Avalanche announce quarter-century team with familiar faces afoot

The Avs have had plenty of excellent players in its relatively short history.

Before Monday’s game against the Minnesota Wild, the Colorado Avalanche’s quarter-century team was revealed. There were plenty of familiar faces, as expected, who are part of Avalanche history.

On the first team, two current players join four legends of the Avalanche who have retired numbers. Those two are none other than Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. Two future Hall-of-Famers might just join the likes of Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Adam Foote, and Patrick Roy by having their own numbers in the rafters at Ball Arena.

On the second team, two current Colorado players still play in burgundy and blue, two play elsewhere in the NHL, and two have hung up their skates. The two current Avs players include Mikko Rantanen and the captain, Gabriel Landeskog.

Meanwhile, Semyon Varlamov is an intriguing pick who is playing with the New York Islanders, ironically being coached by Roy, the goaltender on the first team. Fan-favorite Erik Johnson made the cut on the blue line, where he just celebrated 1000 career games playing with the Philadelphia Flyers earlier this season.

The two Avalanche legends joining the previously mentioned four are Milan Hejduk and Rob Blake. They make the cut ahead of others such as Ray Bourque, John-Michael Liles, Claude Lemieux, Teemu Selanne, and many more.

Nonetheless, the Avalanche’s history of great players shows just how difficult it is to make lists such as these. Do you agree with the list, or would you have put others in? Let us know in the comments below!