Dater Column: Pierre Lacroix Finally Got His Due

Former Avalanche GM was one of a kind

It kind of snuck up on everybody recently. An announcement from the Hockey Hall of Fame that former Avs GM Pierre Lacroix would be inducted into the Class of 2023 for the Hall, in the builder category.

The voting among the 18 Hall electors is very secretive, and nobody really knows anything before each year’s honorees are announced. That certainly was the case with Lacroix’s son, Eric, who was busy working with a local youth hockey tournament when the phone rang and NHL Hall of Famer and board member Lanny McDonald was on the other line.

“Congratulations Eric, your dad is going into the Hall of Fame,” McDonald told him.

“I knew that it was a possibility, just like it had been in previous years,” Lacroix said. “But it was still a bit of a shock. A pleasant shock. As a family, we’re very honored to see my dad get such recognition at the highest level.”

No other hockey general manager has ever accomplished what Pierre Lacroix did. Imagine winning nine straight division titles in your first nine years as an NHL GM. That could be a record that is never broken. Add in two Stanley Cups and SIX trips to the Western Conference finals in those nine years, and you have quite the record of accomplishment.

Yet, there were starting to become fears that Lacroix might never gain entry to the Hall, in the builder category.