Avalanche: Trade Deadline Ignited Season

Since the Quebec Nordiques moved to Colorado in 1995, they have won the Stanley Cup twice. Will this be their third?

Although the Avs have lost quite a few star players along the way like Roy, Borque, Tanguay, and Blake, many people believe that the signing of Ryan Smyth and Scotty Hannan was a big step in the right direction for Colorado in the offseason.

The Avs started off the season on a quick note with Stastny putting up some big numbers. But then injury struck. First, they lost their longtime captain and leading point-scorer for many seasons due to a hernia.

Then it wasn't long before Smyth was injured, then Stastny was out. The Avs’ season was an average one for most teams. They were hovering around .500 for most of the season. They would be in first in their division one night and be in fifth the next, but they were one of the teams that made one of the biggest splashes at the trade deadline.

They brought in former Colorado All-Star, Peter Forsberg, who hadn’t played a game this season. When this signing happened, there was a buzz in the air about the Avs becoming better, but some people were still skeptical if Forsberg would be able to keep up with the rest of the team after such a long time off.

If this wasn't enough, then the Avs traded for another former team member in defenseman Adam Foote from the Columbus Blue Jackets. They also got defenseman Ruslan Salei from the Florida Panthers. Then the talk really started.

Were the Avs really trying to put the team they had before back together again? After the trade deadline, it wasn’t long before the Avs started to win.

They started off with a 10-1-1 record after getting there new players on the team. Then, after a long-awaited return, Forsberg came back into the lineup, and the Avs continued their dominant streak.

The Avs finished in sixth in the Western conference and squared off against the Wild, who got the better of them in the eight times they played each other throughout the year in the first round.

Without defenseman Brett Clark and Right winger Marek Svatos in the line, things weren't looking to good against the Wild. But talk that the Wild would win this series didn't get the Avs’ hope down. They went to OT in the first game where it was time for their captain, Super Joe, to shine.

Sakic notched his eighth overtime playoff game-winner, which gave Colorado the series lead. Game 2 also went to overtime, but this time it was not a happy ending for the Avs when Keith Carney scored and won the game and tied the series up.

Game 3 was another OT game and Pierre Marc Bouchard had the winning goal to give Minnesota the series lead.

Colorado tied the series up with a 5-1 victory at home. Then Theodore stole the next game stopping, 38 of 40 shots in a 3-2 win and gave the Avs a 3-2 series lead. Game 6 went back to Colorado and once again, Theodore stole the show in a 2-1 win to eliminate the Wild from the playoffs and become one step closer to hoisting the Stanley Cup once again.