-Vintage Canuck- Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 Quote The Colorado Avalanche will raise a sixth jersey to the rafters this season. The club will retire former Avalanche captain Milan Hejduk's No. 23 jersey on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018 prior to a game against Minnesota. "Milan was a tremendous player, a great teammate, a winner and a true professional in every sense," said Avalanche president and general manager Joe Sakic. "Milan was one of the most humble players I ever had the privilege of competing with," continued Sakic. "He was a quiet leader who led by example and always represented this organization and himself with class. His number 23 certainly belongs in the Pepsi Center rafters." Hejduk played all 14 of his NHL seasons with the Avalanche, and helped the team win the 2001 Stanley Cup. He finished his career with 375 goals and 805 points in 1,020 games, and served as team captain for one season. He also won the 2003 Maurice Richard Trophy as the NHL's leading goal scorer that season. Hejduk's No. 23 will join the numbers of Joe Sakic (19), Peter Forsberg (21), Patrick Roy (33), Adam Foote (52), and Ray Bourque (77) as those retired by the club. "I am truly honored to have my jersey raised to the rafters alongside those great Avalanche players," Hejduk said. "I realized my lifelong dream of not only playing in the NHL but also winning a Stanley Cup and to spend my entire career in Colorado was very special. Thanks to all the Avalanche fans for your support, I can't wait to see everyone on January 6th." https://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/1372409 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apollo Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 I absolutely hated this guy. He made my life as a Canucks fan miserable for way too many years. I'm pretty sure the team he had most points against in his career was our Glorious Vancouver Canucks. Well deserved though nonetheless. Spent his entire career with them, over 1000 games and over 800 points. Won a Rocket when he scored 50 goals in 2003 too. I thought he had won a lady byng but I guess not after searching... must have been nominating at least once? He was a very gentlemanly player. Not scum like Keith, Doughty, Chelios, Pronger, Shannahan, etc... Award Year National Hockey League All-Rookie Team 1998–99 All-Star Game 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2008–09 [15] Stanley Cup 2000–01 Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy 2002–03 Bud Light Plus/Minus Award 2002–03 Second All-Star Team 2002–03 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tre Mac Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 Grats on becoming the first Enchanted Wood Elf to have his jersey retired by a professional sports team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhukini Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 Canuck Killer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvey Specter Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 Extremely well deserved. As much as I disliked his Canuck killing ways, I was always a fan of his gamesmanship and leadership on the Avs. As a career Nordique/Av, he was another solid example of class within the players I grew up watching (Sakic, Yzerman, MacInnis, Niedermayer, Brodeur, Joseph, Roy, etc). He was a fantastic 2-way player during his playing career. Not to mention, he recognized his scoring decline and organization role change so he decided to relinquish his captaincy to Gabriel Landeskog, one "who he [thought was] going to be a franchise player for a long time." Looking forward to Hejduk's ceremony in January! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goat James Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 I started crying when I heard that he'd passed Näslund in goal scoring during the last game of the 2002/03 season. He had a solid career tho, and he spent all of it for one team, you don't see that too often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCNate Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 He is getting his number retired as a result of he did against the Canucks. He absolutely killed us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilight Sparkle Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 he was an NHL 03 legend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coconuts Posted September 15, 2017 Share Posted September 15, 2017 Dude was a Canuck killer through and through, I hated playing against the Avs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
189lb enforcers? Posted September 15, 2017 Share Posted September 15, 2017 Heck of a player. Played an honest game and was clutch. Kept playing on some of the worst Avalanche teams, impacting his totals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Biestra Posted September 15, 2017 Share Posted September 15, 2017 A very good player, and exactly the kind of guy who falls short of the Hall of Fame but has well earned his jersey in the rafters of his team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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