The story of the Colorado Avalanche cannot be told without mentioning its previous home in Quebec or its several Quebec-born pillars. From the Nordiques to the front office to the players on the ice, this franchise's Quebec roots are crystal clear. To honor its time in Quebec, the Avalanche will don blue Quebec Nordiques uniforms seven times in its 30th Anniversary season.
The first seven seasons of Nordiques hockey were played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972-73 to 1978-79. The team won its first Avco Cup, the WHA’s championship, by defeating the Winnipeg Jets in seven games in 1977.
Ahead of Quebec’s inaugural NHL season in 1979-80, the Nordiques participated in their first NHL Draft and selected one of the greatest players in franchise history. With the 20th overall pick in the 1979 NHL Draft, the Nordiques selected Quebec native Michel Goulet, who is prominently featured in the franchise record book. In the 46 seasons of the Avalanche/Nordiques as an NHL franchise, Goulet is second in goals (456), fifth in assists (490) and fourth in points (946).
Ahead of the 1994-95 season, the Nordiques hired Quebec native Pierre Lacroix as its general manager. In his first NHL Draft as GM, the Nordiques selected 1999 Calder Trophy winner Chris Drury in the third round and 2003 Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner Milan Hejduk in the fourth round. Both players would later join the team during the 1998-99 season and be key contributors on the Avalanche’s 2001 Stanley Cup winning team less than seven years after being drafted.
One year later, the Nordiques moved to Denver, marking the birth of the Colorado Avalanche. Several players from the 1994-95 Nordiques team made the move across North America, including Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Adam Foote, Valeri Kamensky and Curtis Leschyshyn.
Three days before the first game in Avalanche history, the team acquired Quebec native and reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner Claude Lemieux from the New Jersey Devils via the New York Islanders in a three-team trade. Lemieux was an instrumental member of the inaugural Avalanche team, posting 71 points (39g/32a) in 79 regular-season contests in addition to 12 points (5g/7a) in 19 playoff games.
Through the first 27 games of Avalanche hockey in 1995-96, the team went 16-7-4, capping off that stretch with a 12-2 win against the San Jose Sharks on December 5th. The next day, Lacroix made a trade to bring a future Hall of Famer to Denver. The Avalanche acquired Quebec native Patrick Roy from the Montreal Canadiens, bringing the then-three-time Vezina Trophy winner, two-time Stanley Cup champion and two-time Conn Smythe Trophy winner to Colorado.
Both Roy and Lemieux were key cogs on the 1996 Stanley Cup winning squad that brought Colorado its first major league sports championship.
Five years later, the Avalanche were back in the Stanley Cup Final, and this time, they had another legendary player from Quebec on the team. On March 6, 2000, the Avalanche acquired five-time Norris Trophy winner Ray Bourque from the Boston Bruins via trade. After Quebec native Alex Tanguay scored twice to help the Avalanche defeat the Devils 4-1 in Game Seven, Bourque received the Stanley Cup from Sakic and lifted it for the first time in his career in one of the most iconic moments in NHL history.
After posting a .934 save percentage in the 2001 playoffs, Roy became the first player in league history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy three times, a feat that has yet to be accomplished by another player.
When the Avalanche captured the 2022 Stanley Cup, their roster featured two Quebec-born players to appear in playoff games that season: Samuel Girard and Nicolas Aube-Kubel. Girard, who has been with the Avalanche since the 2017-18 season, is fifth in franchise history in games played by a defenseman with 545.
As the Avalanche celebrates its 30th anniversary, they honor their Quebec roots that have made an indelible impact on the franchise.
