The mini-soap opera that was the Gabriel Landeskog contract situation grabbed most of the headlines once the Colorado Avalanche were bounced from the NHL playoffs. Thankfully, the situation came to a peaceful resolution and Landeskog will remain captain, a role he's held since 2012.
A team captain probably means more in hockey than any other sport. It's a role that's not taken lightly within an NHL locker room. Some of the game's greatest players have worn the "C" on their chest, and deservedly so.
Considering what Landeskog means to the Avs, I wanted to write something about the other men who've worn the "C" on their sweaters for the Colorado/Quebec franchise. However, I didn't want to do some stats-based ranking blog. I wanted to find something weird, interesting, and fun to share with the readers and I hope you'll enjoy what I've found.
If not... I'm sure you'll let me know about it either way.
Hockey is a sport rich in history and I'm not just talking about that run-of-the-mill kind of history. I'm talking about the unique, quirky, and curious kind of history. That kind of historical uniqueness does not escape the Colorado Avalanche/ Quebec Nordiques franchise.
Quebec joined the NHL along with the Hartford Whalers, Edmonton Oilers, and Winnipeg Jets as part of a WHA-NHL merger following the 1978-79 season. The franchise as a whole has had 12 different captains between 1979-80 and 2020-21. Quebec had eight and the Avs have had four. Some of these men were great NHL players, others were men that played in the NHL. All have one thing in common; they wore the "C" proudly for the Quebec/Colorado franchise.
Here are a handful of interesting facts about Quebec, Colorado, and its captaincy.
1. On three different occasions, the club had two captains share the role in the same season (81-82, 85-86, 90-91). Here's a little tidbit about one of those seasons.
Andre Dupont (81-82) played parts of three seasons with the Nords after he was traded there in 1980. Dupont took over as Captain when Robbie Ftorek was traded to the NYR.
Ftorek had a so-so NHL career, he might be best known for being the New Jersey Devils coach that was fired with eight games left in the 1999-00 season and his leading the Eastern Conference. He was replaced by Larry Robinson and the Devils would go on to win its second Stanley Cup Championship.
2. An Avs captain hasn't scored 40 or more goals since Joe Sakic did in in the 1998-99 season. Actually only two of the franchises 12 "C's" have reached the 40-goal mark as captain. Sakic did it four times, reaching the 50-goal mark in 95-96. Peter Stastny was the other. He scored 40 or more goals twice. No surprise here but they are the only Hall-of-Famers in the group.
3. Marc Tardif became the club's first NHL captain and he was well deserving of the honor. He is the WHA's all-time leading goal-scorer. Tardiff was the Nordiques WHA captain when they won their one and only AVCO Cup.
Tardiff was also the subject of a vicious on-ice attack by Calgary Cowboys goon Rick Jodzio. Following the incident, Jodzio became one of the first players in the history of our sport to be charged with assault stemming from an on-ice incident in a court of law.
4. Peter Stastny is an NHL legend, European icon and he captained the Nords for five seasons from 1995 to 1990. As I mentioned previously, Stastny is a hockey Hall-of-Famer. He was a heck of a player, but he and his brothers meant more to the sport than just putting pucks in the net.
Peter and his brother Anton were the very first players to defect from their home country to play in the NHL. They joined the Nordiques for the 1980-81-season and Peter took home the Calder Trophy with a record-setting 109 points (39G, 70A) for a rookie. It was the first major NHL award in franchise history.
The Stastny brothers' defection was a landmark moment in history and for the NHL as a whole. Thanks to their courageousness, the floodgates opened for international players to come and play professional hockey in North America.
It would be impossible to imagine the NHL today without its rich diversity of international players and superstars. Many, many thanks go out to the Statsny family.
5. Joe Sakic is the franchise's longest-tenured captain. He wore the "C" on his chest for 17 seasons and accumulated a myriad of honors during that time; including 12 All-Star appearances, a Hart Trophy, a Conn Smythe, a Ted Lindsay Award, A Lady Byng, and two Stanley Cups. Sakic is the franchise's all-time leader in goals (625) and points (1641).
We already know how great he was, but did you know Sakic took center stage in a classic NHL story? In a game between the Red Wings and the Avs, noted pain-in-the-ass Sean Avery tried to chirp Sakic as a rookie in 2001-02.
As the legend has it - the Avs captain lined up for a faceoff near the Detroit bench. Avery stood up from the bench and yelled towards Sakic to get his attention. Before Sakic noticed what was happening Wings star forward Brett Hull stood up, grabbed Avery by the back of his jersey, and sat him back down.
“You do not get to talk to Mr. Sakic,” Hull said.
That's it. That's the story and it's a great one. Speaks to the level of respect Sakic had, not just on his team, but around the league.
This was a lot of fun. Some very interesting history surrounding this organization from its roots in the WHA to its rise, fall and rise again in the NHL. I'm going to really enjoy writing about this team - and I'm a New Jersey Devils fan.
Thanks for reading,
Steve
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