It’s not a race, but Avalanche fans will always have one thing to brag about.
Joe Sakic, Patrick Roy and Peter Forsberg beat John Elway to the punch.
The 1995-96 Colorado Avalanche brought the state its first major professional sports championship when they took down the Florida Panthers in four games. This week, members of that team are reuniting in Denver as the team approaches the 30-year anniversary of them lifting Lord Stanley.
What better time to reminisce?
That team started the season with a loaded roster, but it wasn’t complete and Pierre Lacroix was not the type to sit on his hands. He saw weaknesses to clean up and he did just that. A contract dispute between the organization and Wendel Clark forced Lacroix to move the veteran in a three-team trade that saw the Avalanche acquire Claude Lemieux, who was just a few months removed from winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. For a team that was ready to take the next step, bringing in someone who knew how to get the job done when the postseason rolled around was essential.
A few months later, Lacroix made the biggest move of all, acquiring Patrick Roy on Dec. 6, 1995. This Avalanche had a loaded roster, but Lacroix knew that wasn’t enough. What else can be said about the Roy trade that hasn’t already been said? With the Hall of Famer in net, the Avalanche had to be taken seriously. The Canadiens throwing Mike Keane into the deal was the cherry on top, as he proved to be enormous when the playoffs rolled around.
FILE – Linesman Dan Schachte, left, leads a bleeding Colorado Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy to his bench after Roy was involved in a first-period brawl with Detroit Red Wings’ goaltender Mike Vernon in Detroit, March 26, 1997. The league rule changes have made it so punitive that goalie fighting has essentially disappeared from the highest level of hockey. (AP Photo/Tom Pidgeon, File)
In between those two trades is a move that can’t be overlooked. Lacroix took advantage of an embarrassment of riches up front to fill a key hole on his blue line, bringing in perhaps the most underrated player in franchise history.
Sandis Ozolinsh was not without his flaws. No one would ever mistake him for a shut-down defenseman. What he happened to be was an elite offensive defenseman, adding an element to Colorado’s defense that it just didn’t have, especially after Uwe Krupp injured his knee on opening night. Ozolinsh made the Avalanche even more difficult to defend. It’s difficult enough slowing down the likes of Sakic, Forsberg, Lemieux and Valeri Kamensky. How do you keep track of a defenseman who acts like a fourth forward a lot of the time? It was a masterful move that helped give that team a bit of everything.
With those three big trades the roster was more or less complete. The Avalanche had the offense, with four 30-goal scorers and two others that scored over 20. They had a more well-rounded defense, led by Ozolinsh, Adam Foote and steady veterans Alexei Gusarov and Curtis Leschyshyn. They had some nasty to their lineup with the addition of Keane and the presence of guys like Chris Simon, Warren Rychel and Adam Deadmarsh. And they had a goalie who could stop the other team if there ever was a breakdown. Is it any surprise this team went on to win the Stanley Cup?
Colorado Avalanche winger Adam Deadmarsh takes part in drills at the team’s training camp in southeast Denver on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2000. The Avalanche are preparing for the opening game of their NHL exhibition season against the Dallas Stars on Thursday night in Denver’s Pepsi Center. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Well, kind of. Only because one of the greatest regular-season teams in NHL history stood in their way.
The Detroit Red Wings that season won 62 games, which was an NHL record at the time. They racked up 27 more points than the Avalanche, who were second in the league with 104. Everyone had an idea that the two teams would meet in the Western Conference with the winner likely lifting the cup a few weeks later, but Colorado was not the team expected to come out on top.
The fact that they did is a testament to Lacroix’s roster construction. In Colorado’s four wins, Roy surrendered just five goals. Keane scored the overtime winner in Game 1. Ozolinsh was a difference maker. And then you had the stars. Sakic scored 10 points in the conference finals alone, all but guaranteeing he’d be named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner after the Stanley Cup Final. And with time winding down in Game 6, Peter Forsberg embarrassed one of the greatest defensemen of all-time, Nick Lidstrom, locking up a series victory for the Avalanche.
Although that wasn’t the Stanley Cup final, everyone knew it was. The Florida Panthers were a great story, but they stood no chance against this Avalanche squad. Colorado trounced them in four games, kicking off an impressive six-year championship window for the city of Denver.
You always remember your first championship, and fans should never forget this group because they were pretty darn special.
Colorado Avalanche celebrate winning the Stanley Cup on a goal by Uwe Krupp in triple overtime against the Florida Panthers, Monday, June 10, 1996, in Miami. (AP Photo/Hans Deryk)
What I’m hearing
Logan O’Connor has essentially disappeared, which must be concerning. It’s been almost a month since Jared Bednar said soft tissue issues were delaying his return to the lineup; no one has seen him on the ice since. O’Connor was the most consistent forward for the Avalanche in the playoffs last spring. We’ll push for an update on the forward this week.
John-Michael Liles said it best on the Altitude broadcast after a concussion spotter pulled Scott Wedgewood during the shootout Tuesday: “At some point, it becomes ridiculous. This is ridiculous.” You could see Wedgewood’s head and neck whip back when he was hit on the first replay. What the heck took the spotter so long to pull him? They had already let another shooter come down and take a shot on the goalie. If a spotter’s one job is to pull someone for a potential head injury, they need to act quicker. They did a poor job on that one.
What I’m seeing
If it feels like you’re seeing more NHL games go to overtime this season than in past years, you’re not wrong. It’s especially crazy out West, where nine of the teams have played in at least nine overtime games. With Vegas and Los Angeles, 41% of their games have gone to overtime. That’s an absurd number. And more of these games are going to a shootout because coaches have figured out how to play the 3-on-3. More shootouts isn’t a good thing. Hopefully this year is an outlier.
Is it time to bring back ties? I don’t know about that, but it might be time to think about a new points system that gives teams winning in regulation more of an advantage.
What I’m thinking
The Winnipeg Jets’ record since Connor Hellebuyck went in for surgery is really justifying the goaltender winning the Hart Trophy last season. The Jets have gone 3-7-1 since Hellebuyck went in for surgery and are now on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs.
Wondering how this Zakhar Bardakov situation is going to end. I’ve liked his progress and think he’s improving, but he’s not earning much ice time from the coaching staff. On the most recent four-game road trip, he never received more than eight shifts in a game. If he’s still struggling to earn the trust of the staff after two months, will that change as the games get more important? His comments in a Russian interview last month about wanting more ice time make me wonder how much more patience he will have.