Pierre Lacroix, the longtime Avalanche general manager who assembled two Stanley Cup-winning teams in Colorado, was posthumously inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a team builder Wednesday.
Lacroix, who died from complications of COVID-19 in 2020, was president and GM of the Avalanche from 1994 to 2006, and he remained president until 2013. He oversaw the franchise’s relocation from Quebec City at the beginning of his tenure, then shepherded the organization to its first two championships in 1996 and 2001. The Avs won nine consecutive division titles and appeared in the Western Conference Finals six times under Lacroix, one of the signature hockey architects of the pre-salary cap era.