Speculation: Colorado Avalanche - All Time Team?

[Eye of Ra]

Just for fun:

Alex Tanguay - Joe Sakic - Milan Hejduk
Valeri Kamensky - Peter Forsberg - Adam Deadmarsch (Dead was best friend with Foppa)
Matt Duchene - Paul Statsny - Gabriel Landeskog
Andrew Brunette - Chris Drury - Claude Lemieux

John Michael Liles - Adam Foote
Sandis Ozolins - Rob Blake
Erik Johnson - Jan Hejda

Patrick Roy
Semyon Varlamov



(All in their prime)


How would this team do in todays NHL?

"How can you have him with ..." and "Why do you not pick ..." I look forward to a scary aha experience of having missed the big names that should have been included.

Feel free to make your own all-time team....

Click to read more...

 

[InjuredChoker]

ray bourque wasn't in his prime anymore but he still makes that team. easily. on the first pairing, or at least second, depending how one wants to form the pairings. JML is on the third pairing if he even makes the team

 

[bromando]

Depends on rules too. I'd you have players in their prime you have to throw in Kariya and Selanne even though they were here for a short time

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

Depends on rules too. I'd you have players in their prime you have to throw in Kariya and Selanne even though they were here for a short time

I'd say the rules have to be that they played at least an entire season with the Avs and you can only judge them on the time they had with the Avs, not when they played with other teams. JMO though.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

Tanguay - Sakic - Hejduk
Kamensky - Forsberg - Lemieux
Landeskog - Drury - Deadmarsh
Podein - Yelle - Keane
Duchene, Stastny


Bourque - Foote
Ozolinsh - Blake
Gusarov - Johnson
Liles


Roy
Varly

I tried to build more of a team with that 4th line.

 

[niwotsblessing]

Tanguay - Sakic - Hejduk
Kamensky - Forsberg - Lemieux
Landeskog - Drury - Deadmarsh
Podein - Yelle - Keane
Duchene, Stastny, MacKinnon


Bourque - Foote
Ozolinsh - Blake
Gusarov - Johnson
Liles


Roy
Varly

I tried to build more of a team with that 4th line.

A bit more forward depth.

 

[SuperTheGreat]

Tanguay - Sakic - Hejduk
Kamensky - Forsberg - Lemieux
Landeskog - Drury - Deadmarsh
Podein - Yelle - Keane
Duchene, Stastny


Bourque - Foote
Ozolinsh - Blake
Gusarov - Johnson
Liles


Roy
Varly

I tried to build more of a team with that 4th line.

That's a great lineup. Can't say I'd change much, if anything - might be nice to see Foote and Gusarov play together again, though. And I love that 4th line! Those guys were so important to the teams they were on. I'd rather see them than try to build an all-star team of our best scorers over the years. Duchene may be playing himself into a place where he and Drury someday swap spots on that roster, but with Drury's playoff performances, I'd say he still gets the nod. Well done Mars.

 

[bromando]

I'd say the rules have to be that they played at least an entire season with the Avs and you can only judge them on the time they had with the Avs, not when they played with other teams. JMO though.

Agreed, was just going off the OP.

 

[Sheet]

No Yip???

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

No Yip???

OP said team, not one man victory machine

 

[Pete Mitchell]

No complaints on the forward group, the center depth of this franchise is mind blowing. However the lack of Jon Klemm in this discussion saddens me. He had that outstanding quality that you never noticed, him so you knew he was on his game.

My all time D:

Bourque-Blake
Ozolinsh-Foote
Klemm-Johnson

 

[CAF1837]

Depends on rules too. I'd you have players in their prime you have to throw in Kariya and Selanne even though they were here for a short time

Not to mention Jari Kurri

 

[shadow1]

Tanguay - Sakic - Hejduk
Forsberg - Drury - Deadmarsh
Kamensky - Stastny - Lemieux
Ricci - Yelle - Messier

Bourque - Foote
Ozolinsh - Blake
Klemm - Johnson

Roy
Varlamov

 

[ColoradoSportsFan]

Tanguay - Sakic - Hejduk
Kamensky - Forsberg - Lemieux
Ricci - Drury - Deadmarsh
Messier - Yelle - Keane

Foote - Bourque
Blake - Gusarov
Ozolinsh - de Vries

Roy
Giguere
Fiset

Hartley/ Quenneville / Trottier

 

[nanzenkills]

ray bourque wasn't in his prime anymore but he still makes that team. easily. on the first pairing, or at least second, depending how one wants to form the pairings. JML is on the third pairing if he even makes the team

I agree. Bourque was still playing at a very high level when he was with Colorado, I'm pretty sure he finished 3rd or something like that in Norris Trophy voting during his one full year with the Avs.

 

[InjuredChoker]

I agree. Bourque was still playing at a very high level when he was with Colorado, I'm pretty sure he finished 3rd or something like that in Norris Trophy voting during his one full year with the Avs.

he helped tremendously in sakic getting the hart imo. i doubt they win the cup without him. his leadership, play and the extra thing of getting him that cup was huge. 2001 might have been the only year that the avs were one of the best at moving the puck.

he actually finished 2nd in norris that year.

 

[Freudian]

Kamensky played fewer games as an Avs player than Duchene has played.

He got caught up in Neil Smith's slight obsession with Avs players and signed there for too much money. Smith went after all things Avs. Probably fueled by anger after one of the Avs owners mailed him a framed picture of someone flipping the bird after the Sakic offer sheet was matched.

Fleury, Kamensky, Lefebvre, Gusarov all went to Rangers after they played with Avs when Smith was the GM in the late 1990s.

 

[Balthazar]

This thread makes me realize that other than Bourque (1 full season), Blake and Foote, this team never had great Dmen. In fact, Foote was drafted by the Nords and Bourque/Blake were acquired via trades...so the AVS never drafted a true #1 D in their whole history?

With that said, I'd easily take Lefebvre over Klemm, Gusarov and Liles. Actually, a guy like Lefebvre is exactly what the AVS would need for the next season!

 

[nanzenkills]

Kamensky played fewer games as an Avs player than Duchene has played.

He got caught up in Neil Smith's slight obsession with Avs players and signed there for too much money. Smith went after all things Avs. Probably fueled by anger after one of the Avs owners mailed him a framed picture of someone flipping the bird after the Sakic offer sheet was matched.

Fleury, Kamensky, Lefebvre, Gusarov all went to Rangers after they played with Avs when Smith was the GM in the late 1990s.

Did this actually happen? I didn't know that, but it is hilarious. You live by the sword, you die by the sword. Or something like that.

This thread makes me realize that other than Bourque (1 full season), Blake and Foote, this team never had great Dmen. In fact, Foote was drafted by the Nords and Bourque/Blake were acquired via trades...so the AVS never drafted a true #1 D in their whole history?

With that said, I'd easily take Lefebvre over Klemm, Gusarov and Liles. Actually, a guy like Lefebvre is exactly what the AVS would need for the next season!

You are right, if you don't count Adam Foote, we've never drafted a true #1 D-man. Even guys that we traded like Regehr and Boychuk weren't ever #1 guys.

You forgot Ozolinsh though as far as guys that we traded for. He had his defensive issues, but he was every bit a #1 D-man that, say, Kris Letang is nowadays, and probably more.

 

[SuperTheGreat]

This thread makes me realize that other than Bourque (1 full season), Blake and Foote, this team never had great Dmen. In fact, Foote was drafted by the Nords and Bourque/Blake were acquired via trades...so the AVS never drafted a true #1 D in their whole history?

With that said, I'd easily take Lefebvre over Klemm, Gusarov and Liles. Actually, a guy like Lefebvre is exactly what the AVS would need for the next season!

A matter of personal taste I suppose, but I go with Gusarov over Lefebvre and Klemm. Although I go with Klemm and Lefebvre over Liles all day long. Tough to argue against any of those three being in the conversation.

 

[Bonzai12]

This thread makes me realize that other than Bourque (1 full season), Blake and Foote, this team never had great Dmen. In fact, Foote was drafted by the Nords and Bourque/Blake were acquired via trades...so the AVS never drafted a true #1 D in their whole history?

Reinforcement again that the Avs have failed big time in developing D-Men. They should hire whoever is in charge of the Wisconsin D in NCAA's.

 

[Ivan13]

he helped tremendously in sakic getting the hart imo. i doubt they win the cup without him. his leadership, play and the extra thing of getting him that cup was huge. 2001 might have been the only year that the avs were one of the best at moving the puck.

he actually finished 2nd in norris that year.

I always get a kick out of people saying Bourque rode the teams coat-tails to the Cup, when in reality he was the best d-man on the team and the best d-man this team ever had.

Kamensky played fewer games as an Avs player than Duchene has played.

He got caught up in Neil Smith's slight obsession with Avs players and signed there for too much money. Smith went after all things Avs. Probably fueled by anger after one of the Avs owners mailed him a framed picture of someone flipping the bird after the Sakic offer sheet was matched.

Fleury, Kamensky, Lefebvre, Gusarov all went to Rangers after they played with Avs when Smith was the GM in the late 1990s.

It was a picture of Rockefeller flipping the bird, soon after the Rags became littered with former Avs. It's damn shame Val came over after his horrific leg injury, had he been healthy he, Joe and Foppa would wreck havoc on other teams, his skill level and speed before the injury made him an amazing player.

 

[Avs]

Thread needs more Hunwick

 

[ColoradoSportsFan]

I agree. Bourque was still playing at a very high level when he was with Colorado, I'm pretty sure he finished 3rd or something like that in Norris Trophy voting during his one full year with the Avs.

he helped tremendously in sakic getting the hart imo. i doubt they win the cup without him. his leadership, play and the extra thing of getting him that cup was huge. 2001 might have been the only year that the avs were one of the best at moving the puck.

he actually finished 2nd in norris that year.

Bourque was the difference between the 01 and 02 teams. I'll always be convinced that if Bourque had come back in 02 the Avs repeat. They beat Detroit in five and crush Carolina in the Final. He meant that much to this organization. Which is also why I have no issue with them retiring his number.

 

[18Mike18]

Kamensky - Sakic - Lemieux
Tanguay - Forsberg - Hejduk
Landeskog - Drury - Deadmarsh
Duchene - Stastny - Yelle
MacKinnon, Brunette


Bourque - Foote
Ozolinsh - Blake
Liles - Johnson
Gusarov, Klemm


Roy
Varlamov