5 random players you forgot were on the Colorado Avalanche

2. Darius Kasparaitis

When Kasparaitis came to Colorado at the 2002 trade deadline, he was a year removed from receiving an All-Star vote. The stay-at-home defender was one of 23 players in his position to appear on that ballot in 2000-01.

Three years earlier, he received consideration for the Norris Trophy, finishing 12th in the vote count. And his average nightly ice time had exponentially increased since then, crossing 20 minutes in Pittsburgh and then coming a close shave under that at 19:44 with the Avalanche.

As a bonus, while most of his preceding Penguins and Islanders teams missed the playoffs, he had just been on a surprise ride to the 2001 Eastern Conference Final. That fresh experience and constant uptick in action read like a formula for a new wave of depth in Denver.

In reality, though, Kasparaitis joined the Avalanche for another three-round playoff, then went back to the Atlantic Division over the summer. After the defending champions fell one win shy of a repeat trip to the Stanley Cup Final, Kasparaitis signed with the Rangers and did not see playoff action again until 2007.

He did, however, log substantially more ice and penalty time overall in Manhattan than in the Mile High City. Meanwhile, the Avalanche have not made a three- or four-round playoff run since that 2002 shortcoming.

That said, it was their sixth conference final in seven years, with two championships along the way. Since Kasparaitis was only there for the comparatively disappointing end to that era, his legacy is lost in the pool of ring-laden Avs.