How good were the
Colorado Avalanche in the early 2000s? Two former team captains - future Hall Of Famers - came to
complement their defense and win Stanley Cups, hitching their wagons on the train led by
Joe Sakic,
Peter Forsberg and
Patrick Roy. Which two?
Raymond Bourque - Mr.
Boston Bruins for all of my life - and
Rob Blake - leader of the
Los Angeles Kings, the team's two-time captain. Bourque is on most people's top-5 defensemen of all time lists, probably mine too.
Though I usually prefer jersey cards of one player, and when there are multiple, that they be of the same team, I can totally live with this, as they are the best one-two punch of the past 25 years not on a national team. That being said, Blake did win Olympic gold with
Team Canada in 2002 (and suffered severe losses in 1998 and 2006); he also won gold (1994 and 1997) and silver (1991) at the World Championships and another silver at the 1996 World Cup. Bourque was also part of the 1998 Team Canada fiasco, and played in three Canada Cups (1981, 1984, 1987) and
Rendez-Vous '87.
This card was pulled from a pack of
Upper Deck's
2005-06 SPX (it's card #WC-BB in the set, part of the
Winning Combos insert sub-set). Though they are both pictured with the Avs, Bourque's swatch comes from a Bruins jersey, which is fitting.
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