Rob Blake remembers the feeling he had upon entering the Avalanche’s locker room for the first time. There was Ray Bourque sitting beside Joe Sakic, with Patrick Roy nearby and Peter Forsberg a couple of stalls away.
It was Feb. 23, 2001, after a blockbuster trade with the Los Angeles Kings. The Avs were wheeling and dealing, making an all-out bid to win the Stanley Cup and wanted an imposing defenseman. Blake, he of the deadly slap shot and bruising hip check, became the final piece of that Cup-winning team.
“Rob was a great addition at the time,” Roy said. “I’m sure it was tough for the organization to see guys like Adam Deadmarsh and Aaron Miller go, but at the same time, we needed that type of defenseman.”
Blake and Forsberg will be the fourth and fifth members of that Avs team to be honored at the Hockey Hall of Fame headquarters in Toronto with the induction ceremonies Monday.
“It was quite a team that Pierre Lacroix assembled,” Blake said. “I probably didn’t realize it then, but I was looking at a room full of Hall of Famers in Patrick Roy, Ray Bourque and Joe Sakic and now Peter Forsberg. And then you add Adam Foote in this group, because he’s one of the best leaders this game has seen. (And) throw in the young guys who showed up in the big games and big times, with Chris Drury and Milan Hejduk and Alex Tanguay.”
Back then, the Avs were the talk of the town in the winter months.
“It was one of the tougher tickets during that time,” Blake recalled. “It was great to be part of that. And we had one of the greatest teams that you could assemble, even to this day. You look at that roster, and it’s hard to put a team like that together.”
Blake, who won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman in 1998, spent nearly 13 of his 20 NHL seasons in Los Angeles and now is the Kings’ assistant general manager. He retired in 2010 while playing for the San Jose Sharks with 1,270 NHL regular-season games played, 240 goals, 777 points and 1,679 penalty minutes.
He won one Stanley Cup as a player, with that Avs team, and has already won two as an L.A. executive.
Blake played three years of college hockey at Bowling Green and led the Falcons to their last NCAA Tournament appearance, in 1990.
Blake credits his coach at Bowling Green, Jerry York, now the coach at Boston College, for helping him develop into a pro.
“My decision to stay after my second year and leave after my junior year were solely based on his recommendations, and looking back they were right on,” he said. “It all came quick over those three years. You go there and play one year, learn the college system and the next year you get a little better. The third year finishes, and a day later I’m playing in the NHL.
“Looking back on it, I’m glad it happened that quick — signing and then playing immediately — because I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it.”
Mike Chambers: mchambers@denverpost.com or
Staff writer Adrian Dater contributed to this story.
Blake’s career
October 1987: Began three-year career at Bowling Green.
June 1988: Drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the fourth round (70th overall).
April 1990: Named all-Central Collegiate Hockey Association and NCAA West first team, and CCHA defenseman of the year. Signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Kings.
October 1990: Began his first full NHL season, finishing with 12 goals, 46 points and 125 penalty minutes in 75 regular-season games.
April 1993: Helped lead the Kings to the Stanley Cup Finals. They lost to the Montreal Canadiens and young goalie Patrick Roy.
October 1996: After the trade of center Wayne Gretzky, Blake replaced “The Great One” as the Kings’ captain, the 11th in franchise history.
October 1995: Missed all but six games in the 1995-96 season because of a knee injury.
June 1998: Won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman.
April 2000: Finished the 1999-2000 season second in the NHL in shots (327).
February 2001: Traded to Colorado with F Steven Reinprecht for F Adam Deadmarsh, D Aaron Miller, a player to be named (Jared Aulin, on March 22, 2001) and Colorado’s first-round choices in 2001 (Dave Steckel) and 2003 (Brian Boyle).
June 2001: Helped lead the Avalanche to its second Stanley Cup championship.
July 2006: Signed with Los Angeles as a free agent.
July 2008: Signed with San Jose as a free agent.
June 2010: Announced his retirement as a member of the Sharks.
Class of 2014
A look at the Hockey Hall of Fame inductees:
Rob Blake, defenseman
From Simcoe, Ontario, Blake played at Bowling Green and was a Hobey Baker Award finalist in his last season as the nation’s top player before signing with the Los Angeles Kings. He played 20 NHL seasons and was a seven-time all-star. He helped the Avs win the 2001 Stanley Cup. Is a member of the IIHF’s elite Triple Gold Club — winning a Stanley Cup, Olympic gold medal and the IIHF World Championship.
Peter Forsberg, center
The Swedish superstar is one of the most skilled and physical forwards ever to play the game. He played for five years in the Swedish Elite League before beginning a 14-year NHL career, winning the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 1996 and 2001. He won the 2003 Hart Trophy as NHL MVP and is the third Swedish native to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, following Borje Salming and Mats Sundin. Forsberg helped Sweden win Olympic gold medals in 1994 and 2006.
Dominik Hasek, goalie
Played nine professional seasons in his native Czech Republic before joining the Chicago Blackhawks during the 1990-91 season. A six-time Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s best goaltender, he also won the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP in 1997 and 1998 — the first time a goaltender won that trophy since Jacques Plante in 1962. Hasek won Stanley Cups in Detroit in 2002 and 2008 and also won an Olympic gold medal in 1998.
Mike Modano, center
From Livonia, Mich., Modano holds the NHL record for most goals (561) and points (1,374) by an American-born player. He was drafted No. 1 overall in 1998 by the Minnesota North Stars and led the Dallas Stars to the 1999 Stanley Cup. He finished his 22-year NHL season with the Detroit Red Wings, after 21 years with the North Stars/Stars franchise.
Other inductees
Pat Burns (builder category); Bill McCreary (referee/linesman category).
Media honorees
Kevin Allen, Pat Foley.
Compiled by Mike Chambers,The Denver Post
