When they came to Denver in 1995 they were, literally, a no-name team. Avalanche team members walked around town with the words “Colorado NHL” on white T-shirts.
Today, the Avalanche has two Stanley Cups to its name. Along with original majority owner Charlie Lyons, there is one other person probably most responsible for giving the Avs an identity: Pierre Lacroix.
“I didn’t always get along with him, but you have to really respect what he did in Colorado,” said Jimmy Devellano, a former general manager with the Detroit Red Wings. “He made some moves that put Colorado over the top a couple of times, and you have to judge him by his record, which is a very good one.”
Lacroix’s successful, sometimes stormy career as Avalanche GM ended Friday. With perspiration on his forehead from overhead lights and moisture in his eyes from emotion, Lacroix said he couldn’t invest all his energy in the job anymore. One look at the scene after his news conference and it was easy to see why: Lacroix held his grandson, Max, and held hands with his wife of nearly 40 years, Colombe.
It was time, Lacroix said, to spend his twilight years out of the spotlight. It was time to live a life where each loss didn’t feel like a kick in the gut. Though only 58, Lacroix said he was feeling like an 88-year-old from the constant pressure of winning.
“For 40 years I’ve been involved in a field that I love and my family did a lot of sacrificing, and I think it’s time for me to give back,” Lacroix said.
Poker-faced risk taker
Lacroix spent the first 21 years of his career as an agent, then became an agent of change for the team formerly known as the Quebec Nordiques.
Bored with hammering out contracts with NHL general managers for clients such as Patrick Roy and Mike Bossy, Lacroix left a lucrative business for the uncertain, high-pressure world at the bargaining table.
He wasted no time making bold moves in Quebec, hiring coach Marc Crawford, who had no NHL experience. Then he traded star Mats Sundin to Toronto in a package that brought Wendel Clark.
Lacroix was just getting warmed up. He loved to make deals, loved the poker element. And Lacroix had perhaps the best poker face in NHL history. He delighted in frustrating reporters, never tipping his hand to the media – or his family – about anything.
“True story here,” said his son, Eric. “I got a call from (former Kings GM) Sam McMaster in 1996, telling me I’d been traded. I asked him where and he said Colorado. I was like, ‘Huh?’ I had no idea. I mean, my mother had no idea and she sleeps in the same bed with him every night.”
Lacroix engineered one of the most lopsided trades in NHL history, getting Patrick Roy and Mike Keane from Montreal in 1995, after previously making big deals for Claude Lemeiux and Sandis Ozolinsh, key pieces to what would become a Stanley Cup-winning team.
He would continue to make bold moves, some that worked brilliantly (acquiring Ray Bourque in 2000 and Rob Blake in 2001) and some that didn’t (the trading of Chris Drury and Stephane Yelle to Calgary in 2002).
Through it all, Lacroix never worried about risk. To a man who rose to the heights of power in the NHL without a college education or NHL playing experience, he gravitated toward risk.
“He was a very tough competitor,” Red Wings GM Ken Holland said.
“You would always keep an eye on what he was doing. Obviously, Colorado was a very big competitor of ours, and he made moves to win now, like we try to do here.”
Legacy secure
It will be a tall order to match the kind of success Lacroix had in 10 seasons in Denver. No NHL team has played in more postseason series since 1995 than the Avs (26), and no Western Conference team made it to the conference finals as many times (six) in that span.
“If we are talking about this organization being in 26 more playoff series 10 years from now, I’ll be a very happy man,” Lacroix said.
Bold and not-so-beautiful moves
Denver Post staff writer Adrian Dater highlights some of Pierre Lacroix’s best and worst moves during his tenure as general manager of the Avalanche:
Bests
PATRICK ROY TRADE: It might go down as the best trade in NHL history. On Dec. 6, 1995, Lacroix swiped goalie Patrick Roy and Mike Keane from Montreal for three marginal players – Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko. Montreal chose Lacroix’s offer over one from Chicago that would have given Ed Belfour to the Canadiens.
RAY BOURQUE TRADE: If the acquisition of Roy wasn’t the biggest steal in NHL history, Lacroix’s fleecing of the Boston Bruins for Ray Bourque in 2000 might be. The Avs went 91-31-15 (including playoffs) after acquiring Bourque, winning the Stanley Cup in 2001.
ROB BLAKE TRADE: In 2001, Lacroix got Rob Blake and Steve Reinprecht from Los Angeles for Adam Deadmarsh, Aaron Miller and a draft pick. The Avs won the Cup that year, with Blake leading all defensemen in playoff scoring, and have gotten good years from Blake since.
CLAUDE LEMIEUX TRADE: Lacroix traded disgruntled winger Wendel Clark to the New York Islanders in 1995, winning that year’s Conn Smythe winner, Claude Lemieux, in return. Lemieux continued playing well while with the Avs after helping Colorado to the 1996 Cup, while Clark’s career fizzled.
SANDIS OZOLINSH TRADE: Early in the 1995-96 season, Lacroix traded forward Owen Nolan for the offensive-minded Ozolinsh. Ozolinsh was a major contributor to Colorado’s Cup team that season, scoring the game-winner in overtime of Game 6 to eliminate Chicago in the Western Conference semifinals.
Worsts
CHRIS DRURY TRADE: In the summer of 2002, Lacroix puzzled everybody by dealing forwards Chris Drury and Stephane Yelle to Calgary for Derek Morris, Jeff Shantz and Dean McAmmond. Drury now captains a Buffalo team in the Eastern Conference semifinals and Yelle was part of a Flames team that nearly won the Cup in 2004. Morris, Shantz and McAmmond are no longer with the Avs and never did much when they were here.
DEREK MORRIS TRADE: Trying to salvage the trade that brought Morris from Calgary, Lacroix sent the defenseman, along with touted prospect Keith Ballard, to Phoenix in 2004 for the forgettable Chris Gratton, along with Ossi Vaananen and a second-round draft pick.
BATES BATTAGLIA TRADE: At the trade deadline in 2003, Lacroix got Battaglia from Carolina for youngster Radim Vrbata. While Vrbata’s career has stalled, Battaglia was a major bust for the Avs. To Lacroix’s credit, he got valuable Steve Konowalchuk from Washington for Battaglia later that summer.
FAILURE TO RETAIN MIKE KEANE AND CHRIS SIMON: The Avs were hurt in their early years by the failure to sign two players. One was Chris Simon, traded in 1996, whose fighting skills were missed. The other was Mike Keane, who was allowed to leave as a free agent to the Rangers in 1997 and later beat the Avs with two goals in a Game 7 of the Western finals for Dallas in 1999.
PIERRE TURGEON FOR PETER FORSBERG: Though losing Peter Forsberg to the Flyers largely was because of a suddenly changed NHL financial landscape, the Avs could have done better than the aging Turgeon as a replacement.
