Pierre Lacroix, longtime president and general manager of the Quebec Nordiques and Colorado Avalanche, died Sunday at the age of 72, the team announced.

"Pierre was the architect of the Avalanche's two Stanley Cup championships, which included the city of Denver's first major sports championship in 1996," the Avalanche said in a statement. "Pierre was instrumental in not only the team's on-ice success but also building the Avalanche brand into what it is today. His legacy reaches far beyond the NHL level and his impact can be felt throughout all of youth hockey in the Rocky Mountain region."

Lacroix was named general manager and president of the Nordiques in 1994 and followed the team to Colorado the following season. He played an instrumental part in building two Stanley Cup-winning Avalanche teams.

He made numerous big trades during his career, including acquiring a disgruntled Patrick Roy from the Montreal Canadiens during the 1995-96 season, Ray Bourque during the 1999-2000 campaign, and Rob Blake during the 2000-01 season. The Avalanche won two Cups during his tenure - 1996 and 2001 - due in large part to his acquisitions.

Lacroix stepped down as general manager in 2006 but remained president until 2013 when he took on an advisory role.

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In the lead-up to the 2021 World Junior Championship, we're taking a look back at each of the 18 Canadian teams to capture the gold medal, culminating Dec. 25 with the start of the latest edition of the tournament.

The 1993 World Junior Hockey Championship in Gavle, Sweden, was an important one for Canada.

One year beforehand, the team sputtered to a sixth-place finish despite boasting the likes of Eric Lindros and Scott Niedermayer.

Neither of those future Hall of Famers returned to the '93 squad, but it still featured its share of standout performers, including another eventual legend who cemented himself as a budding star with his play in this tourney and a goaltender who stole the show.

The roster

*Denotes returning player
All ages are as of the start of the tournament

The tournament

Canada went 6-1-0 in the tournament, which used a round-robin format and awarded medals to the top three teams based on the standings. The squad's only defeat came in its final game on Jan. 4 at the hands of the Czech and Slovak Republics - a unified side that began the event as Czechoslovakia before the country dissolved into two separate nations three days before the game.

Sweden was a more dominant club throughout the tourney. The Swedes were led by a 19-year-old Peter Forsberg, who amassed seven goals and an incredible 24 assists in seven games to lead all skaters in points while setting a tournament record in that category. Teammates Markus Naslund and Niklas Sundstrom finished first and second in the goal-scoring race at 13 and 10, respectively, with Naslund's total giving him a record of his own.

The Swedes finished with the same record as Canada and a better goal differential. However, the Canadians earned a 5-4 victory in the two powerhouses' lone meeting at the tournament on Dec. 27, 1992, which ultimately served as the tiebreaker.

The stars

Legace posted a stellar .955 save percentage over six games. The future NHL veteran was named best goaltender and was also the lone netminder the media chose for the tournament All-Star team.

Kariya's eight points ranked second among Canadian skaters. The skilled winger dramatically improved compared to his two-point output through six contests in 1992.

Lapointe led Canada with nine points and tied Gendron for the team lead with five goals. Tully - who collected a goal and two assists in seven games - earned an All-Star nod as one of only two defensemen on the list.

The key moment

Nearly a year to the day before Canada and Sweden met at this tournament, the teams played to a 2-2 tie in which the Swedes scored the equalizer with seven seconds left to knock Canada out of medal contention.

On the night before their clash at the 1993 tourney, Forsberg said this to TSN's Bob McKenzie:

(Courtesy: TSN/YouTube)

The matchup certainly lived up to the hype, with the two deep squads trading goals in a spirited affair. It even got physical - both Daigle and Sweden's Naslund were ejected.

The heavily favored Swedes had a glorious chance to force overtime in the final seconds of the contest, but Mats Lindgren whiffed on a centering pass in front of the Canadian net just before the buzzer sounded.

The fallout

A pair of future Hockey Hall of Famers on this Canadian squad went early in the NHL draft about six months later. Kariya's strong play undoubtedly helped convince the Anaheim Ducks to select him fourth overall, while Pronger went two picks ahead of him after registering one goal and three assists in the tourney.

The Ottawa Senators took Daigle with the first pick in that draft, and although the eventual mega-bust didn't score in the 1993 tournament, he did contribute six assists in seven games.

Only three players from the '93 team (Bouchard, Gendron, and Tully) returned the following year, but this title got Canada back on track and started a run of five straight gold medals for the Canadian program at the tournament.

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Vancouver Canucks goaltender Braden Holtby will not wear the new Indigenous-themed mask he had planned to debut with his new team this season after being accused of cultural appropriation.

"I just wanted to make sure I apologize to anyone I had offended," Holtby told CTV News' Emad Agahi on Saturday. "It was definitely not my intent and I definitely learned a valuable lesson through this all and I'll make sure I'm better and moving forward, do the things that help the community the most."

In a now-deleted Instagram post, Swedish goalie mask artist Dave Gunnarsson shared his design for Holtby's headgear, which he wrote depicted "the myth of the Thunderbird, a Canadian west (coast) myth." Gunnarsson also described the image, as shown below, as "The Northwest Coast Indigenous Myth."

(Courtesy: Reddit Hockey)

Gunnarsson took the post down a day later after social media users claimed it appropriated Aboriginal culture. Several First Nations figures agreed.

"When we see the mask, although looking brilliant, one of the first questions you ask is, 'Who made it?'" said Robert Philips, a member of the First Nations Summit Political Executive and the Northern Secwepemc te Qelmucw (Shuswap) of the Canim Lake First Nation.

"Immediately thoughts of cultural appropriation come up,” Philips told Agahi.

Jay Soule, an Indigenous artist based in Toronto, had a suggestion for Holtby.

"If the goalie in question wants to use Indigenous art on his helmet, the right thing to do would be just to reach out to an Indigenous artist and commission (them) to do that," Soule said.

Soule added that when this kind of work comes from non-Indigenous artists, it has a "catastrophic" effect on his community's economy. The artist also said he too believes it was cultural appropriation, but lauded Gunnarsson for taking "a step in the right direction" by removing the post.

Holtby told Agahi he plans to collaborate with a First Nations artist for a new mask he'll wear for the 2020-21 season.

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Los Angeles Kings head coach Todd McLellan has high expectations for this season and believes his club is ready to take the next step beyond its rebuild.

"The players that are coming back this year, they're long-term players for us," McLellan said Saturday, according to the Los Angeles Times' Jack Harris. "I heard (general manager) Rob Blake talk to each of the individuals saying, 'Listen, we are basically done with the initial phase of the rebuilding.'

"We've moved players around and out and brought different players in. It's time to turn the ship and let's start growing all of this."

The Kings missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season in 2019-20 but showed signs of improvement down the stretch, winning 10 of their final 13 contests. Los Angeles also boasted gaudy possession numbers, ranking fourth in both Corsi For (53.10%) and shot share (52.51%), and eighth in expected goals for percentage (51.95%) at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.

McLellan hopes the influx of young, promising talent will help translates those numbers into more goals. The team added second overall pick Quinton Byfield to a pipeline of encouraging prospects that includes 2019 first-rounder Alex Turcotte, Finnish pivot Rasmus Kupari, and American sniper Arthur Kaliyev, among others.

The Kings bench boss believes Blake's commitment to taking the next step will serve as motivation for perennial pieces such as Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty.

“If I’m one of the five long-term veterans coming back, I got to be excited to hear that. I’ve got to be excited about seeing [Blake] bring guys like Maatta in and trading for Lias Andersson.

"That’s signaling that we’re trying to make our team better and trying to push now up the hill rather than just waiting, not necessarily to bottom out, that’s a bad term, but for the cleanse to finish. I think there’s more stability."

The NHL is targeting Jan. 13 for opening day and a 56-game schedule for the 2020-21 campaign.

Nothing has been made official, but the Kings will reportedly play in a realigned division featuring the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues, and Vegas Golden Knights.

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The United States finalized its 25-man roster for the 2021 world juniors Saturday.

The group features eight members from the 2020 team that failed to medal. All rosters include two extra players this year due to the unusual circumstances of holding the tournament in a bubble.

One interesting omission is Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Nick Robertson. He's one of America's top forward options, but TSN's Bob McKenzie reported Friday that Robertson would be forced to miss NHL training camp if he were to participate in the tournament due to quarantine protocols.

*Denotes returning player

Forwards

Defense

Goalies

Team USA has two exhibitions scheduled on Dec. 20 and Dec. 22 before beginning the tournament versus Russia on Christmas Day.

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In the lead-up to the 2021 World Junior Championship, we're taking a look back at each of the 18 Canadian teams to capture the gold medal, culminating Dec. 25 with the start of the latest edition of the tournament.

The 1991 edition of the world juniors took place throughout Saskatchewan and saw Team Canada take home its second consecutive gold medal. Once again, the squad faced stiff competition after edging out the Soviet Union for gold in 1990. With the round-robin format still in place, Canada came out on top with a clutch win in their final game.

The roster

*Denotes returning player
All ages are as of the start of the tournament

The tournament

The event featured a number of future Hall of Fame-caliber players. Doug Weight led the tournament in scoring, with Canada's Eric Lindros and the Soviet Union's Pavel Bure trailing the American.

Canada took care of Switzerland in the tourney's first game, winning 6-0. Things started to look bleak for their gold medal hopes when they tied the U.S. 4-4 in their second matchup, putting them a point behind the Soviets.

Canada continued on, beating Norway, Sweden, and Finland before dropping their first contest against Czechoslovakia. With a 4-1-1 record and just one game left to play against the then-undefeated Soviets, Canada needed a miracle to secure gold.

On Jan. 3, the Soviets were taking on Finland in the team's sixth game of the tournament. If the Soviets won, they would have clinched the gold medal. Finland pulled off a miracle and did Canada a huge favor, scoring a game-tying goal with 15 seconds left. The tie meant the matchup between Canada and the Soviet Union on Jan. 4 decided who would take home the gold medal.

The stars

Seventeen-year-old Lindros dominated the tournament, leading Canada in scoring with 17 points in seven games. To nobody's surprise, he took home the Top Forward honor. It was Lindros' second appearance at the world juniors, and he returned in 1992. He would ultimately become the country's all-time leading scorer at the world juniors with 31 points.

Forward Mike Craig was second in scoring for the team with 11 points. He was one of the six returning players to win back-to-back golds and was named a First-Team All-Star of the tournament. Despite his great performances at the world juniors, Craig's career ended up being rather lackluster - he played in 423 NHL games while recording 168 points.

The key moment

Aside from Finland's epic late goal to force a tie against the Soviets and allow Canada to play for gold, the tournament's key moment came in the championship game.

Canada got off to an early 2-0 lead, but the Soviets clawed back to tie it up in the third frame. With all eyes on Canada's stars to get the game-winner, an unlikely hero stepped up to clinch gold.

John Slaney - who hadn't scored yet in the tournament - blasted home a goal through traffic with just over five minutes left in the third period. Slaney sprained his ankle during the goal celebration and anxiously watched the game's final minutes from the bench. Despite an onslaught from the Soviets, Canada managed to hold on to the lead and shut the Soviets down, taking home the country's second consecutive gold.

The fallout

Lindros went on to be infamously selected first overall in the 1991 NHL Draft by the Quebec Nordiques. Injuries derailed his career, but his talent and impact on the ice were undeniable. He only appeared in 760 NHL games while recording 865 points but was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016. He finished his career as a six-time All-Star and won the Hart Trophy in 1995.

The team didn't churn out as many future stars as some of Canada's other rosters but still produced a number of solid careers. Players such as Kris Draper, Mike Sillinger, Patrice Brisebois, and Brad May all appeared in over 1,000 NHL games.

Canada's top goalie Trevor Kidd played in a respectable 387 NHL games with a career .901 save percentage. Backup goalie Felix Potvin went on to become a two-time All-Star and appeared in 635 games.

Scott Niedermayer went pointless in seven games at the world juniors. While his play at the tournament didn't turn many heads, he went on to win four Stanley Cups, a Norris Trophy, the Conn Smythe Trophy, and two Olympic golds.

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