Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2023 revision of our top 50 Colorado Avalanche.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey, we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Avalanche made another deep run into the playoffs and entered this season as contenders. A new entrant cracked the top 50 and five elevations last year.

As always, we present our top five, which saw a significant change:

1. Joe Sakic
2. Nathan MacKinnon
3. Peter Forsberg
4. Michel Goulet
5. Peter Stastny

You can find the entire list here.

MacKinnon vaulted from #6 to #2 after winning the Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award and securing a First Team All-Star. Overtaking Joe Sakic for the top spot will be a daunting task, though.

Two-time All-Star Mikko Rantanen moved from #13 to #8.

Former (and possibly future) Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar rocketed up the list again, this time from #20 to #12.

Defenseman Devin Toews moved from #35 to #30.

Fellow Defenseman Samuel Girard climbed two spots to #36.

The new entrant is Right Wing Valeri Nichuskin.  He debuts at #40.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

Valeri Nichuskin was a bust with the Dallas Stars, who bought out his contract after the 2018-19 Season.  The Colorado Avalanche signed the Russian Right Wing, who became a solid two-way NHL player.

Nichuskin’s offense would finally kick in, with his first 20-Goal year in 2021/22, and the former Stars’ castoff helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup.  Over the last three seasons, Nichuskin scored 152 Points, and is still in his prime. 

What a pick-up he became!

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022/23 revision of our top 50 Colorado Avalanche.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Colorado had another good year, but disappointed in the playoffs and were bounced in the first round.  With a lot of potent players on their roster, there were significant elevations, as well as two new inductions.

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:

1. Joe Sakic

2. Peter Forsberg

3. Michel Goulet

4. Peter Stastny

5. Patrick Roy

You can find the entire list here.

Nathan MacKinnon, inched his way to the top five, moving from #7 to #6.  He is also coming off of his best year to date, and is inches away from supplanting Patrick Roy for the fifth spot.

Forward, Mikko Rantanen climbed to #13 from #16.

Former Norris Trophy winner, Cale Makar, advanced from #28 to #20.

Two more Defenseman, Devin Toews and Samuel Girard make their first appearance on the list at #35 and #38 respectively.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

The New York Islanders used a Fourth Round Pick to select Devon Toews in 2014, but it would be four years before he played a game for the Isles.  After two years of service on Long Island, New York unloaded the Canadian Defenseman to Colorado for two Second Round Picks, and history is quickly showing that the Avalanche knew exactly what they were doing.

A good end-to-end player, Toews saw more ice time in Colorado was paired mostly with Cale Makar, the young superstar and future Norris Trophy winner.  Toews himself was able to show off his offensive skills, and had 31 Points in the COVID-shortened 2021/season and was 11^th for the Norris.  Over the next two seasons, Toews broke the 50-Point threshold the next three seasons, and received Norris votes (8^th and 14^th)  in 2021 and 2022, and he played a large part in the 2022 Stanley Cup win.  He has also finished in the top four in Defensive Point Shares three times.

Toews begins this season with a sparkling +148 as a member of the Avalanche.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post 2021/22 revision of our top Colorado Avalanche.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Colorado won their third Stanley Cup and look to be the most complete Hockey team in years.  Surprisingly, there were no new entries, but significant rises among some of the top current players, though none of them made the top five

As always, we present our top five:

1. Joe Sakic

2. Peter Forsberg

3. Michel Goulet

4. Peter Stastny

5. Patrick Roy

You can find the entire list here.

Center, Nathan MacKinnon, moved up to spots to #6.

Team Captain, Gabriel Landeskog, climbed to #9 from #14.

Mikko Rantanen had a huge jump, going to #16 from #27.

Veteran Defenseman, Erik Johnson, stayed at #25, and would have moved up one had Rantanen not passed him.

Cale Makar, who made history by joining Bobby Orr as the only players to have won the Norris and Conn Smythe in the same year, rocketed up from 50 to #28, which again is incredible for only a three-year player.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our pre-2021-22 revision of our top 50 Colorado Avalanche.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the NHL. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Please note, that this is our first revision in in the last two years, and it has generated one new entry, and four elevations.

As always, we present our top five immediately, although there are no changes from our last list:

1. Joe Sakic

2. Peter Forsberg

3. Michel Goulet

4. Peter Stastny

5. Patrick Roy

You can find the entire list here.

Center, Nathan MacKinnon, who earned his second Second Team All-Star in 2020, climbed to #8 from #11.

2012 Calder Trophy winning forward, Gabriel Landeskog, moved up four spots to #14.

Defenseman, Erik Johnson, moved up one spot to #25.

Mikko Rantanen, climbs from #41 to #27.  The Right Wing led the NHL in Plus/Minus last year and was also a Second Team All-Star.

The lone new entry is Cale Makar, who is at #50 with only two NHL seasons logged.  He was the runner-up for the Norris last year.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

With only five years under his belt, Cale Makar is as of this writing the best Defenseman in Hockey, and that should not be in dispute.

The Third Overall Pick in 2017, Makar joined the Avs after taking UMass to the Frozen Four, and the Hobey Baker Award Winner in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, scoring six Points in 10 Games.  Colorado knew they had a star on their hands, and he easily won the Calder, where the blueliner scored 50 Points and he was ninth in Norris voting.

Makar was now established the anchor of the defense, and also one of Colorado’s top scoring threats.  In the COVID-impacted 2020-21 campaign, Makar had 44 Points in 44 Games and was the runner-up for the Norris, losing it to Adam Fox of the Rangers, but he would not be denied in his third year.

Makar blew everyone else away in 2021-22 to win his first Norris, scoring 29 Goals and 86 Points and arguably taking over the mantle as the Avalanche’s top player.  Colorado won the Stanley Cup in 2022, with Makar winning the Conn Smythe Trophy, joining Bobby Orr as the only players to win the Smythe and Norris in the same year.  He followed that with another Second Team All-Star Selection and a third place finish for the Norris.

What did he do next?  Makar scored a record 90 Points and added another Second Team All-Star, giving the blueliner a four-year streak of post-season All-Stars and five-year run of top ten Norris finishes, and four-year run where he placed in the top three.

At only 26, Makar could be destined for number one on this list.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  We have a new one to unveil today, that of the Colorado Avalanche. 

Debuting as the Quebec Nordiques in 1972 in the World Hockey Association, they would become one of the most successful teams in the league.  The Nordiques won the Avco Cup in 1977, and they would be one of four franchises that would be absorbed into the NHL in 1979.  Despite having some good players in Michel Goulet and Peter Stastny, they struggled in the league.  After drafting Eric Lindros who refused to play for them, they traded his rights to the Philadelphia Flyers, and the haul they got that included Peter Forsberg would give them hope. 

Sadly, it was a small market, and they were no longer able to remain financially viable. The team would relocate to Denver in 1995, and would become the Colorado Avalanche.  In their inaugural year, they would trade for Goaltender, Patrick Roy, and with Forsberg and Joe Sakic, they would win their first Stanley Cup in their inaugural year in the Mountain Time Zone.  They would win a second Cup in 2001. 

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the NHL.

3. Playoff accomplishments.

4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories.

This list is updated up until the end of the 2018-19 Season.

The complete list can be found here,but as always we announce our top five in this article.  They are:

1. Joe Sakic

2. Peter Forsberg

3. Michel Goulet

4. Peter Stastny

5. Patrick Roy

We will continue our adjustments on our existing lists and will continue developing our new lists.  

Look for or All-Time Top 50 Pittsburgh Penguins coming next!

As always we thank you for your support.

Marian Stastny would join his two younger brothers, Anton, and Peter in the NHL before the 1981-82 season, and the three Czechoslovakian siblings would form one of the most feared lines in hockey.

After playing nine seasons in the NHL (Washington, Nashville, Atlanta, and Minnesota), Andrew Brunette signed as a Free Agent with the Colorado Avalanche in for the 2005-06 Season.  The Left Wing had already proven to be an adequate scorer, and in his first season in the Rocky Mountains, he secured a 63 Point Season, on par of what Colorado was hoping for him.

The reality of Jon Klemm is that he fought for every shift he got in pro hockey.

Klemm was an undrafted Free Agent in 1991, and he would not play that much in the NHL for his first few seasons.  That might be true, but the Defenseman would keep plying at his trade, and after playing 15 Games when the franchise was in Quebec, the first year when the organization relocated to the Rocky Mountains would see the Defenseman find a permanent home.

Curtis Leschyshyn was able to play over 1,000 Games in the National Hockey League (1,033), with slightly over half of them being with the Nordiques/Avalanche.

Chris Drury was Quebec's third round pick in 1994, but rather than join the organization that drafted him, and he elected to join Boston University, where he would stay for four years.  As a senior, Drury would win the Hobey Baker Award as the nation's top player, and after that, he was ready to join the team who chose him, though they had now relocated to Colorado.

Playing the last half of the 1980s with the Quebec Nordiques, Jeff Brown got his start in the NHL in La Belle Province.  The Defenseman was only with the parent club for 8 Games as a rookie, and he would be promoted for good midway through his second season (1985-86).

Scott Young won a Stanley Cup ring with the Pittsburgh Penguins and would be traded the year after choosing to play in Italy and represent the United States in the 1992 Olympics.

Ryan O’Reilly was a 2^nd Round Pick in 2009, and he would shockingly make the opening day roster, making him the youngest player in Avalanche history.  As a rookie, O'Reilly had 26 Points, a number he would repeat the following season.  2011-12 would be a nice season for O'Reilly, who scored 55 Points.  People around the NHL were noticing his solid two-way play, and he would finish 14^th in Frank J. Selke Trophy voting. 

One of the most delightful stories in Avalanche history is the success of Brett Clark.  After years of bouncing back and forth from the NHL to the minors with the Montreal, Atlanta, and Colorado organizations, at age 28, he broke out as a very capable two-way Defenseman at the elite level of hockey.

From the Czech Republic, Marin Skoula was a 1998 First Round Pick who would make his debut for the Colorado Avalanche the following year. 

Alan Cote would spend his entire career with the Quebec Nordiques, which would begin when he signed with them in 1977. 

Drafted number one overall in 1990, Owen Nolan had a slow start as a rookie, only scoring 13 Points in 59 Games, but he would turn it around the following season.