The architect behind the two Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup championship teams has died. Pierre Lacroix passed away Sunday from complications from COVID-19, per Quebec media reports. He was 72.
Lacroix — the former Quebec Nordiques and Colorado Avalanche general manager — assembled rosters that earned NHL glory when the Avs’ current GM, Joe Sakic, twice hoisted the Stanley Cup as a player.
“Pierre was a visionary and a true leader,” Sakic said in a news release. “From the moment he took over as GM, he established a winning culture that spread throughout the organization. As players, we knew he would do everything he could to help the team achieve that goal of hoisting the Stanley Cup. Pierre was instrumental in not only building the Avalanche into a championship team but also in the growth of hockey in Colorado. His footprint is everywhere in this hockey community.”
Lacroix helped take professional hockey to the summit in Denver as the Nordiques GM who oversaw the team’s transition from Quebec to Colorado for the 1995-96 NHL season — with the Avalanche winning the title in their first season. The Avs claimed their second Stanley Cup during the 2000-01 season.
“Pierre is someone I trusted very much right from the first time I met him,” Sakic said. “I’ll always remember him as not only a great GM but an even better person. He always treated everyone like family and he wanted us players to have that same mentality. He was a great example to all of us. Pierre was a mentor to me and someone I learned a lot about the business of hockey from. We as an organization and myself personally, will really miss him.”
Lacroix stepped down from his position as GM in 2006 but remained with the franchise as team president until 2013. Lacroix made several high-profile trades for players such as goalie Patrick Roy, Ray Bourque, and Rob Blake to help keep the team competitive. The Avalanche won division titles in each of Lacroix’s first nine seasons as general manager.
“Pierre was my agent when I was a player (in Quebec), as well as our leader when I worked for the Avalanche for 14 years,” Michel Goulet, a former Nordiques forward and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, told The Denver Post. “He was an amazing man and friend. He always did things with care and class. He took pride in leading by example and we shared a lot of laughs in his post-hockey days. Though he is gone, his spirit will live on in those he touched along the way.”
Reaction to Lacroix’s passing from across the NHL poured in on Sunday with prominent voices expressing their condolences.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman: “Pierre Lacroix’s eye for talent, appreciation for elite-level athletes and fearlessness in pulling off the big trade made him one of the most successful team builders in recent NHL history. Fiercely competitive and personally engaging, he was highly regarded by his fellow general managers and his voice was respected throughout the league.”
Kroenke Sports and Avalanche team owner Stan Kroenke: “Pierre was truly a legend and one of the greatest executives in sports. He had a team-first mentality that valued players and staff equally and his winning attitude was immediately evident to our family when we acquired the Avalanche in 2000. Denver is considered one of the world’s towering sports cities and that would be impossible without Pierre’s many contributions, including leading the Avs to Colorado’s first major professional championship with the 1996 Stanley Cup title.
“Pierre had a unique zest for life that uplifted anyone who knew him. We will miss him greatly.”
Former Avalanche defenseman John-Michael Liles: “The Colorado Avalanche Alumni Association is heartbroken to hear of the passing of Pierre Lacroix. He was an amazing man who was respected throughout the hockey world to this day. His legacy speaks for itself, and many from our association were fortunate to be part of the hugely successful teams he assembled during his time in Colorado.”
