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Colorado Avalanche Tickets |
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The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Hockey League (NHL). The team started play in 1972 as the Quebec Nordiques of the World Hockey Association. During the seven WHA seasons, the Nordiques won the Avco Cup Championship once, in 1977. Two years later, they entered the NHL, along with the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers (now the Carolina Hurricanes) and the Winnipeg Jets (now the Phoenix Coyotes). When they've found themselves experiencing on-ice success but off-ice financial failure during the lockout shortened 1994-95 NHL season team owner Marcel Aubut asked 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 and was renamed the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado entered their first season in Denver with a very strong lineup that included such excellent players as captain Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and defensive stalwart Adam Foote. The most important day for the franchise came in the trade of first round pick Eric Lindros. Lindros refused to play for the Nords citing the small town and the uncompetitive team. His trade brought in Peter Forsberg and eventual deals brought in such stars as Ray Bourque, Alex Tanguay, Patrick Roy, and Rob Blake among other great players. The original trade brought a first round pick, Steve Duchesne, Mike Ricci, Jocelyn Thibault, Chris Simon, Kerry Huffman, Ron Hextall, and $15 million to the Nords.
As defending Stanley Cup champions, the team held their training camp in
Stockholm, Sweden the following season, participating in the NHL
Challenge. Colorado has however been unable to recapture that moment of
glory. They have consistently been an excellent team, in fact the
2003-04 NHL season was the first time since moving to Colorado that the
team has not won its division, and it lost that by only one point to the
Vancouver Canucks. Many people thought that 2003-04 might be the year
that Colorado would win its third Cup because they had pulled an
apparent coup by signing both Teemu Selänne and Paul Kariya who had been
a powerful duo with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. But the tandem did not
live up to many people's expectation and the hype surrounding the
acquisition. Neither player was resigned after the end of the 2005
lockout. The Salary Cap hit the Avalanche hard, forcing them to give up
superstar center Peter Forsberg and long time Avalanche defenseman Adam
Foote. Colorado did sign Pierre Turgeon and Patrice Brisebois during the
summer in a money-saving effort to replace Forsberg and Foote. The team
has struggled at times this year, but it has led to the rise of the
overshadowed rookie Marek Svatos, along with other youths on the team.
At the Trade Deadline, GM Pierre Lacroix made a questionable trade,
sending goalie David Aebischer, who had recovered from some early-season
difficulties to reassert himself as the #1, to the Montreal Canadiens
for struggling former MVP goalie Jose Theodore. Avalanche fans and
hockey analysts alike have questioned the move, which leaves the Avs'
playoff hopes in the hands of Jose Theodore.
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