Colorado Avalanche News, Trades & Rumors

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Like several other franchises, the Colorado Avalanche began as a World Hockey Association (WHA) franchise, the Quebec Nordiques, for the 1972-73 season. They won one WHA championship (1977) prior to joining the NHL for the 1979-80 season. The Nordiques had moderate success in the NHL, making the playoffs nine times in their 16 seasons; however, they fell short of advancing past the conference finals. Following the 1994-95 season, mounting financial struggles led to the team being sold and relocated to Denver, Colorado, where they became known as the Avalanche. The Avalanche found immediate success by winning the Stanley Cup in their first season after relocation and captured another championship in 2001. More recently, the team won its third Stanley Cup in 2022.

Colorado Avalanche Won’t Be Contenders This Season
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It feels like just yesterday that the Colorado Avalanche were Stanley Cup champions. More importantly, it felt as though they had a core to remain serious contenders to the crown for years to come. The core is largely the same, but the 2023-24 season feels like a harsh lesson learned. After being dispatched by the Dallas Stars in the second round of the NHL Playoffs, the Avalanche made adjustments in free agency and added to the prospect pipeline in the 2024 NHL Draft. Going into the 2024-25 season, however, there are glaring weaknesses that must be addressed. Unfortunately, they aren’t…

Colorado Avalanche Lineup Projection for 2024-25
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The Colorado Avalanche are now in their offseason “downtime” after the drafting, trading, and free-agent signing frenzy. With two months to go until training camp and the preseason, the Avalanche have re-signed players and added pieces to fill out the bottom six.  Now that the Avalanche has traded for and extended goaltender Kevin Mandolese, they can focus on signing other exciting players still available on the market or start negotiations for crucial contract extensions for key players. At this point, the best we can see of the opening lineup is training camp, which will give us a good idea of what to…

Avalanche Giving Nikolai Kovalenko a Chance to Prove Himself
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The Colorado Avalanche still have a couple big question marks surrounding their line combinations, but one of their prospects might have an inside track to get some good minutes to prove himself. No, this isn’t about Calum Ritchie – who the team also has high hopes for. Instead, former sixth-round pick Nikolai Kovalenko could be in line to get a good audition in the early stages of the season. With Gabriel Landeskog due to miss the early part of the season rehabbing from knee surgery, and Valeri Nichushkin still suspended through the league’s player assistance program, that leaves a Kovalenko-sized…

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Today in Hockey History: July 6
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Some of the best players of the 1990s were rewarded for their performances on this date. July 6 also saw several coaching changes, roster moves, and the birth of two players who left their mark on the game with brilliant National Hockey League careers. 1995 Postseason Awards The NHL handed…

 

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Avalanche FAQ

What year were the Colorado Avalanche founded?

The Colorado Avalanche began as a World Hockey Association (WHA) franchise, the Quebec Nordiques, for the 1972-73 season.

When did the Colorado Avalanche play their first game?

They played their first NHL game (as the Quebec Nordiques) on Oct. 10, 1979, a 5-3 loss to the Atlanta Flames. 

Who is the current head coach of the Colorado Avalanche?

Jared Bednar is the current head coach for the Colorado Avalanche.