Editorial # 2 - a sad goodbye.

As some of you may know, Adam Deadmarsh was my all-time favorite Colorado Avalanche player. He wore # 18 for the Quebec Nordique and the AVS until his trade to Los Angeles. He reitred - at the age of 30 - before the current NHL season due to the post concussion syndrome which didn't allow him to play any longer. Although having dual citizenship, he played for the USA in international competition, including the 1996 World Cup that the USA won.

The best thing about Deadmarsh was that he did it all. He was fast, finished his checks, hustled all over the ice, fought, played with heart and grit, hit everyone he could, played all the forward positions, and stood in front of the net.

He hit the crossbar in overtime of game # 4 of the Stanley Cup finals. I always wondered if he would have received more of the due he deserved if that had gone in and super soft Uwe Krupp had not won the game. He also wore the coolest "cat in the hat" top hat on AVS flights and had his name misspelled on the Stanley Cup.

So, my Top 5 Adam Deadmarsh moments:

5) The 1996 World Cup - Canadian Joe Sakic had a semi-breakaway and as he went to get the puck, Deadmarsh caught him from behind. A true indications of his hustle and his speed.

4) While with Los Angeles he was boarded by Ruslan Salei a very cheap player who will not fight. Deadmarsh got up and beat the snot out of him. He was ejected, suspended and fined $25,000. His teammates paid the fine for him because he did the right thing, and what everyone else wanted to do.

3) During an AVS game with Detroit, Brandan Shanahan was running around the ice taking liberties with players. He had beat up the much smaller Rene Corbet in an earlier game. Deadmarsh fought Shanahan and was winning handily when "Shanny" tied up his right hand. In a move Inigo Montoya would be proud of, "Deadly" who was not right-handed, switched to his left and pummeled that prima donna.

2) After his trade to Los Angeles they played the Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs. LA won the last 3 games in a row to win the series. "Deader" had the assist on one winning goal and the winning goal in the last two games. (See picture above from Detroit).

1) In a game against Calgary in Denver that I attended, a Flame player boarded AVS rookie Dan Hinote. It was a total cheap shot and as the fracas ensued, Deadmarsh drug the Flames player out of the pile by the jersey and slid him along the ice and beat the tar out of him. He got 18 minutes of penalties and was ejected but you could sense the feeling of "team" as he came to the defense of a rookie playing in about his 10th game.

Anyway, he will be sorely missed. He was everything you would ever want in a player. If I ever have a son and he plays hockey, I hope he plays like Adam Deadmarsh.