All Time Colorado Avalanche: Second All-Star Team

The Avalanche franchise is only 14 years old, but there have been enough special moments and special players to begin to look back and reflect on the past.

With the Avalanche starting the tradition of honoring one alumni member every month, I've decided to chime in with my opinion on whom I believe to be the greatest Avalanche players in history.

Left Wing: Adam Deadmarsh

Adam Deadmarsh was a fan favorite and key member of Colorado's 1996 Stanley Cup team. His name was infamously spelled "DEADMARCH" on the cup, but was later fixed.

In his seven seasons with Quebec/Colorado, Deadmarsh scored 138 goals and amassed a whopping 723 penalty minutes.

His gritty play made him a fixture on Peter Forsberg's line. Unfortunately had the same injury troubles as Forsberg over his short, 10 year NHL career.

Deadmarsh's time as an Avalanche player came to an end when he was shipped to LA in the deal that brought Rob Blake over; a trade that made line-mate Peter Forsberg proclaim he was "done in this town", though cooler heads would prevail.

Any animosity towards the organization is gone today, as Deadmarsh was hired last summer to be the Avalanche's video review coach.

Center: Chris Drury

Chris Drury was only a member of the Avalanche for four seasons, but he's forever left his mark on the Avalanche franchise.

Simply put, the guy is a winner.

Fresh off of winning the National Championship with Boston University, Drury came into the NHL in 1999 and won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, edging teammate Milan Hejduk.

Drury was always one of the Avalanche's best players, especially in the playoffs.

He scored 11 goals when Colorado won the Stanley Cup in 2001, and scored three overtime game winning goals in an Avalanche uniform, a number one may score in a career, let alone four seasons.

Right Wing: Claude Lemieux

Although he only played parts of five seasons with the Avalanche, there's no team in his 20 year career that Claude Lemieux is more synonymous with.

Colorado acquired Lemieux exactly one day before the 1995-1996 season began, and it would prove to be a brilliant move. Lemieux's playoff poise helped Colorado win a tough series against Chicago, and his antics during the Detroit series, in which he was suspended twice, will never be forgotten.

Lemieux remains the best game changer the Avalanche have ever traded for.

Not many players can walk into a situation and change the complexion of a team, all the while, creating one of the biggest rivalries in pro sports and helping his team to a title.

Defense: Sandis Ozolinsh

Ozolinsh was THE premier offensive defenseman in the NHL when Colorado acquired him at the beginning of the 1996 season.

His defensive play was spotty and mostly covered up by Adam Foote, but many forwards dream of putting up the kind of points Ozolinsh put up in an Avalanche uniform. In the 333 games he played with Colorado he scored 253 points, and added another 65 points in 82 playoff games.

Ozolinsh won the only cup of his career with the 1996 Colorado Avalanche.

Defense: Rob Blake

"This guy is the Jaromir Jagr of defensemen."

Peter McNabb's quote when the Avalanche acquired Rob Blake couldn't have been more accurate.

Blake was in his prime, and was a force both offensively and physically.

Adding Blake at 2001's deadline was the final piece to the puzzle for Colorado, and he scored an impressive 19 points in 23 games en route to the Avalanche's cup.

Blake became a mainstay on Colorado's blue line, and for a while there it was assumed he would retire an Avalanche and probably have his number retired.

Ultimately, Blake chased the money which left a foul taste in the mouth of many Colorado fans.

Never the less, Blake is one of the Avalanche's greats, amassing 62 goals, 208 points, and a plus-55 rating in his five seasons in Denver.

Goaltender: Peter Budaj

Oh, how we miss St. Patrick.

I'm sure a year from now this spot would be filled by Craig Anderson, but for now it's all Budaj's.

Theodore's time here was a mess, and Aebischer's exit was a mess. As for Budaj, he's a good back-up who works hard all the time. Despite getting alot of flack over the years, Budaj has compiled a resepctable career record of 84-69-22 with a 2.74 GAA and .903 SV%.