Colorado Avalanche
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| Colorado Avalanche | |
 | |
| Conference | Western |
| Division | Northwest |
| Founded | 1972 |
| History | Québec Nordiques 1972 - 1995 Colorado Avalanche 1995 - present |
| Arena | Pepsi Center |
| City | Denver, Colorado |
| Local Media Affiliates | Altitude KKFN (950 AM) |
| Team Colors | Burgundy, White, Silver, and Blue |
| Owner | Stan Kroenke |
| General Manager | François Giguère |
| Head Coach | Joel Quenneville |
| Captain | Joe Sakic |
| Minor League Affiliates | Albany River Rats (AHL) Arizona Sundogs (CHL) |
| Stanley Cups | 1995-96, 2000-01 |
| Conference Championships | 1995-96, 2000-01 |
| Division Championships | 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03 |
The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Contents |
[edit] Franchise history
- See also: Quebec Nordiques
The Quebec Nordiques were one of the World Hockey Association's original teams when the league began play in 1972. Though first awarded to a group in San Francisco, the team quickly moved to Quebec City when the California deal soured due to financial and arena problems. During their seven WHA seasons, the Nordiques won the Avco World Trophy once, in 1977. Two years later, in 1979, they entered the NHL, along with the WHA's Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, and Winnipeg Jets.
After making the postseason for seven consecutive years, 1981 to 1987, the Nordiques fell into the league's basement. In 1991, for the third straight draft, Quebec had the first overall selection. Although Eric Lindros, the draft's top-ranked player, repeatedly said he would never play in Quebec City (he said was anti-Francophone), they drafted him anyway. "The Big E" would not wear the Nordiques jersey when it was presented to him, only holding it for press photographs. On advice from his mother, Lindros refused to sign a contract and began a holdout that would last over a year. On June 30, 1992, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for five players, the rights to Swedish prospect Peter Forsberg, two first-round draft picks, and $15 million (USD). Quickly, Quebec would become a Stanley Cup contender. The Lindros trade is now seen by many to be one of the most one-sided in sports history due to Lindros' injuries and falling out with the Flyers eight years later, as well as the success enjoyed by the Quebec/Colorado franchise for the next decade.
While the team experienced on-ice success, off-ice financial failure during the lockout-shortened 1994-95 NHL season forced team owner Marcel Aubut to ask for a bailout from Quebec's provincial government. The bailout fell through and Aubut subsequently sold the team to a group of investors in Denver. The franchise moved to Colorado following the 1995 season, where they were renamed the Colorado Avalanche.
Led by captain Joe Sakic, Forsberg and defensive stalwart Adam Foote, Colorado entered their first season in Denver with a very strong lineup. Still, few could anticipate the midseason trade that would make them a true power. On December 2, 1995, during an 11-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens coach Mario Tremblay kept goaltender Patrick Roy in net for the first nine goals. After finally being pulled from the game, Roy told team president Ronald Corey it was the last game he would ever play for the Canadiens. Four days later, Roy was traded to Colorado along with Mike Keane for Andrei Kovalenko, Martin Rucinsky, and Jocelyn Thibault, who had been chosen with one of the first-rounders acquired in the Lindros deal. When the Avs and Habs played each other a few weeks later, Roy won 5-2 in a Colorado uniform. He added a final insult by flipping the puck at Tremblay when the game ended, and claimed,
"It made me feel so good. It was a mistake, but I don't regret it. I'm an emotional person. I know it sometimes gets me in trouble, but I know it sometimes helps me to play better too."[citation needed]
Ironically, Roy was a Quebec City native who had allegedly vowed not to play for the Nordiques (but he would play for the Avalanche). In the 1996 playoffs, it didn't matter that Montreal lost in the quarterfinals, because behind strong goaltending from Roy and a Conn Smythe Trophy-winning performance from Sakic, after beating the Detroit Red Wings in a classic six-game series in the Western Conference Final, the Avs would roll to the Stanley Cup Final to meet the Florida Panthers. In the third overtime of game four, defenseman Uwe Krupp scored to claim the franchise's first Cup. Roy's promise to his teammates: "No more rats" (Florida right-winger Scott Mellanby had popularized the throwing of plastic rats earlier that season whenever the Cats scored) held true.
Colorado would lose a Western Conference Final rematch to the rival Red Wings in 1997, despite winning the coveted Presidents' Trophy for best regular-season record, and over the next three seasons, the team only made it past the second round once. Then March 6, 2000, the Boston Bruins traded future Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque and forward Dave Andreychuk to Colorado for Brian Rolston, Martin Grenier, Samuel Pahlsson, and a first-round draft pick. Bourque, who had been a Bruin since 1979-80, requested a trade to a contender for one last shot at a Stanley Cup. The Avs, however, would lose to the Dallas Stars in the Conference Final.
In 2000-01, the Avs would once again strengthen their defense for a run at the Cup. On February 21, 2001, they acquired star defenseman Rob Blake and defensive center Steven Reinprecht from the Los Angeles Kings for Adam Deadmarsh and Aaron Miller. Colorado would win the Presidents' Trophy again, with a 52-16-10-4, 118-point record, and looked like they would fulfill their mission — they'd dedicated 00-01 to getting Bourque a ring. They were dealt a blow, however, when Peter Forsberg had emergency spleen surgery after their second-round series against the Kings. Forsberg would miss the rest of the playoffs. The Avalanche would meet the defending champion New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Final. The Devils, who played in Colorado as the Rockies from 1976-82, took a 3-2 series onto home ice for game six. Colorado would win 4-0 and then take game seven back in Colorado by a score of 3-1. Goalie Patrick Roy won his record third Conn Smythe Trophy, but all eyes were on Bourque after the game. Joe Sakic was handed the Cup from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, and in a true show of class, immediately gave the Stanley Cup to Ray Bourque, capping off his 22-year career with his only championship.
Colorado has not been able to capture that moment of glory since 2001. After falling to Detroit in the 2002 Conference Final, the Avs would blow a 3-1 series lead on the Minnesota Wild in the first-round of the 2003 playoffs, losing in overtime of Game 7. In the 2003 offseason, Patrick Roy would announce his retirement. Later, on July 1, Colorado shocked the hockey world when they signed star wingers Paul Kariya and Teemu Selänne from the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Despite Roy's departure, the Avs would become the NHL favorite to win the 2004 Cup almost immediately after the signings, but Kariya and Selänne failed to live up to expections and the hype surrounding their acquisitions. For the first time since 1994-95, the Avs failed to win their division, ending an NHL-record eight consecutive division titles.
After the 2004-05 NHL lockout and the implementation of a salary cap, the Avalanche lost Forsberg and Foote to free agency with the hope of keeping Sakic (whose contract would expire after the following season) and other key players. In a money-saving effort to replace the two, veterans Pierre Turgeon and Patrice Brisebois were signed, though many knew they could not fill the shoes of Forsberg and Foote. The team struggled at times in 2005-06, but surprising seasons from rookie Marek Svatos and other young players led to a first-round upset of Dallas. At the 2006 trade deadline, general manager Pierre Lacroix made a questionable trade, sending goalie David Aebischer, who had recovered from some early-season difficulties to reassert himself as the starter, to the Montreal Canadiens for struggling, former Hart and Vezina Trophy-winning netminder Jose Theodore. Avalanche fans and hockey analysts alike questioned the move, while some wondered if Lacroix was attempting the same kind of trade he made eleven years earlier, when he acquired Roy from the Habs.
A day after the Avalanche were swept in the second round by the Ducks, Lacroix resigned and François Giguère was hired.
On June 20, Joe Sakic was re-signed to a one-year contract. Four days later at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, the Avs traded Alex Tanguay to the rival Calgary Flames for defenseman Jordan Leopold — he had fallen out of favor with Flames GM/then-coach Darryl Sutter. Rob Blake left for his former team, the Los Angeles Kings, and forward Dan Hinote also moved on, signing with the St. Louis Blues, leaving Sakic and Milan Hejduk as the only two remaining members since the 2001 Cup team. Sakic is the only player left from the team's days in Quebec, but prospect Paul Stastny, son of Nordiques legend Peter Stastny, also provides a link to the past.
After a record 487 consecutive games, the NHL's longest consecutive attendance sellout ended with the Avalanche on October 16, 2006 after a reported attendance of 17,681 which was 326 under capacity at the Pepsi Center before an Avalanche-Chicago Blackhawks game, which the Hawks ultimately won 5-4. The streak began on November 9, 1995, the Avalanche's eighth regular season home game during the 1995-96 NHL season, before a sellout of 16,061 at the McNichols Sports Arena versus the Dallas Stars.
[edit] Season-by-season record
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Records as of November 28, 2006. <ref>Hockeydb.com, Colorado Avalanche season statistics and records</ref>
| Season | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Playoffs |
| 1995-96 | 82 | 47 | 25 | 10 | — | 104 | 326 | 240 | 1536 | 1st, Pacific | Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 4-2 (Canucks) </br> Won in Conference Semifinals, 4-2 (Blackhawks) </br> Won in Conference Finals, 4-2 (Red Wings) </br> Stanley Cup Champions, 4-0 (Panthers) |
| 1996-97 | 82 | 49 | 24 | 9 | — | 107 | 277 | 205 | 1361 | 1st, Pacific | Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 4-2 (Blackhawks) </br> Won in Conference Semifinals, 4-1 (Oilers) </br> Lost in Conference Finals, 2-4 (Red Wings) |
| 1997-98 | 82 | 39 | 26 | 17 | — | 95 | 231 | 205 | 1729 | 1st, Pacific | Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 3-4 (Oilers) |
| 1998-99 | 82 | 44 | 28 | 10 | — | 98 | 239 | 205 | 1619 | 1st, Northwest | Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 4-1 (Sharks) </br> Won in Conference Semifinals, 4-2 (Red Wings) </br> Lost in Conference Finals, 3-4 (Stars) |
| 1999-00 | 82 | 42 | 28 | 11 | 1 | 96 | 233 | 201 | 1118 | 1st, Northwest | Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 4-1 (Coyotes) </br> Won in Conference Semifinals, 4-1 (Red Wings) </br> Lost in Conference Finals, 3-4 (Stars) |
| 2000-01 | 82 | 52 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 118 | 270 | 192 | 1138 | 1st, Northwest | Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 4-0 (Canucks) </br> Won in Conference Semifinals, 4-3 (Kings) </br> Won in Conference Finals, 4-1 (Blues) </br> Stanley Cup Champions, 4-3 (Devils) |
| 2001-02 | 82 | 45 | 28 | 8 | 1 | 99 | 212 | 169 | 1007 | 1st, Northwest | Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 4-3 (Kings) </br> Won in Conference Semifinals, 4-3 (Sharks) </br> Lost in Conference Finals, 3-4 (Red Wings) |
| 2002-03 | 82 | 42 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 105 | 251 | 194 | 1084 | 1st, Northwest | Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 3-4 (Wild) |
| 2003-04 | 82 | 40 | 22 | 13 | 7 | 100 | 236 | 198 | 1293 | 2nd, Northwest | Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 4-1 (Stars) </br> Lost in Conference Semifinals, 2-4 (Sharks) |
| 2004-051 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2005-062 | 82 | 43 | 30 | — | 9 | 95 | 283 | 257 | 1293 | 2nd, Northwest | Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 4-1 (Stars) </br> Lost in Conference Semifinals, 0-4 (Mighty Ducks) |
| 2006-07 | 24 | 11 | 11 | - | 2 | 24 | 73 | 70 | 270 | ||
| Totals | 820 | 443 | 246 | 101 | 30 | 1072 | 2558 | 2066 | 13053 | — |
- 1 Season was cancelled due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout.
- 2 As of the 2005-06 NHL season, all games tied after regulation will be decided in a shootout; SOL (Shootout losses) will be recorded as OTL in the standings.
[edit] Notable players
[edit] Current roster
| # | Player | Catches | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | Image:Flag of Slovakia.svg | Peter Budaj | L | 2001 | Banská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia |
| 60 | Image:Flag of Canada.svg | José Théodore | R | 2006 | Laval, Quebec |
[edit] Team captains
Note: This list of team captains does not include captains from the Quebec Nordiques (WHA &NHL).
- Joe Sakic, 1995 - present
- Sylvain Lefebvre, 1997-98 (interim)
[edit] Hall of Famers
- Ray Bourque, D, 2000-01, inducted 2004
- Michel Goulet, F, 1979-90, inducted 1998
- Patrick Roy, G, 1995-03, inducted 2006
- Peter Stastny, F, 1980-90, inducted 1998
Note: Both Goulet and Stastny played in Québec.
[edit] Retired numbers
- 33 Patrick Roy, G, 1995-2003, number retired October 28, 2003
- 77 Ray Bourque, D, 2000-01, number retired November 24, 2001
Quebec also retired the number 3 of Jean-Claude (J.C.) Tremblay (D, 1972-79), the number 8 of Marc Tardif (LW, 1974-83), the number 16 of Michel Goulet (F, 1979-90), and the number 26 of Peter Stastny (F, 1980-90), but these numbers have been restored to circulation by Colorado.
[edit] First-round draft picks
Note: This list does not include selections of the Quebec Nordiques.
- 1995: Marc Denis (25th overall)
- 1996: Peter Ratchuk (25th overall)
- 1997: Kevin Grimes (26th overall)
- 1998: Alex Tanguay (12th overall), Martin Skoula (17th overall), Robyn Regehr (19th overall), & Scott Parker (20th overall)
- 1999: Mikhail Kuleshov (25th overall)
- 2000: Vaclav Nedorost (14th overall)
- 2001: None
- 2002: Jonas Johansson (28th overall)
- 2003: None
- 2004: Wojtek Wolski (21st overall)
- 2005: None
- 2006: Chris Stewart (18th overall)
[edit] NHL awards and trophies
- Joe Sakic: 2000-01 (shared with Patrik Elias of the New Jersey Devils)
- Peter Forsberg & Milan Hejduk: 2002-03
[edit] Franchise individual records
- Most Goals in a season: Michel Goulet, 57 (1982-83)
- Most Assists in a season: Peter Stastny, 93 (1981-82)
- Most Points in a season: Peter Stastny, 139 (1981-82)
- Most Penalty Minutes in a season: Gord Donnelly, 301 (1987-88)
- Most Points in a season, defenseman: Steve Duchesne, 82 (1992-93)
- Most Points in a season, rookie: Peter Stastny, 109 (1980-81)
- Most Wins in a season: Patrick Roy, 40 (2000-01)
- Most Shutouts in a season: Patrick Roy, 9 (2001-02)
[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] See also
- List of Colorado Avalanche players
- Head Coaches of the Colorado Avalanche
- Quebec Nordiques
- List of NHL players
- List of NHL seasons
- List of Stanley Cup champions
[edit] External links
| Colorado Avalanche Head Coaches |
|---|
| Crawford • Hartley • Granato • Quenneville |
Current teams: Anaheim • Atlanta • Boston • Buffalo • Calgary • Carolina • Chicago • Colorado • Columbus • Dallas • Detroit • Edmonton • Florida • Los Angeles • Minnesota • Montreal • Nashville • New Jersey • NY Islanders • NY Rangers • Ottawa • Philadelphia • Phoenix • Pittsburgh • San Jose • St. Louis • Tampa Bay • Toronto • Vancouver • Washington
Trophies and awards: Stanley Cup • Prince of Wales • Clarence S. Campbell • Presidents' Trophy • Adams • Art Ross • Calder • Conn Smythe • Crozier • Hart • Jennings • King Clancy • Lady Byng • Masterton • Norris • Patrick • Pearson • Plus/Minus • Rocket Richard • Selke • Vezina
Defunct and relocated teams: Atlanta Flames • California/Oakland Golden Seals • Cleveland Barons • Colorado Rockies • Hamilton Tigers • Hartford Whalers • Kansas City Scouts • Minnesota North Stars • Montreal Maroons • Montreal Wanderers • New York/Brooklyn Americans • Ottawa Senators (orginal) • Philadelphia Quakers • Pittsburgh Pirates • Quebec Bulldogs • Quebec Nordiques • St. Louis Eagles • Winnipeg Jets
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