50 Fun Facts About Colorado Avalanche

Under what name was the Avalanche franchise founded in 1972?

It was a charter World Hockey Association club, first awarded to a San Francisco group.

Which prize did the Nordiques lift in 1977, their only WHA championship?

They joined the NHL in 1979 with the Oilers, Whalers and Jets.

Which three players did the Nordiques take with consecutive first-overall picks from 1989 to 1991?

Their 12-win 1989-90 season remains the worst in franchise history.

Which Swedish prospect's rights came to Quebec in the 1992 Eric Lindros trade?

Philadelphia also sent five players, two first-round picks and $15 million in one of sport's most lopsided deals.

Which name did COMSAT reportedly intend to use before a Denver Post leak drew a furious fan reaction?

'Black Bears' and 'Blizzards' were also considered; 'Avalanche' was unveiled on August 10, 1995.

Which team did COMSAT already own when it bought the Nordiques in 1995?

12,000 season tickets sold in the 37 days after the move was announced.

Who scored the first goal in Avalanche history in the October 1995 opener against Detroit?

He also scored the winner late in the 3-2 victory at McNichols Sports Arena.

Which goalie did the Avalanche get from Montreal in December 1995 for Thibault, Rucinsky and Kovalenko?

Ex-Habs captain Mike Keane came with him.

Whom did the Avalanche sweep in the 1996 Stanley Cup Final?

Both clubs were making their first appearance in a Final.

Which defenseman scored in the third overtime of Game 4 to clinch the 1996 Cup?

It came after more than 100 scoreless minutes; Sakic won the Conn Smythe with 34 points.

Which team offered Joe Sakic a three-year, $21 million offer sheet in 1997 that Colorado matched?

Matching it triggered a salary surge across the league.

Which rookie won the Calder Trophy for Colorado in 1998-99?

He and Hejduk both made the All-Rookie Team that year.

After which tragedy did the Avalanche postpone their first two 1999 playoff games?

The first-round series was altered to a 2-3-2 format as a result.

Which Hall of Fame defenseman requested a trade from Boston to Colorado in 2000 to chase a Cup?

Dave Andreychuk came in the same deal; Bourque had been a Bruin since 1979.

Which real estate entrepreneur bought the Avalanche, the Nuggets and their arena in July 2000?

A trust guaranteed the teams would stay in Denver until at least 2025, later extended to 2040.

Whom did the Avalanche beat in seven games in the 2001 Stanley Cup Final?

They rallied from a 3-2 series deficit against the defending champions.

What did Joe Sakic do immediately after Gary Bettman handed him the Cup in 2001?

It capped Bourque's 22-year career with his only championship.

Which internal injury forced the Avalanche's star Swedish centre out of the rest of the 2001 playoffs?

Colorado won the Cup without him; Roy took the Conn Smythe.

Whose record of eight straight division titles did the Avalanche break with their ninth in 2002-03?

Milan Hejduk's overtime goal with ten seconds left against Anaheim kept the streak alive.

Which Avalanche player won both the Art Ross and Hart trophies in 2002-03?

Hejduk scored 50 goals the same year to win the Rocket Richard Trophy.

Which two star wingers did Colorado sign in 2003 after Roy retired?

Both struggled; the club's record nine-year division-title streak ended that season.

Which Avalanche player's career ended after Todd Bertuzzi's punch from behind in March 2004?

Moore fractured three neck vertebrae; Bertuzzi was booed in Denver for years afterward.

Colorado's NHL-record home sellout streak, ended in October 2006, ran how many games?

Pittsburgh later broke it with 633 straight sellouts.

Which Vezina-winning goalie did Colorado get from Montreal for David Aebischer in 2006?

He went 13-15-1 in 2006-07 and his $6 million salary weighed on the cap.

Which rookie set an NHL record with a 20-game point streak in 2006-07?

He is the son of Nordiques great Peter Stastny.

Whom did the Avalanche take with the third overall pick in 2009, then their highest ever?

He was later traded to Ottawa in a three-team deal in 2017.

Gabriel Landeskog became the youngest captain in NHL history in 2012 at what age?

He edged Sidney Crosby's mark by 11 days.

Which former Avalanche goalie was hired as head coach in 2013 and won the Jack Adams Award that season?

He resigned in August 2016 after two playoff misses.

Whom did the Avalanche draft first overall in 2013?

He had faced Roy's junior team in the QMJHL.

How many points did the Avalanche manage in 2016-17, the worst total in the league that year?

Only two Nordiques seasons were worse; the reward was Cale Makar at fourth overall.

Which AHL club did Jared Bednar coach to a Calder Cup before joining Colorado in 2016?

He was hired only a month before training camp and had to keep Roy's staff.

Which defenseman scored in his first NHL game during the 2019 playoffs against Calgary?

Three years later he won the Norris and Conn Smythe in the same season.

Which center came from Toronto in the 2019 trade that sent Tyson Barrie and Alexander Kerfoot east?

Calle Rosen and a third-round pick came too.

Which two-time defending champion did the Avalanche beat in the 2022 Stanley Cup Final?

Colorado went 16-4 in the playoffs and remains unbeaten in Cup Finals.

Which two trophies did the Avalanche's star defenseman win in 2022?

Colorado's 16-4 run tied the best playoff record since the 2012 Kings.

Which goalie left for Seattle in 2021, prompting the trade for Darcy Kuemper?

Conor Timmins and a 2022 first-round pick went to Arizona for Kuemper.

Which team upset the division-champion Avalanche in seven games in the 2023 first round?

Dallas then eliminated Colorado in both 2024 and 2025.

What did the Avalanche's original shoulder logo depict?

It was replaced in 2015 by a 'C' taken from the Colorado state flag.

The bold metallic border on the Avalanche's 2017 Adidas uniforms honours which Colorado industry?

The look otherwise revived the 1995-2007 originals.

Whose classic baby-blue uniforms did the Avalanche wear for eight tribute games in 2025-26?

Two of those games came against Carolina, dressed as the Hartford Whalers.

Ball Arena was known by what name from its 1999 opening until 2020?

Ball Corporation, a Broomfield-based can maker, bought the naming rights and became the arena's sustainability partner.

Which lacrosse team shares Ball Arena with the Avalanche and Nuggets?

Utah's NHL club borrowed the Mammoth name in 2025.

Joe Sakic's nickname references which British Columbia city, his birthplace?

He grew up speaking Croatian and did not learn English until kindergarten.

Which trade gave the Nordiques the pick they used on Sakic in 1987?

Sakic chose to spend one more year with Swift Current before turning pro.

Sakic's junior club, the Broncos, relocated in 1986-87 to which Saskatchewan town?

He was WHL rookie of the year with 133 points that season, which was marred by a fatal team bus crash.

Which three Avalanche players joined the Triple Gold Club by winning the 1996 Cup?

Membership requires Olympic gold, World Championship gold and a Stanley Cup.

Which Red Wing needed facial surgery after Claude Lemieux's hit in the 1996 conference finals?

Draper's jaw was wired shut for five weeks, and the incident ignited one of the fiercest rivalries in NHL history.

How many fights broke out in the March 1997 'Brawl in Hockeytown' against the Red Wings?

The game also featured 148 penalty minutes, a Valeri Kamensky hat-trick and a goalie fight between Patrick Roy and Mike Vernon; Detroit won 6-5 in overtime.

Which Avalanche player set the franchise single-season record with 140 points in 2023-24?

Rantanen holds the goals record with 55 in 2022-23, and Makar's 92 points in 2024-25 are the most by an Avalanche defenceman.

Which regional network replaced FSN Rocky Mountain as the Avalanche broadcaster in 2004?

Longtime colour commentator Peter McNab, who called games from 1995 until his death in 2022, is honoured with a banner under the broadcast booth.