50 free Colorado Avalanche trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
The Colorado Avalanche arrived from Quebec City in 1995 and won the Stanley Cup in their very first Denver season, the only NHL team ever to do that after a move. This Avalanche trivia quiz covers the whole franchise story: the WHA Nordiques, three straight first-overall picks, the Eric Lindros trade that changed everything, the near-miss name 'Rocky Mountain Extreme', the Patrick Roy trade, Uwe Krupp's triple-overtime winner, Joe Sakic handing the Cup straight to Ray Bourque in 2001, nine straight division titles, and the Detroit rivalry. It then follows the rebuild: Duchene, Landeskog as the youngest captain in NHL history, Roy behind the bench, Nathan MacKinnon, the 48-point disaster of 2016-17, Cale Makar, and the 2022 title that kept the Avs perfect in Stanley Cup Finals. There are questions on Ball Arena, the yeti-foot logo, the Nordiques throwbacks and the 487-game sellout streak, from easy to genuinely hard. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedic and reference sources before publishing, and each question carries a citation. For more, try our NHL trivia and hockey trivia pages.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Under what name was the Avalanche franchise founded in 1972?
Quebec Nordiques
It was a charter World Hockey Association club, first awarded to a San Francisco group.
Q 02Which prize did the Nordiques lift in 1977, their only WHA championship?
Avco World Trophy
They joined the NHL in 1979 with the Oilers, Whalers and Jets.
Q 03Which three players did the Nordiques take with consecutive first-overall picks from 1989 to 1991?
Mats Sundin, Owen Nolan and Eric Lindros
Their 12-win 1989-90 season remains the worst in franchise history.
Q 04Which Swedish prospect's rights came to Quebec in the 1992 Eric Lindros trade?
Peter Forsberg
Philadelphia also sent five players, two first-round picks and $15 million in one of sport's most lopsided deals.
Q 05Which name did COMSAT reportedly intend to use before a Denver Post leak drew a furious fan reaction?
Rocky Mountain Extreme
'Black Bears' and 'Blizzards' were also considered; 'Avalanche' was unveiled on August 10, 1995.
Q 06Which team did COMSAT already own when it bought the Nordiques in 1995?
Denver Nuggets
12,000 season tickets sold in the 37 days after the move was announced.
Q 07Who scored the first goal in Avalanche history in the October 1995 opener against Detroit?
Valeri Kamensky
He also scored the winner late in the 3-2 victory at McNichols Sports Arena.
Q 08Which goalie did the Avalanche get from Montreal in December 1995 for Thibault, Rucinsky and Kovalenko?
Patrick Roy
Ex-Habs captain Mike Keane came with him.
Q 09Whom did the Avalanche sweep in the 1996 Stanley Cup Final?
Florida Panthers
Both clubs were making their first appearance in a Final.
Q 10Which defenseman scored in the third overtime of Game 4 to clinch the 1996 Cup?
Uwe Krupp
It came after more than 100 scoreless minutes; Sakic won the Conn Smythe with 34 points.
Q 11Which team offered Joe Sakic a three-year, $21 million offer sheet in 1997 that Colorado matched?
New York Rangers
Matching it triggered a salary surge across the league.
Q 12Which rookie won the Calder Trophy for Colorado in 1998-99?
Chris Drury
He and Hejduk both made the All-Rookie Team that year.
Q 13After which tragedy did the Avalanche postpone their first two 1999 playoff games?
The Columbine High School shooting
The first-round series was altered to a 2-3-2 format as a result.
Q 21Which two star wingers did Colorado sign in 2003 after Roy retired?
Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne
Both struggled; the club's record nine-year division-title streak ended that season.
Q 22Which Avalanche player's career ended after Todd Bertuzzi's punch from behind in March 2004?
Steve Moore
Moore fractured three neck vertebrae; Bertuzzi was booed in Denver for years afterward.
Q 23Colorado's NHL-record home sellout streak, ended in October 2006, ran how many games?
487
Pittsburgh later broke it with 633 straight sellouts.
Q 14Which Hall of Fame defenseman requested a trade from Boston to Colorado in 2000 to chase a Cup?
Ray Bourque
Dave Andreychuk came in the same deal; Bourque had been a Bruin since 1979.
Q 15Which real estate entrepreneur bought the Avalanche, the Nuggets and their arena in July 2000?
Stan Kroenke
A trust guaranteed the teams would stay in Denver until at least 2025, later extended to 2040.
Q 16Whom did the Avalanche beat in seven games in the 2001 Stanley Cup Final?
New Jersey Devils
They rallied from a 3-2 series deficit against the defending champions.
Q 17What did Joe Sakic do immediately after Gary Bettman handed him the Cup in 2001?
Gave it straight to Ray Bourque
It capped Bourque's 22-year career with his only championship.
Q 18Which internal injury forced the Avalanche's star Swedish centre out of the rest of the 2001 playoffs?
A ruptured spleen
Colorado won the Cup without him; Roy took the Conn Smythe.
Q 19Whose record of eight straight division titles did the Avalanche break with their ninth in 2002-03?
Montreal Canadiens
Milan Hejduk's overtime goal with ten seconds left against Anaheim kept the streak alive.
Q 20Which Avalanche player won both the Art Ross and Hart trophies in 2002-03?
Peter Forsberg
Hejduk scored 50 goals the same year to win the Rocket Richard Trophy.
Q 24Which Vezina-winning goalie did Colorado get from Montreal for David Aebischer in 2006?
Jose Theodore
He went 13-15-1 in 2006-07 and his $6 million salary weighed on the cap.
Q 25Which rookie set an NHL record with a 20-game point streak in 2006-07?
Paul Stastny
He is the son of Nordiques great Peter Stastny.
Q 26Whom did the Avalanche take with the third overall pick in 2009, then their highest ever?
Matt Duchene
He was later traded to Ottawa in a three-team deal in 2017.
Q 27Gabriel Landeskog became the youngest captain in NHL history in 2012 at what age?
19 years, 286 days
He edged Sidney Crosby's mark by 11 days.
Q 28Which former Avalanche goalie was hired as head coach in 2013 and won the Jack Adams Award that season?
Patrick Roy
He resigned in August 2016 after two playoff misses.
Q 29Whom did the Avalanche draft first overall in 2013?
Nathan MacKinnon
He had faced Roy's junior team in the QMJHL.
Q 30How many points did the Avalanche manage in 2016-17, the worst total in the league that year?
48
Only two Nordiques seasons were worse; the reward was Cale Makar at fourth overall.