In the arena, he was a legendary competitor. Outside of uniform, he was pleasant, loyal, accommodating.

Lemieux died Thursday at the age of 60 in Lake Park, Florida. Authorities said the cause of death was suicide.

The news comes three days after Lemieux carried the torch into Bell Centre before the Montreal Canadiens faced the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final.

Seeing the smile on his face, the pride in his eyes, the heart breaks knowing he was masking pain.

Hockey was better with him in it.

On the ice, where he won four Stanley Cup rings with Montreal, Colorado and New Jersey, scoring 80 postseason goals. Off it as an agent, where he represented more than a dozen clients.

Lemieux was a polarizing figure in the Avs-Red Wings games, but kindled a friendship with Detroit tough guy Darren McCarty following an alumni event in 2016, leading them to participate in documentaries about how much the rivalry meant to the game.

Lemieux was never an official ambassador for the sport, but almost every conversation with him revealed his love for it.

He played 21 seasons, including from 1995 to 1999 with the Avalanche. After a six-year absence, he came out of retirement in 2009, appearing in 18 games with the San Jose Sharks at the age of 43.

I knew Lemieux as a young journalist, covering Avs home games during the 1996-97 and ’97-98 seasons for the Longmont Daily Times-Call. He was a tremendous scorer, and an all-pro agitator. Lemieux made skin crawl. And goalies flinch.

Teammates loved him. Opponents loathed him.

But the story of Lemieux with the Avs traces back to 1995, and how much they needed him.

General manager Pierre Lacroix added Lemieux three days before the former Quebec Nordiques’ inaugural game as the Colorado Avalanche at McNichols Arena. He gave the Avs an edge, and the addition of Mike Keane and Patrick Roy two months later positioned the franchise to win the Stanley Cup.

“Pierre recognized we had to get experience and he traded for Claude, Keane and Patrick. That was a lot of championships coming to our group combining with good young players,” Peter Forsberg told The Post a few months back. “Nobody still thought we would win it given how far ahead Detroit was in the standings. But as soon as we got to the playoffs, we knew we were going to do it.”

The journey will always be tied to what happened against the Red Wings in Game 6 of the 1996 Western Conference Final. Lemieux hit Kris Draper into the boards, causing multiple facial fractures. The Avs advanced and toppled the Florida Panthers to win the Stanley Cup.

The Avs’ standard of excellence and a rivalry with Detroit were born. And Lemieux was intertwined in both.

On March 26, 1997, the Red Wings sought retribution as McCarty went after Lemieux, triggering a full-scale brawl with goalies Roy and Mike Vernon in a bloody fight at center ice. Keane called out the Red Wings as gutless for waiting for a home game to exact revenge. 

Lemieux, known as “Pepe,” understood his role in the acrimony, and never shied from it, even if he did not always drop his gloves.

“Rivalries are really good for sports. They are born, sometimes, just from not liking each other. Or from playing in the conference finals or Stanley Cup finals. But that became one of the greatest rivalries in the league of all-time,” Lemieux told The Post in December at a 30-year Avs reunion at the Paramount Theatre. “It was good for the game. ESPN had its highest ratings.”

In retirement, Lemieux formed a friendship with McCarty, who learned of Lemieux’s passing from Draper. Their bond was one of the more remarkable developments in Lemieux’s life.

“Sad day. Sad day. Another brother gone. If you are struggling out there, no matter what, just reach out for some help,” McCarty said in a video before adding in a social media post. “As I’ve said, and I will always call it as I see it, if you are on the ice with Claude Lemieux and turn your back, you are an idiot. But off the ice I’ll turn mine.”

Those who knew Lemieux well as a teammate marveled at his desire to win and at how he blended enormous skill with feisty spunk. He finished with 379 goals and 1,777 penalty minutes, and only his thumb was without a ring.

You cannot tell the history of the NHL without mentioning his name.

The Avs issued a statement Thursday, reading in part, that Lemieux “was a loyal friend who would do anything for his teammates and somebody you could always count on.”

Multiple things struck me about my last interaction with Lemieux in December. His glare was still there, steely and intentional. His eyes gave him away as a ruthless competitor.

While his career was chronicled by excellence and mischief, this night revealed the side that made him so endearing.

He did not want to talk about himself, though his resume made him a worthy topic. He wanted to make a point to explain why the championship with the Avs was so unique. He had just won the Conn Smythe, leading the Devils to the title with his 13 goals, when he arrived in Colorado.

The Avs wanted what he had. Just as important, he wanted it more for them.

“To be part of anything where it is the first, I was blessed. Winning in Montreal was special, but that was their 23rd Cup. Going to New Jersey, not much of a hockey franchise and winning it, and then doing it again five years later was special. But coming here was really, really special. It was the first championship for the state of Colorado,” Lemieux said. “There are so many great memories. For me, winning on the road and coming back with the team. Reliving all of that and watching guys win for the first time, it was really something I will never forget.”

Lemieux paused a few times during his answer, catching himself. This was the man, not the caricature that Red Wings rivalry often framed him as. The love he felt from the fans, who posed for pictures and later roared with applause during the ceremony, clearly had an impact.

Lemieux deserved all of it.

But this interview, these final answers, this was Lemieux. Before he was an all-time great, he reveled in being trusted in the room, something that remained obvious as his eyes scanned the familiar faces.

“We don’t get together often,” Lemieux said. “It����ap incredible how fast it has gone by.”

Too fast. And now Pepe is gone too soon.

MacKinnon, the 2024 winner as the NHL’s most valuable player, led the NHL with 53 goals this season and finished third with 127 points this season. The Colorado Avalanche star finished with 97 points at even strength, which is the most by any player since Wayne Gretzky had 103 in 1990-91.

“For me, Nate, he’s somewhat of a unicorn when it comes to his abilities, the way he plays, the physicality and the skill level and pace he plays with,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “There aren’t too many guys who are putting up 100-plus points a year that go play as physical as Nate did last game. … We saw it in 2022. We’re seeing it again in this series. It����ap personally why I think he should be in that running every year.

“It����ap because there’s no one else like him, really, in the league that plays that way with that sort of speed, ability, skill and then physicality and sort of emotion and passion. Everyone does it differently, it����ap not taking away anything from the other guys. Some of those other guys do things that Nate doesn’t do and they play a little more of a cerebral game. But that����ap what I think makes Nate so special. He’s one of one.”

Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov are the other finalists for the award, which is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. MacKinnon was also a finalist in 2018, 2020 and 2021 before breaking through in 2024.

MacKinnon’s even-strength dominance helped the Colorado Avalanche win the Presidents’ Trophy this season. The Avs, fueled by a historic 31-2-7 start, led the NHL standings every day from Nov. 1 through the end of the regular season. MacKinnon had 35 goals in those first 40 games, including 28 at even strength — more than any player had in all situations at that point in the campaign.

This year was a four-person race for the league’s two MVP awards. MacKinnon won both the Hart and the Ted Lindsay Award in 2024, but he is not a finalist for the latter this year. San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini is, along with McDavid and Kucherov. MacKinnon will likely finish fourth in the Lindsay voting, just as Celebrini will likely be fourth in the Hart.

MacKinnon, who surpassed 400 goals and 1,100 points in his career this season, has finished in the top three of the Hart voting more times than franchise legends Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and Patrick Roy combined. He could become the first player in club history to win the Hart a second time. There are 19 players in NHL history who have won the Hart more than once.

After starting this postseason with just one point in the first three games against the Los Angeles Kings, MacKinnon has had back-to-back-to-back three-point efforts to close out the first round and help the Avs open a 2-0 series lead against the Minnesota Wild.

It’s also pushed him to the forefront of the Conn Smythe Trophy discussion. Avs coach Jared Bednar called his Game 2 performance against the Wild “off the charts.”

“He just wants to impact the game every time he steps on the ice,” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said. “I think that’s what it comes down to. And knowing Nate, he doesn’t come home and count the points he had, or do any of that. That����ap not what he bases his performance off of — it����ap how he impacted the game on both sides of the puck. The offensive production is a byproduct of that. He prepares the right way, has the right mindset and goes out and wants to be an impact every time he steps on the ice.

“Do we get numb to it? No, there’s still a lot of plays where it kind of takes you back. But at the same time, he’s awesome, so you do come to expect it after a while. Just happy he’s on our side.”

FOOTNOTE: Bednar said he’s confident Josh Manson, who has missed the past three games with an injury, will return while the team is in Minnesota for Games 3 and 4. Jack Ahcan did not travel with the team as an insurance defenseman in part because the Avs believe Manson will be ready soon.

The Colorado Avalanche, fresh off a defensive grind against the Los Angeles Kings in the opening round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, held off the Minnesota Wild, 9-6, in a chaotic Game 1 of their second-round series that looked more like something out of the 1980s featuring Quebec and the former Minnesota franchise.

Cale Makar scored twice as part of a 3-point night and Devon Toews had a goal and three assists as Avalanche defenseman scored five times in a back-and-forth contest Sunday night at Ball Arena. Scott Wedgewood made 30 saves, but allowed more goals than he did during the four-game sweep of the Kings.

“if you scripted that one then, like, I don’t know how you (did),” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “I can’t explain it.”

Makar, who missed most of the first period after an awkward hit behind the Avs net, answered a huge game from Quinn Hughes with the go-ahead goal at 3:21 of the third period. Makar collected a pass from Nathan MacKinnon and wired a shot from the right circle. It was the third straight game with a goal for Makar.

Nazem Kadri added the extra point at 5:43 of the third when he beat Minnesota goaltender Jesper Wallstedt with a shot on a partial breakaway. That became the game-winning goal when Matt Boldy backhanded the puck from the blue line and it took a wacky bounce befitting this acid trip of a hockey game off Mats Zuccarello and in.

Makar added an insurance goal with 2:54 remaining, and then MacKinnon added an empty-netter for his third point of the night.

No lead is safe in Game 1

Both goaltenders were excellent in the first round, but whether we’ll see Filip Gustavsson or Mackenzie Blackwood in Game 2 on Tuesday night remains a pending storyline.

“I don’t think we’re going to see that again,” Makar said. “Just was probably a one-off. I like that we were able to stick with it and find a way to win in obviously a unique way.”

Nick Blankenburg, in the lineup for the injured Josh Manson, made his first NHL playoff goal a memorable one to give Colorado a 4-2 lead at 4:16 of the middle period. Blankenburg was near the Colorado net when the Avs gained possession and then proceeded to race past three Wild players and collect a pass from Valeri Nichushkin as he drove to the Wild net and then flicked one over Wallstedt.

For the second time in this game, it appeared the Avs were in control. They were not.

Minnesota scored the next three goals to take a 5-4 lead. Vladimir Tarasenko scored with one hand on his stick, a move made famous by Avalanche legend Peter Forsberg at the 1994 Winter Olympics, to cut Colorado’s lead to one at 6:45 of the second.

Hughes tied the contest at 12:43 of the second when he went right, then cut back to the left along the top of the zone and sent a shot past a perfectly executed screen by Nick Foligno.

Nick’s brother, Marcus Foligno, gave the Wild their first lead when he scored shorthanded at 16:55. Kadri tried to leave the puck for MacKinnon at the top-left corner of the offensive zone, but it went by him, and Foligno scored on the breakaway.

Toews got that one back 69 seconds later. It wasn’t officially a power-play goal because Brock Faber had just stepped out of the box when Toews’ shot from the top of the zone found an opening.

“At 5-5, it’s, it’s simple for me — you’ve got to dig in defensively,” Bednar said. “And it wasn’t puck decisions. We had some lost battles. We were soft in some areas. And then the details of our game, we were giving up scoring chances on things that we’ve been doing the same way for 3, 4, 5, 6 years, and then just making mistakes on it.”

A fast start for the Avs

Colorado roared to a 3-0 lead in the opening period with three goals in a span of 2 minutes, 1 second.

Martin Necas set up Lakeville, Minn., native Sam Malinski for the first goal of the series at 11:12 of the first. Malinski, who missed a big chunk of the second period after taking a puck in the mouth, snapped one from the right faceoff dot into the top right corner past Wallstedt for his first career NHL postseason goal.

Jack Drury, who came with Necas from the Carolina Hurricanes in a trade for Mikko Rantanen in January 2025, made it a 2-0 lead 52 seconds later. Logan O’Connor forced a turnover in the right corner of the Minnesota zone and then sent a pass to Drury. He faked a shot and then fired one past Wallstedt for his first goal of this postseason.

Artturi Lehkonen made it a three-goal advantage with a power-play goal 69 seconds later. MacKinnon carried the puck into the zone, went by two Minnesota players and put a shot on net. He collected his own rebound as he was heading towards the right corner and sent a pass back to Lehkonen, who was wide open in the left circle as all five Wild players on the ice were focused on MacKinnon.

Ball Arena was rocking at that point, but this rollercoaster ride was just getting started.

Marcus Johansson started the comeback at 15:02 of the first. He threw the puck towards the net from along the goal line, and then intercepted a get-it-out-of-danger flick from Nicolas Roy. Johansson turned and sent a shot through a crowd to make it a 3-1 game.

Ryan Hartman made it 3-2 just 62 seconds later. Hughes had the puck in the left corner and backhanded a pass to a wide-open Hartman at the edge of the crease. Wedgewood appeared to initially stop Hartman’s shot, but it trickled through his equipment and across the goal line.

“Listen, it was a crazy game,” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said. “Let����ap just call it what it is. … So now we’ll enjoy this one tonight and then tomorrow, we’ll sort out what we can do better and what we did well and what we can keep working on.”

Almost.

It’s been choppy. It’s been grimey. The Kings are winning on special teams.

And yet the Colorado Avalanche left for Los Angeles on Wednesday with a 2-0 series lead, emboldened by its work without the puck, patience and signs that this may be a more well-equipped group to survive games like this than previous editions.

“I’m happy with the way we’ve been sticking with it, and we have absolutely no problem playing this way. I think we like playing this way,” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said early Wednesday morning after a 2-1 overtime win in Game 2. ” We know what we need to do to be successful and to be be hard to play against defensively. For us, that’s kind of where our game starts is our checking game.”

Colorado was the most explosive offensive team in the NHL this season. The Avs led the league with 297 goals.

That has been the club’s identity, at least externally, quite literally since the franchise moved to Denver. Colorado has scored the second-most goals in the NHL over the past 30 seasons, behind only the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Joe Sakic. Peter Forsberg. Nathan MacKinnon. Cale Makar. A bunch of their highly-skilled friends.

Jared Bednar fostered offensive excellence with this group with an aggressive, attacking mindset, backed by game-breaking talent and quality depth players. Guys arrive in Denver from other NHL clubs and just get better offensively.

But all that overshadows how the 2025-26 edition of the Avalanche became the league’s best team in the regular season. Bednar has always stressed defensive solidity first, and the offense will flow from there. This team also allowed the fewest goals.

This team, shaped by recent postseason failures and additions that have made it the deepest Avs group since 2022, has bought into that idea. And against an inferior opponent that wants to play a grind-it-out style, the Avs’ defensive prowess has stood out.

“We know (the Kings) going to check hard and play the right way and they’ve been consistent at that all year and so have we,” Bednar said. “I liked our checking game again tonight. We’re digging in on the defensive side of things.

“That����ap how we have to win. It����ap good practice. It����ap something we’ve been talking about all year, the importance of the defending, and I’m happy with the commitment that we’re getting from our guys.”

While the Avs have only scored four goals in the first two games, the most important number so far might be zero — as in, Colorado is the only team that has yet to allow a goal at 5-on-5. The Avs have controlled this series when it’s been played at 5-on-5.

Los Angeles goaltender Anton Forsberg has been very good, but Scott Wedgewood has been a little better. The Avs have remained patient, bolstered by their confidence in Wedgewood and their ability to find offense when needed.

The low scoring has led to some anxious moments, and it’s only two games. Maybe the Kings will find a way to create more without allowing the floodgates to open at the other end of the ice.

The Avs would like to create more. They did create more in Game 2. The score looks the same, but Colorado had control of the game for much longer stretches than it did in Game 1.

At a minimum, the Avs have shown they don’t need to blink if the games in this series continue to be a grind. The Kings may have bolstered their belief by staying with the Avs for two games at Ball Arena, but those contests have had a similar effect for the club that’s already up 2-0.

“Playoffs are going to be hard,” MacKinnon said. “It’s a really good team over there. They’re playing hard. We’re playing hard. It����ap low scoring, but it’s fun hockey. I thought we played pretty solid. I thought we had a lot of good looks, generating a ton. Their goal has been really good. Our goalie has been really good.

“It’s playoff time. You definitely can get frustrated during the regular season, but playoffs … there’s no time for that. You got to be, you know, 100% in, team-player positive and you’ve just got to stick with it. I feel like we’re doing a lot of good things and we’re up to it.

“It’s low-scoring games, but it����ap not about the amount of goals. Just got to get some wins.”

Sean Keeler: Two words, my friend: Seattle, 2023. Be careful. One of the most awesome/terrible/terribly awesome things about The Fight For Lord Stanley is that underdogs can bite and, unlike the NBA bracket, seeding can feel like just a number. On talent? On depth? On mojo? The Avs’ first dance partner shouldn’t matter. The Kings, Preds, Mammoth ought to all be glorified cannon fodder. But knowing the video-game boss that’s waiting in Round 2 (Dallas or Minnesota), and that the winner of Round 2 could win the whole darn thing if you survive said boss fight, give me rest over rust. Give me the softest softie and lightest lift possible. Give me the Kings, baby.

Renck: The Kings represent a team where the Avs will take names and crush dreams. Los Angeles features a terrific storyline as Anze Kopitar is retiring at season’s end. The Kings wisely had Kopitar, a classy, 20-year veteran, deliver an emotional goodbye to the fans after playing his final regular-season home game at Crypto.com Arena. It would have been awkward to address the crowd after getting swept in the playoffs. The Avs have steamrolled the Kings this season, going 3-0 and outscoring them 13-5. Colorado features the league’s best offense. Despite being a postseason regular, the Kings are offensive, ranking 29th in goals per game. The Kings, with their soft remaining schedule, are the Avs’ most likely opponent and easiest. Take the empty net.

Keeler: The Kings are also doing a mini-Nuggets, riding a four-game win streak — the longest active streak among West squads — into Monday’s action. I don’t have much hesitation about drawing Los Angeles first, but one of the few (other than Kopitar nostalgia) is running into a little guy on a heater. I remember how helpless the Predators’ defense looked chasing around the burgundy and blue in the opening round of ’22. This time around, you’d think Nashville is going to make the Avs work for it. Or work harder for it, at least. Colorado and the Preds split the regular-season series, Nashville has won at Ball, and perennial pest Ryan O’Reilly’s still lurking in the Music City — that is, as the “Mac” half of “Mac N Cheeze,” and no, What a time to be alive.

Renck: You can be the vibes guy. And reflect on the past. My vision is through the windshield. The Avs don’t require a first-round challenge, and the Predators are dangerous enough to make things interesting. Colorado needs exercise, reps, not a struggle against Nashville. The Avs will be measured by their postseason, their ability to return to the Stanley Cup finals. This is not chess. Give me the Kings, good health and all momentum headed into a cage match versus Dallas.

Keeler: You leave a marker with a No. 1 seed. You leave a legacy with a Cup. Of the last five NHL champs, only one faced a first-round series that went longer than five games — and that was when the Lightning held off the Panthers for a 4-2 series win back in 2021. A long Cup run is about winning battles of attrition, series after series, until you’re the last man standing. Heroes slip. Heroes fall. Heroes rise. Besides, don’t the Avs still owe La-La Land for Peter Forsberg’s spleen 25 years ago? Warm up the bus.

For 15 months, he was Colorado’s most popular hockey player, royalty among us. His contributions were notable, but his mere presence made a difference.

He was known for a slapshot that was more accurate than an atomic clock. And his strength remains the stuff of legend, hitting him described like crashing into a brick wall with airbags deploying.

Ray Bourque was Ray Bourque. No embellishment needed.

“He’s a special character. He’s able to pull guys with him. He has a gravity to him,” said former Avs defenseman Rob Blake. “You can see why he had the longevity he had. He is a special person.”

Bourque returned to Denver last week, celebrating a title team and an iconic memory.

Everyone knows the Avs won the Stanley Cup that season, but what remains lodged in our mental scrapbook is a single moment, the type of snapshot you can live in forever: Joe Sakic handing the Stanley Cup to Bourque.

“Well, I remember Joe on the flight home from New Jersey just asking me how we were going to do the Cup thing. And I’m like, ‘We’re not talking about that.’ I said, ‘We’re going to win the game first, and we’ll have plenty of time.’ But Joe was just a classy, great captain and an amazing person, a Hall of Fame player. And he was so conscious of how, you know, just making that moment very special for me,” Bourque said. “I’ll always appreciate that. Joe, you know, he won the Hart Trophy, but I joke about the best assist he had all year was passing me the Cup.”

After 22 seasons, Bourque raised it above his head, pumping it into the air six times before planting a kiss on the greatest trophy in sports. General manager Pierre Lacroix told Bourque to take it home that night, so he held a block party in Littleton.

“I had about 15 people at the game and I ended up turning on my street with all my family, my friends, and beeping the horn. I had a big cooler. We put the Cup on the sidewalk,” Bourque said. “We were out there with neighbors and everybody until 5:30 in the morning. So, yeah, those are the moments you never forget.”

Listening to Bourque recall his experience, you half expect goosebumps to surface on his commemorative 25th anniversary jacket.

By themselves, the memories provide joy. But when looking at the current Avs team, they should provide a jolt.

The similarities between the 2001 team and the current bunch are striking. Starting with roster construction. Lacroix, like Chris MacFarland, made moves to win everything, no exceptions, no excuses. He acquired Bourque, prying away the 19-time all-star from the Boston Bruins in a seismic trade. But it is often forgotten that the Avs did not win the Cup that season.

They were eliminated by the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Finals in seven games.

“(Coach) Bob Hartley talked about really paying attention to the details, about being one of the best defensive teams in the league. That experience, what happened in Dallas, it made us look back at some of the stuff we needed to do better,” Bourque said. “We were talking about it from the first day of camp, and really challenging the team to really commit to that.”

Sound familiar?

The Avs reshaped their roster last season with two new goalies. They added Brock Nelson and shipped off Mikko Rantanen for Martin Necas. And they, too, watched their dreams die in Dallas. Worse, it came in the first round.

Until recently, the Avs played with energy and focus. The inevitable hiccup has arrived, creating indigestion, but not quite consternation. Colorado is 35-8-9 after losing to the Canadiens on Thursday night, seven points clear of any other team in the standings.

But the current 4-6-2 stretch is a reminder that the road to the Stanley Cup is paved in gravel, not asphalt.

“When Ray decided to come back. It was like, OK, we’re not going to get too many more chances now,” recalled star forward Peter Forsberg. ” I think this (year’s) team is ready mentally to pay the price to go all the way. They have had a couple of tough losses the last couple of years, so I think they feel they have a good shot to go all the way this year. I’d be very surprised if there was anything wrong with the motivation. They know they have a good shot at it.”

This is where it starts to get interesting for the Avs. They will soon go on Olympic hiatus, with their top players — Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar — favored to win gold medals if they can best rival Team USA.

Such an achievement should never be discounted or dismissed.

But their NHL team was put together, as it was 25 years ago, to raise the trophy. There will not be a boost from the likes of Blake this time around.

It is not needed.

The Avs have every piece necessary. However, their recent playoff past haunts them.

There is no dynasty. Their history is one title. That is not enough.

How many more times can October glory become May nightmares? How many more times can all the roster moves, all the additions, not solve the equation?

In the 2000-2001 season, a 40-year-old defenseman’s hunger provided the rudder. Those Avs were good enough to win without him. But they won because of him.

These Avs need to find their touchstone beyond the pursuit of excellence. Is it as simple as rewarding captain Gabe Landeskog for the agony he has endured with injuries the past five years? Perhaps.

But the Avs also have a 40-year-old defenseman in his 22nd season who has never won a Cup.

For the Avs to ascend to the heights for which they were built, all they have to do is make Brent Burns their Ray Bourque.

“I mean, there’s so many great players I played with that never won a championship. And I think of a guy like Dan Marino, Hall of Fame careers and all that. You know what, you can live without it,” Bourque said, smirk showing. “But I’ll tell you, it’s a lot better living with winning one and having that whole experience that comes with it.”

He is telling a story from the summer of 1995, a story that illustrates how unlikely it was that magic happened. He smiles, and shows he can still provide a zinger like so many of his slap shots that first season.

“I got traded from Philadelphia to Quebec. And it was not a big city, and I was worried that we would never be able to win there. Then I am sitting at home in Sweden, and I had to figure out where the heck Denver was. I had never been. It was big. Woof. I was worried,” Forsberg told The Post. “And then we get here, and it all came together in every way.”

History repeated itself Wednesday night at the Paramount Theatre.

Rock music reverberated from the loud speakers buttressing the stage.

Alan Roach, whose voice makes anything big, introduced the 13 players. Shrill screams pierced the ceiling.

It’s been 30 years, so the memory is fuzzy, but it was impossible not to recognize these sounds, these songs, these men.

The Colorado Avalanche, nearly a year after COMSAT Video Enterprises purchased the Quebec Nordiques for $75 million and relocated the franchise to Denver, won the city’s first championship. That honor was always supposed to belong to the Broncos. But they were still finding their footing under coach Mike Shanahan, needing a few more pieces to help John Elway realize his professional dream nearly two decades in the making.

“We snuck past them,” said former star and rabble-rouser Claude Lemieux with a grin.

The Avs held a reunion to celebrate the inaugural team — Joe Sakic, Sandis Ozolinsh, Mike Ricci, Valeri Kamensky, Forsberg and Lemieux were among the headliners — that made millions in our Centennial state embrace hockey after the Colorado Rockies bolted to New Jersey in 1982.

It was a night for goosebumps, cheers and laughs, the theatre turning into McNichols Sports Arena.

The clock was set to fall of 1995. And then the summer of 1996.

Even as things were souring in Quebec, it seemed like Denver existed only as leverage to force the Canadian government to pony up money for a new arena. When the city officials refused to blink, Quebec was gone in a flash.

COMSAT owned the Nuggets, so the infrastructure was in place for a relatively seamless transition. And the owners did the right thing by letting former agent-turned-general manager Pierre Lacroix continue making the hockey decisions.

The Avs arrived in a hurry, refusing to pursue greatness in secret. Everything happened fast, from the scoring, the acquisitions, to the affection. By the ninth home game fans packed the place, starting one of the longest sellout streaks in hockey history.

If we are being honest, as many of the players were on the stage, the Avs wandered into our city as a curiosity. They walked around, ate at restaurants, Sakic recalled, without being recognized.

“I think half the fans thought we were an expansion team. So they were like, ‘Wow! These guys are really good for a new team.’ They didn’t realize how well established we were,” Lemieux said. “As it grew and got into the latter part of the season, everybody realized this is no expansion team. They knew we were really good. That we could win it all.”

Armed with young talent from a team that the New York Rangers knocked out of the playoffs the year before, the Avs needed seasoning. Lemieux, fresh off winning the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy with the Devils, joined a few days before the opener.

But something still missing. A championship would not have happened without embarrassment. Montreal goalie Patrick Roy lost a game 11-1, and his marbles. He did not like Mario Tremblay as a teammate and did not respect him as a coach. He asked out, and Lacroix, his former agent, was happy to acquire the veteran star along with winger Mike Keane.

This trade would have never happened had the Avs remained in Quebec.

“I hated these guys. All of them,” Keane said Wednesday, as his teammates joked that the feeling was mutual. “And I thought (Ricci) was a (bleep),”

As the crowd laughed, Lemieux, no stranger to starting and defusing controversies, reminded Keane of how he fell in love with long-haired, crooked-nosed Ricci just as the entire state did.

“He was voted the sexiest man in Denver,” Lemieux said. “But he didn’t get any votes from our locker room.”

It was a room full of personalities and nationalities, with humor sometimes lost in translation. Rene Corbet was told by a teammate to play “Crazy,” and after a few goals one night, the nickname stuck.

“I think I have been called it 50 times since I got here today,” Corbet said. “I played every shift like that, maybe with crazy legs.”

It fit given the 1996 postseason motto was “Crazy for the Cup!”

The thing about this team, and why it is so revered, is that the Avs did not just win a championship. They grabbed it with chest out, both arms extended, and put the cup above their head for the entire world to see. They beat all comers. They started a rivalry with the Detroit Red Wings that remains the standard for modern excellence and resentment. And they finished off the Florida Panthers with a four-game sweep when defenseman Uwe Krupp scored the iconic clincher in triple overtime.

Just mentioning that goal drew cheers from the crowd of roughly 2,000.

On this joyous evening downtown, it brought a reminder that the Avs have the juice from the past and good vibes in the present. The current Avs club is threatening to break a record for points in a season, and is a lock for the franchise’s 22nd postseason berth since taking up residence in Colorado.

“To be part of anything that starts is special,” Lemieux said. “You see what they have done here, and it makes me think back to how it all came together. For me, watching guys win for the first time was really something I will never forget.”

For Forsberg, it all goes back to the place he had to find on the map. Forsberg is the father of three kids now. He has lived a full life. But he will always remember returning to his new home in Denver with the Stanley Cup.

“Seeing that sea of people in the parade, that sticks in the mind forever. When you play the game, you are in the moment, just trying to win. And when you are finally sober for a day after winning, it hits you,” Forsberg said. “We were told we were getting a parade. Nothing could have prepared me for that moment, for what I saw from those fans that day.”

“I was OK,” the Avalanche center said through tired eyes after scoring twice against Vancouver late Tuesday night. “Yeah, it’s been a grind. Montreal (last Saturday) was hell. (Tuesday) was a little better. Just tired. Just tired.”

While he wrestles an undisclosed malady, MacKinnon’s still flying under the radar at about Mach 3 right now. As the Front Range obsesses over a 10-2 Broncos team and the Nuggets’ sudden indifference to defense, Nasty Nate is quietly painting his professional masterpiece across Ball Arena’s frozen canvas.

MacKinnon’s . He’s on a pace to put up 145 points, which would obliterate his own Avs single-season record of 140, set in the spring of 2024. No Colorado player — not Joe Sakic, not Peter Forsberg — has ever put up 46 points through the season’s first 26 games before. Only one Nordique ever opened a regular season hotter than this fall’s MacK Attack — Peter Stastny collected 48 points through his first 26 appearances of the ’87-’88 season.

“I don’t know. He’s OK,” captain Gabriel Landeskog, who’s also been under the weather, quipped after the Avs’ 3-1 victory with tongue planted firmly inside his cheek.

“No, (MacKinnon) has been — I mean, he’s super dynamic. (He’s) creating in a lot of different ways off the rush, in (the) zone, off the cycle … he commands the attention on that power play and is able to kind of dictate what we end up doing. So, (he’s) just very poised, looks calm out there, in control, and obviously, he’s got the same tremendous speed he’s always had … he’s shooting the puck well. So a lot of things are going well for him.”

Over his last four games, MacKinnon’s scored five times, collected nine points and posted a combined plus-9 in the plus/minus column. Consider this: Tuesday was his seventh multi-goal game of a relatively young season. And that total is already just one fewer (eight) than MacKinnon’s multi-goal nights over the entirety of 2024-25.

Another sign of this Colorado Avalanche team’s dominance? It kept rolling without Valeri Nichushkin

Oh, and did we mention he's been sick for most of that stretch? We did? Cripes, MacKinnon looks better with two bars on his 5G meter these days than most of his NHL peers do with four or five. Despite feeling like hot garbage, the Avs star kept his head on a swivel while keeping the Canucks on their collective heels.

"So obviously, Nate was one of the guys (in the locker room) that was sick," said Colorado coach Jared Bednar, whose 19-1-6 squad opens a four-game road swing at the Islanders on Thursday. "I don't think he was at his best (against Vancouver) on the checking side of it, because that takes a lot of energy and a lot of hard work.

"But here's the thing: You don't have to make every play. But you have to make some big plays. So that's what Nate can do. Even when he's not at his best, he still obviously has the ability — and he stays focused enough on doing the right things to make a play or two that can be difference-making plays for you. And that's what he did (Tuesday)."

The Avs started sluggishly against the Canucks until MacKinnon gave the hosts a swift kick up the caboose. The Colorado vet wristed a rebound past goaltender Kevin Lankinen from the left face-off circle with 32 seconds left in the first period — a score that got the Avs off their collective duffs and onto the scoreboard.

MacK The Knife's second goal, though, was the one that proved to be the dagger. As Colorado led 2-1 with 35 seconds remaining in the second stanza, MacKinnon chased down a loose puck in Vancouver's zone and gently tipped it in the direction of Landeskog,

When happened next was like 2018 never left. While Landy curled into the face-off circle, two Vancouver defenders trailed him the way a tail follows a comet. During a mad scramble, the Canucks somehow decided to leave NHL's points leader free to drift all alone until he'd settled on a firing position in the slot.

Landeskog didn't mess around, and MacKinnon didn't miss, launching a lasered one-timer into the twine for the Avs' third and decisive goal of the contest.

"I mean, (the game) was all right," the Colorado center reflected later. "We're not gonna score first every night. Yeah, it definitely wasn't our best. It was just kind of a boring game, a lot of whistles, a lot of icings ... it was just one of those nights. Just a muck."

Even a bug couldn't spoil Nate's Mucky Day. The masterpiece marches east, lamps lighting the way. For a sick puppy, the dawg in MacKinnon would sooner play dead than ever phone it in.

Now he finally gets to wear one of the sport’s most iconic uniforms as well.

The Colorado Avalanche unveiled throwback Nordiques uniforms Tuesday morning as part of the franchise’s 30th anniversary season since leaving Quebec City. Landeskog and his teammates will wear them Thursday night at Ball Arena for the first of seven times this season.

“I think they’re amazing,” Landeskog said. “They’re awesome. It’s exciting. It’s something that us as players have been wanting and asking and begging about for years. So it’s exciting to see it come to fruition for sure.”

The Avs wore Nordiques-themed jerseys in 2021 as part of the NHL’s “reverse retro” collection. Those were white jerseys adorned with the Nordiques logo, but in Avalanche colors.

These are a true throwback, featuring the blue, white and red igloo with a hockey stick logo and fleurs-de-lis on the shoulders and around the waist. The Avs will wear them six times at home and once on the road in Raleigh, N.C, against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Carolina will also be wearing throwbacks in both games: the white Hartford Whalers jerseys they’ve been wearing on “Whalers Night” in recent seasons.

New sweaters.

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche)

The Nordiques and Whalers were both in the Adams Division from 1981-95 and met two times in the postseason. They also met twice in the WHA playoffs in 1977 and 1978.

“I think overall it’s just a great move and pays tribute to the Quebec days and the fan base that we sometimes come in contact with,” Landeskog said. “It’s a great-looking uniform. I’m biased, but it’s the best-looking uniform in hockey, in my opinion.”

The Utah Mammoth defenseman had just wrapped up a morning skate at Ball Arena. This is year No. 13 for him in the NHL. Just to his right, Dmitry Simashev was also removing his gear and about to answer questions about the anticipation for his NHL debut Thursday night.

That same game, which turned out to be a 2-1 win for the Avalanche, was No. 1,499 for Brent Burns. He played No. 1,500 on Saturday against the Dallas Stars.

“It����ap double what I’ve got,” said Schmidt, almost in disbelief as he prepared for his 742nd career game. “It����ap incredible. Honestly, the level he’s still playing at it … it����ap so impressive. I remember that guy playing for the Wild when I was back in Minnesota. It����ap just a testament to how the guy is able to take care of himself and just have a game that����ap adaptable. I think about how much that guy’s had to adapt over the years.”

Colorado players and coaches celebrated Burns’ achievement by wearing blue tank tops with Burns’ face on them, honoring his proclivity for wearing them on a daily basis at the rink. Most of the players also wore them as they walked into Ball Arena ahead of the game Saturday night.

Devon Toews went in a different direction, paying homage to Burns’ signature large military-style backpack by sporting a huge rucksack of his own.

The 40-year-old Burns became the 23rd player in NHL history to reach the milestone. He’s just the eighth defenseman to do it. As Avs coach Jared Bednar noted, that list of defenseman — Zdeno Chara, Chris Chelios, Scott Stevens, Larry Murphy, Ray Bourque, Nicklas Lidstrom and Ryan Suter — might be the best way to put this into perspective.

It’s a group that includes nearly all of the best defensemen in modern NHL history. Burns will be the first player to reach the milestone who has played both defense and forward in his career.

Regardless of his position, he’s excelled. And he’s been in the lineup, logging heavy minutes.

“It����ap absolutely crazy,” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said. “That is so many games. So many games. I don’t think people understand, to play 1,500 games, you have to play hurt and banged up so many times. I think just getting to know (Burns) over the past month-plus, he takes really good care of himself and does everything he possibly can to make sure he’s in the best spot for puck drop.

“Having said that, he’s not Superman. We all get banged up. I know he’s played through a bunch of things in his career, and it����ap not easy to do that.”

Schmidt was a sophomore at the University of Minnesota when the Wild traded him to San Jose. Avs defenseman Sam Malinski was about 10 years old when he met Burns at Cub Foods, a Twin Cities grocery store chain.

Burns spoke of his early-career memories, playing against Avs legends like Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic. There will be countless players who speak of him in the same way.

Even at 40, Burns is averaging 20:44 of ice time, third among the Avs’ defensemen, through the first three games.

“I cannot even imagine. No, that����ap not even … nope,” Malinski said of trying to play 1,500 NHL games. “The way he goes about his business and everything, the way that he plays, it all kind of speaks for itself.”

Not only was it Burns’ 1,500th game, it was No. 928 in a row. That’s the fourth-longest ironman streak in NHL history.

He hasn’t missed a game since November 2013 … which was the 34-year-old Schmidt’s rookie year in the NHL. That streak could become the second-longest in league history late in this season.

Burns could also hunt down his old pal Joe Thornton, who finished at 1,714 games, if he can stay healthy and play another two seasons beyond this.

“I take it one sleep at a time right now, you know?” Burns said when asked about Thornton’s total. “I think there’s a lot of luck, a lot of work, and you’ve just got to enjoy it every day. Obviously, everything’s a lot harder as you get older, but I just love it.

“Even a day like today, the body doesn’t feel too good, but you get going in practice and see guys getting the sweat going, and you just start laughing. Those are things you can’t take for granted.”