A Look at the 1995-96 and 2000-01 Colorado Avalanche

You know, I've been writing stories on Vocal for a little over a year, and it's hard to believe that this is my 500th story. What isn't hard to believe is the subject that #500 would be about. Something near and dear to me as a hockey fan: the Colorado Avalanche's first two Stanley Cups. First, a history lesson. Before playing in Denver, the Avalanche played their first 16 NHL seasons as the Quebec Nordiques, who were actually one of four teams who moved from the World Hockey Association to the NHL (the other three being the Edmonton Oilers, the Hartford Whalers, and the Winnipeg Jets). The Nordiques didn't have a lot of success in the NHL; in fact, they only reached the Conference Finals twice (1982 and 1985). Their only Adams Division championship came in the 1985-86 season, and in their final season in Quebec, the Nordiques would win the renamed Northeast Division, but both division titles resulted in first round exits.

As for myself personally, I chose the Quebec Nordiques as my team because I loved the name so much. Honestly, I--being seven years old at the time that I first cracked a sports section and read the hockey scores--was very fascinated by the team names, but I thought "Nordiques" was the best one. And then the move happened in 1995. At the time, I wasn't a vigilant hockey follower, so I actually had no idea about the move, but I did find out during that season, and what a season it was for the renamed and relocated Colorado Avalanche (part of a wave of relocation and expansion during the 1990s and early 2000s). It was a season prior that they received Peter Forsberg in that famous trade with the Flyers that involved Eric Lindros, and on December 6, 1995, Patrick Roy was traded to the team from the Montréal Canadiens.

The Avalanche took the momentum from the shortened 1994-95 season (their last in Quebec), and won the Pacific Division with a record of 47-25-10 and 104 points. The team was led by longtime captain Joe Sakic, who scored 51 goals and had 69 assists, totalling a whopping 120 points. Peter Forsberg racked up 116 points, with 86 of them being assists. The Avs also received Claude Lemieux, who was part of the New Jersey Devils' 1995 Stanley Cup run, and he also paid dividends: 39 goals, 32 assists, 71 points, and 117 penalty minutes (only Adam Deadmarsh had more PIMs). As for Patrick Roy, he started 38 games for the Avs after the trade, going 22-15-1 and racking up a GAA of 2.68 with one shutout.

In the 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Avalanche began their run by defeating the Vancouver Canucks in a six-game opening round series, and would need that same amount to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Western Conference Final saw the Avs face the Detroit Red Wings, the same Wings who won 62 games and finished with 131 points (both NHL records). This would also be the series where the Avalanche's monstrous rivalry with the Red Wings began, and in this first go-around, the Avs struck first blood, winning the series in six games to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history.

The 1996 Stanley Cup Final was a historic one, as the Avalanche faced off against the Florida Panthers, who were only in their third season of play. It was a big moment for both markets, as this was three years after the markets joined Major League Baseball. However, this was not a competitive Final. The Avs won both home games by outscoring the Panthers by a combined score of 11-2, centered by an 8-1 victory in Game Two. Game Three was much closer, with the Avs winning 3-2, but Game Four was where all the drama took place. It was actually scoreless after sixty minutes, and remained so after eighty minutes, and then after one hundred minutes. However, just 4:31 into the third overtime, Uwe Krupp's shot ended up being the shot heard and seen around the world, or at least in Sunrise, Florida, as it went past John Vanbiesbrouck and clinched the Avalanche's very first Stanley Cup.

Out of Patrick Roy's four Stanley Cup Championships, 1996 was the only one where he didn't win the Conn Smythe Trophy. For that year, the trophy went to Joe Sakic, who had 34 points (18 G/16 A) in 22 games played. Sakic's 18 goals led the team, with Forsberg and Valeri Kamensky tied for second with 10 each. Uwe Krupp's overtime Cup-clinching goal was one of four he scored in the 1996 playoffs, and he also had 12 assists for a grand total of 16 points. The Avalanche were Colorado's second (and clearly more successful) attempt at an NHL franchise after the Colorado Rockies, and their Stanley Cup (won on June 10, 1996) was Denver's first professional sports championship, with the NFL's Denver Broncos winning their first of back-to-back Super Bowls a year later.

The Avalanche established themselves as a superpower with their 1996 Stanley Cup, but it was a rough road after that. The Red Wings got their payback over the Avs in the following year's Western Conference Final, and the 1998 playoffs saw the Avs upset in the first round by the Edmonton Oilers, resulting in Marc Crawford being fired as head coach. Under new coach Bob Hartley, the Avalanche continued to dominate the newly formed Northwest Division, but 1999 and 2000 ended with the same result: a seven-game Western Conference Final loss to the Dallas Stars.

And then came the 2000-01 season. Similar to the moments prior to the 1995-96 season, the Avalanche made some big deals. First off, they traded for Ray Bourque during the middle of the 1999-2000 season, with the deal coming after Bourque served as the Boston Bruins' top defenseman for 20 1/2 seasons. However, despite all of his years in the league, and the great numbers he accumulated, there's one thing he hadn't achieved: winning the Stanley Cup. Bourque wasn't the only veteran defenseman acquired by the Avs, as they also traded for Rob Blake during the 2000-01 season, with Blake having played his entire career with the Los Angeles Kings.

The 2000-01 season saw the Avalanche win 52 games and rack up 118 points in the standings, which were team records until the 2021-22 season. Once again, Joe Sakic led the team with 118 points (54 G/64 A), while Peter Forsberg was a distant second with 89 points (27 G/62 A). The team also had a group of clutch scorers in the form of Milan Hejduk, Chris Drury, and Alex Tanguay, and I really enjoyed watching those three play. Hejduk was a big time goal scorer for the Avs, he's who Mikko Rantanen and Nazem Kadri reminded me of when I watched this season's team. Drury was one of those players who would score at the right time, and as for Tanguay, more on him just a bit later.

Similar to 1996, the Avalanche's 2001 playoff run began with facing the Vancouver Canucks, but this time, the Avs only needed four games to oust them. Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Kings were pulling off a huge shocker over the Detroit Red Wings, and I remember watching Game Six, with the Kings ahead late. Some Kings fans had a big makeshift banner that said "Bring on the Avalanche." When I saw that, I laughed and didn't think they were serious; I figured this would be "easy pickings" for Colorado. After Jaroslav Modry scored in OT in Game One, I thought, "This may be harder than I thought." However, the Avalanche would win the next three to go up 3-1, but it was followed by Kings OT victories in Games Five and Six, resulting in a Game Seven.

The last words I wanted to hear were "Game Seven." I and other Avs fans still had bad memories of the last three Game Sevens, and I was really hoping that the Avs would pull this out, because I felt that this was the team's best chance. After 20 minutes, it was 1-0 Avalanche. After 40 minutes, it was 1-1. There I was, hoping for something in the third period, and that something came...in the form of four Avalanche goals! The Avs won 5-1 and reached the Western Conference Final for the fifth time in six years. This time, the Avs faced the St. Louis Blues, who swept Dallas in Round 2. This series was much easier; Avs went up 3-0, but lost Game Four in extra time. Game Five went to OT, and no surprise, it was the Captain, Joe Sakic, who scored and sent the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup Final!

The Avalanche's opponents in the 2001 Final: the defending champion New Jersey Devils. Oh boy! It was one of those rare moments where both #1 seeds faced each other in the Final, plus it was Brodeur vs Roy, a clash of the titans! Colorado took Game One easily, a 5-0 shutout, but the Devils evened it up in Game Two. The two games in New Jersey were also split, but Game Five went to the Devils on Colorado ice. I'll be completely honest, I was semi-scared to watch Game Six on June 7, 2001, because Game Five had me in despair. The Avs had to win on the road to keep hope alive, and the team actually did it. Another shutout for Roy, a 4-0 victory with the Cup in the building.

Saturday evening, June 9, 2001. Strangely, I wasn't nervous entering Game Seven, I guess because it would be the end one way or the other. Even so, something told me, this would be the night--"We're doing it. We're winning." Period 1 was mostly quiet, both goalies made sure of that. However, there was one tally during the opening frame, and it was Alex Tanguay who put it in. It was 1-0 after 20 minutes in favor of the Avalanche. Second period, Tanguay strikes again, making it 2-0. At this point, I started crying. "We're going to win. We're going to win." It didn't matter that there was a whole half game left. It didn't matter that it was only a 2-0 lead and those leads could disappear in mere seconds. I knew. I knew. The cherry on top came from (who else?) Joe Sakic; a power play goal to make it 3-0. Petr Sykora ended Roy's shutout bid, but it was 3-1 after 40 minutes. The third period's only purpose ended up being a countdown clock to the inevitable, and when it struck zero, the celebration began.

To this day, the evening of June 9, 2001 draws emotion from this Avalanche fan, and also to this day, I remain very grateful to Alex Tanguay and his performance that evening. Two goals in that Game Seven, with his second being the Cup clincher. Because of that, Tanguay remains one of my all-time favorite Avs players, and I will always remember his contributions to that Stanley Cup.

The main story regarding that 2001 championship, of course, was Ray Bourque. In his 22nd season in the NHL, Bourque finally...finally...hoisted the Stanley Cup. It was an iconic moment when the Cup was distributed. The captain is always supposed to lift the Cup first, but when Joe Sakic received the prize, he immediately handed the Cup to Ray Bourque, one of the best moments in the history of the Stanley Cup. Not surprisingly, Bourque called it a career after finally winning the Cup, and what a career it was. In 22 NHL seasons, Bourque scored 410 goals and had 1,169 assists for a grand total of 1,579 points. In his playoff career, Bourque had 180 career points (41 G/139 A), and only missed the playoffs twice in his storied career.

The Colorado Avalanche's first two Stanley Cups were an amazing part of a great period in the NHL for this fan. 1996 put the Avs on the map as a powerhouse, while 2001 was a dominant year that also carried a lot of emotion. The Avs will enter this upcoming season as the reigning, defending, undisputed Stanley Cup Champions for the third time in franchise history, and this longtime fan is rooting for a fourth Cup.