DENVER — An olive branch, in the form of Claude Lemieux's hand, was extended. At the other end to meet it, with fingers outstretched and not balled into a fist, was one of Kris Draper's. And with that, hockey's bloodiest feud in modern NHL history was now firmly in the past.
The sweat was there, a few sentimental tears were there, but there would be no blood. Somehow, that all made for the perfect ending to the storied rivalry between the Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings on Friday night, in the alumni-game portion of the Coors Light NHL Stadium Series before 43,319 at Coors Field.