Force of Nature: How the Colorado Avalanche Built a Stanley Cup Winner

by Triumph Books

Overview

The Colorado Avalanche entered the 2021-2022 NHL season with a sense of unfinished business. After years of strategic building under Joe Sakic that had produced a truly formidable core of talent, the Avs turned years of postseason heartbreak into fuel for one of the most dominant Stanley Cup playoff runs in recent memory. 

In Force of Nature, The Athletic's Peter Baugh expertly retraces the team's unforgettable championship season as well as the elements that made it all possible—the competitive drive of Nathan MacKinnon, the leadership of Gabriel Landeskog, Cale Makar's meteoric rise, and more.

Featuring in-depth reporting and an unforgettable cast of characters both on the ice and in the front office, this is the story of how the Avalanche built the winningest team in the salary cap era, vanquished the reigning back-to-back champion Tampa Bay Lightning, and returned the Stanley Cup to Colorado.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781637272985
Publisher:	Triumph Books
Publication date:	11/29/2022
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	264,573
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 5.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Peter Baugh is a Denver-based sportswriter who covers the Colorado Avalanche for The Athletic. A St. Louis native, he attended the University of Missouri and has published writing in the Washington Post, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Columbia Missourian, and POLITICO.

Table of Contents

Foreword Emily Kaplan vii

Introduction 1

1 Progress and Stagnation 3

2 C 12

3 Off-Season Choices 20

4 Prep for the Chase 26

5 Behind the Bench 34

6 The Steady Force 46

7 "Unique in His Package" 54

8 "Watching Greatness" 63

9 All the Small Things 79

10 Muscle and Depth 86

11 Tenacity and Leadership 96

12 Gut Check 105

13 A Bull in a China Shop 114

14 Moving On 125

15 The Second Round 137

16 Blues, Boos, and Big Goals 145

17 At the Helm 155

18 "Fran-kie! Fran-kie!" 168

19 "Good Stick, Lehky" 180

20 Late Nights in the Middle of June 191

21 Burakovsky's Moment 197

22 Series Shifter 207

23 Thumbs Up 219

24 Letdown 232

25 The Meeting 239

26 The Finale 243

27 The Celebration 253

Epilogue 261

Notes and Sources 263

Acknowledgments 277