The Colorado Avalanche franchise got its start in the National Hockey League in 1979 as the Quebec Nordique, coming in along with the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers and the Winnipeg Jets, who all left the World Hockey Association. The Nordiques moved to Colorado and became the Avs in 1995.
Before they moved to Colorado, however, the Nordiques were a bottom-feeding team from the 1987-88 season until 1991-92. They were the worst team in the NHL and with that came three consecutive No. 1 picks in the Entry Draft. They selected Mats Sundin (1989), Owen Nolan (1990), and Eric Lindros (1991). Lindros never suited up for the Nordiques due to a contract holdout and was traded to the Flyers in 1992 in exchange for five players, the rights to Swedish prospect Peter Forsberg, two first-round picks and $15 million.
The team moved after some financial difficulties and was sold to investors based in Colorado. The deal became official on July 1, 1995, and 12,000 season tickets were sold within the first 37 days of the announced move to Denver. The Avalanche became the second NHL franchise to play in Denver after the Colorado Rockies, who relocated and became the ...
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Article written by Mike Stainkamp
A Brief History: Colorado Avalanche
August 9th, 2010 by Mike Stainkamp Leave a reply »
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