Pierre Lacroix: The Gambler Cashes In

Barclay Poole
Jun 18, 2001

After 22 years, Ray Bourque can finally call himself a champion. The smile on his face as Joe Sakic handed him the Stanley Cup spoke volumes about the passion NHL'ers have for hockey's greatest honor. In an instant, the 1612 regular season games played, 410 goals, and 1169 assists were quickly replaced by a more important stat - 1 championship. It would be tough to find a more relieved man in Colorado than Bourque, but Pierre Lacroix certainly comes close.

The architect of the powerful Colorado Avalanche squad, Lacroix is known for two things; a keen eye for plucking young talent from the draft and his ability to pull the trigger on big time trades down the stretch.

For three consecutive years, Lacroix has been the star of the NHL's trade deadline. In 1999, he dealt for Theo Fleury. But the deal backfired as the Avalanche were unable to get by the eventual champion Dallas Stars in the playoffs. A year later, Lacroix pulled the trigger on a blockbuster for Bourque. However Dallas was once again too strong, and knocked the Avalanche off in the Western Conference Finals.

Fleury and Bourque cost the Avalanche two players, two draft picks, and four prospects. Critics were beginning to wonder if Lacroix's methods were depleting the organization's depth on deals that weren't paying dividends. The fact that Fleury had bolted for New York via unrestricted free agency didn't help matters.

Luckily for Avalanche fans, Lacroix had one more trick up his sleeve. This time it was Rob Blake, yet another potential unrestricted free agent, who could walk at the end of the season. A hefty price was paid for Blake, but his presence was necessary for another shot at the Stanley Cup. For Lacroix and the Avalanche, the third time was a charm.

What would have happened if Colorado had fallen short again? Lacroix may have been in some hot water. Worst case scenario would have seen Ray Bourque retire, Joe Sakic, Rob Blake and Patrick Roy leave as unrestricted free agents and a whole arsenal full of players, prospects and draft picks playing on other teams.

But taking a risk is what makes Pierre Lacroix a champion . Not only is he an expert at building organizational depth, but he knows how and when to use it to bolster his roster. Stanley Cup contenders come and go in cycles. When teams have an opportunity to make a legitimate run, they had better be willing to do what it takes to make their team as bullet proof as possible.

Now that the Avalanche have been crowned champions, things look pretty rosy in Colorado. Ray Bourque, in all likelihood, will retire as a champ. The package traded for Rob Blake has paid dividends. Sakic and Roy will most likely get caught up in the organization's ecstasy and re-sign and Rob Blake has enjoyed his Colorado experience so much that he is a good candidate to re-sign as well.

What must frustrate opposing GM's trying to overtake Lacroix and the Avalanche, is that after all the young talent traded away, they are still well stocked. Consider the fact that Chris Drury is only 24 years old, Milan Hejduk is the league's highest scoring third year player, Alex Tanguay is the league's highest scoring second year player and Steven Reinprecht was the league's 7th highest scoring rookie last year.

Would Colorado have won without the Rob Blake trade? It's certainly possible. But once Peter Forsberg went down with a ruptured spleen, Colorado's defense took over. Blake, Bourque and Foote carried the team through the conference finals against St. Louis. Patrick Roy stopped an infinite amount of shots, but it was Colorado's ability to limit true scoring opportunities and clear rebounds that sent the Blues home early and vaulted the Avalanche to their 2nd championship.

The Stanley Cup can be an elusive award. Countless players, coaches and general managers never come close to raising it in celebration. Ray Bourque nearly had it slip through his hands. But thanks to a General Manager who was willing to take a risk, even after repetitive failure, Bourque will now be remembered not only as a prolific defenseman, but more importantly as a champion.

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