The Avalanche consistently were among the league's elite in the preceding seasons but management thirsted to drink from the Cup again in 2001. It's why they picked up Ray Bourque the year before and why they followed up the next season by acquiring Rob Blake, Steven Reinprecht and Adam Miller. The moves paid off in spades. They won the President's Cup Trophy with a staggering 118 points. Bourque's 1st Cup was on the horizon. Then it started to fall apart when Peter Forsberg had emergency spleen surgery after their second round series against the Los Angeles Kings and missed the rest of the playoffs. Despite the loss of their best player, perhaps the best player in the world, they beat the Devils in the Finals in 7 hard fought games. Traditionally, the team captain takes the Stanley Cup from the commissioner and raises it above his head first and skates a lap around the rink before handing it to his teammates. Joe Sakic broke that tradition in 2001 when he refused to lift the cup and instead handed it to Ray Bourque, who lifted it instead. This great ring (11) is an identical sample of the one that Bourque received. 14 karat gold with proper stamping inside. Face reads "Stanley Cup Champions" and has the Avalanche logo covered in real diamonds. One side shank has "Bourque 77" and the Avalanche logo over "52 16 10" (their regular season record). Other shank has "2001 2nd Stanley Cup Championship Defense." NRMT.