5 random players you forgot were on the Colorado Avalanche

1. Tommy Salo

Whether it was with the Islanders or the Oilers, Salo made his North American legacy in blue and orange. The last-minute splash of burgundy and black may have clashed with that, if it were not so negligible.

The Swedish stopper did bookend his decade on this continent in Denver. But his first time in the Colorado capital, where he helped the IHL’s Denver Grizzlies to the 1995 Turner Cup, was longer and more memorable.

After the newfangled Avalanche nudged the Grizzlies to Utah, Salo backstopped the Islanders’ affiliate to another title. From there, he cemented a full-time spot in The Show, and assumed New York’s No. 1 netminding post from 1996 to 1999.

After a late-season trade to Edmonton ended that relationship, Salo played the same role for the equivalent of another five seasons. He also started getting rewarded a little more, both with tickets to the postseason and accolades.

In each of his first three full years with the Oilers, Salo finished among the top 10 on the Vezina Trophy ballot. In 2000-01, he punctuated a career-best 36-win season with a few Hart Trophy votes and his second appearance on the All-Star ballot.

The next year, while backstopping a non-playoff Edmonton team and taking a working respite to backstop the 2002 Swedish Olympians, he finished ninth on the NHL’s goals-against average leaderboard.

But after another year-plus as the Oilers starter, he was sent to the Avalanche to back up David Aebischer. He mustered five appearances in the regular season and one in the 2004 playoffs, then went to his native country for his final three seasons.

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