In the nine postseasons from 1995 through 2003, four NHL franchises won the Stanley Cup.
The Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils won it three times, the Colorado Avalanche twice and the Dallas Stars once.
Emerging from that period, both the Avalanche and Stars had every right to feel as if they should have won it at least one more time, and that’s reflective of the high in-house standards for both.
In fact, one of the reasons Avalanche coach Bob Hartley had such a ridiculously short grace period after the 2001 championship and was fired in late 2002 was the front-office view that there should have been at least one more Stanley Cup parade in Denver during his tenure.