Double Team: As with the Penguins, Ian Cole has been sturdy on Avalanche blue line

While the NHL is on hold because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Tribune-Review will offer the Double Team project, an examination of the five best players who have contributed substantially to the Penguins and another franchise. For consideration, a player must have played at least the equivalent of a full season for each franchise. (Sorry, Jarome Iginla fans.)

Today, a look at the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise. A charter member of the World Hockey Association (WHA), the Nordiques (which translates to “Northerners”) were founded in 1972 and based in Quebec City. After joining the NHL in 1979 as part of the WHA merger, the Nordiques lasted 16 NHL seasons before moving out west to Denver, becoming the Colorado Avalanche in 1995. In 90 all-time games against the Nordiques/Avalanche, the Penguins have a 41-40-9 record.

1. Ian Cole, defenseman

At his first trade deadline as the Penguins’ general manager in 2015, Jim Rutherford wanted to reconfigure his blue line and make it a little more dynamic. Part of that involved trading for Ian Cole, a former first-round pick with the St. Louis Blues.

The Penguins didn’t go very far in the 2015 postseason. In fact, they had to claim a playoff berth on the last day of the regular season in order to get beat by the New York Rangers in five games during the first round. But the addition of Cole would have a lasting impact on the franchise.

After an ill-fated experiment of using Cole with Kris Letang on the top pairing under former head coach Mike Johnston early in the 2015-16 campaign, Cole found a role as a reliable and physical third-pairing blue liner with new head coach Mike Sullivan. Primarily teamed with Justin Schultz, Cole was part of a duo that offered a safe, reliable presence for the Penguins as they claimed the franchise’s fourth Stanley Cup that spring. During a 3-1 road win against the San Jose Sharks in Game 4 of the Final, Cole scored the contest’s opening goal.

Cole himself became one of the team’s top penalty killers that season and led the squad with 122 blocked shots despite playing only 70 games.

In 2016-17, the Penguins’ depth was tested as a wide array of health woes devastated the blue line. While the likes of Letang, Schultz and Trevor Daley each missed significant time due to various ailments, Cole was in the lineup for 81 of 82 games in the regular season despite the rough-and-tumble nature of his role which saw him once again lead the team in blocked shots (194). He also established career-highs of five goals and 26 points.

That postseason, he played in all 25 games for a fatigued team that won the Stanley Cup once again more through will than ability.

Cole’s love-hate relationship with Sullivan came to a head throughout the 2017-18 campaign as Cole was a healthy scratch throughout the regular season, and before the trade deadline, he was sent to the Ottawa Senators as part of a three-team, six-player, four-draft pick trade that also involved the Vegas Golden Knights.

After a brief cup of coffee with the Columbus Blue Jackets at the end of that season, Cole signed with the Avalanche during the ensuing offseason.

Offering a veteran presence on a mostly younger roster, Cole has been a staple on Colorado’s blue line and has helped that team reach the playoffs the past two seasons.

In 2018-19, he led the Avalanche with 178 blocked shots. This season, Cole had already matched his career high in points with 26 in only 65 games before the regular season was halted by mid-March.

2. Pat Price, defenseman

When looking at the full context of his professional career, it’s probably fair to say Pat Price was a bust. A prolific scorer at the junior level, Price signed a five-year, $1.3 million contract in 1974 with the Vancouver Blades of the WHA, the largest contract ever given to a rookie in professional hockey at that time.

As a 19-year-old, Price wasn’t mature enough to maintain a professional lifestyle with that much spending money and the Blades released him after only one season. From there, he joined the New York Islanders, the team that made him a first-round pick in 1975.

Following a handful of unremarkable seasons with the Islanders and Edmonton Oilers, Price was traded late in the 1980-81 season to the Penguins, the franchise with which he enjoyed his greatest success.

After helping them reach the 1981 postseason, Price’s 1981-82 campaign saw him establish career-highs in games (77) and points (38).

He also put up an astounding 322 penalty minutes that season, the third-highest single-season total in franchise history.

Price’s success in Pittsburgh was fleeting as he was waived in December of 1982 and claimed by the Nordiques. In Quebec, Price found his most regular work as he was a regular component of the Nordiques’ lineup for parts of five seasons. With the Nordiques, Price appeared in 255 career games and put up 80 points as well as 487 penalty minutes.

His presence helped that team reach the postseason four times, including a surprising run to the 1984 Prince of Wales Conference final.

3. Maxime Talbot, center

As an eighth-round pick in 2002, Talbot was a long-shot to make the NHL, let alone last and become a “superstar” of sorts. Yet, he was a vital component of the Penguins’ ascension in the mid-2000s and helped them reach two Stanley Cup Finals, winning one.

After debuting in 2005-06, Talbot established himself as an NHL player in 2007-08 as a bottom-six forward by appearing in 75 games, scoring 24 points and helping the Penguins reach the postseason for the first time in six years.

In 2007-08, Talbot was limited to 63 regular season games but still managed to put up 26 points. During that spring’s postseason, Talbot showed he had a flair for being a playoff performer. In 17 playoff games, Talbot scored nine points, including a game-tying goal with 35 seconds left in regulation in what proved to be a 3-2 three-overtime road win against the Detroit Red Wings in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final.

The next season, Talbot emerged as a winger on franchise center Evgeni Malkin’s line and secured his place in Pittsburgh sports lore by scoring each of the Penguins’ goals in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, a 2-1 road win against the Red Wings.

Shoulder surgery during the ensuing offseason brought Talbot’s career with the Penguins to an anti-climatic ending as he was limited to 45 games and seven points in 2009-10 before joining the Flyers as a free agent by 2010.

Early in the 2013-14 season, the Flyers dealt Talbot to the Avalanche and he put up a career-high 27 points in 81 games that regular season and helped that franchise reach the playoffs for the first time in three years.

He also aided in the development of franchise player Nathan MacKinnon, serving as a landlord of sorts to the then 19-year-old star.

With the Avalanche bound to miss the postseason in 2014-15, Talbot, who had 15 points in 63 games that season, was moved at the trade deadline to the Boston Bruins.

4. Ville Nieminen, left winger

A third-round pick in 1997, the Finnish-born Nieminen was an abrasive antagonistic winger in the mold of an Esa Tikkanen or Jarkko Ruutu.

As a rookie in 2000-01, Nieminen emerged as a pretty big part of the lineup, working on Colorado’s second line with stars Chris Drury and Peter Forsberg. That postseason, Nieminen contributed 10 points in 23 games as the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup for the second time in franchise history.

At the 2002 trade deadline, the Avalanche dealt Nieminen to the Penguins for defenseman Darius Kasparaitis. As they began a rebuilding project, the Penguins hoped the 24-year-old Nieminen and his experience as a Stanley Cup champion could be a significant part of the franchise’s future. Following the trade, he offered three points in 13 games.

Ultimately, Nieminen made minimal impact on a franchise that was struggling badly on and off the ice. After he fell through a glass door of a sauna in his home country during the 2002 offseason — an incident that required 62 stitches on various body parts — Nieminen slogged through an unremarkable 2002-03 season in which he appeared in 75 games and posted 21 points. By the 2003 offseason, Penguins management opted to allow Nieminen to walk and he joined the Chicago Blackhawks as a free agent.

5. Paul Baxter, defenseman

(Note: While this series has opted to exclude players’ WHA service for other franchises, there are relatively few connections of note between the Penguins and Avalanche/Nordiques. As a result, Baxter’s time in the WHA was considered for this list.)

A year before the Penguins made Baxter a third-round draft pick in 1975, he was drafted by the Cleveland Crusaders of the WHA in 1974 and spent the first five years of his professional career in primarily that league, mostly with Quebec. Baxter established himself as one of the WHA’s most rambunctious players, putting up more than 200 penalty minutes in all four of his complete seasons in the league. His 962 career penalty minutes were the most all-time in the league’s seven-year history.

Baxter joined the NHL as a member of the Nordiques during the 1979 merger and in 61 games during 1979-80, he had 20 points as well as a team-leading 145 penalty minutes. In the 1980 offseason, he finally joined the Penguins as a free agent and wasted little time in showing what type of player he was. Playing in only 51 games during 1981-82, he posted a team-leading 204 penalty minutes as well as 19 points. Those totals might have been higher had linesman Bob Hodges not accidentally skated over Baxter’s hand, severing several tendons. The ailment sidelined Baxter for about two months due to the injury.

Baxter’s 1981-82 campaign remains his “legacy” to the organization. With the benefit of 16 fights, Baxter racked up a ridiculous 409 penalty minutes, a total which remains the franchise’s single-season record and the second-most in NHL history.

Despite spending so much time in the penalty box, Baxter still managed to contribute a solid 43 points in 76 games for a Penguins team that nearly upset the Islanders during the preliminary round of that spring’s postseason.

Baxter once again led the team with 238 penalty minutes in 75 games during the 1982-83 campaign before joining the Calgary Flames as a free agent the following offseason.

Honorable mention: None. There were so few players who spent the equivalent of a full season with each team, no players are worthy of this designation.

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