All-Time Avalanche All-Stars

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With the 2015 NHL All-Star game in Columbus, Ohio just concluding, I have decided to select an all-time Avalanche All-Stars team. This team will not necessarily consist of players who have participated in an NHL All-Star game, but rather Avalanche players who I would choose on my all-time team.

First off, in their relatively short history as a team, the Colorado Avalanche have had some amazing talent on show. Many great players, which means picking an all-time Avalanche All-Stars team won’t be easy. I won’t be selecting any players who solely played for the Quebec Nordiques, just Nords/Avs and plain Avalanche. Meaning no Goulet, Stastny brothers, Sundin, etc etc. A tough decision was whether to include active players or not. It does allow for much more possibilities, so I am going to allow myself permission.

Offense

To start this mega awesome team, we need team captains. Of course the C goes to Super Joe Sakic. The two alternate captains will be Adam Foote and Peter Forsberg. So many good offensive players have worn the Avalanche sweater throughout the years, it is pretty tough to choose just twelve. Yes, some players may be playing in a different position, but not everyone could be accommodated.

  1. Alex Tanguay – Joe Sakic – Jarome Iginla
  2. Matt Duchene – Peter Forsberg – Milan Hejduk
  3. Gabe Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Valeri Kamensky
  4. Claude Lemieux – Chris Drury – Adam Deadmarsh

Honorable mentions: Stephane Yelle, Ryan O’Reilly, Dan Hinote.

Defense

Granted there aren’t as many choices for defense as there are on offense. However the options that are available are quite nice.

  1. Adam Foote – Ray Bourque
  2. Rob Blake – Erik Johnson
  3. Sandis Ozolinsh – Alexei Gusarov

Honorable mentions: Tyson Barrie, Jon Klemm, Uwe Krupp, John-Michael Liles.

Goalies

The Starting job in net is a no-brainer for this Avalanche All-Stars team. None other than one of the very best goalies in NHL history, Patrick Roy. To go along with that, having Semyon Varlamov as a back-up is quite the goalie tandem.

  1. Patrick Roy
  2. Semyon Varlamov

Honorable mention: Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

So there you have it. The all-time Colorado Avalanche All-Stars. What do you think? Could your all-time All-Star team beat this one?

Bonus Video

Here is a trip down All-Star memory lane to close things out.

 

 

6 thoughts on “All-Time Avalanche All-Stars”

  1. @Travis – 1. Yes, Yelle had great value to the Avs, but this is an offensive team I put together, if I wanted an all-time two-way All-Star team, he’d be on it. Also notice he is the first name I mention after the lines. 2. Again with EJ & the younger players, I took into account their future and potential with the club, it’s just a preference. Finally, I put together a team, which mean TWO goalies, Roy & Varly, never did I state Varlamov is a back-up goaltender, never would.

    • @Craig, I did not include Kariya, Selanne, or Fluery because only Teemu had played a whole season with the team and it was a bad one, while the others fell well short of that, they were never truly Avs players(Fleury only played 15 games, & Kariya only played 51).

  3. Stephane Yelle was of greater value to the team than any forward listed that has been drafted since the 01 cup run.
    Jon Klemm has done more for the team than Erik Johnson by a wide margin (about two cups worth)
    Is Varlamov a backup goaltender?

  4. Obviously with the young guys, I’m taking into account their potential and future with the club. Youngest captain in NHL history, Calder Trophy winner, with a great future ahead. So, yes, seriously, Gabe Landeskog.

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