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In 11 seasons as President and General Manager of the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche, Pierre Lacroix built the foundation of one of the finest decades of any team in NHL and major league sports history.
His record speaks for itself: an NHL record nine consecutive division titles; six appearances in the Western Conference Finals; two Presidents' Trophy titles (1996-97, 2000-01); two Western Conference Championships (1996, 2001) and two Stanley Cup Championships (1996, 2001).
After 11 seasons of running the day-to-day operations of the club, Lacroix announced on May 12, 2006 that he will remain as team President but will hand over the GM role to Francois Giguere.
"I'm truly proud of what we have accomplished," Lacroix said. "This franchise has enjoyed tremendous support from the very first season here and together with our fans we have established Colorado as a premiere hockey market in the world. I'm looking forward to entering the next decade."
The Avalanche franchise became very popular in its inaugural season in Denver en route to capturing the 1996 Stanley Cup, the city's first major sports championship. Since November of that season, the Avalanche has recorded a sell-out streak of 484 consecutive games, the longest recorded streak in NHL history.
Lacroix was named General Manager of the Quebec Nordiques on May 24, 1994 and under his leadership the organization has compiled a record of 473-259-106-30, the NHL's second highest winning percentage in that span (.623). In fact, only six other franchises in the four major sports (out of a total of 122 teams) posted a higher winning percentage than the Nordiques/Avalanche during that time frame.
Over his 31 years working in the professional hockey industry, Lacroix has seen personal success on both sides of the bargaining table. Prior to joining the Nordiques, Lacroix spent 21 years as one of the most revered player agents in the business. Lacroix was the founder of JANDEC, Inc., which specialized in player representation. He cut all ties with JANDEC, Inc. when he moved on to the National Hockey League, and the firm still prospers to this day.
Following his first season as GM in 1994-95, Lacroix was faced with the challenge of moving the franchise to Colorado. He had a mere 60 days to turn the Quebec Nordiques into the Colorado Avalanche, hire new personnel, and become a fully operational organization in time for the start of the 1995-96 season.
During the first half of the '96 campaign, Lacroix acquired Claude Lemieux, Sandis Ozolinsh and Patrick Roy in separate trades, vaulting Colorado to the top of the NHL. For his efforts, he was named the 1996 Executive of the Year by The Hockey News. He was promoted to President and General Manager during that summer.
The Avalanche has since gone on to appear in the Western Conference Finals on six occasions, falling just one game short of reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 1999, 2000, and 2002.
The Avalanche enjoyed its most successful season in franchise history in 2000-01, setting new marks in wins (52) and points (118) en route to the franchise's second Presidents' Trophy. The Avalanche, built through shrewd trades, which brought the likes of Ray Bourque and Rob Blake to Colorado, and keen drafting, propelled its way to the Stanley Cup Championship that season.
A native of Montreal, Quebec, Pierre and his wife, Colombe, reside in Denver. They have two sons, Martin and Eric and are the proud grandparents of Max and Mia. | 