“‘ Gabe ’told me the last two years,‘ When we win, you’ll get it first, ’” Avalanche’s defender said. “If that doesn’t give you motivation to do it, I don’t know what it does. Just a rewarding and super humble feeling. I mean, it’s amazing.”
Johnson was the first Avalanche player to receive the Landeskog Stanley Cup after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Sunday in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final at the Amalie Arena.
It is the first time the Avalanche has won the Cup since 2001.
With NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman not present due to the positive test for COVID-19, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly handed the Cup to Landeskog, who handed it to Johnson, a defender who has played in the Avalanche for more than a decade.
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The No. 1 pick of the St. Louis Blues in the 2006 NHL Draft, the 34-year-old was acquired by Colorado with striker Jay McClement and a first-round pick in a change for defender Kevin Shattenkirk, striker Chris Stewart and a second-round pick on February 19, 2011. He has 329 points (88 goals, 241 assists) in 857 NHL games, including 238 points (68 goals, 170 assists) in 654 games with Colorado.
Johnson scored five points (one goal, four assists) in 20 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He was tackled by Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon after time ran out.
“I thought I had pierced my head on the ice. ‘We did it!’ It was just euphoria, ”Johnson said. “It was the best feeling ever. I was very proud of all our guys, of our support staff. Everyone sees us on the ice, but there really are a lot of people behind the scenes who do it for us and who it allows us to go out there and do that. that. Oh, just amazing. Very grateful. “
Johnson then handed the Cup to striker Andrew Cogliano, who was acquired by the San Jose Sharks on March 21. It is the first time Cogliano has won the Cup; he has played 1,140 NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars, Sharks and Avalanche.
Cogliano handed the Cup to MacKinnon, the Avalanche’s No. 1 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, who has played 638 games with them since.
“‘ EJ has been here for a long time, then they decided I was next, ”Cogliano said. “Obviously it was nice of them. I’ve been in the League for a long time. I have a feeling the title will resonate with me for a long time and for this team.
“I was happy to be able to give it to Nate. We’re good friends. He’s a big reason I’m probably here in the first place, and I’m very happy to give it to him.”
MacKinnon was followed by Jack Johnson, Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky, Darcy Kuemper, Mikko Rantanen, Darren Helm, Devon Toews, Valeri Nichushkin and Pavel Francouz.
Jack Johnson, a defender, signed as an unrestricted free agent with Colorado on October 10, 2021. The 35-year-old has played 1,024 NHL games with the Los Angeles Kings, Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers and Avalanche. .
“The last two minutes lasted an eternity and all of a sudden we looked up and there were 10 seconds left and you realized the record was at the end and we were going to kill it,” he said. “It’s a dream come true. You always try to imagine what that feeling would be like, but you never know until it really happens. It’s amazing.”
Kadri said he wasn’t sure where he would have his Cup day, but said, “It would be a whole party.” The 31-year-old striker has played 739 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Avalanche and scored the overtime goal for Colorado in their 3-2 victory in the fourth game of the Cup final on Wednesday.
“That third period felt like it lasted two hours,” Kadri said. “Playing with leadership, being in the locker room, understanding that you’re 20 minutes away from your dream, it would have been easy for us to strain and be shy and shy in the third period, but we came out, we were aggressive, we won the period and we win the match “.
Next up was defender Cale Makar, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, followed by JT Compher, Josh Manson, Artturi Lehkonen, Nico Sturm, Samuel Girard (who was injured in the Second Round of the Western Conference vs. St. Louis Blues), Logan O’Connor, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Ryan Murray, Kurtis MacDermid, Bowen Byram, Alex Newhook, Jayson Megna, Justus Annunen, coach Jared Bednar and director general Joe Sakic.
Bednar became the first coach to win the Kelly Cup (with South Carolina at the ECHL in 2008-09), the Calder Cup (with Lake Erie from the American Hockey League in 2015-16) and the Stanley Cup.
“I’ve been in the league for 15 years, I’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but I’ve stayed with that, I’ve believed in myself, I’ve surrounded myself with people who believed in me and, most importantly, my teammates. I’m very proud of my teammates, ”Erik Johnson said. “Everyone worked theirs [tails] off, the support staff that prepares us to play, it’s amazing. “