5 random players you forgot were on the Colorado Avalanche

3. Theo Fleury

Yes, he hit the ice sprinting with 24 points in 15 games to close the 1998-99 regular season. And yes, he finished behind only Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic on Colorado’s playoff scoring leaderboard with 17 points.

But during that three-round run, Fleury posted the majority of his output (three goals, six assists) in a six-game first-round set with San Jose. He managed three points in six games apiece against the defending champion Red Wings and eventual champion Stars. He failed to find the net in nine straight outings after Game 3 of the Detroit series.

And after missing Game 5 of the Western Conference Final, he went quiet in Game 6, then assisted on a too-little-too-late tally in the rubber match, as the Avalanche blew back-to-back chances to close out the Stars.

Individual consistency (or lack thereof) aside, Fleury’s fling with Colorado coincided with an era of astronomical expectations. The fact remains that the Avs fell in the 1999 conference final. They were three years removed from their first championship, and two years away from their second.

By the time of the latter, Fleury was coming off his second full season with the Rangers. Meanwhile Calgary, where he won his only Cup as a rookie in 1989, will always epitomize the quantity and quality of his NHL resume.

Fleury was a Flame for the entirety or majority of every year he earned an All-Star, Hart Trophy, or Selke Trophy vote. He garnered a little of all three in 1990-91, then some more All-Star and Hart consideration in 1994-95, the last NHL season without the Avalanche.

Fleury was still a Flame when he represented Canada at the 1998 Olympics. When he did that again at Salt Lake City’s 2002 tournament, he was a third-year Ranger.