Avalanche Legends of Past and Present Highlight Teams
The NHL and Colorado Avalanche announced the club’s Quarter-Century Teams on Monday as the league continues to celebrate the best players of the last 25 years. Each club’s first and second team were selected by a panel of executives, media members and retired players. To qualify for the team, the player must have appeared in a game between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2024.
The players selected to the Avalanche’s Quarter-Century First Team are forwards Peter Forsberg, Nathan MacKinnon, and Joe Sakic; defensemen Adam Foote and Cale Makar; and goaltender Patrick Roy.
Forsberg posted 303 points (86g/217a) in 234 regular-season games in addition to 80 points (27g/53a) in 72 playoff games for the Avalanche. The 2001 Stanley Cup champion won the Art Ross and Hart Memorial trophies in 2003 after he led the NHL with 106 points (29g/77a). He also appeared in two All-Star Games (2001, 2003) and was named to the NHL’s All-Star First Team in 2003. Forsberg is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and his No. 21 jersey currently hangs in the rafters at Ball Arena.
MacKinnon had a historic season in 2023-24, winning the Hart Memorial Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award after setting the franchise record for points in a season with 140 (51g/89a). The No.1 overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft posted 960 points (349g/611a) in 829 regular-season games as well as 114 points (48g/66a) in 88 playoff games. MacKinnon helped the Avalanche win the franchise’s third Stanley Cup in 2022 by posting 24 points (13g/11a) in 20 playoff games. The recipient of the 2014 Calder Memorial and 2020 Lady Byng Memorial trophies, MacKinnon appeared in seven All-Star Games (2017-2020, 2022-2024). He’s also a member of the 2024 NHL All-Star First Team and made the NHL All-Star Second Team in 2018 and 2020.
Sakic, whose No. 19 hangs in the Ball Arena rafters, captained the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup in 2001 in a year where he also won the Hart Memorial and Lady Byng Memorial trophies in addition to the Ted Lindsay Award. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Sakic posted 639 points (244g/395a) in 567 regular-season games in addition to 94 points (43g/51a) in 96 playoff games. He appeared in five All-Star Games (2000-2002, 2004, 2007) and a three-time NHL All-Star First Team member (2001-2002, 2004).
Foote posted 136 points (29g/107a) in 445 regular-season games as well as 27 points (4g/23a) for Colorado, including helping the Avs win the Stanley Cup in 2001. During the 2001 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Foote, whose No. 52 hangs in the Ball Arena rafters, averaged 28:22 of time on ice.
Makar, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, owns the franchise records for goals, assists and points among defensemen in both the regular-season and playoffs. In 2020, he won the Calder Memorial Trophy and made the NHL’s All-Rookie Team after posting 50 points (12g/38a) in 57 games that season. In 2022, Makar won the Stanley Cup along with the Conn Smythe and Norris trophies. He’s appeared in three All-Star Games (2022-2024), is a two-time NHL All-Star First Team member (2021-2022) and a two-time NHL All-Star Second Team member (2023-2024). In his first five NHL seasons, Makar finished ninth in the Norris Trophy voting as a rookie and finished in the top three in voting for the past four seasons. In 353 regular-season games, he posted 382 points (97g/285a) in addition to 80 points (21g/59a) in 72 playoff contests.
Roy, who won both the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy in 2001, posted a playoff record of 41-27 for the Avs along with a .922 save percentage and a 2.02 goals-against average. In 223 regular-season games, 219 of them starts, he went 126-59-34, posting a .920 save percentage and a 2.09 goals-against average. Roy made three All-Star Game appearances (2001-2003) and was named to the NHL’s All-Star First Team in 2002. That year, he also won the William M. Jennings Memorial Trophy. Roy, whose No. 33 hangs in the Ball Arena rafters, is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The players selected to the Avalanche’s Quarter-Century Second Team are forwards Gabriel Landeskog, Milan Hejduk, and Mikko Rantanen; defensemen Rob Blake and Erik Johnson; and goaltender Semyon Varlamov.
Landeskog, the No. 2 overall pick in 2011 NHL Entry Draft, won the 2012 Calder Memorial Trophy and was named to the 2012 NHL All-Rookie Team after he posted 52 points (22g/30a) in 82 games. Prior to the 2012-13 season, he was named the youngest captain in NHL history at the time, leading to him being the first Av to hoist the Stanley Cup in 2022. In 738 regular-season games, Landeskog posted 571 points (248g/323a) in addition to 67 points (27g/40a) in 69 playoff contests.
Hejduk, whose No. 23 hangs in the Ball Arena rafters, helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 2001. In 900 regular-season games, he posted 723 points (343g/380a) in addition to 64 points (28g/36a) in 96 playoff games. In 2003, he led the NHL with 50 goals, winning the Maurice Richard Trophy, and was named to the NHL All-Star Second Team. He also appeared in the All-Star Game in 2000, 2001 and 2009.
Rantanen, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, posted 671 points (283g/388a) in 608 regular-season games as well as 101 points (34g/67a) in 81 playoff games. Rantanen helped the Avs win the Stanley Cup in 2022, was a member of the 2021 NHL All-Star Second Team, and appeared in two All-Star Games (2019, 2023).
Blake, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, posted 208 points (62g/146a) in 322 regular-season games in addition to 43 points (16g/27a) in 68 playoff games. He helped the Avs win the Stanley Cup in 2001, appeared in three All-Star Games (2002-2004) and made NHL All-Star Second Team twice (2001-2002).
Johnson, who was the first player to receive the Stanley Cup from Landeskog in 2022, posted 246 points (68g/178a) in 717 regular-season contests as well as 13 points (5g/8a) in 55 playoff games with the Avalanche.
Varlamov played in 389 regular-season games for Colorado, starting 378 of them, and posted a 183-156-38 record along with a .915 save percentage and a 2.72 goals-against average in those contests. In seven playoff games, all starts, he went 3-4 with a .913 save percentage and a 2.77 goals-against average. He was named to the NHL’s All-Star Second Team in 2014.
To select the NHL’s Quarter-Century Team presented by SAP, there will be a league-wide fan vote from February 12-26. Fans can vote on NHL.com and X for which Avs players they think belong on the NHL Quarter-Century Team. The team will be comprised of the 25 best players of the past 25 years, regardless of position. Only players named to a club’s Quarter-Century First Team will be eligible for selection to the NHL’s Quarter-Century team.
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