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Colorado Avalanche

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Colorado Avalanche
File:Colorado Avalanche.gif
ConferenceWestern
DivisionNorthwest
Founded1972
HistoryQuebec Nordiques
1972 - 1995
Colorado Avalanche
1995 - present
Home arenaPepsi Center
CityDenver, Colorado
Team colorsBurgundy, Steel Blue, Black, Silver, and White
MediaAltitude
KKFN (950 AM)
Owner(s)United States Stan Kroenke
General managerCanada Francois Giguere
Head coachCanada Joel Quenneville
CaptainCanada Joe Sakic
Minor league affiliatesAlbany River Rats (AHL)
Arizona Sundogs (CHL)
Stanley Cups1995-96, 2000-01
Conference championships1995-96, 2000-01
Division championships1995-96, 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, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup twice, in 1996 and 2001. The franchise was founded in Quebec and were the Quebec Nordiques until moving to Denver, Colorado in 1995. The Avalanche have won 8 division titles and had gone to the playoffs in each of their first 10 seasons in the NHL, with the streak ending in 2007.[1] The Avalanche is also notable for being the only team in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup their first season after a re-location.

From the time of their move to Denver in 1995, until the end of the 1998-99 season, the Avalanche played their home games at McNichols Arena. Since then, the Avalanche have called the Pepsi Center home. The Avalanche have a notable rivalry with the Detroit Red Wings, partly due to both teams having met each other five times in seven years in the Western Conference playoffs between 1996 and 2002.[2]

Franchise history

Quebec Nordiques (1972-1995)

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.[3] During their seven WHA seasons, the Nordiques won the Avco World Trophy once, in 1977 and lost the finals once, in 1975.[4] Two years later, in 1979, they entered the NHL, along with the WHA's Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, and Winnipeg Jets.[5]

After making the postseason for seven consecutive years, from 1981 to 1987, the Nordiques fell into the league's basement.[6] In 1991, for the third straight draft, Quebec had the first overall selection.[7][8] Although Eric Lindros, the draft's top-ranked player, had made it clear he did not wish to play for the Nordiques, they drafted him anyway.[9] Lindros did not even wear the jersey for the press photographs, only holding it when it was presented to him.[10] 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).[11] The Lindros trade is seen (at least in hindsight) as one of the most one-sided deals in NHL history, and a major foundation for the Nordiques/Avalanche franchise successes over the next decade[12] and turned the Nordiques from one of the weakest teams in the NHL to a Stanley Cup contender almost overnight. In the first season after the trade, the 1992-93 NHL season, the Nordiques reached the playoffs for the first time in six years and would do so two seasons later.

While the team experienced on-ice success, the team was far less successful off the ice. Quebec City was the smallest market in the league and in 1995,[13] team owner Marcel Aubut asked for a bailout from Quebec's provincial government[14] as well as a new publicly funded arena.[13] The bailout fell through and Aubut subsequently sold the team to a group of investors in Denver.[15] The franchise moved to Denver following the 1995 season, where they were renamed the Colorado Avalanche. They became the second franchise to play in the city: the Colorado Rockies played in town from 1976 to 1982 when they moved to New Jersey to become the Devils.

Colorado Avalanche (1995-Present)

Goaltender Patrick Roy, the winningest net minder in the NHL, played for the Avalanche from 1995-2003.

The beginning

Led by captain Joe Sakic, forward Peter Forsberg, and defenseman Adam Foote, Colorado entered their first season in Denver with a strong lineup.

Former Montreal Canadiens goalie Patrick Roy, joined the Avalanche after an infamous December 2, 1995 game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Detroit Red Wings. During the match-up, Roy was left in the net after having let in 9 goals in 26 shots. By the time Roy was finally benched, he felt humiliated and told team president Ronald Corey it was his last game for the Canadiens. Four days later, Roy joined the Avalanche with ex-Montreal captain Mike Keane in a trade for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko.[16]. Roy would prove a pivotal addition for Colorado in the years to come.

In the 1996 playoffs, after beating the Detroit Red Wings in a six-game series in the Western Conference Final, the Avalanche rolled into the Stanley Cup Finals to meet the Florida Panthers. In Game Four, during the third overtime and after more than 100 minutes of play with no goals, defenseman Uwe Krupp scored to claim the franchise's first Cup.[17] Joe Sakic won the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the most valuable player to his team during the playoffs.

The quest for a second Cup

In 1996-97, Colorado lost in the Western Conference Finals in a rematch against the Red Wings, despite having won the Presidents' Trophy for best regular-season record. After losing in the Conference Quarterfinals in 1997-98 against the Edmonton Oilers, the Avalanche lost two more Western Conference Finals the following two years, both times against the Dallas Stars.

In the 2000 and 2001 seasons, the Avalanche strengthened their defense for runs towards the Stanley Cup. On March 6, 2000, the Boston Bruins traded future Hockey Hall of Famer 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.[18] In 2001, after failing to win the Stanley Cup the previous year, the Avalanche acquired star defenseman Rob Blake and center Steven Reinprecht from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Adam Deadmarsh, Aaron Miller and their first-round 2001 Draft pick.[19]

Colorado won the Presidents' Trophy again in the 2000-01 NHL season, with a 52-16-10-4 record, while collecting 118 points.[20] After their second-round series against the Kings, Peter Forsberg had emergency spleen surgery, and missed the rest of the playoffs, as the Avalanche went onto play against the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Finals. Even though the New Jersey Devils had taken a 3-2 advantage in the series going back to the Meadowlands for Game Six, Colorado won the game in a decisive decision, 4-0. In Game Seven back in Denver, the Avs beat the Devils 3-1 to claim the Cup. After being handed the Cup from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, the captain Joe Sakic immediately turned, and gave it to Ray Bourque, capping off Bourque's 22-year career with his only championship.[21]

2001 and beyond

File:Avslineup.jpeg
Avalanche players warming up in 2006

The Avalanche have failed to reach the Stanley Cup Finals since 2001. In 2002, they lost to the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Finals in a 7-game series. In 2003, the Avalanche came back in the standings to beat the Vancouver Canucks by a single point to claim the NHL record for most consecutive division titles with nine, a record formerly held by the Montreal Canadiens. The second-to-last game of the season was particularly exciting, as the Avalanche needed to win the game to stay in the race, and Milan Hejduk scored with 10 seconds left in overtime to beat Anaheim.[22] In the playoffs, the Avalanche blew a 3-1 series lead over the Minnesota Wild, and lost in overtime of Game 7 to be eliminated from the first round of the playoffs.[23]

After that season, Patrick Roy retired and the Avalanche signed star wingers Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne from the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.[24] Both failed to live up to the expectations and for the first time in Denver and first since the 1993-94 season, the franchise failed to win their division, ending an NHL-record nine consecutive division titles.[25]

After the 2004-05 NHL lockout and the implementation of a salary cap, the Avalanche were forced to let go some of their top players. Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote were lost to free agency in order to save some room in the cap for Joe Sakic and Rob Blake.[26] Although the salary cap was a blow to one of the biggest spenders of the league,[27] the Avalanche made it to the Conference semifinals, where they were swept by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The day after the loss, Pierre Lacroix, who had been the General Manager of the franchise since 1994 when they were in Quebec, resigned and Francois Giguere was hired.[28][29] Lacroix remains to this day as President of the franchise.[30]

By the beginning of the 2006-07 season Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk were the only two remaining members from the 2001 Stanley Cup winning squad. Joe Sakic is the only player left from the team's days in Quebec (though Hejduk was drafted by the Nordiques), but Paul Stastny, son of Nordiques legend Peter Stastny, also provides a link to the past.

Despite missing the 2006-2007 playoffs, the Avalanche had a 15-2-2 run at the end of the season in an attempt to keep their playoff hopes alive. They were still in the hunt, chasing the Calgary Flames to within three points with two games left, until the second to last game of the regular season on April 7, 2007 against the Nashville Predators. During the game, Peter Forsberg, now in a Predators' uniform, was honored with a video highlight of his career with the Avalanche, and he received a standing ovation from the fans at the Pepsi Center. Ironically, it would be Forsberg and his two assists who would shut down Colorado's 10-season playoff streak, culminating in an assist on a Paul Kariya goal.

The final game of the 2006-2007 regular season was against the Calgary Flames, who, because of the Avs' loss to the Nashville Predators on April 7th, clinched the eighth seed in the playoffs with 96 points, beating the Avs by a single point. The Avs recorded a decisive 6-3 win in which Joe Sakic earned his 100th point of the season. At 37, Sakic became the second-oldest player in NHL history to reach 100 points, joining Gordie Howe, who had 103 points at age 40 in the 1968-69 season. For the second night in a row, the fans at the Pepsi Center would dole out a standing ovation, this time to Joe Sakic and the entire Avalanche team for their efforts during the 15-2-2 run. The Avs returned the ovation by raising their sticks in acknowledgment, thus thanking the fans and marking the end of an emotional rollercoaster of a season.

Until the Avs' 2006-2007 season, no team in the history of the NHL had ever made it to 95 points without earning a spot in the playoffs. In the Eastern Conference, three teams made it to the playoffs with less than 95 points: the New York Rangers (94), the Tampa Bay Lightning (93), and the New York Islanders (92).

Rivalry with the Detroit Red Wings

In 1996, the Colorado Avalanche met the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Finals and won the series 4-2. During Game 6, as Red Wings player Kris Draper was skating toward the bench, he was checked into the boards face-first by Avalanche player Claude Lemieux.[31] The hit was so hard, Draper had to undergo facial reconstructive surgery, and had to have his jaw wired shut for five weeks.[32] After the incident, Lemieux received many threats from Red Wings players and fans, including goalie Chris Osgood.[31]

In the following season, in the last regular season meeting between the Avalanche and Red Wings on March 26, 1997, a brawl known as Brawl in Hockeytown broke out. The game ended with 9 fights, 11 goals, 39 penalties, 148 penalty minutes, one hat-trick (by Valeri Kamensky) and a goalie fight between Stanley Cup champion goalies Patrick Roy and Mike Vernon.[32] Claude Lemieux was one of the players singled out by the Red Wings players. The Red Wings ended up winning the game in overtime 6-5.[32] Both teams met again in the Conference Finals that season, with the Red Wings emerging victorious, and going on to win the Stanley Cup. In the following five years, the Avalanche and the Red Wings met three times in the playoffs, with Colorado winning the first two and losing the last.

This rivalry is often considered one of the top rivalries in the NHL by the press and fans.[33]

The sell-out streak

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 is 326 under capacity at the Pepsi Center before a game against the Chicago Blackhawks. 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.[34] The Avalanche recorded their 500th home sellout in their 515th game in Denver on January 20 2007, against the Detroit Red Wings, a game the Avs would win 3-2.[35]

Team colors and jersey

File:Colorado-alternate.gif
Avalanche's alternate logo: the foot of Howler

Template:H3 The Colorado Avalanche logo is composed by a burgundy letter A with snow wrapped around, similar to an avalanche. There is a hockey puck in the lower-right end of the snow, wrapping around the logo. Around the whole logo, there's a blue oval.

The team's alternate logo is the foot of Howler, and can be seen on the shoulders of the Avalanche's home and away jerseys.

Template:H3

File:Avalanche200607jerseys.GIF
Avalanche jerseys for the 2006-07 season: Home and away (top) and 3rd jersey (bottom)

The Avalanche jerseys have not changed since their first season in 1995. The team colors are burgundy, blue and white. The home jersey, which was the team's road jersey until 2003 when the NHL decided to switch home and road jerseys,[36] is dominantly burgundy and dark blue in color. There are two black and white zigzag lines along the jersey, one in the shoulders, the other near the belly. Between them, the jersey is burgundy, outside those lines it is dark blue. Similar lines exist around the neck. The Avalanche logo is in the center of the jersey. On top of the shoulders, there is the alternate logo, one on each side. The away jersey is similar, just with different colors. The burgundy part on the home jersey is white on the away jersey, the light blue part is burgundy and the black and white lines became white and dark blue.

The Avalanche introduced a third jersey during the 2001-02 season.[37] It is dominantly burgundy. "Colorado" is spelled in a diagonal across the jersey where the logo is on the other jerseys. From the belly down, three large horizontal stripes, the first and the last being black and the middle one being white. In the middle of the arms, there are 5 stripes, black, white and burgundy from the outside inside in both sides.

Seasons and records

Season-by-season record

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Avalanche. For the full season-by-season history, see Colorado Avalanche seasons

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 April 9, 2007.[38]

Season GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
2001-02 82 45 28 8 1 99 212 169 1007 1st, Northwest 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 Lost in Conference Semifinals, 2-4 (Sharks)
2004-05 Season cancelled due to 2004-05 NHL Lockout
2005-061 82 43 30 — 9 95 283 257 1130 2nd, Northwest Lost in Conference Semifinals, 0-4 (Mighty Ducks)
2006-07 82 44 31 — 7 95 272 251 864 4th, Northwest Did not qualify
1 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.

Franchise leaders

Note: This list does not include stats from the Quebec Nordiques (WHA & NHL). Records as of April 9, 2007.[39]

Franchise records

Note: This list does not include records from the Quebec Nordiques (WHA & NHL). Items in bold are NHL records. Records as of April 9, 2007.[39]

Template:H4

  • Most goals in a season: Joe Sakic, 54 (2000-01)
  • Most assists in a season: Peter Forsberg, 86 (1995-96)
  • Most points in a season: Joe Sakic, 120 (1995-96)
  • Most penalty minutes in a season: Chris Simon, 250 (1995-96)
  • Most game-winning goals in a season: Joe Sakic, 12 (2000-01)
  • Most points in a season, rookie: Paul Stastny, 78 (2006-07)
  • NHL record longest points streak, rookie: Paul Stastny, 20 games (2006-07)
  • NHL record most consecutive games played by a defenseman: Karlis Skrastins, 495 games (2000-2007 - 270 with the Nashville Predators and 225 with the Avalanche)
  • Best +/- record in a season: Milan Hejduk and Peter Forsberg, +52 (2002-03)
  • Most wins in a season: Patrick Roy, 40 (2000-01)
  • Most shutouts in a season: Patrick Roy, 9 (2001-02)
  • Best goal against average in a season: Patrick Roy, 1.94 (2001-02)

Template:H4

  • Most goals in a playoff season: Joe Sakic, 18 (1996)
  • Most assists in a playoff season: Peter Forsberg, 18 (2002)
  • Most points in a playoff season: Joe Sakic, 34 (1996)
  • Most penalty minutes in a playoff season: Adam Foote, 62 (1997)

Template:H4

  • Most consecutive division titles (1995-6 through 2002-3), 8
  • Most points in a season: 118 (2000-01)
  • Most wins in a season: 52 (2000-01)
  • Most goals: 336 (1995-96)
  • Largest margin of victory: 10 (Dec. 12, 1995 vs San Jose (12-2))

Current roster

As of April 27th, 2007. [1]

Goaltenders
# Player Catches Acquired Place of Birth
31 Slovakia Peter Budaj L 2001 Banská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia
60 Canada Jose Theodore R 2006 Laval, Quebec
Defensemen
# Player Shoots Acquired Place of Birth
2 United States Ken Klee R 2006 Indianapolis, Indiana
3 Latvia Karlis Skrastins L 2003 Riga, U.S.S.R.
4 United States John-Michael Liles L 2000 Zionsville, Indiana
5 Canada Brett Clark L 2002 Wapella, Saskatchewan
6 United States Jeff Finger R 1999 Houghton, Michigan
27 Finland Ossi Vaananen L 2004 Vantaa, Finland
34 United States Kurt Sauer L 2004 St. Cloud, Minnesota
44 United States Jordan Leopold L 2006 Golden Valley, Minnesota
71 Canada Patrice Brisebois (IR) R 2005 Montreal, Quebec
Forwards
# Player Position Shoots Acquired Place of Birth
8 Canada Wojtek Wolski1 LW L 2004 Zabrze, Poland
12 Canada Brad Richardson C/LW L 2003 Belleville, Ontario
14 Canada Ian Laperriere - A RW/C R 2004 Montreal, Quebec
15 Canada Andrew Brunette - A LW L 2005 Sudbury, Ontario
19 Canada Joe Sakic - C C L 1987 Burnaby, British Columbia
20 Canada Mark Rycroft RW/LW R 2006 Penticton, British Columbia
23 Czech Republic Milan Hejduk RW R 1994 Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia
26 United States Paul Stastny C L 2006 Quebec City, Quebec
28 Canada Ben Guite RW R 2006 Montreal, Quebec
29 United States Scott Parker RW R 2007 Hanford, California
39 United States Tyler Arnason C/LW L 2006 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
40 Slovakia Marek Svatos RW R 2001 Košice, Czechoslovakia
53 Canada Brett McLean C/LW L 2004 Comox, British Columbia
87 Canada Pierre Turgeon (IR) C L 2005 Rouyn, Quebec
  • To see the player roster and bios, click here.

1. Wojtek Wolski plays for Team Canada. He was born in Poland but became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 1990.

Honored Members

See also: List of Colorado Avalanche players and Colorado Avalanche notable players and award winners
Players with most games for the Colorado Avalanche
Player Games Years
Joe Sakic 811 1995-present
Milan Hejduk 624 1998-present
Adam Foote 592 1995-2004
Peter Forsberg 533 1995-2004
Stephane Yelle 505 1995-2002
Patrick Roy 478 1995-2003
Alex Tanguay 450 1999-2006
Adam Deadmarsh 405 1995-2001
Jon Klemm 393 1995-2001
Eric Messier 385 1996-2003
Source: HockeyDB.com
As of April 9, 2007 - Regular Season data

Retired Numbers: The Avalanche have retired two numbers: 77 of Ray Bourque and 33 of Patrick Roy.[40] The number 99 of Wayne Gretzky is retired league-wide. The numbers retired when the franchise was in Quebec were entered back into circulation after the move to Colorado.

Hall of Famers: Ray Bourque played in the NHL for 22 seasons with the Boston Bruins and was traded, by request, to Colorado in 2000 so he could have a chance of winning the Stanley Cup before retiring.[18] In a feat termed Mission 16W, the Avs were able to win the Stanley Cup, thus allowing Bourque the championship he had been seeking for 22 seasons.[41]

Patrick Roy played from 1995 to 2003 in Colorado and won two Stanley Cups with the Colorado Avalanche. Roy recorded 551 career victories, the most career wins for any goaltender in the NHL.[42]

Both Bourque and Roy were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The only other Avalanche player to be inducted is Jari Kurri who played the last season of his career with the franchise, yet his jersey does not hang from the rafters at the Pepsi Center.[43]

Bryan Trottier, who was an assistant coach when the Avalanche won their second Stanley Cup in 2001, was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997 (as a player).[44]

Leaders

Template:H3 Note: This list of team captains does not include captains from the Quebec Nordiques (WHA & NHL).

Captain Nat From To Note
Joe Sakic Canada 1995 present
Sylvain Lefebvre Canada 1997 1998 Interim

Template:H3 Note: This list does not include head coaches from the Quebec Nordiques (WHA & NHL).

Records as of April 9, 2007.[38]

Head Coach Nat From To Regular Season Playoffs
G W L T OTL SOL Pct G W L Pct
Marc Crawford Canada 1995 1998 246 135 75 36 — — .622 46 29 17 .630
Bob Hartley Canada 1998 2002 359 193 108 48 10 — .618 80 49 31 .613
Tony Granato United States 2002 2004 133 72 33 17 11 — .647 18 9 9 .500
Joel Quenneville Canada 2005 present 164 87 61 — 6 10 .579 9 4 5 .444

See also

References

Template:H4

  • "Colorado Avalanche season statistics and records". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2007-03-25.

Template:H4

  1. ^ "Colorado Avalanche History". CBS Sportsline. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  2. ^ Kravitz, Bob (1996-12-18). "Welcome to NHL's nastiest rivalry". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  3. ^ "Quebec Nordiques". WHA Hockey. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  4. ^ "WHA Yearly Standings". WHA Hockey. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  5. ^ "From the WHA to the NHL". NHL. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  6. ^ "Quebec Nordiques Almanac". Nordiques Preservation. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  7. ^ "NHL Entry Draft First Round Selections 1980-89". NHL. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  8. ^ "NHL Entry Draft First Round Selections 1990-99". NHL. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  9. ^ Roarke,Shawn P. (2006-05-31). "A look back: 1991". NHL. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  10. ^ "As expected, Quebec selects Lindros No.1". Associated Press. 1991-06-23. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  11. ^ "Eric Lindros profile". NHL. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  12. ^ Benton, Jim (1996-06-06). "A Franchise deal. Lindros trade laid foundation for Nordiques/Avalanche drive to berth in Stanley Cup Final". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  13. ^ a b Deacon, James (1995-05-06). "Nordiques Move to Colorado". Maclean's. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  14. ^ "Quebec's Government Plans Bailout to keep Nordiques from moving". Associated Press. 1994-04-09. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  15. ^ "NHL's Nordiques sold, moving west to Denver \ Comsat Entretainment Group bought the team. Quebec had refused to fund a new hockey arena". Philadelphia Inquirer. 1995-05-26. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  16. ^ Sadowski, Rick (2006-06-29). "Roy gets call he's in Hall". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  17. ^ Ulman, Howard (1996-06-11). "No stopping the Avalanche - Colorado completes Cup sweep of Panthers with 3OT victory". Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  18. ^ a b Roarke, Shawn P. (2007-03-22). "For Bourque, at long last Stanley!". NHL. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  19. ^ Sadowski, Rick (2001-03-23). "Kings take Avs' Aulin to complete Blake trade". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  20. ^ Canfora, Jason La (2001-06-11). "Bourque Is Frozen Out No More". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  21. ^ Allen, Kevin (2001-06-10). "Avalanche beat Devils to capture Stanley Cup". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  22. ^ "Colorado 4, Anaheim 3". CBS Sportsline. Retrieved 2007-05-06. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dateG= ignored (help)
  23. ^ "Minnesota 3, Colorado 2". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2007-03-25. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dateG= ignored (help)
  24. ^ "Avalanche sign Kariya, Selanne to one-year deals". Associated Press. 2003-07-03. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  25. ^ "NHL's winningest goalie retiring after 18 seasons". Associated Press. 2003-05-28. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  26. ^ "Sakic, Blake to stay; Forsberg, Foote up in air". Associated Press. 2005-07-26. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  27. ^ Goldstein, Wes (2005-08-31). "Winners, losers, undecided in wake of free-agent frenzy". CBS Sportsline. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  28. ^ "Lacroix steps down as Colorado GM". Associated Press. 2006-05-12. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  29. ^ "Avs hire Giguere as team's general manager". Associated Press. 2006-05-24. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  30. ^ "Pierre Lacroix Profile". Colorado Avalanche. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
  31. ^ a b Dater, Adrian (2006). Blood Feud: Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche. Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 1589793196.
  32. ^ a b c Neumann, Thomas (2007-03-26). "Happy anniversary to Red Wings, Avalanche". ESPN. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
  33. ^ "Part II -- Top rivalries". ESPN. 2005-10-29. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
  34. ^ Frei, Terry (2006-10-17). "Avs see sellout streak get away". Denver Post. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  35. ^ "Avalanche Reaches 500th Sellout In Denver". Colorado Avalanche. 2006-01-20. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  36. ^ Karol, Kristofer (January 27, 2003). "NHL 'quacked' up with hockey jersey switch". State News. Retrieved 2006-08-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  37. ^ Dater, Adrian (2001-10-19). "OILERS 4, AVALANCHE 1 "Third jersey' to make debut on Halloween". Denver Post. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
  38. ^ a b Hockeydb.com, Colorado Avalanche season statistics and records
  39. ^ a b "Regular Season Record Books". Colorado Avalanche Database. Retrieved 2007-05-12.
  40. ^ "Patrick Roy #33 to Be Retired". http://www.sportzdomain.com. 2003-05-29. Retrieved 2007-03-25. {{cite news}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  41. ^ Allen, Kevin (2001-06-10). "'Mission 16W' accomplished for Avalanche". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  42. ^ "Legends of Hockey - Roy, Patrick". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  43. ^ "Legends of Hockey - Colorado Avalanche". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  44. ^ "Legends of Hockey - Trottier, Bryan". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
Preceded by Stanley Cup Champions
1995-96 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Stanley Cup Champions
2000-01 		Succeeded by
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