Take a trip through this magical mystery tour with Colorado Avalanche GM Pierre Lacroix and enjoy the ride.

1995-96

Coming off the best record in the NHL the year before, but an embarrassing first-round loss in the playoffs to the eighth-seeded New York Rangers, Lacroix says there was some luck in having Claude Lemieux, Sandis Ozolinsh and Patrick Roy fall into his lap during this season so the former Nordiques could become the first franchise in NHL history to move from one city and capture the Stanley Cup in another.

"You dream about situations that allow you to do some of the things that happened to us that year," Lacroix recalled. "If Wendel Clark isn't a holdout, we don't do the trade with the Devils for Claude Lemieux. If San Jose doesn't have a struggling start, they don't want to trade Ozolinsh for Owen Nolan. And if not for Patrick Roy having a blowout with his coach in Montreal, we would not be talking about him.

"Three times in 60 days we have the chance to do these things."

Dream come true? No, it's being in the right place at the right time -- like Joe Sakic in the slot or Peter Forsberg around the net.

Lacroix saw the signs of a promising team come together when the Nordiques breezed to the best record in the Eastern Conference in 1994-95, only to lose to the Rangers in the first round.

"I had a job to do, whether we played in Quebec City or Flin Flon," Lacroix laughs.

Most people don't know this, but the first player Lacroix tried to acquire was Ozolinsh. But former Sharks GM Dean Lombardi would not settle for anyone less than Nolan in a deal.

"I had tried to get Nolan three years earlier when Pierre Page was the general manager in Quebec," Lombardi recalls. "But all Pierre Page and later Pierre Lacroix would offer was a package of prospects. I didn't just come in off the turnip truck, so I turned them down."

But when the Sharks got off to a bad start in 1995-96, Lacroix called Lombardi once again.

"I told him this was a one-time offer and he had 24 hours to think about it. I told him I would give him Nolan for Ozolinsh."

That's exactly how Lombardi remembers it, too.

"I took 23 hours and 30 minutes before I called him back," said Lombardi, now a scout for the Philadelphia Flyers.

Lacroix says there was some luck in having Claude Lemieux, Sandis Ozolinsh and Patrick Roy fall into his lap during the 1995-96 season, helping the Avs to become the first franchise in NHL history to move from one city and capture the Stanley Cup in another.

That deal and the trade Lacroix made for Roy are perfect examples of the kind of depth the Avalanche had built, largely because Lacroix had the courage to make the trades.

"Pierre could see that Adam Deadmarsh was coming into his own and he could put him into Nolan's spot in the lineup and not lose any strength," Lombardi says.

Since Lacroix had previously been Roy's agent, Canadiens GM Rejean Houle knew where he could find a quick and assertive trading partner when Patrick walked off the Montreal bench and told then-owner Ronald Corey that he would never play another game for coach Mario Tremblay.

The Avalanche were 16-7-4 with Stephane Fiset and Thibault in goal. But Lacroix knew that tandem could hardly match up to Roy's acrobatics in the playoffs.

"If we were still in Quebec, we could never have gotten Patrick," Lacroix admits. "When I got home that night and saw the red light flashing on my answering machine and heard Rejean Houle's voice on the other end, I knew I couldn't give the Canadiens a chance to change their minds about trading the best goalie in the game. I knew I could part with Thibault. I knew the Canadiens wouldn't trade Patrick to anyone in the Eastern Conference. Most of all, I knew I had to have him."

No hesitation. No fear.

1999-2000

The 1995-96 season was the second of nine consecutive seasons that the Avalanche finished first in their division. So, even though the costs of running a successful franchise, Lacroix continued to filter in and out parts while building on that core of Sakic, Roy, Forsberg and replacing Ozolinsh and Lemieux with Ray Bourque in a trade and Adam Deadmarsh, Milan Hejduk, Chris Drury and Alex Tanguay through the Entry Draft.

The acquisition of Bourque and veteran Dave Andreychuk for forward Brian Rolston and prospects Martin Grenier, Sammy Pahlsson and a first-round pick represented yet another steal for Lacroix -- and clearly made up for a calculated risk of bringing on former Calgary star Theo Fleury one year earlier with Chris Dingman, for Rene Corbet, Wade Belak and Robyn Regehr.

The Bourque deal, in fact, shows you the masterstroke of Lacroix's genius. In reality, Lacroix had been on the case for three years, even if neither Bourque nor Bruins GM Harry Sinden dreamed of a trade that long ago.

The deal for Ray Bourque showed you the masterstroke of Lacroix's genius. In reality, Lacroix had been on this case for three years, even if neither Bourque nor Bruins GM Harry Sinden envisioned the blockbuster that far back.

The dilemma? Bourque was very sensitive about how Boston fans perceived him and any request he might have had to be traded from the franchise he loved to get one last chance to go to another team and realize his dream of winning a Stanley Cup.

Interestingly, Bourque consulted with Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios, who went from Chicago to Detroit just one year earlier, before Bourque went public with his trade request in March of 2000.

In reality, Lacroix made an impassioned plea on Bourque's behalf at the general manager's meetings in December of 1999.

"At that time Harry told me he couldn't do it to Ray," Lacroix says, referring to asking Bourque to leave Boston after 20 seasons. "I told Harry that we can't let such a great player retire -- and that I had more prospects than anyone to offer him. 'Don't let anything happen without talking to me first.'"

When Sinden finally came around to Lacroix's way of thinking at the GMs meetings in mid-February, Colorado still wasn't mentioned in the trade rumors that included the Flyers, Red Wings, Blues and Sharks. In fact, while rumors out of Philadelphia insisted that it was a done deal that Bourque was going to join the Flyers, Lacroix had already consummated the deal to bring the defenseman to Denver.

"You know, there are only a few organizations in sports that really have a chance of winning -- and the Avalanche are one of them," Rob Blake said. "I'll never forget going to Denver for the All-Star Game in 2001. I remember walking into the Western Conference locker room and seeing a royal purple emblem of the Kings stitched on the right sleeve and it hit me that this really could be the last time I wore a Kings' sweater."

"I told Harry I wanted to keep my activity quiet," Lacroix said. "I said I'd pull out if I heard my name mentioned in rumors. That's how serious I was. Even Ray had no clue it was Colorado making such a strong pitch for him. He thought it was Philadelphia."

Lacroix held up his end to keep a low profile. He wouldn't let himself get caught up in the reality that he was about to obtain one of the greatest defenseman in the history of the game.

"After the deal was complete, my secretary, Charlotte, said, 'Do you realize what you just did? Usually you're so emotional. But the last few days you've been all business,'" Lacroix remembers. "I remember one of our trainers told me about the buzz in the locker room when Ray arrived in Calgary for his first game with us. But it wasn't until a couple of days later when I saw the reaction of our fans that I realized the scope of this deal."

2000-01

We told you that Lacroix had been weaned on the successes of the Canadiens. So it was only natural that Pierre would remember the Stanley Cups that Montreal earned with the "Big 3" on defense -- Serge Savard, Larry Robinson and Guy Lapointe.

When Lacroix dealt Ozolinsh to Carolina before this season, he was thinking about that tradition and how he might be able to add to his Dynamic Twosome on defense – Adam Foote and Bourque. But he didn't know how he could acquire a third tower of power on defense.

It wasn't long after that the Los Angeles Kings began to let the world know that they couldn't survive financially with Rob Blake's $5.627 million contract and his demand for $9 million would represent more than one-fourth of their payroll -- which wasn't going to happen.

Enter the magician -- and voila -- he was an Avalanche.

Well, it wasn't that easy.

"This was the most difficult trade I had to make," Lacroix said. "I had great feelings for Adam Deadmarsh and Aaron Miller. They were a big part of our family. That's when I remembered those great Montreal teams and that when I remembered how great Savard, Robinson and Lapointe made those teams."

Not to mention the fact that Lacroix knew this deal might cause problems with the chemistry of the team, because of how popular Deadmarsh and Miller were with their teammates.

"We didn't like the deal at first," Sakic told me. "But we knew Pierre's track record of making the right deal for us. So, we waited and watched how it might play out."

"You know, there are only a few organizations in sports that really have a chance of winning -- and the Avalanche are one of them," Blake said. "I'll never forget going to Denver for the All-Star Game in 2001. I remember walking into the Western Conference locker room and seeing a royal purple emblem of the Kings stitched on the right sleeve and it hit me that this really could be the last time I wore a Kings' sweater because the rumors were rampant that I was going to Detroit or St. Louis. I remember not knowing how many suitcases to bring to the All-Star Game."

In March of 2002, the Avs beefed up for another playoff run by acquiring hard-hitting defenseman Darius Kasparaitis from the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Ville Nieminen and defenseman Rick Berry.

That's also where Blake began to hear about an interest from the Avs.

"It's funny," Blake recalled. "I knew I was going to be traded and All-Star Saturday I remember walking into the locker room at Pepsi Center and Patrick Roy, whom I had never met, came up to me and asked about my situation in L.A.

"Patrick had this gleam on his face as he walked about -- like maybe he knew something and that's when I started wondering if the Avs might be coming in late and how their GM always seemed to come in and make the deal other teams couldn't seem to make."

Less than two weeks later, Blake was a member of the Avalanche -- and his new teammates not only saw a talented and dedicated player overcome the boos in L.A. in the regular season, but again in a hard-fought second round playoff series.

A bond had clearly developed between Blake and his new mates -- and a few months later he had helped Colorado win another Stanley Cup.

2003-04

Two more first-place finishes for the Avalanche and trades since that 2001 Cup. Lacroix acquired defenseman Darius Kasparaitis as his stretch run trade in 2002. A year later, he traded Chris Drury to Calgary for defenseman Derek Morris in the offseason and went for another defenseman, Bryan Marchment from San Jose, for the stretch run.

No Cups, showing again that there are no guarantees with trades.

We knew this season was clearly going to be a lively one when Patrick Roy announced his retirement while the New Jersey Devils and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim were playing for the Stanley Cup last June. Also, Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne brought their skills to Lacroix in a most unusual free-agent package on July 1.

Even with Kariya and Selanne and the strength they could provide in joining with the likes of Sakic, Forsberg, Milan Hejduk and Alex Tanguay, Lacroix had to find a replacement for Roy. In addition, he let Marchment and Greg deVries, two important defenseman, leave via free agency. And the team's third- and fourth-line production had diminished.

An offseason trade for Karlis Skrastins from Nashville and Lacroix's confidence in Jean-Michael Liles right off the Michigan State campus eased the loss of Marchment and deVries. Free-agent-to-be Steve Konowalchuk was acquired from Washington early in the season for Bates Battaglia and in mid-February defensemen Bob Boughner and Kurt Sauer were obtained from Carolina and Anaheim, respectively.

Not the blockbusters that previously brought the Avs stars like Roy, Bourque and Blake, but you could say this season has produced another group of holes and responses from Lacroix -- just like 1996 and 2001.

"It's fun to look back now," Lacroix said. "I like the challenges -- and nine years later, you know, it's flattering to see players like Paul and Teemu come to us for a deal because they say they want to win a Stanley Cup. It's kind of exciting to see something like that happen.

In the summer of 2003, Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne brought their skills to Lacroix in a most unusual free-agent package, making the Colorado GM an offer he couldn't refuse.

"But I know as well as anyone that there are no guarantees. You can't stand still. You have to keep shaping and reshaping your team."

"Pierre gives his players a chance to be creative," Selanne said. "More important, he gives them a chance to win."

I remember standing outside the Los Angeles Kings locker room with coach Andy Murray earlier this season and we began to talk about other teams and when the Avs came up, Murray was pretty succinct in his assessment of them.

"Look at that roster," Murray said. "Yeah, they've got stars. But there's more. Joe Sakic. He's a winner. Peter Forsberg -- winner. Rob Blake -- winner. Adam Foote, Milan Hejduk and Alex Tanguay -- more of the same. And Tony Granato. He was a winner as a player and Pierre Lacroix hired him with no coaching experience -- and look how well he's kept those stars hungry and motivated."

Granato might have been Lacroix's most important acquisition last season, when he replaced Bob Hartley.

"I pride myself on the fact that we've turned over 25 percent of our roster and we've continued to win,'' Lacroix says. "My theory is you pick and choose how a player or draft choice might fit into your mix, and then adjust from there if necessary. To me, you can take chances; just don't make lateral moves."

You know something, I think Andy Murray missed the most important winner on the Avalanche -- Pierre Lacroix.

And that is the anatomy of trader story that I told you would be intriguing from start to finish.