.
That’s a scary thought for the rest of the NHL, and his already accumulated body of work as well as his future possibilities place him firmly on Mount Rushmore.
2.) Adam Deadmarsh
The next two players were members of the Avalanche during their infant years, and without them, the team would not have been as successful. The first player is Adam Deadmarsh. The 6’0” 195-pound British Columbia native was drafted by the Nordiques with their first-round selection in the 1993 draft. He initially debuted with the franchise, and then moved to Colorado when the Avalanche began.
He never scored less than 18 goals for the Avalanche franchise and won a Stanley Cup in 1996. He was traded midway through the 2000-01 season or else he would have had two rings. Without his knowledge obviously, he continued to benefit the Avalanche franchise even after he was traded, as he was shipped out to bring Rob Blake into the fold. That shrewd maneuver helped the Avalanche lift their second Cup in 2000-01.
Deadmarsh was known for his physicality as well as his ability to put points on the board. He accrued over 100 penalty minutes four times in his seven seasons with the franchise and had 99 penalty minutes one other season. Each year he totaled over 100 PIMs, he also totaled 43 or more points, a rare feat in this current game.
Deadmarsh scored 33 goals one season in Colorado, his career high, and had 27 assists in 4 different seasons in Colorado. It was his scoring touch, coupled with his grit and physicality that endeared him to Avalanche fans far and wide.
For these attributes, he lands on Mount Rushmore.
1.) Claude Lemieux
The final right wing on Mount Rushmore is a controversial figure from the early years of the Colorado Avalanche, but also an instrumental figure in teaching the team how to win and ultimately earning a Stanley Cup victory in 1996. The final spot goes to Claude Lemieux.
Lemieux came to Colorado from New Jersey (through the New York Islanders technically) after winning the Stanley Cup with the Devils in 1995. A savvy 30-year-old veteran with 13 years of experience, he won the Conn Smythe trophy as the NHL playoff MVP the year prior.
Lemiux was just what the Avalanche needed to get to the next level. He gave the team an attitude that permeated throughout the roster. His play also spoke for him, as he scored 39 goals in 1995-96. He added 32 assists for 71 points across 79 games that season. Most famously known for his grit and ability to agitate opponents, Lemieux had 117 penalty minutes that season.
Lemieux continued his stellar play during the playoffs, scoring 12 points across 19 games. He added 55 penalty minutes during the run to the Cup. In the 1996-97 season, Lemieux led the NHL in goals during the playoffs, scoring 13 in 17 games. The Avs were eliminated by the hated Detroit Red Wings in the conference finals that season.
Aside from his prowess as a hockey player, Lemieux may best be known for his time in Colorado by one incident- the Kris Draper hit. Lemieux checked Draper from behind, knocking him face first into the bench door during game six of the 1996 conference finals. Draper required stitches and obtained broken bones because of the hit.
For fans of the physical style of play, this hit set off a bitter rivalry that spanned the rest of the 1990s between the Avalanche and the Red Wings with the two teams meeting constantly as conference rivals.
Lemieux was a controversial player, but he knew how to win. Without his help the Avalanche would not have lifted their first Stanley Cup. For those attributes, he earns his spot on Mount Rushmore.
manual