(This month, Puck Daddy asked bloggers for every NHL team to tell us The Essentials for their franchises — everything from the defining player and trade, to the indispensable fan traditions. Here's James "Tapeleg" Gralian of Jerseys and Hockey Love, giving us The Essentials for the Colorado Avalanche.)

By James "Tapeleg" Gralian

The main talking points about the Colorado Avalanche over the past few seasons have been their fall from glory. The lack of playoff appearances would have been unheard of before the lockout, which changed a free-spending ownership into one handcuffed by a salary cap, and that saw previous mainstay players like Adam Foote and Peter Forsberg move on to greener pastures.

But the past was filled with glory when the Avs moved from Quebec City and settled down in Denver, CO, perhaps spoiling the fans a little bit. I prefer "building a strong fan base" myself, but hey, I'm biased (if not fair).

When Wysh asked me to take on this post, I could think of one person who I felt I needed on board with me, and that's my co-host and creator of The Avs Hockey Podcast Jay Vean. What he lacks in a nickname, he makes up for in his dedication and knowledge of the Avalanche. I couldn't have done this post without him.

So take a trip back with me though some of the best times and icons of the Avs. You will understand why the fans love them so much.

Player: Joe Sakic

There have been some great players to don the burgundy and blue, but none compare to "Super" Joe.

He leads every franchise record available to him, aside from penalty minutes. He was the captain of the team that all others will be compared to, drawing comparisons to former Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman. He was a first round Hockey Hall of Fame nominee, has eight playoff overtime game-winning goals (which is two more than anyone else in NHL history), is a Conn Smythe winner, an Olympic Gold Medalist and tournament MVP, and a two-time Stanley Cup winner.

Even with all that, Joe Sakic is the epitome of class. He rarely had anything negative to say, he just went out and played, and led by example. People didn't want to just play like Sakic, they wanted to act like Sakic. That's how a player defines a franchise. Joe did it all.

Season: 2000-2001

The Avs won the Stanley Cup in their first season in Denver, and it was a defining moment for hockey in Colorado, washing the bad taste of the Colorado Rockies away. But the 2000-01 season and the Mission 16W post season (for the 16 wins it takes to win the Cup) was simply magical for the fansSweeping Vancouver, being taken to the brink of elimination by the Kings, making short work of the Blues in five games, and the dramatic seven game Final against the Devils, the focus was on one man, Raymond Bourque, who came to Colorado to win a Cup after spending his previous years in Boston in futility. When the Cup was handed to Joe Sakic by Commissioner Gary Bettman, the captain handed it immediately to Bourque to hoist for the first time, and the victory lap. Avs fans still get choked up watching it. I know I do.

Game: Game 4, Stanley Cup Finals. June 10th, 1996. Avalanche 1, Panthers 0

The Avalanche had won the previous games in the series 3-1, 8-1, and 3-2. Game four, played in Florida, was going to be something else. It was a goalie battle. Nothing was going in, and both Patrick Roy and John Vanbiesbrouck played their hearts out.

I remember watching the game in a seedy bar in Denver when a friend called and said he had a seat for me at a downtown bar, game on the big screen. I told him, if the game goes to a third overtime, I was there. At the end of the 2nd OT, I raced to meet him, and shortly after I sat down, there was the goal.

Goal: Uwe Krupp, game winner, Game 4, Stanley Cup Final. June 10, 1996

An awkward backhanded clearing attempt by the Panthers is held in at the point by a defenseman. He winds up and shoots. Nothing has been going in the net, and there is no reason to think this one will. There is no reason to believe it will all end here, four and a half minutes into the third overtime. It seems like this game is going to go on forever.

But good things happen when you put the puck on the net. Sometimes it goes in, sometimes it deflects, sometimes it just sits there, waiting for someone to pounce.

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