The cursed 18 has had a number of wearers. Adam Deadmarsh had the pleasure of wearing it the longest of any other player within the Quebec Nordiques and Colorado Avalanche history. After him, no one has been able to sport it for more than a season and a half. Drury, Tanguay, Wilsie, Yelle and Yip have all since parted ways with the organization. Does this mean Connoly will be gone next?
John Smrke 1980: John was drafted by both the NHL and the WHA in 1976. He played 30 games, had 3 goals, 5 assists and had 2 penalty minutes, he was a +3. This proved to be his last stint in the NHL. The next years he played in the AHL and CHL.
John Wensink 1981: Wensink was drafted both by the NHL and WHA in 1973. John played for the Quebec Nordiques in 1981. The next year he went on the play for the Colorado Rockies. While in Nords uniform he played 53 games, had 6 goals, 3 assists and 124 penalty minutes. He was -14.
Marian Stastny 1982-1985 : Before playing his last year in Toronto, Marian played 4 seasons in Quebec. Marian might be best known for being the older brother to two other Quebec Nordiques: Peter and Anton Stastny, and uncle to current Colorado Avalanche forward Paul Stastny. Surprisingly, this wasn't the first time three brothers played on a NHL team at the same time - it was done in 1972 as well. In 252 games Marian scored 98 goals, had 143 assists, 89 penalty minutes and was never a - in +/- ratings. Marian has remained in Quebec after his retirement and is often outspoken about getting a NHL club back in Quebec.
Wayne Babych 1986:The one-time third overall 1978 draft pick joined the Nords for 15 games in the 1986 season. In 15 games he had 6 goals, 5 assists and 18 penalty minutes and was a +/- 0.
Greg Malone 1986: Yes, current Avalanche player Brad Malone is related to him. He is Brad's uncle.During the 1986 season he played 27 games in the Nords uniform, earning 3 goals, 5 assists and 18 points. He was a -3. Greg is now a scout for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Max Middendorf 1988: Max was drafted in the third round by Quebec, and was in Quebec for a total of three seasons. In those three seasons though he only managed to play ten games. Of those ten games only one of them was played with the number 18. He had no goals, no points, no penalty minutes and was a +/- 0 in that game.
Mike Natyshak 1988: Mike was drafted in the 1986 supplemental draft. What was the supplemental draft? It was a draft set up to draft collegiate players who were ineligible for the regular draft. In 1988 Mike played 4 games for the Nords, had no points, no penalty minutes and was a -1.
Scott Shaunessy 1989: For some reason, I actually remember Scott. Vividly. Even though he only played 4 games for the Nords (and 7 NHL games in his career), had no points and 16 penalty minutes.
Mike Hough 1987-1993: Mike was drafted in the 9th round by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1982 draft. It wasn't until 1987 that he would appear in his first NHL game. During his time with the Nordiques he played 363 games. The one-season Captain had a total of 68 goals, 97 assists and 461 penalty minutes while a Quebec Nordiques. His +/- average was a -9.4 during that time. Mike retired in 1999.
Adam Deadmarsh 1995-2001: Adam was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques 14th overall in the 1993 drat. Adam has made it into the NHL record books. He is the first one to have a misspelled name on the Stanley Cup fixed. During his stint in with the organization Adam played both for the Quebec Nordiques and the Colorado Avalanche. Between the 1995 season and the 2001 season, when he was traded to LA for Rob Blake, he played in 453 Regular season games. he had 138 goals, 150 assists, a massive 723 penalty minutes and his +/- average was a +4.85. He appeared in 82 playoff games, had 22 goals, 33 assists and 94 penalty minutes.
Chris Drury 2002: Thus began the Curse. Chris was drafted 72 overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1994 draft. He never got to play in Quebec, instead his first year in the NHL wasn't until 1999. However, when he started in the NHL Deadmarsh was wearing the number 18, so he had to wait his turn. Chris won the Calder trophy in 1999, this makes him the only player to ever win both the Hobey Baker Memorial Award and the Calder. In 2002 he chose to make the switch from number 37 to the number 18. This would be his downfall. After playing all 82 regular season games, he had 21 goals, 25 assists and 38 penalty minutes during the regular season. In the playoffs he played 21 games, had 5 goals, 7 assists and 10 penalty minutes. During the 2002 summer Chris and Yelle were traded to the Calgary Flames for players that never quite panned out while in Denver. Drury retired in 2011.
Alex Tanguay 2004 and 2006:Alex was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche 12th overall in the 1998 draft. Like Drury he liked the number 18. When he joined the Avs Deadmarsh and then Drury wore the number. Undeterred by the Drury trade, Tanguay made the switch from his trusty number 40 to the 18 in 2004. Tanguay is best known for his actions during Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. He scored two goals and had an assist in the 3-1 win over the Devils to win Ray Bourque his Cup. Unfortunately, that occurred while he was wearing the 40. While sporting the 18, Tanguay appeared in 140 games, had 54 goals, 103 assists and 88 penalty minutes. During the 2006 draft Alex was traded to the Calgary Flames for Jordan Leopold and two draft picks. I can still remember exactly where I was when I was watching the draft and when this happened.
Brian Wilsie 2009 and 2010: Brian was drafted 146th overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the 1996 draft. Although he had his first game in the 2000 season, it was while wearing the number 50. In 2009, while on his second stint with the Avalanche, Brian made the switch to the number 18. After the switch he played 46 games, had 1 goal, 3 assists and 14 penalty minutes.
Stephane Yelle 2010: In 1992 Stephane was drafted in the eight round by the New Jersey Devils. However, in 1994 he was traded to the Quebec Nordiques, he never got to play for them, however, as they moved to Colorado that summer. Yelle is better known for wearing the number 26. It was only in his second stint - a short one of only 11 regular season games and 6 playoff games that he wore the number 18. During those regular season games he had one assist and 4 penalty minutes. In the playoffs he had no points and 2 penalty minutes.
Brandon Yip 2011 and 2012: Originally Brandon started playing for Colorado with the number 59. The eight-round 2004 draft pick made the number switch for the 2011 season. While in that number he played a total of 81 games, had 12 goals, 10 assists and 62 penalty minutes. In 2011 he was a massive - 22.
Mike Connoly 2012: Mike was undrafted and joined the Colorado organization in 2012. He played 2 games for Colorado last year, he had no points, 2 penalty minutes and was a +/- 0.