Pierre Lacroix calls it a decade of enjoyment.
Two Stanley Cups and 91 postseason victories from 1995-2006 marked Lacroix’s term as president and general manager of the Avalanche.
Lacroix will be inducted tonight into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.
“It has been a great ride,” Lacroix said Monday. “But I look at it as a team accomplishment. It’s no different than a team in competition. You need to have all the pieces perform together and with a commitment.”
Lacroix and the Avs hit the Denver sports scene with a bang, winning the Stanley Cup in their first year and almost two years before the Broncos won their first Super Bowl.
“When you look back to the memories, I’m so proud of everybody who wore the ‘A’ the way they did,” Lacroix said. “The 1996 and 2001 Stanley Cups are the easy answers to what is so special about the decade of enjoyment. But the 91 playoff victories are a way to answer to our commitment to show that our goal was to be involved in the last game of the season every year.”
Lacroix, 59, never dreamed he’d be talking about time in Denver as he ran the NHL franchise in Quebec. But he learned that things can change quickly in sports.
“I knew Denver was a good sports town and a community waiting for something to happen.,” he said. “We had no name, no offices and no identity. We started from scratch with a closet in McNichols Sports Arena. We built an identity.”
Lacroix put some memorable players in Avs uniforms: Patrick Roy, Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, players who will stand as Denver sports legends.
After the 2006 season, Lacroix turned over the reins of running the franchise to new GM Francois Giguere. But Lacroix remains president.
“I have the same adrenaline, the same goals inside,” he said. “I’m hoping to see the next 91 wins in the playoffs.”
Colorado Sports Hall of Fame
What: Banquet honoring inductees
When: Today, 6 p.m.
Where: Denver Marriott City Center
Inductees: Fisher DeBerry, Air Force Academy football coach; Bill Noxon, high school and college football coach; Dow Finsterwald, professional golfer; Frank Shorter, Olympic marathon champion; Pierre Lacroix, Colorado Avalanche executive; Starr Yelland, radio and television sportscaster.
