The 5 Avalanche Who Never Looked Right In Other Uniforms

When a team comes out of the gates the way the Colorado Avalanche did in 1995-96, it’s easy for fans to become attached to the players. Immediately, those players are etched into the fabric of the organization, and all of them become fan favorites.

Unfortunately, most good things come to an end.

For the most part, players move on and play for other organizations. That’s the reality of pro sports. That doesn’t mean it looks right, though.

There are a handful of Avalanche legends that moved on, and to be honest, looking at photos of them in another teams uniform can be quite difficult. I have a feeling we’ll be looking at Erik Johnson that way come this Fall when he suits up for the Buffalo Sabres. Although he started his career with the Blues, he’s an Avalanche player through and through. Seeing him in a Sabres uniform will be just…wrong.

But he hasn’t suited up yet, so he can’t make this list. Here are the 5 Avalanche players who never looked right in another uniform.

5 – Stephane Yelle

I’m going a little off the board to start, going with one of the better grinders in Avalanche franchise history. Yelle spent 7 seasons with Colorado, and was an extremely valuable role player for 2 Stanley Cup championships. His overtime goal against St. Louis during the 2001 Cup run was memorable, if only because he missed an empty net just the game before. Goals weren’t what he was known for, though. He was a terrific grinder, a great penalty killer, and put his body on the line all the time.

After the 2002 season, he was traded, along with Chris Drury, to the Calgary Flames. While he was successful with his new team, even helping them get to the Cup Finals in 2004, it never looked right. He wasn’t a superstar, and he wasn’t a scorer, but he’s someone fans associate with those early Avalanche squads.

He eventually came back for one final stint in Colorado before retiring in 2010.

4 – Nazem Kadri

This one is still fresh.

Kadri wasn’t drafted by Colorado, and didn’t start his career here, but in his final season with the Avalanche, he became a legend in the eyes of fans, and for good reason. He had far and away the best season of his career, and after breaking his thumb in the Conference Finals, gutted it out for the final three games of the Stanley Cup Final, scoring an epic overtime winner in Game 4 against Tampa.

And who could forget his hat trick in round two against St. Louis? After he was pushed into Jordan Binnington the game before, Blues fans sent him death threats, which included racial slurs, after Game Three. It wasn’t Kadri’s fault, as he was pushed into Binnington by Calle Rosen, but don’t tell that to Blues fans. Some of them still (somehow) believe otherwise.

Kadri responded with a hat trick, which pissed St. Louis fans off, and endeared him more to Avalanche fans.

A break-up was inevitable, though. Colorado couldn’t afford to keep him, and he had earned a big contract. He got that contract with the Flames, but the first year didn’t go as planned, and it never looked right.

Colorado fans will always love Kadri, though, as evidenced by the large standing ovation he received in his return last season.

3 – Adam Deadmarsh

You have to give to get, and in order to acquire Rob Blake for the 2001 Cup run, Pierre Lacroix had to give up the hugely popular Adam Deadmarsh. The American forward was not only a fan favorite, but his teammates loved him, specifically Peter Forsberg, who was reportedly very upset after the trade was made.

Why wouldn’t everyone love him? He played the game hard, and had tons of skill to boot. Heck, I might still have a couple of empty jars of “Deadmarsh Deli Dills” in my parents basement somewhere.

What made the move even more difficult was that the Avalanche had to face Deadmarsh later that season in the playoffs, and he was a total pain to play against. Would you have expected anything else? In LA, he was a part of a deadline trio that included Jason Allison and Zigmund Palffy. Colorado snuck past the Kings in seven games, but Deadmarsh in a Kings uniform is still wrong, even if he did have his best NHL season there.

Unfortunately, concussions ended Deadmarsh’s career, but he’ll always be loved by Colorado fans. Let’s just forget about those last few years of his career with the Kings.

2 – Adam Foote

There are very few instances of a player who is loved by one of the franchises he played for, and despised by the other. That is the case for Adam Foote.

The 2004-05 lockout forced the Avalanche into many tough decisions. One of them was having to let Foote go via free agency. He signed with the Blue Jackets, and while he was there, the fans liked him. He was their Captain, after all.

That changed at the trade deadline in 2008.

The rumor is that the Blue Jackets were trying to re-sign Foote, but that he was pricing himself out of Columbus. At the time, some believed Foote and his agent set the demands so high because they knew Columbus couldn’t match them, essentially forcing his way back to the Avalanche. Colorado re-acquired him at the deadline, and he finished his career with the Avalanche. He DID have a private jet waiting for him that day to re-join his old team, which irks Blue Jackets fans even more.

When he eventually made his way back to Columbus for a game with the Avalanche, he heard it from the fans. Every time he stepped on the ice, they made sure to shower him with boo’s.

Foote looked wrong in a Columbus uniform, but it appears even Blue Jackets fans want to erase that image from their memory. Maybe we can all collectively scrap that part of his career from our brains, and assume he played his entire career in Colorado.

1 – Peter Forsberg

Yes, it happened. Forsberg played for two other franchises. In fact, although he only spent two seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, his highlight reel with them is almost as dazzling as his one with Colorado.

That still doesn’t make it right.

Forsberg is a Colorado legend through and through, and seeing a photo of him in another uniform sends shivers down Avalanche fans spines.

He did eventually return for two (very) short stints in Colorado, ending his NHL career where he belonged. Flyers fans can’t claim him, and Nashville fans certainly can’t either.