Fansided

Luckiest jerseys in the NHL’s long and storied history

By Bruin Belisle

DENVER, COLORADO - JUNE 9: Ray Bourque #77 of the Colorado Avalanche lifts the cup with Joe Sakic #19 after the Colorado Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-1 in game seven of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche take the series 4-3. (Photo by B Bennett/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - JUNE 9: Ray Bourque #77 of the Colorado Avalanche lifts the cup with Joe Sakic #19 after the Colorado Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-1 in game seven of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche take the series 4-3. (Photo by B Bennett/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
14 of 31
Next
DENVER, COLORADO – JUNE 9: Ray Bourque #77 of the Colorado Avalanche lifts the cup with Joe Sakic #19 after the Colorado Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-1 in game seven of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche take the series 4-3. (Photo by B Bennett/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO – JUNE 9: Ray Bourque #77 of the Colorado Avalanche lifts the cup with Joe Sakic #19 after the Colorado Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-1 in game seven of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche take the series 4-3. (Photo by B Bennett/Getty Images) /

18. Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche have enjoyed more success than most of the teams ahead of them, bu they;ve also had some stacked teams. The luckiest jersey in this franchise was the won worn by Ray Bourque, who came over to Colorado for one season and helped the Avalanche win a Stanley Cup in 2001. Patrick Roy was incredible and star players like Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and newly acquired Ray Bourque all played phenomenally in their run to the Cup.

The Avalanche also won a Stanley Cup in 1996, which marked the first season in Colorado after they moved from Quebec (Nordiques). It was heartbreaking for Quebec, as that team was incredible and likely would have won that year even if they were playing every game outdoors on a lake in Alaska.

Joe Sakic was the heart and soul of these Avalanche teams. Sakic’s statistics are incredible. In 20 NHL seasons, Sakic collected 625 goals and 1016 assists in 1378 games played. He cracked 100 points in six of those seasons and was over 30 goals in every full season he played, not shortened by lock outs or injury. Incredible.

The Avalanche were lucky to land players like Sakic, Roy and Forsberg in their primes, together. They were also lucky to have players on the defensive end such as Rob Blake and (for one season) Ray Bourque. Having such talent on one team is bound to wind up in a Stanley Cup victory, but it’s still hard to get there.

Bourque winning a Stanley Cup was a moment that was bigger than hockey in general. As one of the best defenseman to ever play the game and nearing the end of his career, he was dealt to Colorado from Boston as the Bruins weren’t in a place to compete that season. When Bourque won, he brought the Cup to Boston and people lined the streets to celebrate with him. Us, as fans, were lucky to see such a great player win such a deserved trophy.

Home/NHL